On Luck this week, we were introduced to a couple of new characters who promise to play a role in the remainder of the season as well as learning some new things about the familiar characters. I’m a big fan of Joan Allen, so it was nice to see her pop up in this episode, even if her appearance was brief. The promise of a larger role for her character moving forward has me excited. The other big introduction was that of Nathan Israel (Patrick Adams), who seemingly is going to play a big part in Ace’s still mysterious plans. I’m still looking forward to meeting Ace’s target Mike (who will be played by the incomparable Michael Gambon).
The big news from the episode was the purchase of Mon Gateau by The Four Amigos. I loved that Escalante was still trying to pull a fast one on Jerry, but the gambler saw right through it. Escalante is clearly a sneaky individual. It’s going to be fun watching how he interacts with the four gamblers and seeing if he tries to play them at every turn. And how about Escalante and Jo? I definitely didn’t see that coming.
Just as Escalante seems prime to toy with the new horse owners, Ace is in a similar position with Nathan. It was already fun watching Ace and Gus get into the head of the youngster in this episode. He was obviously nervous around the two far more seasoned men, even asking permission to use the “lavatory” during their meeting. Clearly Ace has some things in store for Israel, but if I were the youngster I don’t think I would let the promise of a million dollars draw me into a shady job with a guy fresh out of prison. I’m looking forward to seeing how Ace is going to use this kid, though.
The jockeys took a bit of a front seat this week as well, with a deeper look into the life of Ronnie (played by real life jockey Gary Stevens) and the introduction of Leon’s weight issues. It was alluded to early in the season that Ronnie was a bit of a drunk and his agent was trying to clean him up, but he is a lot more self destructive than I realized. A broken collar bone drove him to getting drunk and coked up. No matter how quickly he heals, I’m concerned he is going to get himself into serious trouble before he can. Leon seems to be in a much better place, but he has his own problems. It seems like making weight is going to be a running theme for Leon for a while.
It’s hard not to compare Luck with Deadwood, as both came from the mind of David Milch. Like Deadwood, it appears that Luck is using a one day per episode model. With such a huge cast of characters and multiple story lines going on, this model appears to work well. It also did well for shows like Lost (which loosely followed the model) and Twin Peaks — shows which also had huge casts and lots going on. Aside from that, there is the rich language and a Deadwood trademark: monologues. This week featured one from Nick Nolte’s Smith. I also have grown fond of each episode ending with Ace in bed, talking with Gus. It definitely reminds me of Swearengen in the saloon ending just about every episode of Deadwood.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Feb 12, 2012 @ 22:00 EST5EDT
