Ripley: Seven Mercies Show Only
April 10, 2024 12:49 AM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe
On Italy's Amalfi Coast, Tom settles into Dickie's grand villa, but not without arousing suspicion from his girlfriend Marge.
which Tom (willingly?)) falls for
"Willingly" is right, I think. My take was that Tom understood the risks, but was willing to accept them in return for the cash on offer and the fun of pulling it off. I think he was genuinely surprised when Dickie saw things differently.
This makes me think that one aspect of Ripley's character may be that he's an adrenalin junkie, confident enough in his own abilities to figure he can always talk his way out any danger he incurs. What he really hates is dull drudgery, such as cleaning up the crime scene after one of his murders or disposing of the remains. Every time we hear him sigh his way through one of these tasks, he seems to be thinking the labour involved is beneath him.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:40 AM on April 10 [4 favorites]
"Willingly" is right, I think. My take was that Tom understood the risks, but was willing to accept them in return for the cash on offer and the fun of pulling it off. I think he was genuinely surprised when Dickie saw things differently.
This makes me think that one aspect of Ripley's character may be that he's an adrenalin junkie, confident enough in his own abilities to figure he can always talk his way out any danger he incurs. What he really hates is dull drudgery, such as cleaning up the crime scene after one of his murders or disposing of the remains. Every time we hear him sigh his way through one of these tasks, he seems to be thinking the labour involved is beneath him.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:40 AM on April 10 [4 favorites]
I love the repeated peril of the exhaust spewing bus that links Atrani to Naples, always seems to be on the point of careening off a cliff and which seems to largely share the same other passengers between episodes.
posted by rongorongo at 3:08 AM on April 16
posted by rongorongo at 3:08 AM on April 16
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I think this is an incredible approach to the story, dark and encroachingly creepy. The paired scams in this episode (the fallen girl & the taxi that Dickie falls for (willingly?) and the mafioso's suggestion that Tom & Dickie take a bag to Naples (which Tom (willingly?)) falls for seems significant: both can be fooled, but in this case Dickie by a woman, Tom by a man. Dickie by a harmless theft, Tom by a more dangerous proposition.
And the scene at the end with Tom dressing as Dickie and repeating his words: shivers.
posted by chavenet at 12:54 AM on April 10 [2 favorites]