Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, episode 7, titled Beautiful Babe, directed by Jennifer Lynch, portrayed the end of the prolonged cold war between Truman and his soulmate, Babe Paley. In the penultimate episode of the series, we witnessed the deaths of both Babe and Truman, with only a few years separating their demise. This episode has the most eloquently written and well-executed storytelling amongst all the other episodes in this series, as it not only focuses on the deaths of these celebrated figures but also portrays how death has liberated them from all the earthly torments, criticisms, and boundaries. Let’s dive deep into this episode to know if Babe and Truman allowed themselves to be there for each other at the very end of their lives.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Babe Paley Die?
Episode 7 opened with Babe Paley finding out her hair had been falling off due to the constant chemotherapy she had to undergo. She felt that she was running out of time, so for the last time, she asked her doctor to tell her exactly how many months she had left. The doctor hesitantly replied that it could be only six months, which suggested that Babe might not be able to spend Thanksgiving with her family and friends . William tried to act like the most caring husband, but Babe knew his nature very well. She knew that it would only take a few days for him to get over her death. So Babe didn’t pay much attention to William, who was even willing to take her to a new doctor, without even realizing that his wife had already grown tired of the treatments and now she wanted to depart peacefully. She asked William to stop showing the efforts that he hadn’t been showing at all along. She also realized that she had always been so cold towards her children and decided to apologize to them, trying to be a good mother, which she never could be. Basically, both Babe and William were trying to mend the mistakes that they had kept making throughout their lives; although William still had some time to do so, Babe’s time almost ran out. One day she heard William talking very loudly over the phone, seemingly with his daughter, Kate, so out of curiosity, Babe went to her room and picked up the telephone to listen to their conversation. William tries to convince Kate to forgive her mother and come back to the house to spend some time with her, but Kate refuses to be there for her. Babe realized that she had lost everything in her life, so she prepared herself to welcome her death.
In La Côte Basque, she met with her friends, CZ, Slim, and Lee, and told them that she had been planning to organize a party in the summer. As CZ asked when the party would take place, Babe replied that she wanted her friends to organize this gathering after her funeral. It shocked the three of them, who never imagined that they would lose Babe so early, but Babe assured them that she had finally made peace with this.
Babe wrote down some of her feelings regarding her approaching death and how deeply she missed her friend Truman. As she went to sleep, she had a beautiful dream where she found herself in her room with Truman, who took her to a bathtub where a big swan was swimming. Truman and Babe looked out of the window to see the fireworks, which made her immensely happy. The dream remained a dream, while in actuality, Babe had lost her life, imagining Truman by her side. Her husband and family gathered when she took her last breath.
CZ woke Truman up from a deep sleep, but before she could tell him anything, Truman said that he knew Babe was dead. Truman acted very weirdly, as if he were trying to show that he was not hurt, but CZ realized that he was dying inside. Truman got worked up about finishing the eulogy he had been writing for a while for Babe, but CZ told him that he wouldn’t be allowed in her funeral as per William’s strict orders. As Truman needed to read this eulogy, CZ told him to read it to her to get it out of his system. Truman’s eulogy about his best friend contained everything about their journey together and how he believed that Babe was his true reflection that would never go away even after her death. CZ couldn’t hold her tears anymore and felt bad that this man wouldn’t be able to attend his best friend’s funeral to say goodbye to her for the last time. At Babe’s funeral, we saw William in his usual nature, quite relaxed and happy being surrounded by young women, while on the other hand, it seemed like Slim, CZ, and Lee didn’t want to continue their meeting at La Cote any longer because this place would mean nothing to them without Babe’s presence.
What Caused Truman’s Death?
After Babe Paley’s death in 1978, Truman drowned himself in more and more alcohol and even went so far as to appear on a talk show while dead drunk and mumbling. Not only did he make a mockery of himself in public, but he also passed out on the set. He woke up in a hospital room and found Jack sitting in front of him. Truman had no sense of time or day, which broke Jack’s heart, but he decided to act coldly towards him because he was done taking care of Truman and trying to convince him to leave alcohol. Realizing that Truman would never listen to him, Jack told him that he had found love and decided to settle down with him. Truman was sad and had no one by his side at this time except for Joanne Carson, an American artist, as well as another socialite friend of Truman’s.
Truman moved to California, as we have seen in the previous episode when he had been trying to finish his book “Answered Prayers,” but he never actually wrote anything except for some scraps and lines scattered here and there. However, in the meantime, Joanne took care of him like a child and tried to keep him away from alcohol and cigarettes, but Truman realized that his death was approaching. Finally, one night, when he caught a fever and Joanne contemplated calling 911, Truman dreamed of Babe, who came to his room and handed him a glass of beer and a cigarette. They reminisce about their times together and the vacations that they spent together. They recalled their happy moments in life, such as their holidays spent in Jamaica, where Truman read his first draft of Breakfast at Tiffany’s to her in a hotel room and then went out to a beach together on a sunny afternoon. Truman asked Babe if he was dying, to which she responded that it was completely fine and all he would have to do was close his eyes and just let go of all the pain. Truman recalled his mother and compared her to Babe, as they were the only women he had loved and lost in his life. Truman finally took his last breath, while Joanne was there by his side. Following his death, Joanne called Jack and let him know that Truman’s last words were “Mother, Mama, and Beautiful Babe.”
