13 thoughts on “SNARK WEEK: Juana InĂ©s Is a Mixed Bag

  1. I enjoyed the series from an acting viewpoint, but I have headaches from cringing over the costumes.
    Regarding Vicereine Creepy, I was left with the impression that she was of the Trump School of Sexual Harassment to Underage Girls. I felt very uncomfortable just watching VC harass young Juana. Juannaso exam dress was just too weird a fit with your aforementioned too long bodice and poor fit - kinda like ABs dresses in Wolfe Hall.
    Now I really appreciated the PG-13 relationship with Vicereine 2, it was beautifully done.
    I have a query why are some of the recent well-acted costume dramas so poorly costumed? Didn’t the designer do research? There are gorgeous dresses in the Mexican Historical Museum, is it too hard to make an appointment to view those not on view?

    1. Thank you for confirming my feelings wrt to Virreina Creepy. There was nothing about their relationship that came across as anything approaching consensual. I also felt like the first half of the show (which deals with young Juana) has a lot of gaping plot holes that never end up addressed — stuff like how her illegitimate birth was A BIG HUGE DEAL, but instead it’s barely mentioned until it serves as some half-assed explanation for her boyfriend dumping her. And then basically it’s never mentioned again.

      Oh, and clearly the budget went to securing good actors and locations. That’s the only reason I can come up with for the costumes being as bad as they were.

  2. Didn’t you feel that boyfriend was a point to state Juana was not gay? All it proved to me is that she might have been bi and/or 1 love knows no gender bias 2 she was conforming to what ppl believed all young girls wanted –marriage.

    And one thing I did enjoy was how Juana decided on actions to preserve her writings & intellect.

    1. Dude, yes, that random boyfriend plot line that lasted all of 5 minutes… “HEY EVERYONE, SHE’S NOT TOTALLY GAY! LOOK! SHE’S MAKING OUT WITH A GUY! AND SHE ONLY WROTE LOVE POETRY TO THE VICEREINE BECAUSE SHE HAD TO KEEP HER POSITION AT COURT!”

      And then the entire second part of the show is dedicated to her intense, burning, forbidden love affair with a woman.

  3. Seriously the SHITTIEST attempt at 17th-c. costumes I have ever, ever seen. I wanted to like this, really I did, I was excited by the premise! She’s a fascinating figure from history. And I was SO DAMN DISAPPOINTED by the eye-searingly bad costuming I couldn’t make it thru the first episode. GRRRR….

  4. I’ve seen the first 2 episodes and am inclined to watch the rest because of the interesting story. I agree that the costumes are cringe-worthy and look like they were made by clueless amateurs. I’m sure you’ve seen and I certainly have seen, much better SCA costumes. I think the costumers mistook the elongated bodice front for an entire elongated bodice. Bad research, if they actually did any.

  5. That court dress! I saw the Hurly Burly show in the West End where Polly Rae is meant to be Marie Antoinette in a huge ridiculous dress to Lady Marmalade then Five show girls appear from under her skirt. THAT dress looked looked more authentic than the one in this movie. Perhaps there are five courtiers under it? Though it is tilting fit to bust when she walks so probably not!

  6. What on earth is Viceroy’s mistress even doing with that bolster? She’s definitely not making bobbin lace (which I suspect this was supposed to depict). Lace of this width would take 30 pairs of bobbins at the very least (could be 120 pairs just as well) and innumerable pins. Where are her pins? Where are the bobbins? What is she doing with her hands?! I need to go hyperventilate somewhere….

  7. How disappointing that they decided to make that first relationship so creepy and nonconsensual. I haven’t seen this yet, but am certainly disappointed that it seems that they used the adolescent-abuse-explains-same-sex-love trope.

  8. If you want to see Sor Juana’s story with a better costume, i think, you can watch a movie from my own country called “Yo, la peor de todas” (I, the Worst of All), although i dont know if there is any version with subtitles

  9. I thought the costumes looked like they were made for a high school production by a Home Economics class. (Maybe they still teach Home Ec in Mexico). It seems they cleaned out all the curtain pulls, rick-rack, and glittery trim at the local Jo-Anne’s. On a different note though, can anyone tell me about those oval paintings some of the nuns wore on special occasions?

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