‘FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans’ Features The Late, Great Treat Williams In His Final On-Screen Performance

FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans is more than just another lavish, compelling, well-executed Ryan Murphy production. The highly-anticipated second installment in his FEUD anthology also features the final performance from the late Treat Williams, who was honored with a tribute card at the end of Episode 4.

Williams died after a motorcycle crash in June 2023, but at the time of his death, his final television project had yet to be released. When FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans premiered on January 31, 2024, viewers got a glimpse at his last on-screen performance as businessman, builder of CBS, and Babe Paley’s (Naomi Watts) husband Bill.

Over the course of Williams’ decades-spanning career, he starred in more than 130 television series and films, including Everwood, Hair, Prince of the City, The Late Shift, We Own This City, Once Upon A Time In America, 127 Hours, The Congressman, The Christmas House, and more. As a Broadway actor, Williams also performed in Grease, Over Here, Once in a Lifetime, Pirates of Penzance, Love Letters, and Stephen Sondheim’s Follies. In the eight-episode series based on Laurence Leamer’s bestselling book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era, that range is on full display as Williams portrays his complex character in a marvelous, multifaceted fashion.

FEUD Season 2 follows writer Truman Capote (Tom Hollander) and his once tight-knit group of socialites, Barbara “Babe” Paley (Watts), Slim Keith (Diane Lane), C.Z. Guest (Chloë Sevigny), and Lee Radziwill (Calista Flockhart). Capote befriends, then betrays “the swans” by publishing a revealing glimpse of their personal lives in Esquire, which publicly exposes Bill’s infidelity to Babe.

In early socializing scenes, Bill’s likability is established with help from Williams’ sweet smile, hearty laugh, and palpable zest for life. But he’s also introduced as the type of guy who has an affair with a married woman, then leaves his own wife to throw away their blood-stained bed sheets. Cowardly, disrespectful, and avoidant, Bill takes Babe for granted, has a nasty temper, and continually makes poor choices. In Episode 4, “It’s Impossible,” after Babe is diagnosed with cancer, he commits the especially callous act of sleeping with her best friend Slim. Even after all his atrocious misdeeds, viewers will still experience moments of compassion for Bill; a direct testament to Williams’ warmth.

When debating if Bill should stay loyal to Babe or fulfill his carnal desires throughout the series, Williams makes internal conflict external, repeatedly reminding viewers that he’s playing a weak, selfish man undeserving of Babe’s grace. Just when you’re set on hating Bill, Williams shows his softer side when prioritizing Babe’s favorite painting or putting a record on so they can share a living room dance.

As the series progresses, Williams shows different, darker shades to Bill in screaming matches, cruel insults, and a repeated refusal to take accountability for wrongdoings. But the scene in which Bill and Babe sway back and forth as Williams softly sings Perry Como’s “It’s Impossible” is perfectly poignant. While Babe graciously attempts to relieve Bill of guilt, Williams’ facial journey is painfully on-point. Watching him simultaneously hug and cherish his wife, regret ever hurting her, fear life without her, and wonder why she was punished instead of him delivered a devastating gut punch.

Bill Paley may not have been the most upstanding gentleman, but Williams brings immense heart, believable shame, and palpable emotions to the role, leaving an impressive cap on his powerful legacy.

In an interview with People, FEUD star Tom Hollander shared, “The last thing [Williams] said to me was he grabbed my face and said, ‘I loved every minute,'” and that sentiment rings true in every scene.

New episodes of FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans premiere Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX. Next-day streaming is available on Hulu.