Vera fills Ani in on that story, but refuses to tell it to a prosecutor, judge, or jury. He turns her down, and she blames it on the drugs and brushes it aside. He says that there’s a purchase deal for property upon Ben Caspere’s death. Paul becomes paranoid and rushes home. He sees that he’s missed 6 calls from his fiance Emily. He’s one of the few people on earth who, beneath everything, treats life like a game. He doesn’t do this without making sure both properties are burnt to the ground first.
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Similarly, Ani is concerned for Athena’s well-being. Bezzerides doesn’t respond well, and even when she responds properly, she is shot down. Yes, it’s easy to make fun of, but that’s just the thing: there’s some fun to be had, even if it’s at the show’s expense. While last season was directed by Cary Fukunaga, this latest season is directed by several directors, including Justin Lin, who did the first two episodes. “Three in one day”, he muses. Ray will “continue believing” it wasn’t Frank. In a solo act of redemption, the scene in which Frank tortures and kills Blake for information is the saving grace for this episode. He wasn’t watching every piece on the board, and neither was Frank, whose diminished criminal empire has been swept out from under him by Osip. And I was willing to look past all of this in the name of charity and holding out judgement until the end of the season. You have to give Frank credit: He knows when to cut his losses and how to do it in style. Explanation is given on events that happen very recently, which keeps the audience invested in the episode, instead of having to take notes on plot developments that don’t show up until two episodes later. Well, her or her brother, who we still haven’t placed. Jordan takes in the scene calmly and asks what she can do to help. He tells her to pack and he will meet up with her tomorrow. After killing Blake, when he sees that there is no way he can come out on top, he makes arrangements to get away. At present, all was done in a proper way very. The Russian is slowly taking over Frank’s businesses in the red-light district.
In a weird way, Vaughn and Semyon have a critical similarity, which is that they’re both at their best when acting from the id rather than the superego.
Despite his play at humility, that is not the Frank way. He has the casino evacuated with a false gas leak, and while everyone is gone he steals every last cent from the safe before setting the casino on fire. Fan service is one thing, bad story telling is another.
It’s possible to read that as Kitsch perhaps not being totally down with either Paul’s death or how it happened, but regardless, he stands by it in the end. But it was the breaking of the simmering tension between Ray and Ani that finally gave this series a seemingly tender erotic coupling. She was left semi defenseless, but managed to snatch a knife off the pig platter before her mind got clouded. He has to stop and hide to re-load his gun. The paranoia hanging over Ray, Ani, Paul, and Frank translates to “Black Maps And Motel Rooms”, in which the culprits behind Caspere’s murder are narrowed down, but everyone can be suspected of underhanded dealings. After some touching goodbyes to her family, Ani then talks to Vera (the missing girl she saved from the mansion last week) about how she knew Caspere. And Laura was the name of one of the orphans from the 1992 robbery. After some kinda-talking, and some non-admissions about their troubled past, the two end up in bed together. Apparently Black Mountain has been repurposed as a security firm with a single client: Catalyst. Why is Paul being blackmailed? Before he dies, one line perfectly summed up his character: “If you’d just been honest about who you are, nobody would’ve been able to run you”. Not to mention the deep web of corruption and conspiracy that off-the-radar Ani and Ray are going to try and blow wide open. Paul assures Holloway that he doesn’t care about Ray or Ani. He eventually kills all the guys, including Colter, who he uses as a human shield. Still more coincidentally, Teague Dixon, Ray Velcoro’s erstwhile partner and a halfhearted task force member, was tailing Woodrugh for his own, individual blackmail scheme and photographed him with said old war buddy. As he Shawshank Redemption-style walks through the door, he’s shot by Lieutenant Burris. But just as the second season shouldn’t be unfairly compared to the first, nor should its pretentious dreariness be excused by its predecessors artistry – and thus, like Velcoro after a couple of his many hastily ingested whiskeys, the show falls flat on its face, and snores its viewers away. Take, for example, Ani and Ray sitting in a motel room and staring at each other across the table before moving into the other room for the ugliest sex between attractive people I’ve ever seen. This leads to a deadly underground shoot out that Paul escapes, showing some Jack Bauer-esque moves in the process.
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This was a really good episode. While, yes, it is finally starting to shine, it’s a little bit surprising that Lombardo would feel the need to defend it in such a way. Which would be fine if it hadn’t come at the expense of screen time for minor characters, like the crooked higher-ups at Vinci PD, who should have been developed more if we’re supposed to care about them now. Always a good sport and I thought it was awesome.
