Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Disclaimer: Warning the following makes mention of abuse and murder, which may be triggering to some readers. Please proceed with caution.
Review: Gypsy Rose Blanchard wants to set the record straight and that seems to be the primary objective of the Lifetime released limited miniseries The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. It's easy to forget that although Blanchard is guilty of matricide, she was also a victim. Munchhausen by Proxy is a psychiatry term that's rarely been used until recently, when the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard in 2015 catapulted her it into the spotlight.
Blanchard took a plea deal which lessened her charge to second degree murder, which has a minimum prison sentence of ten years. She would be eligible for parole once she has served at least 80 per cent of her sentence. However, her co-conspirator and ex-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn wasn't so lucky; he ended up receiving the sentence of life imprisonment.
As the time drew closer for Blanchard's parole hearing, American actress Melissa Moore (daughter of the infamous trucker-turned-serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson aka the Happy Face Killer) became interested in Gypsy-Rose's story after watching the HBO documentary titled Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017). She began visiting and interviewing Blanchard at the Chillico Correctional Institution in Ohio, where Blanchard remained incarcerated. Blanchard soon became comfortable enough with Moore to allow cameras in during the interviews, and thus The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born. The limited six-episode series was released on the Lifetime channel earlier this year on January 5th. The series is told mostly from the perspective of Gypsy-Rose. However, there is some shifting from Ohio to Louisiana where the crew interviews Blanchard's biological father, Rod Blanchard, her stepmother Kristy, half-sister Mia, as well as Blanchard's then fiancé, Ryan Anderson.
First impressions of the series are that Blanchard really wants to clear up misconceptions and sordid details regarding certain aspects of her life now and the events leading up to her mother's murder. The important thing to note here is that she seems to be genuine in her remorse and does hold herself accountable for her key role in her mother's death. She said that despite being incarcerated, it's the most freedom that she's ever experienced in her life. And that says a lot about her perception of her life while growing up with her overprotective/abusive mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. She was able to have friendships among fellow inmates and study in order to gain her high school diploma. She explains a bit more about the physical and mental abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother. However, she does drop one heck of a bombshell within the first episode of the series. She reveals to be sexually abused by her maternal grandfather, Claude Pitre, when she was nine years old. The stunning admission was brought to the attention of her grandfather, who was interviewed back in Louisiana. Pitre denies these allegations and turns the details around, saying that it was Gypsy who tried to touch him inappropriately on several occasions, and he had to tell her "No, don't do that". My humble opinion is that Dee Dee Blanchard's family, don't appear to be such good role models, especially with the way that their daughter turned out to be such a demented mother and much hated person. So, it leaves his denial up for questioning.
Interviews with Gypsy's father, Rod Blanchard, stepmother Kristy and half-sister Mia show a positive support system for her while incarcerated and a promise of the continuation of this system once Gypsy is finally released from prison. Rod Blanchard admits that he should assume some responsibility for his daughter, feeling like she had no other alternative. He was consumed with his job and apparently did provide very well for his family in Louisiana, as well as being able to send monthly checks in order to support Gypsy and her purported mounting medical needs. The reality was that he was being misled, just like most of the public was, by Dee Dee Blanchard. She did her best to keep father and daughter away from each other so that Gypsy would come to rely solely upon her. But I do question why it was the medical practitioners were fooled by Dee Dee. That part really never made sense to me and possibly never will.
Gypsy spoke about her previous engagement to Ken Urker and how broken she felt after he broke things off with her. Her continued friendship with Urker was and still seems to be a cause of tension between her and her fiancé, Ryan Anderson. Rod and Kristy Blanchard express their concerns about their daughter getting married before she's even released from prison. And rightly so, having jumped from one form of prison created by her overbearing mother to state prison. Not seeing or experiencing life in a normal manner leaves her extremely vulnerable and naive.
Gypsy and Ryan finally get married in prison, but the cameras were not allowed inside to film the ceremony. The very last episode encompasses her release and reunion with her husband, father and family. However, things take a bit of a turn when the state of Missouri demands that she leave immediately to Louisiana due to security concerns related to the reaction of her release on social media. She becomes visibly upset and panicky, as she immediately expresses her fears of being remanded back into custody, but that simply was not the case.
In a nutshell, we all know that what she did was not right. However, I do believe that she deserves a second chance to experience the life that her mother kept her from. Especially in regard to experiencing what having a real family is like in working on her relationship with her father. If she proves to be a model citizen, I'm all for it because her case is not as cut and dry. There are a lot of grey areas to be covered and years of manipulation to get through, especially in Gypsy's most formative years. I do know that this isn't the last that we've heard of Gypsy, as Lifetime is set to release another series on June 3rd following her life and experiences right after her release from prison. From the little sneak peeks which you can see on Lifetime's TikTok account there are some complications with Gypsy and Ryan's marriage due to her ex-fiance Ken Urker once again. We know from social media that Gypsy and her husband have now split and have begun divorce proceedings already. Plus, she has since rekindled her relationship with Urker.
The series is very interesting and finally gives the audience a chance to gaze at the situation from Gypsy's perspective. The lasting impact of her mother's death on herself and the possibility of a fresh start. It's not meant to be so much a sympathy platform for her and her father's family but meant to expose some very raw wounds and about accepting responsibility for the way things turned out in the end.
Dark Alice Review: 7 out of 10
You can check out more true crime documentary content below:
AMERICAN MURDER: THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR SHINES LIGHT ON A HORRIFIC MURDERS
VANISHING AT THE CECIL HOTEL DOCUSERIES SOURED BY SHAMELESS PLUGGING
THE TRIALS OF GABRIEL HERNANDEZ IS A HEARTBREAKING DOCU-SERIES
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers' curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More
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