The Deuce: Au Reservoir
October 22, 2017 11:25 PM - Season 1, Episode 7 - Subscribe

The Deuce's pimps face obsolescence; Candy eyes a higher profile; Vincent confronts Abby's past.

Second to last episode of the season, the series has been renewed for Season 2.
posted by rhizome (20 comments total)
 
ASHLEY
posted by rhizome at 11:26 PM on October 22, 2017


I'm really glad Ashley/Dorothy got to make that "Lackawanna" joke. Abby comes across as less patronizing in her financing of Ashley's departure. Did she learn from Darlene? Does Ashley's whiteness make Abby less of a savior? Fantastic job subverting my expectations when Abby brought Vince to the party in CT.

I liked Reggie Love in a way, even though I never quite sorted out who worked with him. I hope Leon can make up enough of a story to stay at the diner. Anwan Glover and his wonderful voice make things better, and I want Leon to stick around.

What was Harvey working up to in his last conversation with Candy/Eileen? I had a terrible feeling he was going to hit on her. I also didn't notice what name she was using on set -- was it still Candy?

It's interesting that we see more security and ostensibly "better" surroundings for the sex workers aren't much better. Candy went from having to fake it for about 30 minutes to having to be charming for hours. The massage parlor seems just as ugly as the street -- the closeness of it all, the line-ups. I'm naive enough that I thought both escorting and the parlor would be better.
posted by gladly at 6:57 AM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


There was a line that the reporter lady said to the cop that sounded like a word-for-word line from Lester Freeman, about looking up shell corporations and finding a pattern. I'd have to go find a transcript of both shows. I don't know if it was exact but it was the same basic premise.

It's a good show, though I hate that HBO's seasons are so short.
posted by bondcliff at 7:18 AM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


We got a nice bookend from the opening episode. We begin the season with Lori's entrance at Grand Central and end with Ashley's departure.

I think what Harvey was working up to was wondering someone with talent, intelligence, and insight would end up in this line of work-he's kind of a stand in for the audience there. And we're never really given an answer, which I appreciate.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:26 AM on October 23, 2017


Argggh I thought this was the season finale.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:28 AM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


Considering how Leon was getting more and more pissed at how the pimps treated his clientele, I was expecting him to produce a baseball bat from under the counter and do something about Reggie's hand. I guess I underestimated how he really pissed was.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:01 AM on October 23, 2017 [3 favorites]


And we're never really given an answer,

Well, a few eps ago when she was visiting her kid and mother, someone came home and she flipped out and ran. I don't think it was clear who it was, but it seemed like either her father or maybe stepfather - I didn't get the impression of it being an ex or the kid's dad, anyway. So when Harvey asks about "Daddy issues?" and she dodges the question...I feel like there's a developing backstory there.
posted by dnash at 11:01 AM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


Bondcliff: It's not the same line, but it rhymes. There have been a few of those Simon-isms (Wire-isms?) along the way. I like it, but it's a weird kind of deja-vu when it happens. I forget if there was an espisode where McNulty is someone's date to a fancy party.

Harvey knows he's outclassed by Candy as a director and wants her to stick around. I can imagine a partnership between them being a feature of Season 2. There was also that line about Deep Throat not having been released yet, so I won't be surprised if a major plot conflict involves a battle between the street and the movies, and I have to think the stuff about pimps getting less relevant is foreshadowing.

And can I say something about Harvey? David Krumholtz! Is he wearing a fat suit or did he actually gain 100lbs for the part?

I hope the show doesn't devolve into Candy & Harvey, Vince & Abby, then Bobby grouching around alongside miscellaneous hookers, and a sprinkling of black people and mobsters with bit parts interspersed for topicality. I don't think that's Simon's style, but...
posted by rhizome at 11:05 AM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


Also a shoutout for Rodney/Method Man's blue suit.
posted by rhizome at 11:06 AM on October 23, 2017


There was also that line about Deep Throat not having been released yet

Oh, I forgot about that! I had no idea that was the plot of Deep Throat -- clitoris in her throat.

Bondcliff: It's not the same line, but it rhymes.

Last week's AV Club review quoted a Lester Freamon line, “You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don’t know where the fuck it’s gonna take you.”

Harvey knows he's outclassed by Candy as a director and wants her to stick around. I can imagine a partnership between them being a feature of Season 2.

That's what I was hoping Harvey was thinking rather than thinking he could leverage their partnership into sex.
posted by gladly at 11:57 AM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


Harvey has been essentially sexless so far, so that would surprise me.
posted by rhizome at 11:59 AM on October 23, 2017 [2 favorites]


And can I say something about Harvey? David Krumholtz! Is he wearing a fat suit or did he actually gain 100lbs for the part?

Looks like thyroid cancer is the culprit.
posted by rewil at 1:21 PM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


That was 5+ years ago, but apparently my image of him was last based on Numb3rs, which ended a year before he was diagnosed, and his weight gain does appear to be the result of a missing thyroid.
posted by rhizome at 4:01 PM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


Ok now I just want to cry
posted by miss-lapin at 6:10 PM on October 23, 2017


For Ashley, right? Because that's the best thing to happen so far.

I hope it sticks and isn't like [Wire spoiler]
posted by rhizome at 6:28 PM on October 23, 2017 [1 favorite]


Actually for David Krumbholtz.
posted by miss-lapin at 7:18 AM on October 24, 2017


Whoops, sorry. If it's any consolation, he is apparently cancer-free and in good spirits! He just has a different metabolism now.
posted by rhizome at 9:31 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]


Oh god, this weekend's episode is the last? I am not ready for this. The whole season so far has felt like the prologue to something. How can it possibly "end?"

Eight episodes doesn't seem like enough for an ensemble show with so many barely-intertwined stories. The stakes don't feel high enough in any of the stories--I suspect we'll see some cheap stakes-raising in the finale--and I don't feel like I really know any of the characters, or even the milieu, particularly well.

I don't think there's any satisfying way to sign off for the season.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:21 PM on October 26, 2017


The rumour around is that HBO was still burned by Vinyl, and didn't want to commit to 10 episodes. But, yes, I think with the scope and pace of the show, I don't think it would be possible to fit everything nicely under 12 episodes.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:51 PM on October 26, 2017


To HBO's credit, unlike with Vinyl they didn't retool the plot every third episode of the first season.
posted by rhizome at 10:18 PM on October 26, 2017


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