I'll cut to the end to explain the beginning – we end the episode with a burning bush, a la "The Bible".
The "May God Have Mercy" tagline of the show, alongside the Rue storyline of redemption – the addict's oft-travelled journey of forgiveness via a higher power, is coming into stark relief. Do I think it's poignant, or landing in some spectacular way? No. But Zendaya is giving it everything. This has been the pattern.
This episode sets us up for explosions in the next, if that's Levinson's master plan. Cassie is leaving Maddie, to instead go ruin her sister's perfect life at the TV show. Maddie and Rue's mother is on Alamo's radar as Zendaya's under strict watch.
Jules is "stuck", I guess, with this old guy who doesn't respect her, and slapped Rue right into the painting she was doing.
Oh god, I'm tired. I'm so tired of good-to-middling performances over nothing burger. Here's what I mean.
Rue talks to her mother over the phone – while at church. There is a shot where the camera comes up behind her, only to end up looking at her. I, knowing cinema, assumed this meant Alamo, or someone else, was coming to talk to her. You know, a POV shot. Instead, it's...just a shot. Just another way of showing Rue. If I gave Levinson credit, I could try to justify the shot as some stroke of genius, but I know he was just wanting to use a Dolly for the hell of it.
Everything about this show feels like it leads to nothing. Yet another scene of Nate getting chopped up each episode – found out from Imani that this is actually fetish content, so, yaaay – and i'm just bored. All flare, no fuel.
Which is why the whole "Faith" plotline isn't landing with me. I know it's going to be nothing. I daren't even get my hopes up. I hope Sam had a great time on-set looking at titties and fantasising about chopping Jacob Elordi into pieces.
The show started with a mostly female fanbase – this feels like that thing that happens with male artists where they try to court a male audience in order to bolster their legitimacy. If that's the play – it's likely, sadly, working.
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