S02E08: Pax Bostonia

[LoveLeigh]

Quote

Decourcy pursues justice in and out of the courtroom. Despite his maneuvering, Jackie discovers he can't escape his past, and Jenny finally confront hers. Cathy says goodbye to the root of her struggles.

Air Date: May 16, 2021

And..... that's a wrap folks!

[aghst]

Jackie doesn't care about busting the cop who shot Anton from the back until he uses it as a last-ditch effort to save his career.

He says bullets don't like but he pressures the other Boston cop into testifying against the shooter.

But he's become softer to his family, particularly Jenny, not telling her that Maeve is dead, probably trying to buy guns with the money Jenny gave her.  Then he threatens the priest who was also sending guns back to Ireland for the IRA.

Grace tries to get Siobhan to help her son Kelvin, then adds she's sorry that Siobhan lost her unborn child because of the actions of her son, whom she covered for.  Yeah you should have led with that Grace.

Kathy drops another body and gets to drive off to FL.  Didn't have money for the salon or to pay back her drug supplier but she had a gun and enough money to get out of Boston, flipping the city off, like Boston did her wrong, not her criminal ex-husband or her own choices.

DeCourcy is just witnessing everyone else make big decisions, whether it's Kelvin pleading guilty, getting himself killed in prison, or Siobhan quitting her law firm job.  Well he beat up that fancy baby carriage last week.

Grace is just punished, compared to someone like Kathy.  Not only lose both her sons but gets kicked out of her home.

So Jackie throws his FBI badge into the harbor, like fuck the FBI.  His only recourse is to sue to get his job back.

But let's be real, if Showtime renews this show, he'll be back somehow, unless Bacon is no longer interested in doing the show.  They tried to soften the Jackie character more, now he's all warm and cuddly towards Jenny and Benny, so he's not as much of an asshole as in season 1.

I'm not sure why they left the door open to Kathy coming back if the show comes back.  Her badass Boston broad act is tiresome and she survives with either dumb luck or she's secretly some criminal mastermind.  How was she not killed or captured?

 

[Dminches]

I would call it a decent season finale.  They certainly had a lot of ribbon out to tie almost everything up in a neat bow.

Not sure what the future holds for Jackie but without him this show doesn't exist. 

As much as Grace's kids' fates were consistent with their actions, it was painful to see her in agony over their deaths.  No parent should have to deal with that, especially twice in such a short time.

I don't know where they are going with Jenny and her dad.  She needs to find peace another way.  He is not going to give her that.

Next season needs to pack some new punches or we will look back at this show and call it a 1.5 season wonder.

 

[Msample]

That felt like a series finale as much as a season finale. Maybe the writers covering their bases if it doesn’t get renewed. I agree w/o Jackie this show doesn’t matter. 

[kathe5133]

Only 8?  Oh well.  I admit I was not as riveted this season as I was last.  I have a feeling that we won't be seeing this one next year.  It's too bad as I really enjoyed the first season.  

[DoctorAtomic]

I have to give Sib credit for telling off Grace. She had it coming. I don't see that Grace worked hard to give them better options though. She worked on her rep. 

Though I agree with Sib and Decourcy about Kelvin. We've said as much here this season. 

Once again, Jackie was right about the IRA lady. You'd think people would listen to him once and a while. 

23 hours ago, Msample said:

That felt like a series finale as much as a season finale. Maybe the writers covering their bases if it doesn’t get renewed. I agree w/o Jackie this show doesn’t matter. 

For sure, but also the show is really Jackie + Decourcy. They waited too long with only 8 episodes to get them uneasily on the same team. 

Can you object in an opening statement? 

I'm not seeing that calling out Sib in the trial was out of bounds. Decourcy struck me as naive. Dirty win? Does he not remember last season? 

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[DoctorAtomic]

I liked that Jackie said what we all have been saying - Holly snorted too much coke. 

The Cathy plot really didn't add anything to the season overall. I thought it would have eventually tied in. 

I guess Grace got hers with both the sons dead, but not really. 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[akr]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I liked that Jackie said what we all have been saying - Holly snorted too much coke

Well, sure, but it wasn't for her sake that he spent so much time trying to cover up his involvement before taking her to a hospital. Who knows what the consequences of that were.

[DoctorAtomic]

iirc, she stroked out and he called his buddy at the hospital and dumped her there. 

I'm not defending him, but it was correctly pointed out here that he also wasn't forcing her to do drugs either. 

[TV Diva Queen]

On 5/16/2021 at 3:54 PM, aghst said:

 

But he's become softer to his family, particularly Jenny, not telling her that Maeve is dead, probably trying to buy guns with the money Jenny gave her.  Then he threatens the priest who was also sending guns back to Ireland for the IRA.

 

 

I don't give Jackie that much credit......I think he didn't tell his wife because she's such a do-gooder, she would run to the cops or the priest or anyone and tell them she gave Maeve the money and then it can be tied that Jackie funded the IRA. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I can go half and half on it from that pov. He also found the priest is in on it too, and that would crush her. 

She's dead, so what's the point? Jenny would probably see it at Jackie rubbing it on her face. 

[tennisgurl]

Not a bad season finale, this season forever to get going, keeping Jackie and Decourcy apart for so long was a mistake, but it really picked up in the back half. It felt like it could be a series finale too if the show doesn't get picked up, but if there is another season they will have to find a way to bring Jackie back. This show just doesn't make sense without him. 

Maeve dying seemed inevitable, I cant blame Jackie for not telling Jenny. It also turns out that the priest is with the IRA as well, which Jackie of course finds out about and uses to mess with the priest who he has always hated. Of course. That was another plot I kept waiting to see get paid off in the main plot, and it kind of worked thematically, exploring cycles of needless violence and such, but that might be stretching it and it never really connected with anything else. I also kept waiting for Kathy to tie more into things, but she ended up dropping another body and running off to Florida, it felt like a whole subplot based around an epilogue for last season. 

Grace really has some nerve asking Siobhan for help after covering for the man who shot her and caused her to miscarry, and while watching her tell Grace off was satisfying, she did end up just feeling bad for her. Grace's story ended in tragedy, she compromised her morals to protect her sons only to lose everything anyway. Losing two sons, especially so close to each other, is horrible. It sucks that Kelvin died, I cant feel bad for Anton (even if his shooting was wrong) but it did seem like Kelvin was a basically good kid who got pulled into the drug trade by his brother and could never stand up to him. 

[Dminches]

16 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I liked that Jackie said what we all have been saying - Holly snorted too much coke. 

The Cathy plot really didn't add anything to the season overall. I thought it would have eventually tied in. 

I guess Grace got hers with both the sons dead, but not really. 

 

 

Grace “got hers”?  No one deserves to have both their kids killed, especially within a month.  She may have ignored what they were doing but clearly she had no control over Anton.  She did more for the community than anyone else.  I am not sure how you conclude that she got what she deserved.

 

[Dminches]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Maeve dying seemed inevitable, I cant blame Jackie for not telling Jenny. It also turns out that the priest is with the IRA as well, which Jackie of course finds out about and uses to mess with the priest who he has always hated. Of course. That was another plot I kept waiting to see get paid off in the main plot, and it kind of worked thematically, exploring cycles of needless violence and such, but that might be stretching it and it never really connected with anything else. I also kept waiting for Kathy to tie more into things, but she ended up dropping another body and running off to Florida, it felt like a whole subplot based around an epilogue for last season. 

 

It did seem as though the main story wasn’t strong enough so they needed some side plots.  Jenny’s was fine since she is Jackie’s wife but Kathy’s was on an island, especially once they killed off Jimmy.  I like Kathy despite the ease in which she killed people.  She really was trying to do well for her kids and I guess that’s what drove her out of Boston.  She couldn’t live an honest life there.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dminches

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought Grace was a terrible person tbh. I mean, her son got arrested and she made the reverend have a night rally to 'save face' and another kid got killed in the process. 

She condescended to Sib about her choice to 'leave' the community and then had the audacity to demand her help after Anton shot her. 

So I don't really think my conclusion is unreasonable. She got her sons killed from my pov. 

[Dminches]

11 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I thought Grace was a terrible person tbh. I mean, her son got arrested and she made the reverend have a night rally to 'save face' and another kid got killed in the process. 

She condescended to Sib about her choice to 'leave' the community and then had the audacity to demand her help after Anton shot her. 

So I don't really think my conclusion is unreasonable. She got her sons killed from my pov. 

She didn’t turn them into drug dealers.  That’s why they got killed.

That community owes her a ton for all she does for them. Holding a rally to support her and her family is what communities do.

No one said she was perfect. But she was in survival mode and she is on her own.  Plus, there is no dad in the picture.

 

Edited May 19, 2021 by Dminches

[DoctorAtomic]

. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[zoey1996]

Grace stole money from her community. She intended to repay it, but it was not clear to me if she did that yet.

Hope Bennie is still able to go to college in New York, even after her dad is unemployed. Her boyfriend, Faust, reminded me of Eddie Haskell from Leave It To Beaver, sucking up to the adults in the room.

[TV Anonymous]

On 5/16/2021 at 4:54 PM, aghst said:

But let's be real, if Showtime renews this show, he'll be back somehow, unless Bacon is no longer interested in doing the show.

If there is season 3 but Bacon is not in it, I will not watch. No Rohr / Bacon, no series.

I am truly amazed with Cathy. She dropped someone in front of her building. Unless she herself hid the body, there was no investigation? When she left, there was no police presence around her building, in which case her sudden departure would make it suspicious. And for someone who was broke, she could just take off to Florida?

[Orbert]

I figured Cathy always held on to some money, just in case.  She got behind on her payments to Mick, but that didn't mean she was totally broke.  There's always that secret stash of cash somewhere.  She got rid of Mick, her current problem, just like she got rid of Jimmy, then gathered up the kids and what cash she had, and got the hell out of Boston.  She intentionally avoided the front door to her apartment building, since Mick was there, so if anyone reported the gunshot, they'll find some dirtbag drug dealer shot by the back door.  They might or might not put a lot into the investigation.  Her story wasn't bad; it just never tied into the main story as we all thought or hoped it would.

Jackie's story took a turn.  I figured he'd weasel out of it somehow, but I guess not.  But I'll echo what everyone is saying: if Jackie doesn't come back next season (if there is one) then there's no point.  The show is about Jackie and DeCourcy.  And yeah, it was a mistake to keep them separated for so much of this season.

As is so often the case, it was a good season finale that could also be a series finale if it came to that.

[DoctorAtomic]

Jackie told Decourcy at the bar that he's got a lawyer and he's going to fight it. Of course, he tossed his badge so he might have changed his mind. tbh, I found the hearing rather weak. They only were firing him for doing coke with the assistant US DA. He already told the US DA if he got fired he'd 'sing like Sinatra'. I've said it many times, but he wasn't forcing her to do drugs, and he wasn't in a position of authority, job-wise, where she might have felt pressure due to a power imbalance. 

I think they're making more of a problem for themselves and they seriously underestimate his cunning. 

[Orbert]

Yeah, he did say he would fight it, then later tossed his badge into the water.  I forgot he said he'd "sing like Sinatra" but maybe that's yet to come, or maybe he changed his mind about that, too.  Or maybe it was just Jackie being Jackie; shooting his mouth off.

The thing he said that made the most sense to me was, oddly enough, the truth.  She did too much coke, he was worried about her, so he dropped her off at the hospital, in the care of someone he knew and trusted, his former partner.  And they decided to fire him for that?

[DoctorAtomic]

That's what a lot of us have been saying when the plot has popped up. He even specifically brought her to a hospital where he knew he could get discretion. While I'd concede that federal officials probably shouldn't do coke, these were two consenting adults. Of course, this is a case where the cover up is worse than the crime, and they've been looking for a chance to get rid of him. He might have been better off copping to it and taking a suspension. 

Assuming he fights it, the court hearing could turn out very brutal. They might be better off letting him resign and keeping his pension in exchange for him not singing like Sinatra. 

What would be interesting would be if Jackie ran for Boston DA or something. 

But the EPs aren't idiots. They know Bacon is the star, and the actor looks like he's having a total blast, so I wouldn't see him walking away from a third season. 

 

[aghst]

I don't know how old Jackie is suppose to be but Kevin Bacon is 62.

So the youngest Jackie could be is in his mid 50s?

Thing is, don't cops have great pensions?  If they have 20 years on the job, they can pretty much get most of their final salary for like life with inflation adjustments?

Maybe it's different for federal agents since he's FBI.

But remember, he also has getaway money.

Jackie obviously wants to stay in the game, not go off to retirement.  Though it seems a lot of cops do retire in their 50s or even younger.  And his friend at St. Eligius had a cushy job, able to drink all day.  Only hassle he had was ex-partners asking him to cover up for them.

However, let's get real, he unlikely to be doing the same bang up job that he was going when younger.  Is he willing to rush into armed confrontations like before?  If he has a cushy pension coming, doesn't seem like he'd want to get involved in tough cases.

Remember when Karen threatened to ship him off to Lakeville was it?  I guess there he would have mostly sat at a desk, rarely have to draw his gun.

The way he's portrayed in this show is a lot different than the way FBI agents are portrayed on a show like Mindhunter.  There, it's ultimate professionals, really developing how to investigate serial killers, developing profiles of them and leaning on scientists to do so.  They're also working with forensics as well.

But Jackie Rohr doesn't do that, he's like a cowboy and he has territorial squabbles with the BPD, he works his snitches and he threatens people and tries to tamper with witnesses and so on.  I don't doubt that there were such agents in the FBI system but I'd rather see FBI agents like those in Mindhunter, which is coming back, than a shoot from the hip cowboy like Rohr, though Bacon is very entertaining on the show.

I'll keep watching if there are more seasons but I have much greater anticipation for shows like Mindhunter than City on a Hill.

 

[akr]

19 hours ago, Orbert said:

Yeah, he did say he would fight it, then later tossed his badge into the water.  I forgot he said he'd "sing like Sinatra" but maybe that's yet to come, or maybe he changed his mind about that, too.  Or maybe it was just Jackie being Jackie; shooting his mouth off.

The thing he said that made the most sense to me was, oddly enough, the truth.  She did too much coke, he was worried about her, so he dropped her off at the hospital, in the care of someone he knew and trusted, his former partner.  And they decided to fire him for that?

He deprived her of medical attention for a good half hour or more instead of calling 911 immediately. This could have cost her her life, & probably cost her a lot of brain damage. His friend wasn't providing medical attention, he was providing cover.

[DoctorAtomic]

No one actually knows that. I'm saying what Jackie should be arguing. Again, the woman didn't have to snort the coke. 

[akr]

That's always the problem with an overdose, though. If you're with someone, it's your responsibility to get help even if you're afraid it might get you in trouble. People die all the time because the person they are using with didn't want to call for help & get caught. Sometimes they are even charged with murder, if they provided the drugs.

"We don't know that?" Neither does he. That's why you don't try to handle it yourself, or accept the consequences if you do. 

That he did it for her sake? No. Once she shows up at the ED, however delayed, the cause is going to come out. Did she take too many drugs, of her own volition? Sure. But nobody ever disputed that. He made a good speech there, but its not good enough. It's such a classic OD situation & the motives, mixed at best, are going to be obvious to the review board, especially with him just dumping her on the pavement outside the ED & racing off. They can't prove it without his buddy's testimony since he had him erase the video, but at best it's a proof issue.

 

Edited May 21, 2021 by akr
Typo

[Orbert]

Okay, I can see that.  I guess his speech was good enough to fool me, but you're right; there's more to it than that, and Jackie's motivation was indeed more to cover his own ass than anything else.