The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard (2024) User Reviews

Too bad it's on Lifetime

[akaalmodova · 8/10 · 14 January 2024]

The documentary itself is awesome. I loved that we got to hear everything from her own words and perspective. A lot of what's in the earlier episodes is public knowledge already. But there are a few surprises in there.

It was interesting also getting a clearer image of what her history not only with her mom looked like but also her other family.

And I feel like the documentary did a good job using other professionals and doctors to back up what was being said.

It's just a massive bummer it's on Lifetime. The whole series is absolutely riddled with ads. To the point where it reminds me why I stopped subscribing to cable. It's seriously a commercial every 3 minutes. If Gypsy decides to do more, I just pray it's through a better streamer than Lifetime 😂

A Deeper Dive into Gypsy Rose's Story

[larkb · 10/10 · 7 January 2024]

After discovering this documentary post, "Gypsy's Revenge," I noticed a significant contrast with the film. This documentary, which spans seven episodes and nearly five hours, delves more deeply than the two-hour film, impacting perceptions of Gypsy Rose, Dee Dee, and the numerous adults in their lives who, over twenty-three years, missed opportunities to avert tragedy. This lengthy format is both enlightening and heart-wrenching. Initially, I viewed Gypsy as manipulative, especially involving Nicholas Godejohn in her mother's demise. However, this extensive series paints a fuller picture. Gypsy and Nick, shaped by troubled upbringing, social isolation, and intellectual impairments and challenges, are seen more clearly. Gypsy, in particular, was molded by abuse and trauma, leading to a range of psychological issues and her eventual drastic actions. Her repeated attempts to escape her mother's control before turning to a dire solution are poignant. Given the circumstances, this documentary made me question the fairness of her guilty plea. Dee Dee's abuse, reminiscent of "Misery's" Annie Wilkes, could have spiraled into even more extreme cruelty. Now, as Gypsy Rose candidly addresses her past and expresses genuine remorse, she deserves a chance at normalcy and a joyful life. I'm hopeful she's on that path.

A love-fest for a damaged individual

[embmw · 5/10 · 8 January 2024]

(Reviewed through the first four episodes)

It's difficult to separate a documentary from its subject matter, but I've tried to do that by basing my rating on the fact that so far this has basically been three hours of Gypsy & her supporters talking about Gypsy. It's all rather self-serving, and there's virtually no counterpoint given. If you want to feel sorry for her you'll find reasons to do so here... assuming you can believe such a practiced liar.

Being a true crime fan, I'm pretty familiar with the case. It was easy to sympathize with her early on because her mother was so very evil & manipulative. But hearing her words at length here reminds that she is a trained liar who has told so many stories about what went on that it's difficult to think that we're finally hearing the absolute truth here.

She does cop to some unpleasant things, so one could use that as evidence she's finally owning up. But in the last 20 minutes of episode 4 she says, "It feels like after everything that I have been through, why keep me here? It's not going to bring my mother back." That doesn't sound like someone with a conscience to me.

Believe her or not, this simply isn't much of a documentary, nor is it really "prison confessions". It's a one-sided platform for Gypsy to attempt to continue to control the narrative, without fear of contradiction. As a result, it fails as a documentary & deserves my rating of 5 stars.

On the other side of the coin, letting her and her supporters spin their own narrative for three solid hours does show a thoughtful viewer that Gypsy hasn't really changed much. She's still telling stories that suit her purpose, and we're still left wondering where the truth is and whether or not she understands her own culpability in all of this. Perhaps illustrating this by using her own words is what the producers had in mind all along, but with no other context provided that seems like a generous conclusion to draw.

In the end, this mess has in fact changed my view of Gypsy, but not in the way she obviously would have hoped. It's pretty clear from her own words that she learned very well from her master-manipulator mother, a skill that she has continued to hone in prison. Because to Gypsy, everything is all about Gypsy.

Self-serving

[axxmqmcy · 5/10 · 19 January 2024]

It's tragic what happened to this young lady, her mother definitely abused her and her trust. That being said, she IS a murderer and a manipulator and used that horny, slow boy as a weapon. Now he's serving life and she's making a show about getting married to some Easter-egg of a human? Let's not forget, this guy is the exact same as those sad women who write fan mail to serial killers.

I watched the entire series just to see if there was anything new they would convey. If you're wondering, there's not. It's 6 episodes of "I killed my mother, BUT.." the whole thing puts me in mind of the self-serving Casey Anthony "special" that came out a few years ago. It's a desperate attempt to hold on to the fleeting 15 minutes for a despicable act.

This girl was abused, no argument. But rather than go to the authorities or any number of people on the planet, she chose to USE some rando in the internet to do her dirty work. The only reason the prosecutor cut her the deal is because they knew when she got in the stand and boo-hooed in her little girl voice the jury might have found her not guilty so they figured some prison is better than no prison.

In reality, she deserves to spend her life behind bars, not getting married and doing book signings. Does this little killer realize she's not "free"? She's on PAROLE!

Is it so easy to forget that at age 24 she planned and commited a sophisticated murder on her mother?!

[Erik_Surewaard · 15 January 2024]

I am not going to rate this show. Why?! Because I just do not know what to trust and what not... And why do I have this doubt!!! Well... let me explain why.

So let's first do one step back and ask what this documentary actually is about. And it is clearly Gypsy-Rose asking for attention to the world to explain what a "poor girl" she was. And let us also be honest in admitting that Gypsy-Rose will benefit financially from this documentary.

Let us now do some more steps back and ask ourselves what exactly was the original issue in the first place?! And that is pretending to be a very poor girl because of illlness and through this financially benefit from this. Benefitting from this in a big way, because she even got a free house.

It is thereby easy to point to the mother - Dee Dee - and blame her for all that has happened. And for sure, she has part to blame for. But how can Dee Dee defend herself, now that she is murdered by her daughter?! Do we need to now assume that Gypsy-Rose was never ever involved in any these financial scams?! The only thing we can do, is believe Gypsy-Rose on her word... But is this a fair assumption to take?!

Watching this documentary, I constantly hear Gypsy-Rose refer to how much abuse and trauma she went through. And not only by her mother, but also by her grandfather whom she - in the documentary - says at the age of nine molested and sexually abused her. And when her grandfather is confronted with this statement, he objects to those statements. And most remarkable, this didn't come out during the trial. This doesn't really support Gypsy-Rose in the assumption that she is making 100% honest statements.

What we also should not forget is that she murdered her mother. And this did not happen in a state of emotion, but it was clearly and meticulously planned whereby she even involved her boyfriend at the time. The plan even included getting rid of the murder weapon, which was mailed to her boyfriends home address. This to prevent for getting caught. She and her boyfriend also took 5,000 USD after the murder, bought disguises (wigs) and fled. So this murder is in all its aspects a first degree murder. And it is on all respects sophisticated in a manner that saying that Gypsy-Rose is undereducated is a non-existing argument.

That she was charged with only second degree murder - resulting in a sentence of maximum 10 years - is already mindboggling. Again, it was a carefully planned murder with someone else. And do not say there are no other alternatives!

If we look at how someone's upbringing affects behavior, why should we now also not have compassion for youngsters that grow up in poor neighbourhoods - in often unstable parental situations - which eventually end up in gangs and commit crimes!?

Well, she only had to do one thing... walk in front of anyone... Instead she planned - at the age of 24 years old - a sophisticated murder of her mother. And after she got away with basically a slap on her wrist for a clear murder, she starts to seek public attention to financially benefit from it. I am curious on how soon she will release a book on her experiences and go to talkshows...?! Because I think this documentary is a first step...

And did we see her once emotional and sad on all that has happened? Instead it is laughs all over in any of the episodes of the documentary. She even casually states the new "fact" in episode one that she was raped and molested by her grandpa...

What did I just watch?

[bongoherbert · 2/10 · 14 January 2024]

A genuinely interesting story whose telling transmogrifies into a painful set of confessionals from the Real World. It's absolutely not a documentary. It is an exhausting, overwrought slog through prison 'romance', in a painful reality television style. Yes - has a really interesting and compelling backstory of the extremes of parental neglect and abuse, tragic consequences, etc. But you end up with so many unanswered questions about the crimes, the people involved and the actual important and relevant facts that it is totally unfulfilling as any sort of storytelling - let alone a documentary. Such a potentially sympathetic person and story squandered.