And right now, Oz is selling a lot. Bliss, promises, a vision of a grander and better future... it just remains to be seen if he can follow through on any of them. At least he got the lights back on.
We skipped ahead a few months. Snow is on the ground, and Oz has managed to turn his two buckets of mushrooms into a fully functional operation. While I understand the timeskip, I have to question what Sal and Sofia have been doing all this time. Have they just been hanging out? Sofia is having kinky sex with Dr. Rush, but she also clearly doesn't actually like him. Nor does she really seem to care that Oz is peddling Bliss, her brother's drug.
Sal calls Oz a weed, and he's right. A weed is something that is allowed to grow, though. The fact that he's been allowed to just exist feels strange and only really underlines that plot armor that he's allowed to have. Plot armor that was also incredibly obvious during our titular Gold Summit. Because I'm sorry, but why are any of these gang leaders listening to him? Trusting him? The Triad leader was completely correct when he said that Oz betrayed allies as easily as breathing. There is zero reason to believe that this would be any different.
Also, the fact that everyone cracked a beer to show their agreement was really silly and dumb and I couldn't believe that that was what they went with. To be fair, it would be hard to write a version of that scene that wasn't cheesy in some way, but something about the beer sound effect made it worse.
But hey, now the Triad, Oz, and all of the other smaller gangs have organized in order to topple the Maronis, Gigantes, and other elites. The classist themes had been a part of The Penguin from the first episode, but this was blatantly "Eat the Rich" in a way that I didn't fully expect. What's interesting is that last episode, Sofia tapped into that same class divide by promising her own guys a more fair share of the profits. Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that they mirror each other, though. What remains to be seen is if either of them are actually telling the truth.
Sofia might be. She's always bracingly honest, at least when she decides to speak. This is as good a point as any to bring up my favorite scene of the episode, which is the confrontation between her and Eve, something that I've been looking forward to for awhile now. Happily, it more than met my expectations. The tension crackled with every word, and both actresses did a great job showing what they were thinking and feeling without having to say anything.
And can I say how pleased I am that Eve survived it? Because I am so, so pleased.
Vic also had some very, very good scenes. The Squid Problem both became a problem and solved itself this episode, courtesy of a bullet to the neck. It was a very graphic injury, complete with spurting blood that looked fantastic. Hell of a way to kill someone for the first time. Vic tried to avoid it, though. He tried diplomacy and bribes, but Squid refused to accept it.
My second favorite scene of the episode was the one between Vic and Oz in the immediate aftermath. I loved how quickly Oz realized what happened and how gently he handled Vic, even if the whispered reassurance of "It gets easier" was more chilling than anything else. I don't want it to get easier for him. His heart is so big that I don't want it to wither. He just lit up when he got to do something good for Francis.
I've only really talked about Francis in passing, but she got more of a focus here. There just isn't really a lot to say about her. We've seen this specific story a lot of times before, and there's something almost rote about the story beats. This is not to say that they're bad scenes. They're largely good. I just don't really care.
I've been sitting around waiting for her to die ever since she was introduced. As sweet as it was to see Oz dress her up, or for Vic to dance with her and try his best to make her comfortable, and as great as Deirdre O'Connell is doing... I still don't care.
We ended on quite the cliffhanger, though, with Sofia standing in the doorway, gripping a crowbar and realizing that Oz really does have someone to lose. Would she kill his mother after losing her own in such a traumatic fashion? I can't necessarily see her doing anything with Vic right there, but the important thing is that she knows that she exists. I'm excited headed into the penultimate episode.
Random Thoughts
Appearance Update: Sofia's hair is different. I don't like it as much. Vic's face also seemed a little puffy to me in some scenes.
Eve's chandelier looked so much like an umbrella that I have to assume it's an easter egg.
I was very happy that Roxy told Sofia where Eve was on her orders. I didn't want her to be stabbed in the back.
How Vic handled Francis and her moments of confusion really was sweet and from a brief internet search, appears to be the recommended tactic. Of course, Oz confronted her and reminded her that her other sons were dead.
Francis mentioned getting Rex to fix things. I guess he wasn't Oz's dad, not unless Francis cheated on her husband with him.
~~~~
An Honest Fangirl loves video games, horror movies, and superheroes, and occasionally manages to put words together in a coherent and pleasing manner.
"Also, the fact that everyone cracked a beer to show their agreement was really silly and dumb and I couldn't believe that that was what they went with. To be fair, it would be hard to write a version of that scene that wasn't cheesy in some way, but something about the beer sound effect made it worse."
ReplyDeletelmao! I actually didn't have a reaction to it when I watched that scene but I had a hard cackle reading this. Too right.
My premonitions of Sofia finding the Point were checked off once that dialogue was exchanged between her and Eve. For a perceived man of meticulous detail like Oz, I'm surprised the information so made transparent with Eve knowing the obvious. Vic's momentary resurgence was a highlight; the Squid deletion was both traumatic and cathartic for him. Great scene.
ReplyDeleteGlad you brought attention to the egalitarian, marxist themes of both Oz's and Sofia's alliances. Beer scene was extremely cringe. At first I thought Oz was diversifying his criminal enterprise portfolio hahaha!