Feud: Capote vs. the Swans came to an end with the eighth episode of this series, which portrayed the famous writer Truman Capote’s most controversial relationships with his socialite group of friends. In the previous episode, which was the most well-executed storytelling I’ve seen so far in the series, we witnessed both Babe and Truman’s deaths, but the story didn’t end right there. In this final episode, which has nothing special to offer except for its over-the-top dramatic developments and frustratingly boring storytelling, we learned a little bit about Truman’s unfinished novel, “Answered Prayers,” which had never been found after his death in 1984. Probably the makers took some creative liberties to portray what Truman might have written in the manuscript, and this episode followed those writings that Truman had never been able to publish.
Spoilers Ahead
What Was In “Answered Prayers”?
Episode 8, titled “Phantasm Forgiveness,” opened with Truman Capote paying his regular visit to Babe Paley’s grave. He put Babe’s favorite flowers on the grave and laid down there to feel his best friend’s presence for one last time. Truman had been sober for a few days, and so he decided to contact Jack to show him how well he had been doing in his sobriety. After reaching Jack’s place, Truman asked him if he could come in, but Jack didn’t want him to meet his new lover, fearing that Truman might intimidate this young man. However, Nick, Jack’s current boyfriend, saw Truman and asked him to come in. Truman, Jack, and Nick had a conversation, and as usual, Truman went on talking and bragging about his novel, which, he believed, was going to be his masterpiece. Jack knew Truman very well, so he didn’t take his words very seriously. However, Jack was happy to see Truman trying to quit alcohol, but he also knew that Truman wouldn’t be able to stick to his resolution of staying sober. Truman hugged Jack for the last time and took off, saying his last goodbye to his ex-lover.
Back at home, Truman began to write, and we came to know that “Answered Prayers” was nothing but an artistic way to apologize to his friends whom he had wronged. He didn’t mention any of them by their real names and gave them fictional identities, like giving Slim the name, Ina Coolbirth, or swapping Lee’s name with her sister Jackie. He even gave himself a new name, P. B. Jones, and called CZ West by the name of Kiki. His story opened in La Cote Basque, where P. B. met Kiki, who was utterly heartbroken because of the things P. B. had written about her in his piece. Kiki was forgiving, unlike the others, so P. B., aka Truman, took her on a holiday to spend some amazing time together. They also took a nude painting of CZ’s that was sketched by Mexican painter Diego Rivera along with them to sell it somewhere. While riding in a car with CZ, or Kiki, Truman realized the meaning of freedom. He felt free in CZ’s company and remarked that freedom could only be felt by those who had suffered a lot and had been silenced and forced to pretend. Truman and CZ sold the painting in a bar in exchange for two bottles of whiskey.
After getting closure from CZ, Truman went to meet Slim, or Ina in Truman’s fiction, but Slim, who had been sulking, didn’t forgive him so easily. Truman kept pursuing her and finally got the opportunity to come to her place, where he asked her to throw things at him so that she could feel better. Then Slim and Truman started throwing and breaking things together, which finally helped them get close to each other. After Slim finally forgave him, Truman pursued Lee, or Jackie, according to his manuscript. Lee was married to a closeted homosexual who had been destroying her mental peace, so Truman advised her to poison her husband to finish him off. Lee did exactly what she was told and managed to get freedom from the relationship. Not only that, Truman handed her a memoir, which was about Lee’s life, but it was written by Truman. Lee accepted the bribe and forgave her friend.
Babe was out of the picture because Truman knew that he didn’t need to ask her to forgive him, as Babe would never be able to hold her grudges against her best friend. However, even after seeking forgiveness from everywhere, Truman didn’t feel like his writing had satisfied him enough. He began to drink again, and he saw his deceased mother approaching him and asking him to write about her death in his fiction.
Why Did Truman Burn The Manuscript?
Truman’s childhood had been deeply troubled by his father’s absence, and his mother, who had also failed to play the role of a perfect mother in his life. His mother used to bring new lovers to her place to help her deal with her loneliness, but during the time she used to make love with her partners, she would lock little Truman inside a room. Truman had nothing but hatred against his mother, but her death had shaken him to the core. One day, when her partner left her, Truman’s mother popped too many pills and lost her life. It was clearly a suicide, but in this old age, Truman couldn’t blame his mother anymore, as he believed his mother was nothing but a victim of society.
Truman had always compared Ann with his mother because both of them were ruthlessly cold and had an evil stare, which was intimidating for Truman. Ann had also committed suicide, so an alcoholic Truman began to hallucinate both Ann and his mother at the same time. He asked Ann if she would forgive him, but Ann answered in the negative, saying that she could never forgive him for what he did to her. Truman realized that his novel might soon be finished, but it wouldn’t bring him the sympathy or forgiveness he had been seeking all along. People would still make a mockery of him for his attempt, which was self-indulgent writing involving dramatic apologies.
We went back to the same scene the second season of “Feud” started with. It was that graveyard, where Trumam walked around a lake and stopped to look at some black swans swimming on the water. Truman brought the manuscript of “Answered Prayers” with him and burned it. The destruction of the manuscript marked the beginning of Truman’s artistic death in 1984, although we don’t know if it really happened in Truman’s life or if it was just a fictional liberty taken by the makers.
After Truman had killed his novel, he went to California to stay at Joanne Carson’s place, where he took his last breath and said his last words, “Beautiful Babe.” Joanne called Jack, who told her that Truman wanted to be cremated, and Joanne did fulfill his last wish.
In the very concluding scene of the series, we saw Truman’s ashes were up for an auction, and Kate, John O’Shea’s daughter, was one of the bidders who desperately wanted to buy the ashes, but she failed to bid the highest price, and someone else got the remains of Truman Capote. At this auction, we saw the swans, Babe, CZ, Lee, and Slim, all dressed in white, judging the new generation and a modern New York city. They were done with all of this, so they wanted to leave the auction. However, as everyone left, Babe looked at Truman’s ashes for the last time and bid her final goodbye to him.
