S05.E04: Power

[CheshireCat]

Quote

Deran follows up on Smurf's will and loses patience with J calling the shots; Pope's mental state is fragile; Craig is forced to deal with being a solo dad.

Air date: Aug 1st, 2021

[showme]

Really feel bad for J, wish Pope hadn't blabbed about his business holdings.

How did Pamela manage to stay so calm with Deran in her house with a gun?

Did Smurf discussed the will with Pamela before she died?

Edited August 5, 2021 by showme

[iMonrey]

First of all, I'm getting really frustrated with these stupid flashbacks. This weeks' were all about an ATM heist that had absolutely nothing to do with Pope or Julia. If the flashbacks can inform us something about the way those kids turned out, then OK. Otherwise, this is just a completely different show taking place within this show. 

Second, the strong but silent thing Deran's got going on is getting a little old. We've already got that with Pope and Shawn Hatosy does it to greater effect. I wasn't buying Deran following J around trying to be Mr. Tough guy. I used to think Ben Robson was the weak link acting-wise but now I'm starting to have a new appreciation for him while Jake Weary's stock is sinking. I realize a lot of it is the writing but the character has gotten stale. 

I can't believe Renn would be OK with Craig leaving their baby with some kid he just met an hour ago. But I got a kick out of Craig knocking that scooter rider over then saying "No, man. He tripped." The monster truck was a bit much though.

I've come to the conclusion this show is at its best when it doesn't take itself too seriously. Some of the more serious scenes here just didn't work for me while the more comedic ones did.

[arachne]

15 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

But I got a kick out of Craig knocking that scooter rider over then saying "No, man. He tripped." The monster truck was a bit much though.

Those scooters are getting a bad rep these days. I saw Riddle's scooter get trashed in a recent match on WWE Monday Night Raw. 

Given the overall heaviness of this episode, I enjoyed the bit with the scooters. You can always count on Craig for comic relief. 

[Auntie Anxiety]

Feels like the writers have gotten very lazy. They come up with a new Smurf escapade whenever the show needs to be padded. Are we supposed to believe that she amassed an empire by stealing ATMs? It also feels like they write a scene for Pope: stand up, look around like you don’t recognize anything, emote. Lather, rinse, repeat. 

The flashbacks (couldn’t they have found a better/smaller/more similar to Ellen Barkin’s appearance/tougher sounding actress?) are borderline cringe. Don’t know what Barkin’s contract was like or if she decided to leave the show without letting them all know, but she was the most integral part of the entire story. They should have done a better job knitting it all together last season and called it a day, instead of extending what has turned out to be aimless wandering in search of meaning. It would have been even more interesting if Smurf died without a will and the guys were left to fight it out amongst themselves.

[MaggieG]

20 hours ago, iMonrey said:

First of all, I'm getting really frustrated with these stupid flashbacks. This weeks' were all about an ATM heist that had absolutely nothing to do with Pope or Julia. If the flashbacks can inform us something about the way those kids turned out, then OK. Otherwise, this is just a completely different show taking place within this show. 

Second, the strong but silent thing Deran's got going on is getting a little old. We've already got that with Pope and Shawn Hatosy does it to greater effect. I wasn't buying Deran following J around trying to be Mr. Tough guy. I used to think Ben Robson was the weak link acting-wise but now I'm starting to have a new appreciation for him while Jake Weary's stock is sinking. I realize a lot of it is the writing but the character has gotten stale. 

I can't believe Renn would be OK with Craig leaving their baby with some kid he just met an hour ago. But I got a kick out of Craig knocking that scooter rider over then saying "No, man. He tripped." The monster truck was a bit much though.

I've come to the conclusion this show is at its best when it doesn't take itself too seriously. Some of the more serious scenes here just didn't work for me while the more comedic ones did.

I was shocked she left the baby alone with Craig haha. He did seem to have it under control though. I wonder if he even told Ren he let the random surf shop kid babysit. 

[iMonrey]

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I was shocked she left the baby alone with Craig haha. He did seem to have it under control though. I wonder if he even told Ren he let the random surf shop kid babysit. 

Well, Renn's dealing coke out of the same house she's living in with the baby, so she's not exactly got the best judgment either. But she at least knows Craig. This surf shop kid just came out of nowhere.

[rhygirl720]

Deran trying to match wits with J? painful to watch. He outsmarted Smurf and you are no Smurf!

[Chaos Theory]

Deran has never paid attention before because he wanted out.  Now that Adrian is out of the picture he is paying attention and seeing what is going on with J.   Of course he is going to make missteps.  I don’t think he knows how to verbalize the fact that he has never really trusted J and now J is trying to run the family after literally killing Smurf.    It just rubs him wrong and he is really the only one in the family who is able to tell J “no”.   Whether he has the brains to plan ahead is debatable.    But he is at least smart enough to know J is not trustworthy even among the family.  

Edited August 4, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[Joimiaroxeu]

For a guy who surfs a lot I think Deran is awfully pale.

Lol, Craig hires some random guy from the surf store to be his babysitter. That poor baby's already getting abandonment issues.

Frankie seemed suspicious to me. More than usual. Wonder if she's working for the cops?

There weren't security cameras on ATMs back then?

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Deran’s face is pale and chunkier this season!  He does wear a bodysuit when surfing which might explain his being pale.

Agree, Frankie was off but I figured it was because at one time she had Craig wrapped around her finger and he basically dismissed her and walked off.  It won’t end well in any case!

 

[sugarbaker design]

17 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Lol, Craig hires some random guy from the surf store to be his babysitter. That poor baby's already getting abandonment issues.

That baby really lost the good parent lottery.  I wonder if Lena's foster family is looking for a new bundle of joy?

[tennisgurl]

The only reason I feel like the flashbacks should exist is to give more context as to how the family ended up as messed up as it is, I don’t at all care about young Smurf crawling all over guys and blowing up ATMs. I was hoping for more connection between Pope’s current terrible mental state and his dysfunctional childhood as we delve more into his obvious mental problems, but that was just in the periphery of the flashbacks. It’s annoying, this show really needs to figure itself out if it wants to keep going post Smurf. 

[iMonrey]

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I was hoping for more connection between Pope’s current terrible mental state and his dysfunctional childhood as we delve more into his obvious mental problems, but that was just in the periphery of the flashbacks.

Yeah, I thought maybe this was leading up to Pope going back to one of his childhood homes in his fugue state, but NOPE. The flashbacks had absolutely zero to do with the present day storyline. It's just two different shows going on in the same episode.

[Dowel Jones]

I thought he did, there, when the neighbor woman asked him if he had found his sister.  I thought he was standing at the gate to Smurf's old trailer, even if it had been replaced.

[Novel8]

If that is true, it better be better than season 5 so far.For me, I will judge after watching this season. They don't   seen to know what to do with Deran's character. Getting rid of Smurf was a bad move by continuing the seasons. They should have gotten rid of her in the final season along with some of the boys.

[Jax7917]

I don't really care for the flashbacks, but what annoys me is the actress they casted to play young Smurf. She is like double Smurf's height, and has none of the same mannerisms. Sure, they make her say "baby" a lot like old Smurf, but it's not in the same tone and she doesn't seem like the same person in a younger version. I think they could have found someone better. Someone who seems more tough and formidable.