Ep 2. Becoming a Lady

Hillary season 1 episode 2, titled "Becoming a Lady," follows a young Hillary Clinton as she navigates her teenage years in suburban Illinois. The episode begins with Hillary and her best friend Betsy getting ready for their first high school dance. Hillary is nervous about the dance and her crush on a boy named Donnie, while Betsy is excited and confident in her ability to attract boys.

As the girls get ready, Hillary's mother, Dorothy, tries to impart some wisdom on her daughter about how to act like a lady. She tells Hillary to be graceful, poised, and demure, advising her to cross her legs when sitting, walk with small steps, and always be attentive to others. Hillary listens but seems skeptical, wondering why she should change who she is just to impress a boy.

At the dance, Hillary is surprised when Donnie doesn't ask her to dance, but instead asks Betsy. She feels embarrassed and left out, but tries to hide her feelings from her friend. As the night goes on, Hillary sees other couples dancing and starts to feel self-conscious about her own lack of experience. She attempts to dance with a few boys, but they seem uninterested in her.

The next day at school, Hillary is teased by some mean girls who make fun of her for not having a date to the dance. She tries to brush it off, but the comments hurt and make her question her worth. As she walks home, she sees a group of boys playing basketball and decides to join in. At first, the boys are hesitant to let her play, but she proves herself worthy and earns their respect.

Hillary's father, Hugh, notices Hillary's newfound confidence and asks her what's changed. She tells him about the mean girls and how their words affected her, but also about how playing basketball made her feel strong and capable. Hugh encourages her to keep playing and to not let anyone else's opinion of her determine her worth.

The episode ends with Hillary and Betsy walking home from school, discussing their plans for the future. Hillary reveals her ambition to become a lawyer and work for social justice, and Betsy is supportive but also a little dismissive, telling Hillary that it's unlikely a woman would ever be able to achieve such success. Hillary appears undeterred and determined to prove her friend wrong.

Overall, "Becoming a Lady" is a coming-of-age tale about a young girl learning to navigate the expectations placed upon her as a woman in the 1950s. It explores themes of gender roles, societal pressures, and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. The episode is a poignant reminder of the struggles that Hillary Clinton faced early in life and how they shaped her into the trailblazing figure she is today.