If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Trapped by his own success, Vincent envisions an idyllic rural life with Abby. Candy is frustrated by her mob backers’ misogyny and weighs telling her son, Adam, what she really does for a living. Shay reverts to form, to Irene’s dismay. Joey falls in love. Darlene deals with unexpected news. Lori hits a roadblock in her quest for adult-film stardom. Alston faces a dilemma involving his old partner, Flanagan. Paul and Kenneth arrive at a crossroads. (HBO)
Writer: Will Ralston
Director: Tricia Brock
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 59mins
Airs: Sundays at 9pm on HBO Canada (Canada)/HBO (United States)
This episode had a little bit of everything as it involved plenty of characters trying to move on but as the old adage goes, the more things change the more they stay the same. The last scene may also take some people by surprise.
The episode started with a burnt out and overworked Vincent being offered the opportunity by Rudy to run yet another bar. Vincent took it as a chance to get out of Rudy’s other businesses but his many talents were a curse. Ultimately, without the help of the mob, he wouldn’t stand much of a chance on his own. Needing some time away, he got up and left, taking a rental car and driving it to a rural town in Vermont. He truly looked happy and at ease for the first time in a long time. Meanwhile, Abby got closer to Ashley’s partner Dave (Sebastian Arcelus). Once Vincent returned, he shared with her his idea of the life they could spend together and warned her about Dave who wasn’t well-liked amongst the sex trade.
Candy’s movie may be filmed but there was still plenty of additional work to do before it could get released. She had to convince a group of men to give her more money to distribute and promote her movie but they had much different ideas about Candy and her movie. The other side of her impending popularity was with her son Adam (Mikey Moughan). She would finally have to explain to him what she did for a living. Candy showed Adam her set without going into specifics on the kind of movie she made. Though he couldn’t watch her work on her current film, she vowed that he could for the next one.
Flannagan’s philandering ways caught up with him when an argument with a prostitute led to him killing her. Alston investigated when her body was found the next day. He was conflicted as the prostitute held evidence pointing to his former partner. Stuck in a bad situation, Flanagan took the easy way out, writing a note to his wife before committing suicide. In order to assure his family got his pension, Alston covered for Flannagan. Bobby got paid off for the loss of one of his girls.
In other news:
- Bobby got a headache when Joey suddenly fell in love with one of his parlor girls. They were going to leave together before he put an end to it.
- Shay was feeling trapped with Irene, despite Rodney looking for her. Old habits die hard as she simply went back to him.
- Lori got a lucrative 3-movie offer but Kiki needed to know that she was ready as C.C. still loomed over her.
- Darlene was pregnant.
- Paul and Kenneth were having relationship trouble. Paul’s cheating and his mind had been elsewhere with his nightclub passion project. Their lives were no longer compatible.
As a way to keep Vincent on his side, Rudy got him a new car. When he, Rudy, and Tommy went for dinner, they were greeted by bullets that appeared to be targeted at Vincent.
Overall, this was a good episode that continued to position the season towards its inevitable finish line. Vincent was shown a glimmer of hope for him and Abby and then it was pulled out from under him. Candy’s made huge strides but she’s not out of the woods yet. Lori and Darlene are moving away from their pimps while Shay went back to hers. Getting out will not be easy and changing it will be even tougher as the wheel just keeps spinning. It will be exciting to see where it all goes (I refuse to use to term “happy ending” to describe this show).
Score: 8.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.