S02.E08: Santa Jesus

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Mike spends his version of a day off the grid. Ian goes to great lengths to solve a problem. Bunny has a gift for Raphael. Milo speaks to Iris alone.

Dropping Sunday, March 5, 2023.

[mledawn]

Well, that was something.

Ian and Charlie's road trip escalated quickly. Those scenes with Charlie made my stomach churn, which is probably what the writers were going for. Ian is fucked but Robert is fine.

I liked the way Taylor Handley seemed to have mimicked Jeremy Renner's mannerisms when he was speaking with Bunny. It was really believable they are brothers.

Diane Weist needs to be used for more than just whining. This show needs to dial up the women characters. 

Seeing the Orthodox Christian cross on the roof before Mike sat on the bench was a nice touch, foreshadowing Milo's appearance.

This show has a tendency to really pick up in the second half of the season so why waste time being so slow with the earlier episodes? Haven't heard anything about a third season, yet.

[Moviesnob]

This episode was fantastic! I feel like I've been waiting all season for it.

Mike had a plan. He knew Bunny was getting out, and he knew multiple people were going to be looking for him probably b/c Bunny got out and because Kyle roughed up the guard. I'm not sure what he was thinking about the keys, but he was waiting to get picked up. He ran into Allison, who I'm assuming was married to an AB guard, and who tipped off the ABs in the morning. It was all very conveniently timed, with her not calling them until the morning, but the tension behind it was good enough that I'll forgive it. I also remember when Renner posted the video footage of them filming his roll over the car on his IG stories - it was something about the recoup time with filming those scenes.

FINALLY Iris's storyline is moving along. We see part of why Milo hasn't killed her, she brings in too much $$$. And we see more of how much of a lapdog Joseph is. And we get Milo and Mike TOGETHER next episode, though no one still not knowing where Mike when Milo picked him up doesn't make me feel great. Hopefully Milo is a better fighter than Joseph.

I felt real bad for Bunny's friend he was leaving in prison. I like the character/actor; I hope we get to see him again.

The scene with Charlie was everything I loved about S1. The build up over multiple episodes where we're like 'WHERE TF is this going' reminded me of Eugene. Ian proving his worth was great, and how it blew up in his face in the end was also very Ian, lmao. I can't wait to see how Mike deals with that fall out.

I did like Kyle rolling up to Bunny. We're definitely seeing more paths being laid in regards to Kyle working more with Mike in his business in the future. I also did like Bunny calling out Kyle being coked up, though he was at some of his least manic, I thought.

The women in this show really are set aside, but that's also part of how this world is. I hope we get to see more out of the madam in the future. I don't know what's going on with Miriam and Jake and his transfer; I'm guessing something for Miriam to get upset at Mike about? She sure is way more sugary sweet than S1, though that change can happen after almost losing both her sons in the riot. They just haven't really set much of that groundwork to show that is where her change of heart has come from, I don't feel.

I'm REALLY excited about the last two episodes. I don't know if paramount extended their episode order which resulted in the long, drawn-out, short eps we've had up to here, but I'm hyped now.

[TV Diva Queen]

My 22 yo daughter who watches this with us whilst playing w her phone peeped up when the prisoner who was playing the piano, then a rap song came on right after that said "that actor is the rapper"  then promptly went back to her phone.  Pretty talented guy right there....

[mledawn]

Yes, it is really interesting to see how many actors are artists in other ways as well. 

The final bar scene where Robert reveals to the crew that he is no longer investigated has a Headstones song (Ian aka Hugh Dillon’s band) playing in the background.

 

[Ottis]

On 3/5/2023 at 3:27 PM, Moviesnob said:

This episode was fantastic! I feel like I've been waiting all season for it.

Was it really? It was clear Mike wanted someone to come after him, because he left his keys and gun with the bartender and wandered aimlessly in broad daylight alone, not telling anyone else where he was. Maybe he felt guilt over some aspect of the mess that is this show's plot and wanted penance, maybe he needed to be picked up unarmed to get to Milos, I don't know. Clearly he thought he needed to have a confrontation with someone, and he wanted to reduce the chance it would be violent. I'll go with it.

Then his wandering went on a loooooong time before he finally found someone who would rat him out, and then someone finally came get him - and instead of allowing himself to be picked up, Mike went to get his gun and shot (and killed?) the guy. What? 

On 3/5/2023 at 3:27 PM, Moviesnob said:

Mike had a plan. He knew Bunny was getting out, and he knew multiple people were going to be looking for him probably b/c Bunny got out and because Kyle roughed up the guard.

So what was the point of leaving his gun at the bar if this was a plan? If he intended to shoot whoever followed him before even talking to them, why go unarmed? Just to tell the woman snitch he wasn't armed? You can always say you are unarmed but still be armed - why be vulnerable?

Iris makes so much money that Milos won't kill her? I think it is more likely she is a nonfactor, and he is happy to take her money and also will kill her when he feels like it.

On 3/5/2023 at 10:36 AM, mledawn said:

I liked the way Taylor Handley seemed to have mimicked Jeremy Renner's mannerisms when he was speaking with Bunny. It was really believable they are brothers.

I did actually like Kyle and Bunny, each person measuring the other and figuring out how to interact. I'm sure Bunny is already thinking about how to work Kyle at some point.

The whole Ian and the serial killer thing was weird. Ian's leverage was ... that he showed a mentally disadvantaged killer where the guy lived? The killer, who is in jail? What did I miss?

Meanwhile, Mike's mom wanders into the show, does something pointless, and is out - again.

This show is done well, and it drives me crazy. It's not only slow. It usually makes little to no sense, and seems to have no direction. Is it about a corrupt police/prison system? Is it about the dreariness of life in a prison town? Is it "A Day In the Life" of a fixer who isn't good at his job? I dunno. 

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by Ottis

[mledawn]

7 minutes ago, Ottis said:

The whole Ian and the serial killer thing was weird. Ian's leverage was ... that he showed a mentally disadvantaged killer where the guy lived? The killer, who is in jail? What did I miss?

No - you got it. That’s it. Ian was basically showing the cop who made the claim against Robert that Ian had resources (Charlie) and could get at the guy. Ian had no intentions at that moment of Charlie killing the cop, Ian just wanted to threaten him. Ian waits while the guy phones in to recant and then Ian and Charlie leave. But the other cop gets feisty and then says the word Ian had avoided and…now Ian is probably fucked.

Edited March 7, 2023 by mledawn

[Ottis]

6 hours ago, mledawn said:

No - you got it. That’s it. Ian was basically showing the cop who made the claim against Robert that Ian had resources (Charlie) and could get at the guy. Ian had no intentions at that moment of Charlie killing the cop, Ian just wanted to threaten him. Ian waits while the guy phones in to recant and then Ian and Charlie leave. But the other cop gets feisty and then says the word Ian had avoided and…now Ian is probably fucked.

Thank you. It feels like Ian having the ability  to occasionally take imprisoned criminals to the dentist, after sorting through appropriate red tape, isn’t a huge threat? 

[mledawn]

2 hours ago, Ottis said:

Thank you. It feels like Ian having the ability  to occasionally take imprisoned criminals to the dentist, after sorting through appropriate red tape, isn’t a huge threat? 

Well, Ian and Charlie were all kitted out with booties and gloves (and a hairnet for Charlie), so I suppose the threat itself was imminent. I would guess the cop saw the writing on the wall and made the call. Once the cop made the call to recant, the transaction was done, and Charlie goes back to the prison. Maybe I'm overestimating Ian in saying he wasn't prepared to have Charlie kill the cop. I guess the crime scene gear indicates otherwise. In the end it did come in handy as Ian had to fake ransack the place to cover Charlie killing the cop.

[dwmarch]

2 hours ago, Ottis said:

Thank you. It feels like Ian having the ability  to occasionally take imprisoned criminals to the dentist, after sorting through appropriate red tape, isn’t a huge threat? 

The way I interpret it, Ian's threat is that Charlie will kill this cop on the spot and there is an implication that Charlie will come back later for the rest of the family. The cop might not be scared of Charlie or of dying but is certainly not going to be a fan of the idea of his family having to face Charlie when he is not around.

[Orbert]

Some serious George and Lennie vibes there by the riverside.  Then Ian actually pulled out his gun and I thought "No, they're not going to make it that obvious, are they?"  All we needed was for Charlie to start talking about rabbits.

I'm with those who aren't really sure what Mike's plan was on this "day off" but at least some things actually happened.

[dwmarch]

I'm pretty sure Mike's plan was no more involved than what we saw: enjoy a day of not having his phone ring every five minutes with some new crisis, get drunk, get laid, flush out anyone who might be following him around. Pretty productive for a day off. Maybe that's the lesson of this show: the value of work-life balance.

[Orbert]

Makes sense, I guess.  Too bad he doesn't have a cabin in the woods that he can retreat to.

[dwmarch]

For Mike's purposes, there are a bunch of reasons not to go to the cabin:

• Iris knows where it is, hence so does Milo
• Various other family and friends would know to look for him there
• The enemies he is trying to flush out would not know to look for him there
• It is outside of Kingstown PD jurisdiction and Mike can only get away with murder so long as he does it in Kingstown
• Probably no bar or liquor store nearby
• Probably no friendly female company nearby
• A big fucking bear that is accustomed to human food might still be there and would be a poor choice of drinking buddy
• It's a long drive and he's tired of being in his car all the time

[Rapunzel]

20 hours ago, dwmarch said:

'm pretty sure Mike's plan was no more involved than what we saw: enjoy a day of not having his phone ring every five minutes with some new crisis, get drunk, get laid, flush out anyone who might be following him around. Pretty productive for a day off. Maybe that's the lesson of this show: the value of work-life balance.

Mike knew the AB would be after him after he got into it with the drone guy in the previous episode and told them they couldn’t bring drugs into the prison anymore. He and Kyle also attacked the AB guy in the last episode to warn him to stop using the drones and to stop sending drugs into the prison. He didn’t heed the warning so Mike went after the AB drone guy as a reminder. He knew there would be repercussions for this. The whole point of him going to several bars that had some AB connections was so that someone would get word to the AB and they could come after him. He sealed the deal by sleeping with the wife of one of the AB guys who was killed during the riot and knew she would call the AB and let them know his whereabouts. He was prepared for the AB guy following him in the car. He ducked into the one non-AB affiliated bar that he stopped at earlier (but that he had a relationship with the previous owner so he knew about the safe and figured he could trust the former owner’s granddaughter) to get his gun back as he knew he would have to kill the AB guy as he was trying to kill Mike. 
 

I really hope the last episodes are not about trying to rescue Iris from her own stupidity yet again. Mike needs to stop risking everything for some dumb girl who doesn’t want to be saved. I’m hoping they focus more on Milo and him trying to get his bonds back and they leave Iris out of it, though I could see Mike trying to make her release part of the deal with Milo for the bonds. This would be unfortunate as, unless Milo dies, Iris seems to be set on continuing to go back to him and that life.

[Orbert]

My remark about Mike's cabin in the woods was mostly sarcastic, since we haven't seen it in a while (since last season?) and it seemed like a nice place to go chill and get drunk if that was all he wanted to do.  But it's not a good place for all the reasons you've (dw) given.

Still, there did seem to be a method to his madness that I couldn't figure out.  It seemed like more than just a personal pub crawl.  I think this analysis makes a lot of sense.  We don't know who Terry was, but obviously Alison called someone to come after Mike ("he's still here") and that's what Mike was planning on all along.  He knew they'd be coming after him, so he might as well flush them out and hopefully get the upper hand.  And it worked.

And now, finally, after nearly two seasons, Milo.

[CrystalBlue]

May I just add that the best part of this episode was Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home"?