Article contributed by Isabella Haberstock
The case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard was one that both shocked and horrified the world in 2015. When it was revealed that the extremely ill and disabled girl that captured the hearts of many Americans had murdered her mother Dee Dee and was actually perfectly healthy, it left a lot of unanswered questions. Mainly, why would she do it? The Act explores the life of Gypsy Rose Blanchard in the years leading up to her mother’s murder and why Gypsy wanted to escape Dee Dee badly enough to kill her.
The Act is an entertaining show for many reasons, especially to those who are familiar with Gypsy’s story. The dynamic between Gypsy and her mother starts out sweet but quickly turns into emotional and physical abuse. Seeing this shift in tone of the series makes it a challenge to watch, and the show doesn’t gloss over the fact that Gypsy’s afflictions are falsely upheld by her mother. As Gypsy starts to discover the lies her mother has been feeding her, the viewers find themselves wanting a happier ending for Gypsy where she can escape her mother and live independently. This sympathy for Gypsy is crucial to keep viewers entertained during the show. Even though we know Gypsy’s fate, we still want to follow her story.
The Act is extremely entertaining and will draw you in to the reality that Gypsy had to live through for most of her life. This show plays out like a crime drama, with intertwined scenes of Gypsy’s life and Dee Dee’s murder, and it makes for a very suspenseful storyline. The casting for The Act has also been praised, even by Gypsy Rose Blanchard herself. It is easy to see that Joey King looks and sounds extremely similar to Gypsy, which makes the series seem more real.
The accuracy of the show is the main point of controversy, however. The Act portrayed Dee Dee Blanchard as heartless and controlling, which the Blanchard’s neighbours and Gypsy herself disagree with. Many psychologists weighed in and determined that there was a high possibility of Dee Dee Blanchard having Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This syndrome causes a person to constantly act as if another person was very ill in some way. According to Gypsy, Dee Dee would have been a really good mother for someone who was actually sick. She also said that the only reason she considered murdering Dee Dee is because she thought it was her only chance for escape. The Act favoured hatred as the motivation for murder, but Gypsy has said numerous times that she never hated her mother. Every show based off of real events will be exaggerated and altered for entertainment purposes, but the motivation behind Gypsy wanting to murder her mother is a big part of Gypsy’s story that was ignored. This is the most significant inaccuracy present in The Act, but most of the events that took place in the show did actually happen.
The story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard is both captivating and saddening. Even though the events in Gypsy’s life are well-documented and public, the progression of the storyline is suspenseful and very entertaining. The years of abuse that Gypsy unknowingly endured is painful to watch, but the quality of The Act is enough to keep viewers’ attention. The motivation for Dee Dee’s murder was altered, however, drastically changing the personalities and the relationship between Gypsy and her mother. Because of this, The Act gets a 7/10.
