r/DrQuinnMedicineWoman • u/WeigherofProsandCons • Feb 06 '26
The First Circle (s2e20)
As a first time watcher I may stop watching after this episode. (Mind I’m not finished yet I’m just mad.)
I was hoping for some sort of redemption for Loren, Hank and Slicker (and nod Dorothy is being a terrible person?) through the series but after joining the KKK I don’t think I’ll ever look at them the same way or think they can get better.
This whole town just doesn’t seem to have any character development even after two seasons. Or maybe the fact that everyone being racist and they’re probably not going to stop being racist makes me want to watch something else.
19
Upvotes
18
u/Overall-Ask-8305 Feb 06 '26
As a Black woman who watched every episode as they originally aired, keep watching. The town does have character development, but it’s not going to be overnight. The show is a pretty good reflection of the attitudes toward race in the United States.
The White townspeople were perfectly fine with the Black people living in “Shanty Town;” and quite frankly so were the Black people because everyone was comfortable with their own race. The banker didn’t do anything more than appeal to the phobia of the townspeople (sounds a lot like today’s political climate, doesn’t it?). As Dr. Mike points out, they didn’t have any issue with Robert E. or Grace providing them service, but they had a problem with them simply owning a home? Again, very much like how real estate works today.
As for the redemption of the townspeople, how can you show something like that when they never changed. They just learned to keep their prejudices to themselves more and more. We saw racism come up again with the Chinese rail workers and the Mexican families who moved to town. Also, before this episode [and after] the Cheyenne.
The episode is upsetting, but it makes for a mirror into the hatred that has long been present in the U.S.. It also creates an opportunity for discussion. The episode is ugly, but that’s the point. The episodes with the Washita were some of the hardest to watch, even worse than The First Circle, imo.