Your Honor - General Discussion

[preeya]

3 hours ago, Cocosmama said:

In episode 1, the black men walked towards the car, an action so terrifying that Adam had a panic attack and lost his inhaler? Come on. It's 2020. We know better. Let's do better.

It doesn't matter what year it is, 2020, 1920, or 1820 those black men weren't walking toward his car to welcome him to the neighborhood.

Edited December 15, 2020 by preeya

[Cocosmama]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

It doesn't matter what year it is, 2020, 1920, or 1820 those black men weren't walking toward his car to welcome him to the neighborhood.

Because they were big, scary, black men? They literally did nothing but walk towards the car. These biases about black people are literally getting people killed.

[LoveLeigh]

5 hours ago, Cocosmama said:

So tired of shows like this treating black people as props and the lives of black children as meaningless. Adam's life shouldn't be treated as being any more important than Kofi's, yet he is the one tortured and jailed because God forbid he face any  consequences for his actions.

 You would think that in this day and age the folks at Showtime would have thought twice about airing a limited series that is about white privilege but doesn't address it in any meaningful way. The racial bias is almost laughable. In episode 1, the black men walked towards the car, an action so terrifying that Adam had a panic attack and lost his inhaler? Come on. It's 2020. We know better. Let's do better.

Give it time. Maybe all of that will be addressed in later episodes. Adam's FATHER made his life more important... so far. (And at first he wanted Adam to turn himself in, it was only after he saw who the victim's family was that he did the cover up)

We have to wait and see if this turns around. It is written so the viewers are siding with Kofi. Kofi is who we want to get out of this mess. He was abused by the cops and the gangsters. He is the protagonist who has our hearts. I can't even figure out why he pleaded guilty this is so disturbing. 

Maybe their white privilege backfires and they suffer terrible consequences that just keep snowballing. We just do not know yet how this will play out. Maybe Adam was terrified for another reason when he was there. We still do no even know why or how his mother died in that area. I am not rushing to any judgement yet after only two episodes. I tend to think this will have an awful end for the Desiatos.

There are 8 more episodes to go. This will not have a happy ending for anybody except if Kofi is the protagonist left standing at the end. 

And by the way, Adam is flawed. He is having an affair with is teacher in his father's house who is a judge! Something is not right in that family. 

Edited December 15, 2020 by LoveLeigh

[LoveLeigh]

On 12/15/2020 at 12:52 AM, Cocosmama said:

Because they were big, scary, black men? They literally did nothing but walk towards the car. These biases about black people are literally getting people killed.

Somebody destroyed Adam's shrine to his mother in that neighborhood. But that was AFTER they walked to the car. Maybe he recognized them from some prior incident. We cannot disregard that his mother died there. We do not know yet what happened or why Adam was scared. Why did Adam knock on the door of that house on the corner? I think there are too many general conclusions which are not based on the plot but are based on so many racist incidents from history and recent racist incidents. 

This is not a documentary, it is a TV show and I think conclusions have to be determined based on what will unfold in later episodes in this story and only this story when there are more details. 

Edited December 16, 2020 by LoveLeigh

[GodsBeloved]

10 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

We have to wait and see if this turns around. It is written so the viewers are siding with Kofi. Kofi is who we want to get out of this mess. He was abused by the cops and the gangsters. He is the protagonist who has our hearts. I can't even figure out why he pleaded guilty this is so disturbing. 

I thought he plead guilty because of the threat to his family. The gang leader basically said plead guilty = family safe, otherwise ...

[MBayGal]

11 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

Adam is flawed. He is having an affair with is teacher in his father's house who is a judge! Something is not right in that family. 

OMG, I didn’t recognize the teacher as the one who was in bed with him!!  I did wonder about the looks that passed between them.  I’d forgotten the show opened with him in bed with someone.  I wonder if the judge knows about this or if he is oblivious.  Could be some interesting parent teacher meetings, if she’s telling daddy how she grades his son!

[Bluesky]

They will get the DNA back and the mob family will realize they got the wrong kid. 

[Cotypubby]

15 hours ago, Cocosmama said:

Because they were big, scary, black men? They literally did nothing but walk towards the car. These biases about black people are literally getting people killed.

Because they clearly had some kind of history that will be revealed in later episodes and started following him when he walked away. They then chased him in their car. They didn't "literally do nothing." If a gang of people change direction to start following you and then get in their car to follow you, you honestly would not feel unsafe?

Edited December 15, 2020 by Cotypubby

[LoveLeigh]

13 hours ago, GodsBeloved said:

I thought he plead guilty because of the threat to his family. The gang leader basically said plead guilty = family safe, otherwise ...

But WHY did they want him to plead guilty? 

[GodsBeloved]

7 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

But WHY did they want him to plead guilty? 

Here is my guess.

The goal is that Adam is not implicated in the killing. Having Kofi confess/plead guilty instead of going to trial where he could possibly be found not guilty goes a long way in reaching that goal. Kofi pleading guilty ensures, at least for the moment that there will be no more digging/investigating into the killing. In the event Det Costello wants to wrap up the car theft and dot all her I's and cross all her T's and discovers evidence that ties the car to the killing, the case against Kofi (and protection for Adam) strengthens since he stole the car.

I'm also guessing that Clay Davis may at least suspect that someone in the Desiato household is tied to the Baxter kid's death. Now why would he suspect that? Beyond the judge's "get rid of the car, no questions asked", I'm not sure but from what I saw of him, he seems very shrewd and it seems he knows how to play the game. He also has aspirations and having a judge in his pocket wouldn't hurt. He may have gotten word to whoever that he wanted Kofi to not only be accused but to also plead guilty to the murder.

Hope that makes some kind of sense 🙂

[iMonrey]

Quote

But WHY did they want him to plead guilty? 

I'm not clear on the chain here. I'm not sure who the guy was that Michael met with. Someone named Charlie according to IMDB. That's who Michael asked for the favor of disappearing the car. Charlie called someone else who called someone else. I assumed for whatever reason the guy Charlie called was a cop. And the cop called a gang leader who sent one of his minions over to steal the car. So I guess the cop is more or less crooked and works with gang leaders to some extent. 

From the way it played out, I don't think Kofi was meant to be caught since Michael didn't plan to report the car stolen so soon. So the gang leader ordering him to plead guilty was Plan B. Again, this would tie into the gang leader's relationship with the cop, something mutually beneficial to both for reasons we don't know.

It's apparently not unheard of for vice cops to have relationships with gang leaders, etc., who can give them intel on other gang activities and such. If TV is to believed anyway.

Edited December 16, 2020 by iMonrey

[GodsBeloved]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

From the way it played out, I don't think Kofi was meant to be caught since Michael didn't plan to report the car stolen so soon. So the gang leader ordering him to plead guilty was Plan B. Again, this would tie into the gang leader's relationship with the cop, something mutually beneficial to both for reasons we don't know.

 

I watched the episode again and it confirms for me that Kofi being accused of killing Rocco was plan B and it was not Charlie's initial plan to have a fall guy to protect Adam which in turn would put Michael in his pocket.

Here is the sequence of events:

• Michael asks Charlie to get rid of the car, not just have it stolen but gotten rid of completely 
• Charlie calls Lt Rudy Cunningham for a favor
• Cunningham calls Mo, the Desire leader, who then tells Kofi he has a job for him
• After seeing Rocco's body in the morgue, Baxter tells Lt. Brendan Cusack he wants who did this to Rocco
• Kofi who, according to the GPS on his phone, was headed to the scrap yard and is stopped for running a red light
• Kofi and Volvo are taken into custody
• A piece of Rocco's bike falls from under the Volvo and the vehicle is inspected
• Cusack gets a call (guessing Cusack put the word out that he wanted to be notified if any vehicles were brought in that had been in an accident)
• Kofi is released from custody and runs into a cop (think it's Cusack but not sure)
• Cusack "questions" Kofi, "knowing" he killed Rocco
• Kofi, back in custody, talks to Mo and is told to confess and not worry about his family
• Kofi pleads guilty
• Baxter's man says it was a hit, not a hit and run and that Desire is coming for them.
• Baxter notes that this was done because Carlo beat up one of Desire's soldiers
• Mo calls Cunningham. Kofi's not talking
• Cunningham calls Charlie. They are safe

I don't have a guess as to why Kofi pleading guilty makes Charlie and Cunningham safe beyond it being traced back to them that they planned to get rid of evidence in Rocco's death. I'm sure this would piss Baxter off immensely. Hopefully there's more to it.

As for why Mo would agree to telling the world and Baxter that one of his guys killed Rocco, maybe he wants a war with Baxter. Baxter beat up one of his, he put one of Baxter's in the morgue. Or maybe Cunningham has that level of control and anything he tells Mo to do, he does it no matter the consequences to Desire. But again, hopefully we will get clear reasons for why Mo agreed.

[LoveLeigh]

4 hours ago, GodsBeloved said:

I watched the episode again and it confirms for me that Kofi being accused of killing Rocco was plan B and it was not Charlie's initial plan to have a fall guy to protect Adam which in turn would put Michael in his pocket.

Here is the sequence of events:

• Michael asks Charlie to get rid of the car, not just have it stolen but gotten rid of completely 
• Charlie calls Lt Rudy Cunningham for a favor
• Cunningham calls Mo, the Desire leader, who then tells Kofi he has a job for him
• After seeing Rocco's body in the morgue, Baxter tells Lt. Brendan Cusack he wants who did this to Rocco
• Kofi who, according to the GPS on his phone, was headed to the scrap yard and is stopped for running a red light
• Kofi and Volvo are taken into custody
• A piece of Rocco's bike falls from under the Volvo and the vehicle is inspected
• Cusack gets a call (guessing Cusack put the word out that he wanted to be notified if any vehicles were brought in that had been in an accident)
• Kofi is released from custody and runs into a cop (think it's Cusack but not sure)
• Cusack "questions" Kofi, "knowing" he killed Rocco
• Kofi, back in custody, talks to Mo and is told to confess and not worry about his family
• Kofi pleads guilty
• Baxter's man says it was a hit, not a hit and run and that Desire is coming for them.
• Baxter notes that this was done because Carlo beat up one of Desire's soldiers
• Mo calls Cunningham. Kofi's not talking
• Cunningham calls Charlie. They are safe

I don't have a guess as to why Kofi pleading guilty makes Charlie and Cunningham safe beyond it being traced back to them that they planned to get rid of evidence in Rocco's death. I'm sure this would piss Baxter off immensely. Hopefully there's more to it.

As for why Mo would agree to telling the world and Baxter that one of his guys killed Rocco, maybe he wants a war with Baxter. Baxter beat up one of his, he put one of Baxter's in the morgue. Or maybe Cunningham has that level of control and anything he tells Mo to do, he does it no matter the consequences to Desire. But again, hopefully we will get clear reasons for why Mo agreed.

I am lost because Cusack and Cunningham look alike. I am ready for a rewatch. 

OK if Charlie realized (or heard on the news) that part of the bike fell out from the car, he would KNOW he got somebody from Desire to get rid of the car AFTER Rocco died on the "tomorrow," so he would then know without a doubt that it was either Michael or Adam who hit Rocco the day before and that was why Michael wanted the car disposed of. 

Edited December 17, 2020 by LoveLeigh

[aghst]

On 12/14/2020 at 5:51 PM, Cocosmama said:

So tired of shows like this treating black people as props and the lives of black children as meaningless. Adam's life shouldn't be treated as being any more important than Kofi's, yet he is the one tortured and jailed because God forbid he face any  consequences for his actions.

 You would think that in this day and age the folks at Showtime would have thought twice about airing a limited series that is about white privilege but doesn't address it in any meaningful way. The racial bias is almost laughable. In episode 1, the black men walked towards the car, an action so terrifying that Adam had a panic attack and lost his inhaler? Come on. It's 2020. We know better. Let's do better.

I guess black and white relations in New Orleans is an issue, with segregated neighborhoods, as suggested by the looks Kofi was getting when he walked in Michael's neighborhood.

But remember that Peter Moffat the show runner is an English writer/producer.  So I wonder how much he's aware of the racial dynamics in NO or in the US in general.

There have been cases of young black men being hassled in the US because they were in certain neighborhoods.  That and the only other work of his that I've watched, The Night Of, involves a Pakistani being incarcerated in Rikers.  So it's not the first time that Moffat has delved into race relations in the US.

[aghst]

22 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm not clear on the chain here. I'm not sure who the guy was that Michael met with. Someone named Charlie according to IMDB.

It's notClayDavis.

😉

[chediavolo]

On 12/8/2020 at 1:07 AM, LoveLeigh said:

I was just going to post the exact same thing! The strange thing is that when I watched it On Demand before it aired (and I watched it twice On Demand before Sunday's premiere episode), it was formatted to fit my entire screen and then for some odd reason, on Sunday at 10 PM it was shown in this "letterbox" format. And now it is up On Demand in a letterbox format. It feels scrunched. And I am positive it was not in this format originally.  

This is really weird. 

No but it was very darkly lit on my tv screen. I hate when shows do that. 

[GodsBeloved]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

It's notClayDavis.

😉

[LoveLeigh]

4 hours ago, aghst said:

I That and the only other work of his that I've watched, The Night Of, involves a Pakistani being incarcerated in Rikers.  So it's not the first time that Moffat has delved into race relations in the US.

I watched THE NIGHT OF. I conclude it was not about delving into race relations; the main theme of that series was how a suspect with a pile of evidence against him, was wrongfully convicted and sent to jail. Naz Khan's ethnicity was not central to the theme. 

[Starchild]

On 12/16/2020 at 4:55 PM, GodsBeloved said:

I don't have a guess as to why Kofi pleading guilty makes Charlie and Cunningham safe beyond it being traced back to them that they planned to get rid of evidence in Rocco's death. I'm sure this would piss Baxter off immensely. Hopefully there's more to it.

As for why Mo would agree to telling the world and Baxter that one of his guys killed Rocco, maybe he wants a war with Baxter. Baxter beat up one of his, he put one of Baxter's in the morgue. Or maybe Cunningham has that level of control and anything he tells Mo to do, he does it no matter the consequences to Desire. But again, hopefully we will get clear reasons for why Mo agreed.

I think there are two different groups, involving two different corrupt cops, that are coincidentally coming up against each other.

As I see it, Charlie is working towards the goal of protecting his friend Michael. When Charlie started this, he probably didn't know it had anything to do with the hit-and-run until Kofi's arrest (which interrupted his plans) made it clear that Desiato's car was the involved vehicle. Then he realized what they were covering up, and got Mo (via Cunningham) to pressure Kofi into taking the fall. This will have the added benefit of making Michael even more indebted to him. But as far as Charlie is concerned, that's an end to it.

The other group involves Baxter using his pet cop Cusack to help find his son's killer, less for the accident itself and more for just leaving his son to die when he maybe could have been saved. I think if it had just been an accident where the driver remained on scene doing all he could, he would have come to terms with it; he's out for blood not because of the hit, but because of the run. When Kofi was arrested driving the car that killed Rocco and was revealed to be a member of Desire, Baxter leapt to the conclusion that it wasn't an accident, that Desire used Kofi to kill Rocco in retaliation for a violent assault one of his guys committed against another Desire member a while ago. But it wasn't, all Mo knows is that he's helping Cunningham (and Charlie) in a coverup. There's a war coming, but Mo and Desire aren't expecting it.

IMO

[tearsandhysteria]

On 12/14/2020 at 10:11 PM, preeya said:

It doesn't matter what year it is, 2020, 1920, or 1820 those black men weren't walking toward his car to welcome him to the neighborhood.

I agree that had I been in the in the same situation, I would have been intimidated. But when they were walking up on him I was thinking drive away, brake for a minute and get your inhaler and go. I don't understand why he was just supposed to be THAT terrified of a bunch of people on foot. I had a man walk towards me in my car at an isolated gas station at night and I was like nope, son and drove off. I was like whatever he had planned, he was on foot and I was in a car. Odds were in my favor. Also, why did he just keep driving in circles? He turned a corner, why didn't he get the dang inhaler then? Why keep reaching for it and not watching the road? I get being scared but that's just scared stupid apparently and it didn't take all that. 

[LoveLeigh]

Episode 3 had aired On Demand. This show just keeps getting better and better and the holes are beginning to be filled in. It sure keeps me on the edge of my seat. I LOVE IT. 

Edited December 20, 2020 by LoveLeigh

[GodsBeloved]

10 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

Episode 3 had aired On Demand. This show just keeps getting better and better and the holes are beginning to be filled in. it sure keeps me on the edge of my seat. I LOVE IT. 

You should have warned me, you really should have!

[dwmarch]

I'm rooting for Kofi here although I wonder if he's going to live for another five minutes. I don't think Psycho Gangster Son has much interest in Kofi's story (which he hasn't been telling anyone up to this point anyhow). Great tension with the jail scenes.

Gangster mom is a psycho too! While the dreaded Baxter seems to have no idea what to do, his wife outmaneuvers the law and puts a hit on Kofi. At the same time she's working on a plan to hit the Desire gang so hard they'll be too scared to retaliate. Don't let her stylish skirts fool you, she wears the pants in this family. I hope Baxter gets taken down or sidelined and they end up having to contend with her instead and she's so much worse.

The scooter outside Adam's girlfriend-teacher's place suggests to me that she is going to get hit by a car too. I just wonder if it will be the bad guys who run her down while chasing Adam or if they really want to twist the knife Adam will run her over while running away from the bad guys. Either way, I think her inappropriate relationship with Adam dooms her and she's not going to get a happy ending.

[aghst]

Adam still being a dumbass, looking guilty.  He was taking pictures at the scene of the crime and was that the same black SUV which was chasing him in the pilot?  Or he keeps turning up at court where there are cameras to show why all of a sudden he keeps going to court.

Charlie (notClayDavis) is running for mayor so he can't have any ties to the gang or be seen trying to cover up a crime.  He tells Michael that he has to "control" Lee, the gung-ho defense lawyer that Michael got for Kofi, by sleeping with her.  

Michael, besides being a cocksman, is apparently the street-smart judge, befriending the gas station owner where Adam filled up his gas with a sob story about how his wife was cheating on him and paying for the gas of her lover -- can't be much of a cocksman if true.  So Michael manages to get access to the security camera at the gas station, deletes the part showing Adam getting gas.

I can understand a judge knowing which evidence to cover up or get rid of.  But HOW is Michael this criminal mastermind, knowing how to convince people to do his bidding with booze or his penis?

Gina has some scenes.  Turns out she's way more ruthless than Jimmy, bribing the warden to have Carlo released for Rocco's funeral.  She's Italian and Jimmy's Irish so that's explanation enough?  Jimmy doesn't want to get into a protracted war with the Desire gang.  So Gina says they're going to go big and get their payback (believing Rocco's death was a payback hit for Rocco beating up another Desire gang solider) and end the war before it starts.

Then she tells Carlo, who's about to be released, to avenge Rocco's death by taking out Kofi in prison.  

Seems like the writers are going for role-reversal.  The hubby doesn't have much appetite for violence while the wife is the one who is the bloodthirsty one.  Or maybe it's a MacBeth thing.

Michael asks Ms. Latimer if Adam has a gf.  Why would Adam's teacher for just one class in HS know that?  Even if she was his teacher all day, how would she know his private life?  Except in this case, we know "Frannie" is channeling Mary Kay Letourneau.

Adam, the sensitive artist -- he takes pictures with a film camera and has his own dark room, with analog timers and a clothesline for hanging his black and white prints -- confesses to Frannie about what happened, how guilty he's feeling.

He weeps and falls into her arms.

OK, does this still work in 2020?  Sensitive guy showing vulnerability, crying in front of a woman?  Adam may not even have been angling for sympathy sex, just wanted to unburden himself.

Frannie didn't want to hear this confession, she tried to stop him but he blurted it out.  She could be in danger if Jimmy's soldiers are still trying to find out what happened.

Looks like Kofi, who's on the verge of being freed according to Lee, may spill the beans to Carlo.

[preeya]

Hope Davis is an excellent actor, I just can't see her as a gangster's wife pulling strings and planning capers. A Carmela Soprano she isn't.

[iMonrey]

So that's Adam teacher, huh? Is she a photography teacher or just what? If she's not his photography teacher why was she sharing his photos with Michael during their parent/teacher meeting? Just cuz? The actress just looks way too young to play a teacher. She doesn't look any older than Adam. 

[GodsBeloved]

15 hours ago, aghst said:

Looks like Kofi, who's on the verge of being freed according to Lee, may spill the beans to Carlo.

I was nearly hyperventilating over Kofi and just knew he was going to be killed. I'm on the edge of my seat for next week. 

I thought it was a little too convenient that Michael was able to delete the video of Adam at the gas station. I also wasn't buying notClayDavis total outrage at Michael. He was asked to get rid of the car no questions asked and he doesn't even think he's getting involved with something shady? 

[Bluesky]

Is every wife of the mob boss super religious but feels her family is exempt from following the Ten Commandments?  
I can’t believe what  dumbass the kid is.  Judge is running around town trying to delete evidence at the same time kid is running around creating new evidence.  
And random moment - kid listening to Joy Division, music from his dad’s day. 

[Bcharmer]

18 hours ago, aghst said:

he takes pictures with a film camera and has his own dark room, with analog timers and a clothesline for hanging his black and white prints

I was under the impression that was the school's darkroom. He's a photography student.  I took photography classes for years, and there were always multiple stations for the enlargers, with those separators in-between them. A home darkroom would probably only have one enlarger station.  I could be wrong, but that's what I assumed... that the darkroom was at school.

[aghst]

1 hour ago, Bluesky said:

And random moment - kid listening to Joy Division, music from his dad’s day. 

Another sign of the brooding artiste Adam, listening to gloomy music from the '70s to '80s.

Maybe Frannie hasn't been giving him enough to lift his mood.

 

 

[Cotypubby]

What was with Adam hiding a pill inside a banana? With that shot being framed with the dog in the background, I thought he was going to give it to the dog, but what would be the point of that?

[DoubleUTeeEff]

21 hours ago, Bluesky said:

Is every wife of the mob boss super religious but feels her family is exempt from following the Ten Commandments?  

I thought that was all an act on her part. We see her getting ready and making sure her cross is visible. Then we see her bribing the prison priest/preacher/whoever. So from my interpretation, she was using everything at her disposal in order to influence him. And it worked!

Which is why I find it so ridiculous that one guy had to fly a pigeon filled with drugs into the prison. Surely if the priest can be bribed, there are a few guards around who are bribe-able. I really think they want to gross us out in this show just for the ick factor. I find it gratuitous.

[aghst]

Yeah Gina doesn't seem religious, at least they haven't shown her to be.

Carmela Soprano was religious but she was in denial about Tony's criminal activity and his cheating.  She just liked her upper middle class lifestyle, didn't ask too many questions until it was all in her face.

Gina leans into the mobster life, ordering Carlo to kill or to arrange the killing of Kofi.  That is a prosecutable crime whereas Carmela didn't do anything involving violent felony crimes.  She might be prosecuted under RICO laws for having touched money which came from crime but she wasn't telling any mobster to whack someone.

[Sharper2002]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Gina leans into the mobster life, ordering Carlo to kill or to arrange the killing of Kofi.

I think it’s interesting that Gina is the one owning going down this route while Jimmy seems so reluctant or as if he can’t fully buy the story. Even with his minion telling him over and over that it was a hit and they need to retaliate and he’s saying it doesn’t make sense it’s a hit from something Carlo did seemingly years ago. Gina just wants blood. 

[chediavolo]

On 12/21/2020 at 11:02 PM, Cotypubby said:

What was with Adam hiding a pill inside a banana? With that shot being framed with the dog in the background, I thought he was going to give it to the dog, but what would be the point of that?

It was mentioned before that the dog is on medication. Though I’ve never heard of hiding it in a banana. 

[Shermie]

Some dogs like bananas, I guess. We would hide a pill for the dog in a hot dog.

Quote

The actress just looks way too young to play a teacher. She doesn't look any older than Adam. 

Some teachers are in their early 20s and look younger. When my kids were in high school, some of their teachers could easily pass for students. And some students looked 25, go figure.

I'm enjoying this. All the negativity on the first page really brought me down. I thought, well, here's yet another thread I won't be reading because of too many haters. But now I see more positive commentary, interesting posts discussing the actual show.

I'm liking that the wife is more vengeful. Mob wives have typically been portrayed as shallow and clueless, just dimly enjoying the fruits of their hard-working husbands' labour.

[CRT]

Quote

The actress just looks way too young to play a teacher. She doesn't look any older than Adam. 

Either today or tomorrow (online sources vary) is the actress's 29th birthday.  The actor who plays Adam is 26.

[Bcharmer]

8 hours ago, chediavolo said:

It was mentioned before that the dog is on medication. Though I’ve never heard of hiding it in a banana. 

I took care of a friend's dogs, and they all had to take pills. I had to hide them in bits of cream cheese. Whatever it takes to get a dog to swallow their meds. I can't help but think this is "Chekov's Dog" for some reason. 

Edited December 23, 2020 by Bcharmer

[MBayGal]

On 12/22/2020 at 10:42 AM, DoubleUTeeEff said:

Which is why I find it so ridiculous that one guy had to fly a pigeon filled with drugs into the prison.

What?  Somehow I missed that.  Wait!!  That’s what the guy was doing with the bird!!!!! I thought he was going to eat it.  Maybe I glanced at my phone when this was explained.
 

 

On 12/20/2020 at 6:40 PM, aghst said:

Looks like Kofi, who's on the verge of being freed according to Lee, may spill the beans to Carlo.

I had the same thought.  The way the scene ended, it would be too obvious if the mob kid just had Kofi killed or tortured.  It would be more interesting if Kofi told him that he was just to get rid of the car, and they teamed up to identify Adam and take him down. 

As for Adam, this is torturing him down to his soul.  I expect him to attempt suicide. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Some teachers are in their early 20s and look younger. When my kids were in high school, some of their teachers could easily pass for students. And some students looked 25, go figure.

True, I had a teacher in high school who was fresh out of college herself. But I don't think it's a great dynamic. Aside from this specific case I think it's hard for a teacher that young to earn the needed respect of students are who just aren't that much younger than they are. I think elementary school would be a better fit for younger teachers.

[LoveLeigh]

content removed because 1. it is wrong information and 2. it was answered

Edited December 28, 2020 by LoveLeigh

[aghst]

12 minutes ago, LoveLeigh said:

A question: Why did Adam in episode 1 knock on the door of the house that turns out to be, in episode 4, Kofi's house? What was their connection BEFORE the accident? 

Another question: What did that other kid say to Adam that caused Adam to assault him in the hallway? I couldn't hear it. 

You mean Michael right?  That was a different case that Michael happened to adjudicate, where he went by the house because he suspected the cop gave BS testimony.

But then when he asked Charlie to get rid of the Volvo for him, it turned out the gang had Kofi go get the car.

That is why it's weird, unless they plan to do something more with it later on in the season.

 

First scene of episode 4, they're wheeling Kofi's body out of the prison.  I guess Kofi and Carlo didn't have much of a talk.  Jimmy is angry that Carlo may not get out of prison now -- he was due to be released in a few days.  But stereotypical corrupt NO sheriff says there was no murder in prison and gets the coroner to go along.

Jimmy goes to his henchmen, the one who took Gina to prison, to arrange for Carlo to be at the funeral and where she told him to kill Kofi.  He tries to tell one of the henchmen that he's only to take orders from him, not Gina.  But then Gina just walks in and orders the henchman to leave!

She then proceeds to try to egg him on to commit a big act of revenge,  since it was Jimmy's fault that Rocco is dead, buying him that motorcycle.

 

OK, so now Frannie is trying to convince Adam to STFU, because telling the wrong people the truth could be dangerous for all of them.  But he's outraged that Frannie would have him continue to cover it up.

His smart-ass friend says he wants to send Frannie a dick pic and that's what set Adam off.  In the principal's office, Frannie is there and the principal can't understand why Adam got violent.  Of course the answer should be obvious but apparently Adam and Frannie kept their affair under cover.

See, Adam CAN keep a secret!

Gina and Jimmy's daughter Fia is now mocking Gina's faith -- believing that Rocco is in heaven -- when Gina expects Fia's Confirmation to be a big event.  So Jimmy asks Fia to just play along, make Gina happy by doing the Confirmation.  When Fia gives him lip, Jimmy screams at Fia just to obey them.

This is the hill Jimmy dies on, he can't say no to Gina so he bullies his teen daughter.

Gina is needling Jimmy, blaming him for buying Rocco the motorcycle -- which Rocco rode like a pro racer, as fast as he was going, so if Jimmy didn't buy it, the kid was riding motorcycles already.  She will grind him to a nub.

Speaking of ballsy women, Margo Martindale shows up as Adam's grandmother, Senator Elizabeth Guthrie.  Grandma shows up in the principal's office, to rescue him from being expelled for "one mistake."  Remember that Margot played a vicious hillbilly matriarch in Justified.

Grandma Guthrie is very demanding, wanting to know why Adam and Michael didn't call her so that they could go to Adam's mother's grave on the anniversary or her death.  Adam lies to her.  Amazing that he wanted to tell everyone but he keeps the secret from Grandma Liz.

Michael invites Charlie to have some shrimp at his house, to smooth things between them since the favor he asked of Charlie has resulted in poor Kofi's death.  When they arrive at Michael's home, Grandma Liz has already cooked up the shrimp and has also invited Detective Nancy Costello.

So some awkward moments as they talk about the Volvo being stolen and being involved in a hit and run with grannie.  Then Lee shows up, the defense attorney that Michael out of guilt asked to defend Kofi.  She just wanted to talk to Michael about Kofi's case but Charlie comes out and says she has to join them!

Awkward!

Adam didn't know about Lee, whom Michael is sleeping with.  And Grandma Liz certainly didn't know about her.  Her daughter has barely been in the grave and Michael is already dating!

Then Django, the dog who had stolen one of the bloody rags that Michael used to wipe down the Volvo is trying to reach it under some furniture.  Michael shoos the dog away and pulls out the bloody rag.  Detective Nancy, like an eagle, see the blood.

Michael makes some speech and nobody asks any more about the bloody rag!

You have a police detective, used to dealing with blood as evidence but nobody says much more about it?

Towards the end of the episode, Adam goes to some prayer vigil for Rocco, runs into Fia of all people.  Kofi's younger brother picks up some food and heads home and they intercut a scene of Jimmy on his balcony, joined later by Gina.  About a block away, the Jones' shotgun house explodes and burns up.  Now the kid has lost his entire family.

Gina is affectionate with Jimmy who ordered the firebombing.  They make it look like Jimmy's balcony had a view of the home going up in flames.  I don't know New Orleans so maybe it's possible that they were close by but I'm guessing no, they're in different parts of town

Presumably there a chance for the gang war to escalate.

Kind of a despicable move, killing Kofi's mother and younger siblings.  This must be the "big move" Gina wanted that would dispirit the Desire gang and make them too scared to retaliate.  That's the pious Gina, sexing up Jimmy for killing a woman and her young children.

 

BTW, we're almost half way through this.  Where is Maura Tierney?  She's suppose to be signed up for this.  

 

[LoveLeigh]

16 hours ago, aghst said:

You mean Michael right?  

 

Yes it was Michael. I need to have my eyes checked, sorry. 

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by LoveLeigh
incorrect information and absurd questions posted

[LoveLeigh]

A confession: I started out loving this show and still like it but it just is now feeling really contrived. And not because of what happened to Kofi. That is realistic. It is Michael. He is ridiculous. Episode 4 has a lot of filler and I am losing some steam with regard to anticipating the future episodes. 

The corruption (even the autopsy lie), the police brutality, the coverup, the murder of Kofi, Michael's endless web of lies, the dinner in episode 4, and the lies spinning slowly out of control, the mobster's vicious character... we see it all coming. 

Where is this going? It has to at some point collapse.

An what next? Adam becomes friends with Baxter's daughter? (eye roll)

ETA: And it IS Michael's fault Kofi is dead. Kofi would not even be in jail with a guilty plea if Michael did not cook up that scheme to destroy the car. And the only reason the brother killed Kofi is because the mother told him he killed Rocco. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by LoveLeigh

[Bluesky]

Why is the grandmother the same age as her son-in-law?  Horrible casting, I assumed it was his sister in law. 

[Robert Lynch]

I think Bryan Cranston is only five years older than Margo Martindale, but I think by 2003-2004 that her roles consisted of mothers and grandmothers. When she started in the 90s, her movie roles were usually a best friend, wise-cracking neighbor, nurse, or a doctor. So far today these are the roles I see Margo saddled with.

[dwmarch]

So Mr. Baxter, if you don't want the Feds getting involved, why did you blow up a house? In case no one has informed you, since at least the year 2001 anything involving explosives brings about seventeen different federal agencies to town and the umbrella of the Patriot Act gives them unlimited authority to crawl up your ass while carrying said umbrella. Also FWIW, the first season of Daredevil had an identical scene except the Kingpin blew up several city blocks instead of one tiny shotgun house that you probably could have knocked over with a fart.

I know grief affects us all in its own way but Adam pushing his buddy for thinking out loud about their unusually young teacher was silly. As if the dude would actually send her a dick pic. At the very least he'd get expelled for it. And worst case scenario, the teacher would actually grade it and show it to class as an example of poor form.

I was hoping we'd see more of Kofi and that his family would actually be okay but I guess this isn't their story. It would be more interesting seeing Kofi trying to get himself out of this weird war between all these fucked up white people but he just gets to be collateral damage instead.

It was nice to see Baxter finally exhibiting some signs of personality when he had his little fit about the gazpacho (a new thing to me, why would anyone do such a thing to themselves?) and then had a good laugh with his daughter about it.

Speaking of Baxter's daughter, what are the odds she'll end up dating Adam? That would be kind of ridiculous but at this point why not? A plague on both their houses.

[preeya]

20 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

An what next? Adam becomes friends with Baxter's daughter? (eye roll)

Baxter's daughter looks older than Adam's teacher and they're trying to pass her off as a young teenager. Very poor casting.

[preeya]

8 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

It was nice to see Baxter finally exhibiting some signs of personality when he had his little fit about the gazpacho (a new thing to me, why would anyone do such a thing to themselves?) and then had a good laugh with his daughter about it.

He's not very believable as a powerful gangster boss.

Question: were they eating dinner (gazpacho) in a restaurant, or was that their palatial mansion? I didn't see any waiters and the wife took the soup to get it heated.

[dwmarch]

39 minutes ago, preeya said:

Question: were they eating dinner (gazpacho) in a restaurant, or was that their palatial mansion? I didn't see any waiters and the wife took the soup to get it heated.

This show has weird geography like that. For example, as regards Adam, I'm pretty sure he lives in a carriage house behind the main house.

The scene with the Baxter family must have been in some mob joint because it seemed like there were too many people downstairs. I also vaguely recall seeing a bartender. However, as you said, it's a place where you heat your own soup and the waiters don't come to check on you if you start screaming and cursing during a quiet family dinner.