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Bloodline: Part 18

"There's plenty of ways to make those people pay."

Oh yes, there really is.

Every time John and his siblings think they've almost made it out of the hole, someone else arrives to kick dirt in their faces and knock them back down into darkness. Wayne Lowry's death solves a big problem for John; not only can Lowry no longer blackmail him into aiding his drug running operation, he's no longer alive to prove he didn't kill Danny.

No sooner is this weight lifted before its dropped back onto his shoulders when Sheriff Aguirre publicly announces that Danny's murder case is still open, which threatens John even more than he realizes. On top of this, Danny's tape that Lowry was holding over John's head is missing, another bomb that's just waiting to drop.

Now he is even more determined to become sheriff, which will give him the power and control he needs to end the investigation into Danny's murder and better protect the family. He convinces Meg to be his campaign manager.

This is where we are introduced to another new addition to the cast: Beau Bridges as Roy Gilbert, an old friend of Robert's and a wealthy local businessman with a lot of influence. John and Meg want Gilbert to back John's campaign for sheriff. Despite initially coming off like a wise, rich old man, Gilbert is actually a rather shady character; you've got to wonder what he does to own a palatial mansion like that. He only offers his help if he knows Meg is willing to play dirty to help John win. And, though naturally reluctant at first, she eventually accepts a mysterious envelope from Gilbert near the end, which no doubt contains dirt on Aguirre.

While they're charming those snakes, a few more have already slithered into the garden. The people from Danny's past seem just as volatile as Danny himself was. Eve, the mother of his child, and Ozzy, his former accomplice, are now an item. Both of them want something out of the Rayburns. Although, at the very least, Eve seems to have a good reason for her greed. She reveals to Meg that she met Robert and Sally after Danny got her pregnant, and Sally tried convincing her to abort the baby. When she refused and hand the child, Robert began sending money to support them, on the condition that they keep their distance so as to not "stain the Rayburn family name." Wow.

Eve seems to just want what she believes is owed to her and her son. She claims Robert led her to believe Nolan would be in his will, which Meg finds some evidence for. Ever the conciliator, Meg suggests a compromise, but her mother doesn't want to hear about it. She just wants Eve and Nolan to go away.

So far, Eve's content with guilt-tripping them about their history to get what she wants. She's certainly not anywhere near as petty and malicious as Ozzy, whose anger at the Rayburns is all second-hand and used as an excuse to screw them over for his own selfish gains. He's begun to needle John, conveniently running into him a few times before hinting that he has some specific knowledge of the Red Reef Motel -- where John allowed a hitman to sneak into his brother's room. As if John didn't have enough to worry about already.

Well, it only gets worse. Marco is still looking into Danny's case. Right now, his only suspect is Eric O'Bannon. He's also clearly beginning to suspect John and even Meg; after visiting her, Marco takes an awfully long look at the trunk of Meg's car (where she once hid Danny's corpse).

The most interesting part of the episode was Eric O'Bannon's realizations. Once he's accused of killing Danny by Marco, Eric starts to slowly piece things together. He now knows that the police have no real leads and they no longer believe Lowry killed Danny. And it's starting to dawn on him that he was the last person to see Danny alive, which was right before he was supposed to have his meeting with John by the sea. How long before he's got it all figured out?

Bits and Pieces:

* The Danny flashbacks this episode are mainly from Nolan's perspective, with a few bits from Eric's as well. When Danny's restaurant started booming in Miami, he asked Eve to bring Nolan so he could see it, to give him pride in his old man and hope for a future. And despite their obviously rocky history, they do start to bond after spending time in the kitchen. Then it's completely ruined when Danny is confronted by one of the gangsters he's indebted to, who cruelly reminds Nolan that Danny hadn't really changed. It was unique watching father and son finally interact like this; it's the sort of thing I was hoping for when they introduced Nolan.

* We get our first nude scene, I believe, with Andrea Riseborough baring it all. It's not exactly appealing, since Eve and Ozzy are rather trashy people. Thankfully, we don't see quite as much of John Leguizamo's nether regions.

* Kevin suffers some light consequences for his idiocy. He's forced to stay sober, attend AA meetings, and to deal with his newfound nephew, whose resemblance to Danny clearly unsettles him after he starts working at Kevin's marina. Ever the weak-willed soul, Kevin continues to fail at these steps toward redemption. He's sneaking tequila behind everyone's back, not taking AA seriously, and immediately comes into conflict with Nolan. Which leads to...

* Nolan catches Kevin sneaking booze, and proceeds to troll him about it when he has dinner with Kevin and Belle. We see how Nolan can be devious just like his father (and mother apparently).

* Sally's breakdown goes hand in hand with the malfunctioning shower in one of the inn's bungalows. She remembers the plumbers originally laying the pipe for that shower and how she wasn't sure if they knew what they were doing: it's a lot like how her family keeps falling apart, most likely because it rests upon a poorly-built foundation. There's your Most Obvious Symbolism.

* Part of me believes that the really long dock on Roy Gilbert's property is the same one Glenn Close would always come back to in the show Damages.

Quotes:

Danny: We all get the family God dumped on us.

Eve: (to Ozzy) I don't want you to go crazy on anyone, baby. I don't want anyone to get hurt.

Kevin: Thank you, Meg. Thank you.
Meg: You cannot fuck up again.
Belle: He won't.

Sheriff Frank Aguirre: I just want to say to Detective Rayburn and the entire Rayburn family that this department will not stop until we have apprehended the perpetrator of this brutal act of violence.
John: ...

Kevin: John, you told us that everyone would think Lowry was responsible for this, right? Isn't that what you said? How can Aguirre keep the case open?
John: (sighs) The sheriff has discretion in a case like this.
Kevin: Alright, then you're gonna become the fuckin' sheriff.

Danny: You should split. He's gonna be here soon... I'll get squared here with John, and then I'll swing by your place.
Eric O'Bannon: And then what?
Danny: Go up north, pick up the kid.

Danny: (to Nolan) We're gonna put down some roots here. I mean it, you know, I'm not going anywhere.

Roy Gilbert: I didn't always get along with Robert, but I believed we shared certain insights into human nature. Take a cop, for instance. That's someone with a need to do the right thing, to make sure every particular is properly managed, that everyone's taken care of.
Meg: What about a lawyer?
Roy Gilbert: Oh. I figure a lawyer's strength is the ability to see the bigger picture, to know how the system works, and to do what is required.

Ozzy: I'm telling you, man, this detective brother is getting curiouser and curiouser.
Eric: John's a fuckin' prick likes to act like he's a boy scout.
Ozzy: Uh huh, I seen his type before.
Eric: You know, the whole family's a bunch of self-righteous do-gooders.
Ozzy: Oh, bullshit. Bullshit! They paid a girl to get rid of her kid. Come on! The whole family's a bunch of fuckin' liars.

And the lies keep on coming. Four out of four bottles of tequila.

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