Treme - Thoughts on Episode 7

This a dark episode.

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There really wasn't much doubt that Daymo wasn't turning up alive, particularly after the connections between Desautel's Restaurant and Brooks were established.  An outraged judge on the bench at Tulane and Broad? Imagine my surprise.  I know there are a lot of smart people up there, but still, sometimes I think they live in a bubble surrounded by a vacuum, and the show captures that well.  That they had Daymo on ice in the temporary morgue was pretty gross, the sort of reality we've come to expect from a cable-TV drama.

Albert and the projects: The show engages in a bit of mild revisionist history here, because most of the protests relating to the closure and demolition of the projects involved people from outside of the core NOLA communities.  I lone Big Chief makes for much better television, though-I wish it had happened this way in real life.  The interview with Albert would have been picked up by AC360 and other 24/7 media, f'sure.  But good teevee is about telling a story, and "outside agitators" weren't the story; getting people home was (and still is).

NOPD:  I'm really liking how the cops are the collective villain of the show.  This has to be a challenge for writers who "get" cops, to present them in this perspective.  It probably doesn't hurt that NOPD really is as messed up as it's portrayed (if not worse).  The community services sergeant was good, treated Albert like an equal,   and that's always been a problem for NOPD.  The problem rears its head the next day.  Albert's arrest, like Antoine's previous beat-down, are typical fare for da cops.  "Won't bow down!" applies to the cops as much as other tribes.  So, just 24 hours earlier, a black cop, no, a black sergeant, shows Albert respect.  Comes time to remove him from the Calliope, they send a bunch of hot-headed white guys in to administer an ass-kicking.  This is why we have systemic problems within NOPD and something like eight ongoing federal investigations of the department.

Davis:  Jacques Morial has some interesting lines as he plays himself talking with Davis. Jacques is a good representative for the city's black political infrastructure. His daddy was so well-respected and his brother the polar opposite (having been literally run out of town one step ahead of the law). Jacques is a fascinating bridge between the two; hopefully the writers use him more.   Davis is making friends (Morial and the judge who talks him out of the council race) and money (from the CD sales), and is sort of at a loss as to what to do with it all.

Antoine: It's good to see this deeper side of Antoine.  After banging the stripper, being the deadbeat dad, and the comic relief of stiffing the cab drivers, Antoine needed a bit of depth.  Giving up the expensive horn the Japanese guy bought him to Danny was a generous act, along with making sure a share of the airport gigs got back to Danny and his family.  The hospital scene where he shares the iPod (I didn't really know what the tune was, HBO.com said it was Jelly Roll Morton) with Danny was touching.  The empty bed later-well, that's always a good way to move along on a teevee show. 

MSY: I was in and out of MSY a lot in 2006.  I went back on the road, teaching for both EMC and HDS.  It was a surreal thing, flying in over all the blue roofs, living the life of rebuilding, then flying out again to parts of the country totally unaffected by the storm.  Shorty and his brother were experiencing the same thing, people asking after the city, expressing sympathy but not quite knowing what to say.  Seeing those musicians (including Antoine), I can almost see this happening in real life.  Sort of a grounding experience for the brothers.  Antoine's reaction, that embarrassment of i-should-be-doing-what-you-do-but-i'm-doing-this-gig continues.  Antoine's face when he sees Shorty was priceless.

Bernettes: Seeing Creighton teaching at Tulane was interesting, and a good vehicle for presenting Lafcadio Hearn.  It's good to put our dysfunction into historical perspective.  It also shows Cray's bi-polar coming out.  He's good "on platform" when teaching or doing his YouTube rant, but the rest of the time, he's extremely depressed.  That depression makes working on the novel a disaster.  Clearly Toni's at a loss for how to help, and she's got her hands full with case work.

Janette: guerilla chef rocks!  When we were on Planet Hooston for those depressing weeks in early September, 2005, I remember the taco trucks.  New home construction out past Beltway 8 is all gated communities.  The crews working those jobs don't have cars, so the taco trucks come to them.  All I could think about was getting one of those trucks and bringing it back home.  Naturally, it's been done, from the basic ones run by Mexicans from Houston to the "gourmet" truck, Taco Loceaux.  Seeing Janette go out with the grill trailer made perfect sense.  And not just for the times, either.  Drago's has a couple of mobile kitchens where they can do their signature char-grilled oysters at fairs and festivals.  It's a good business model.  No surprise Jacques didn't sign up for that; putting him at Bayona is also typical of the time.  All the restaurants were dying for help.  Even Starbucks was offering $8 and health insurance for baristas!

Annie: The Cajun thing really lit up the Amanda Shaw fan-children, but I really just don't care.  The interesting hook here is the character Harley Watt.  He's Steve Earle, a very-talented folk musician, and looks like he fits in perfectly in the Quarter/Marigny street scene.  When he hooks Annie up with the Cajun musicians, it all comes together.  She unconsciously sandbags her audition for the Pine Leaf Boys.  When the guy asks her "do you have trouble in your heart?", he really nailed it.  Professionals that they are, the Cajuns recognize her skills and encourage her to try again to join up with them in the future. 

Sonny/Annie: Annie asking Sonny about the gig, and his totally childish reaction is, of course, the "trouble in her heart."  She's so co-dependent it's not funny.  (Note to Amanda Shaw fans: do you really want your idol to be portrayed as such an emotional wreck?  There may be superficial similarities here, but Annie is a complex person on her own.)

Two deaths this ep.  Daymo is confirmed, and Danny Nelson.  Death and funerals were just too common all throughout 2006.  Antoine telling Danny's little grandson to keep the good trombone is the only thing he can do.  He can't take it from the young man. 

Like any second movement, there's a transition to the climax.  Danny's funeral ends with a very young New Orleanian, and that's important.