S01.E08: High On The Looming Gallows Tree

[LoveLeigh]

Jackie celebrates a win in front of the cameras but reaches new low outside of the limelight; a shining moment from Decourcy promises a potential future in politics; Siobhan discovers she has been betrayed.

[LoveLeigh]

I feel so confused by so many of the characters on this show. 

Who was the woman who pretended her car was broken and got into the car with Jackie's wife? (It looked like "Rachel," but wouldn't Jenny know who her husband's coworkers are?)
Who was the woman at the door? I think she is the wife of that guy who is in jail who they think is part of the murder of the guards. What is the name of the guy in jail? 
Was the woman at the table Tommy's wife? 

Edited August 4, 2019 by DakotaLavender

[scrb]

Wow Jackie didn’t waste a second.  Just shifted to a different mode as soon as Jenny mentioned Clay.

He didn’t try to beat up Clay, hurt him, just ended him as Clay said the magic words.

Question is how they can continue this series after this season with all the major cast members.

Jackie is compromised, with Rachel and Ward very suspicious of him.  Even if they don’t find evidence to put him away for what he’s done or the murder he just committed, they’re not going to trust him to work with him again.

And the Ryans have the cops questioning and arresting all the accomplices except them but it has to be only a matter of time?  You wouldn’t think Jimmy would rat out Frankie, but he’s just about ratted out everyone else.

In fact why wouldn’t they be suspicious of Jimmy after the FBI found the bodies?  He’s got a drug problem, personal problems, etc.  Frankie won’t turn on his brother but the other robbers have to be nervous.

I don’t get Siobhan’s problem.  She pushed to get rid of Rev. after he came onto her and she recognized he was acting just as that accuser described it. So what if Ward knew already?  She still chose to get rid of the Reverend.

[preeya]

12 hours ago, scrb said:

I don’t get Siobhan’s problem.  She pushed to get rid of Rev. after he came onto her and she recognized he was acting just as that accuser described it. So what if Ward knew already?  She still chose to get rid of the Reverend.

 

As far as I'm concerned, she's there for window dressing, as she brings nothing to the story. Hope she's written out with a divorce from Decourcy.

On another note, the best line of the episode: "Jackie Rohr and James Ryan. One plus one equals two piles of shit."

Edited August 5, 2019 by preeya

[LoveLeigh]

2 hours ago, scrb said:

In fact why wouldn’t they be suspicious of Jimmy after the FBI found the bodies?  He’s got a drug problem, personal problems, etc.  Frankie won’t turn on his brother but the other robbers have to be nervous.

How could Jimmy even know where those bodies were if he was not involved in the murders? And who was that woman whose car broke down? How could it be Rachel? Jenny would know who her husband worked with. 

[MurphysMom]

Jenny has no idea who Jackie works with. She has said he doesn’t discuss things with her. It was definitely Rachel trying to get some info on Jackie. She gave herself away when she went from general conversation to a more specific question.

[Pepper Mostly]

I have no idea what's going on with this clusterfuck any more, and I care less. Bunch of low lifes should stay in the sewer where they belong. No one has a single redeeming quality.

Where was Benny? Was she in an in patient facility? So confusing.

Note to production: Not all R's in Boston are dropped. No one, NO ONE, says "wuhk" for "work". Jesus, who's doing the dialog coaching? They should be fired with a quickness.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Note to production: Not all R's in Boston are dropped. No one, NO ONE, says "wuhk" for "work". Jesus, who's doing the dialog coaching? They should be fired with a quickness.

Seems everyone on this show is overemphasizing the accents, instead just using them subtlely.

Here's a lesson in speaking Boston:

[scrb]

BTW I was a bit disappointed that Jenny said “that slanty-eyed bitch.”

Is she suppose to be some uneducated, Charlestown white trash too, like that woman who was swearing up a storm at Rachel in front of her own toddlers?

At least Jenny didn’t scream obscenities at the Asian baby momma or get into a fight, instead she pulled her inside her home, presumably to calm her down.

So that’s why she resorted to racial slur when she could have other grievances against the mistress than her ethnicity.

But are they too eager to show how racist Boston was/is?

[Pepper Mostly]

Jenny referring to Jackie's side piece as "that slanty eyed bitch" was right in character. And seriously, isn't the cheap shot the first weapon in the arsenal? Call someone fat, old, ugly, slanty eyed. Can't speak English, go back to Africa. Racism is alive and well, especially among the white, Irish blue collar Townie types. I'm surprised she didn't come out with worse. At a workplace in the early aughts a co-worker referenced "gook food" in conversation.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Pepper Mostly

[Pepper Mostly]

@preeya, this is a fave of mine:

[Msample]

I lived in Boston from 87 til 97, so watching this show, despite it not being shot on location, has been a treat. I do miss not seeing more exterior shots, but I get why. I think they filmed the scene with Frankie and the kids watching the planes by JFK. 

Whoever is doing the wardrobe has nailed it, whether its all the acid washed jeans and jackets to the track suits, tam hats, and teased out hair. Their Aquanet budget must be insane. 

As far as last nights episode, I was nervous when Rachel went to Bromley Heath by herself. I mean, she's not a cop w/ a gun is she ? That was a rough area back then.  I was thinking she might get roughed up or worse as a way to keep Jackie's secret at bay. Or just some random act of violence. 

I am curious to see how they wrap up the season with two episodes to go. The show has been renewed for next year and I am sure they'll want Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge back, but the other characters who knows. 

[preeya]

5 hours ago, Msample said:

I am curious to see how they wrap up the season with two episodes to go. The show has been renewed for next year and I am sure they'll want Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge back, but the other characters who knows. 

Probably with a huge cliffhanger that will suck us all back for season two.

[DoctorAtomic]

First of all, please tell me the line about 'Jackie doing backflips. For real.' was a Footloose shout out.

I'm glad they get back on the grand jury, and Ward got to pin the deal on the truck to keep it going.

More on Kinicki - they found out he was an informant.

[DoctorAtomic]

9 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

this is a fave of mine:

He did say Worcester right.

[DoctorAtomic]

On 8/4/2019 at 6:48 PM, scrb said:

I don’t get Siobhan’s problem.  She pushed to get rid of Rev. after he came onto her and she recognized he was acting just as that accuser described it. So what if Ward knew already?  She still chose to get rid of the Reverend.

I don't either. What does she want? First, she gaslights the girl. Then she gets rid of the reverend. Now she doesn't know if she can work for the chief of police. I doubt he really cares. The actor's doing a great job - the character just loves to pick and pick and pick - drama, drama, drama all the time. Ward was right - where was she when her good reverend called him the house n-word?

23 hours ago, DakotaLavender said:

How could Jimmy even know where those bodies were if he was not involved in the murders? And who was that woman whose car broke down? How could it be Rachel? Jenny would know who her husband worked with

I can buy that the brother let it slip out. These are some dumb ass criminals. I like that Ward & Co. is on to him now.

7 hours ago, Msample said:

The show has been renewed for next year and I am sure they'll want Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge back, but the other characters who knows. 

I'm fine with a clean slate with these two taking on the city. I do want Ward to come out on top, but he's the reason Jackie "gets away with it" in whatever form that takes.

Ok, I'm never going to win Man of the Year, but I was like 'oh fuck yeah' when Jackie unceremoniously ended the conversation with Clay. Soon as the wife said 'Clay' like Bacon's face - uh oh. That was awesome.

Edited August 6, 2019 by DoctorAtomic

[tennisgurl]

Kevin Bacon really does a great asshole, but he plays subtle quite well too. The scene where he realizes the guy his daughter was hanging out with was a "Clay something" his expression just shifted so quickly between shock, understanding, panic, and cold rage, it was really great. I should have known Clay was dead right then and there, but him being shot right in the head was still a big "holy shit!" moment for me. 

My favorite bit though was when Decourcy finally got the jury to put the pieces together between all this questioning and the guards being murdered. As soon as the middle age lady mentioned the guys in the truck, and the younger guy picked up on it and started grilling the guy, and you could almost feel the satisfaction from Decourcy.

I never really know what Siobhan’s problem is, she always seems to be pissed at Decourcy for basically no reason or for just doing what he is supposed to be doing. I mean, she wanted to get rid of the Reverend, and Decourcy got rid of him, I think I missed some details as to why she was supposedly embarrassed about this because of one minor interaction with one guy who knows her husband. And Decourcy is totally right to point out that she had jack and shit to say when her at the time new bestie Reverend called him a house N Word to his face, and then said it again to the press!

[Pepper Mostly]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

First of all, please tell me the line about 'Jackie doing backflips. For real.' was a Footloose shout out.

Ha! I didn't even thing of that! Nice call back if that's the case. 

But, Bostonian nitpick--its 1992? so Jackie and Jenny would have been dating in the mid-late 70's? Club would have been Lucifer. 

[DoctorAtomic]

9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I mean, she wanted to get rid of the Reverend, and Decourcy got rid of him, I think I missed some details as to why she was supposedly embarrassed about this because of one minor interaction with one guy who knows her husband.

I don't even think it went like that. Ward was working with the chief of police and she was saying the chief was slandering the reverend at the time. He didn't go handle it for her. And the reverend busted into his office age took a swing at him. 

It just seems like nothing ever is good enough unless she does it. 

[UnknownK]

Can you imagine somebody hitting a DA in 2019 without ending up in jail for years for assault?

People did get away with a lot of bad behavior in the 80's.

[DoctorAtomic]

Ward could have filed charges on him easily enough and maybe even a restraining order. He probably wanted to avoid another barrage from the wife. 

[UnknownK]

12 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Ward could have filed charges on him easily enough and maybe even a restraining order. He probably wanted to avoid another barrage from the wife. 

I think most people let that slide back then and handled it out of court (if not with a direct punch back). People in general were more physical back then then they are now, same with bullying.

Society has switched from taking things in their own hands and just letting the cops and courts deal with it all no matter how minor.

[DoctorAtomic]

I think the scene was to show how Ward was more calculating than to be someone who just reacts. We saw that bear fruit here when he finally got the grand jury to ask the questions he's been waiting for. 

Also the comeback was brilliant - you wanna try the other cheek?

[UnknownK]

I do like the time period clothing, cars and vibe of the show. 

[Sheenieb]

Quote

I never really know what Siobhan’s problem is, she always seems to be pissed at Decourcy for basically no reason or for just doing what he is supposed to be doing. I mean, she wanted to get rid of the Reverend, and Decourcy got rid of him, I think I missed some details as to why she was supposedly embarrassed about this because of one minor interaction with one guy who knows her husband. And Decourcy is totally right to point out that she had jack and shit to say when her at the time new bestie Reverend called him a house N Word to his face, and then said it again to the press!

I'm glad the show's been renewed for another season. Hopefully, Siobhan/Lauren Banks will be given more to do. All she does right now is scowl and get angry at Decourcy. I don't understand what she wanted, either. I do have to keep in mind that #MeToo is almost 30 years away, so attitudes towards sexual harassment were lax compared to how it is now, so I'm guessing her conflict is ousting a man who was trying to do good for the community, unfortunately, it was at the expense of the girls/women parishioners of his church. Her own mother was making excuses for the Reverend.

I was taken aback when Jenny used the racial slur, but then again, I had to remember that they're all racist trash. Jenny presents as likable and long-suffering so we forget that she has her prejudices, too. 

[Pepper Mostly]

People may not have been as woke in 1992 but sexual harassment was a thing. The Anita Hill hearings were in 1991. It was decades before "me too" but it was talked about and it was high profile. But wow, shocker, people didn't listen to women! So here we are thirty years later still having the same conversation. 

Jenny is likable, all right. She is meant to be a sympathetic character. The kind of person whose racism is overlooked because she's "such an nice person" "works so hard" "not a mean bone in her body". Plenty of people right now, in 2019, make excuses for racist remarks and behavior by friends, relatives, and holders of high office.  

[LoveLeigh]

"How could Jimmy even know where those bodies were if he was not involved in the murders? And who was that woman whose car broke down? How could it be Rachel? Jenny would know who her husband worked with

I can buy that the brother let it slip out. These are some dumb ass criminals. I like that Ward & Co. is on to him now."

But Jimmy was there, so wouldn't Jackie realize if he knew where the bodies were that he was involved?

[DoctorAtomic]

4 hours ago, Sheenieb said:

so I'm guessing her conflict is ousting a man who was trying to do good for the community, unfortunately, it was at the expense of the girls/women parishioners of his church. Her own mother was making excuses for the Reverend.

That's fine and it's a good exploration to have, but they aren't really writing in that subtlety and the actor doesn't have much to work with. 

I don't recall Jimmy being in on the heist when they shot the guards. Even if Jackie assumes Jimmy was an accomplice he's not going to do anything. He sprung the other CI out of jail and he was guilty too. 

[pex]

On 8/4/2019 at 11:09 PM, preeya said:

On another note, the best line of the episode: "Jackie Rohr and James Ryan. One plus one equals two piles of shit."

I spend quite a bit of time at the peephole, you know...

[Dminches]

When Ward asked Sheik Sheehan's attorney to mention James Ryan's name I assume he was doing that only to "leak" out that Ryan was an informant?  I think he knew the attorney would not do that and risk his own career.