S01.E09: Requiem

[raven]

On 3/19/2018 at 10:45 PM, 88Keys said:

But seriously...I could have very happily lived out the rest of my life without seeing Connor trying to have sex.  Or pee, for that matter.

Ugh - both scenes were annoying because they were pointless.  Cyrus could have crept up on Conner without the long, extended peeing sequence (personally, I HATE in any show/movie when were are subjected to this) and Conner not able to have sex - who cares?  He's gross and awful and blames everyone but himself for his lot in life, we know that.  I would even rather have seen more of Laszlo crying, heh,

Things are moving awfully fast.   We get extra confirmation about how scary Beecham is just by looking at how afraid the bartender was of him and that guy didn't strike me as a shrinking violet.

I can't decide if it's weird or not that I really like the show's atmosphere, costumes, etc but to live back then would have been hell.

[lightninggirl]

On 3/19/2018 at 10:34 PM, tennisgurl said:

This show is actively trying to raise my blood pressure, isn't it? That ending was terrifying.

I am a horror aficionado, and my DVR is filled with Discovery ID. I had DVRd this episode and had to slowly FF through the end because I felt like I was going to have a heart attack watching the end! SO well done and panic-inducing! I can't believe there's only ONE more episode!!!

[jaigurudeva]

I probably missed something, but if the killer is an enforcer for local gambling sharks and he finds the boys first through their dead-beat fathers, how does he know that the boys are transgender or cross-dressers, and how does he know what brothels they work? How did he find his first victims, the Zweig twins, if they were from a well-to-do family?

[raven]

3 hours ago, jaigurudeva said:

I probably missed something, but if the killer is an enforcer for local gambling sharks and he finds the boys first through their dead-beat fathers, how does he know that the boys are transgender or cross-dressers, and how does he know what brothels they work? How did he find his first victims, the Zweig twins, if they were from a well-to-do family?

I think he found the twins via his job as an enumerator.    I think there are only certain brothels that cater to people who are paying for the types of boy prostitutes, so he probably didn't have to look very hard.

[kassygreene]

never mind

Edited March 24, 2018 by kassygreene

[Calamity Jane]

On 3/20/2018 at 8:44 PM, renatae said:

I just saw this post and I feel validated, lol. Just can't get used to the Roosevelt portrayal. I think he would have gone in there with a few erstwhile Rough Riders and shown those police who's boss! Or just duked it out himself!  :)

Isn't this pre-Rough Riders?  1896? Spanish-American War was 1898.  Then he was elected governor, and subsequently chosen to run for vice president in 1900.  McKinley was killed, and so Roosevelt became president.  He did a lot of reform work as president of the police commission.  We're seeing the beginnings of it in the show; I'd like to see it portrayed more forcefully.  I think there's the potential for the actor to be more dynamic.  It seems more the fault of the writing than of the actor, at least to me.  

[jmnf19]

On 3/20/2018 at 9:25 PM, AttackTurtle said:

Sorry....I haven’t seen a single one of those movies.   I kid you not the last movie I saw in a theatre was No Country for Old men.  I’m old and lazy.

Luke Evans is a very good  actor and singer too. He’s done a lot of theater, mostly musicals. The actor is gay and after playing this role, with the homophobia in this series and so prevalent in the 19th century, he must be glad he lives in this era.

[renatae]

On 3/24/2018 at 6:40 PM, Calamity Jane said:

Isn't this pre-Rough Riders?  1896? Spanish-American War was 1898.  Then he was elected governor, and subsequently chosen to run for vice president in 1900.  McKinley was killed, and so Roosevelt became president.  He did a lot of reform work as president of the police commission.  We're seeing the beginnings of it in the show; I'd like to see it portrayed more forcefully.  I think there's the potential for the actor to be more dynamic.  It seems more the fault of the writing than of the actor, at least to me.  

Yes, you're correct. Like you, I'd like to see him portrayed more forcefully. It seems he stirred up controversy the whole time he served as president of the commissioners. I also agree about the actor. I like him and I think him more than capable; it's the fault of the writers. Perhaps the writers are portraying him this way because, despite all his efforts, there ultimately was not much reform actually accomplished during his tenure.

On 3/21/2018 at 5:27 AM, The Wild Sow said:

Oh, but between Connor's long johns, his passel of kids, and his outhouse, all I could think of was this scene from Monty Python!  (the part around 2:14)

 

No, Ali wasn't an enforcer.  Ali/Fatima was one of the early victims!  Ali's father beat up the first enforcer the debt collector sent; after that they sent Beecham (who was apparently tougher.)

Ali's father sold him to the Madam in payment for his gambling debt, so I'd say he hated his father for good reason!

Thanks for completely filling in the blanks for me! I think I became confused when the debt collector mentioned the other enforcer's name was "Ibn (?) something or another" and I confused it with Ali. It was driving me nuts, so thanks to everyone who helped straighten me out!

[millennium]

On 3/23/2018 at 12:54 PM, jaigurudeva said:

I probably missed something, but if the killer is an enforcer for local gambling sharks and he finds the boys first through their dead-beat fathers, how does he know that the boys are transgender or cross-dressers, and how does he know what brothels they work? How did he find his first victims, the Zweig twins, if they were from a well-to-do family?

Based on the characterizations in the show, I'm not sure the terms transgender or cross-dresser really fit.   We haven't been introduced to any boy who is presenting as a girl because he enjoys it or feels he is expressing an inner nature.   It seems more a uniform they wear to work, and which they dispense with at the first opportunity.

That's not to say transgender individuals didn't exist then, but thus far I haven't seen any, IMO.

ETA: I loved Sarah's black lace dress with the leg of mutton sleeves and red buttons.

And put me down for believing Connor will be killed by the serial killer.   

Edited April 4, 2018 by millennium

[pezgirl7]

1 hour ago, millennium said:

Based on the characterizations in the show, I'm not sure the terms transgender or cross-dresser really fit.   We haven't been introduced to any boy who is presenting as a girl because he enjoys it or feels he is expressing an inner nature.   It seems more a uniform they wear to work, and which they dispense with at the first opportunity.

For some of them, I think it is a uniform, but the Zweig boy was brought to Laszlo because he wanted to dress as a girl, although he wasn't a prostitute. And Georgio was kicked out of his home because his father called him a girl. So I think those two were either cross-dressers, transgender or gay. John and Laszlo had a discussion about it regarding Georgio, but they didn't know the answer, because really only Georgio could answer that. And because there's one more episode after this, I'll put this behind a spoiler cut...

Spoiler

One of the things I was a bit disappointed in was that we never did find out why in the past six months, Japheth seemed to be targeting boy prostitutes that dressed as girls. Did he just find a niche of children that were easy targets, or was there a deeper reason?