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« The Black Donnellys
March 12, 2007: The World Will Break Your Heart
Quick tip: There is an exclusive episode online that bridges the gap between this episode and last week’s episode. If you haven’t seen it, I strongly suggest you watch it!
This was a very quiet episode. And by "quiet" I mean no one died. In the exclusive episode, someone does die. After watching that episode and this one, my choice for favorite brother has changed. From the beginning, I was a Tommy fan. But poor Kevin (Billy Lush) tries so hard. You’ve got to give the guy some credit — he really does mean well. When we look back to the first episode, the brother who caused all of the drama was Kevin. He never meant for any of this to happen, but his gambling problem did get the Donnellys in way over their heads. However, the guy isn’t unlucky. He’s just not a good card player.
Kevin promised Tommy he’d take care of the liquor and he asked Joey Ice Cream to come along with him. They were hilarious. I wonder if any of the show’s writers have ever been taxicab drivers. “Are you nuts? Twenty hours being told what to do by people who can’t even afford a car.” I really liked Joey in this episode. He was very believable this week, and whether you think that’s important or not, it makes the story so much better. I actually trusted him.
We were also introduced to a few new characters. Hughie Ferrell’s wife, Kate, could become a key player. So far, she’s the grieving widow, but something tells me she’s not going to keep mum about her husband’s death. And we know Dokey isn’t keeping quiet. Could he have made it anymore obvious, when saying words at the church, that he thought the Donnellys had had something to do with Hughie’s death? Of course, he’s right and it showed. His eyes never left Tommy.
I’m not too keen on this new guy Samson. If Hughie had gotten him his job and now he’s afraid he’s going to lose it, he must not be the best guy. Joey did tell us he was the complete opposite of Tommy, so maybe he was referring to the old Tommy — the good brother who didn’t kill people or try to slice their fingers off with a scalpel. (I told you: Watch the exclusive episode.) In the end, it appears Jenny chose Samson, at least for the time being. I think she did it out of spite for Tommy. And good for her! The poor girl asks for the truth and instead Tommy tells her, “If you really believed what you said about loving me, you’ve got to stop asking and just trust me.“ Then she gets questioned and taken into a basement by Dokey and his ax. That would scare the hell out of anyone.
Also, another love interest: Jimmy’s girlfriend Joanie. The two of them are meant for each other. One question: why did Jimmy go to Sal’s funeral? He has a very different idea of how to pay respects to the dead.
Of course, the best scenes are always saved for last. Jimmy pulled himself together for the meeting in the basement. Kevin was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t even lie on the telephone. If you can’t lie on the phone, you definitely can’t lie in person. And Tommy “came clean” with Dokey. In the end, Joey explained it best: "If they hadn’t killed Louie Downtown they would have been dead. Right then and there.” The ax came out again. If I had my choice I’d take a gun, but Dokey is a Hokey Pokey fan, so maybe he enjoys taking people’s left leg out. Put your left leg in.... After he’s done, you won’t be able to shake it all about.
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Mar 13, 2007 8:09 AM
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I feel like now we've gotten past the 'We have naked boys and we shoot people' bit, that was meant to pull viewers in, and now we're getting into the characters and the story, and I am LOVING it. Not as fast paced as last week, but I couldn't pry my eyes away from the TV. Especially that last scene, I haven't been so tense and nervous watching TV in a while.
Everyone on the show is doing an amazing job, I love the characters so, so much. And yeah, Kevin has definitely surpassed Tommy in the list of 'My Favorite Donnelly'. Look at him sticking up for cab drivers! And plus, anything with James Badge Dale in it is fine by me.
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Mar 13, 2007 8:39 AM
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"Exclusive Episode"??? What's that all about. When was it on? Was it only online? Last night's episode was a little unbelievable - would any of this really happen? Kosher wine in an Irish bar? Please. Still, I do like the show and love the actress who plays Jenny - she is great.
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Mar 13, 2007 9:25 AM
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ugh... i can't watch the exclusive episode until later today but wow... i don't see how i can start liking Kevin more than Tommy... i mean wow... Tommy is a total badass that continues to make the right decisions while Kevin is a weak character and Jimmy is a flippin psycho that likes to hear himself speak
but like i said i haven't been able to watch the exclusive episode yet
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Mar 13, 2007 11:07 AM
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I'm really starting to love this show (which pains me, because I was a Studio 60 fan).
The exclusive online-only episode was great. (Casey, can't you go back and do a recap of that one? Please?) However, the salient plot points were carried over decently in the broadcast episode. Of course, this is almost more of a character drama than a plot-driven show, so you don't want to skip the online ep and its Jimmy-centric scenes.
As soon as Kevin told his girlfriend to put on a nice dress (or somesuch), I panicked. He might be able to keep himself together (err, somewhat), but I was sure she was gonna spill the beans at the wake, especially after she had repeated Kevin saying that Tommy killed Hughie.
I don't know--Dokey started out being creepy (and still kinda is), but he's almost becoming a bit too much of a caricature. Especially hauling around that axe. I mean, I get it, it's characterization, but it's starting to feel too much like a prop. Like Matthew McConaughey's axe in "Reign of Fire."
So now the real concern is: Where's Tommy gonna get Nickie's money? He's in a hole here and will have to keep paying to maintain the status quo. He can't kill Nickie (you can't kill everyone you owe money to, at least not forever), and he certainly can't tell him that Mr. Downtown is in a barrel at the bottom of the river.
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Mar 13, 2007 11:54 AM
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Great recap, Casey. I'm really liking this show. And I agree with you, that last scene was really great.
I'm not happy with having to track down an exclusive on-line episode, but I'll probably break down and watch it. Hopefully it'll still be available tonight after work.
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Mar 13, 2007 12:01 PM
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Hello All!
You should be able to get the unaired episode by clicking on "exclusive episode" in the blog. Honestly, I can see why it wasn't aired (it's mostly a filler episode), but a true fan will enjoy it.
Or go to NBC's website and you can watch every episode as many times as you'd like!
Thank you for all of your comments... and teacherdave, I'll see what I can do for ya! 
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Mar 13, 2007 12:13 PM
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teacherdave did you mean Jimmy's girlfriend? I didn't notice that Kevin had a girlfriend. And as for Dokey's ax, have you seen the props in Gangs of New York?
So the Widow Ferrell offers to pay Tommy to have the wake at the Firecracker, but Tommy agrees to "take care of it" knowing he doesn't have any food, booze or money to buy food or booze? Say what?
As for the neighborhood, someone previously mentioned Hell's Kitchen. Are there elevated subway lines in that area?
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Mar 13, 2007 12:15 PM
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I completely love this show. I also think the music is chosen very well to fit the current scene. Now, I know ratings aren't stellar, but is there some hope for a renewal for a second season? Referring to the opening quote of "To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart."- hopefully, that isn't the case for us fans.
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Mar 13, 2007 1:43 PM
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I really enjoyed last nights episode and agree that the final scene in the basement was stellar!!
In my opinion, Tommy cannot pay the Italians any money, to do so would only prove that he indeed does owe money. I can take a guess here and say that Hokey and Tommy may end up having to face off with the Italians together. Remember the saying...."the enemy of my enemy is my friend".
The one thing about this show that has me concerned is that they appear to be painting the life of brother Jimmy into a corner. Him being the psycho, loose-cannon can only be expected to live so long.
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Mar 13, 2007 2:05 PM
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I'm really not a big fan of Jimmy at all--any of the other three brothers are fine by me, but when he comes on the screen, I find myself anxiously waiting until he's gone again. I say, keep him in jail!
Did we ever get a full explanation as to why Jenny ditched Tommy? I watched the online episode hoping for an answer, but there is none. All I can think is that it's because Tommy is involved in all of this killing and everything--but then every scene we see, we keep being reminded that he's doing what he has to do (like when the Donnellys' mom says it to Jenny). It surely can't be the fact that she's married--yeah, her husband's dead, but she doesn't know it--so what is it? And if it is the mob thing...umm, isn't Samson involved too--getting jobs because of Hughie??
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Mar 13, 2007 2:16 PM
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I could tell there was something missing last night. I kept asking if I had missed an episode, and now I know that I have. I really don't watch things online - made the exception for Daybreak - but will need to watch this since I feel I need some questions answered.
In the online episode Jenny must find out about her husband, right? Seems like she knows when last week she didn't.
I also thought Jimmy was in rehab.
I think putting an episode online only is kind of a BS thing to do to a viewer.
Good news - I got two more people to watch the show last night. One - a coworker who says he has now put it in his TiVo. I told him to go online and watch the first two (now I'll need to say three) episodes. The other was my honey. He may make me stop watching thou - 'cuz I don't know how many times I said "they need to put a bullet in Jimmy's brain." He is SUCH A MORON!!!
How they did not find him and kill him after he took a leak on a grave is beyond me. I know the FBI were watching - but that is just one of many things this idiot has done to make him a marked man. I know Tommy feels responsible for him since he ran over his leg, but at what point do you say to hell with this idiot who will only get himself and all of us killed?
Jimmy made me very tense through the whole episode. I wonder how he has lived as long as he has.
I loved their mom (Kate M.) telling the girlfriend to leave the hospital in a very pointed, yet polite way. It seems weird that she is hanging around Sean so much. They only met the day Sean was beat-up, right? The only thing I can think is she must feel some loyalty since she got a bit of a beat down when he did too.
When the above poster brought up The Gangs of New York I immediately pictured Dokey in a very tall hat. Great visual!
This was a slower episode, but I still want more. Any word on ratings?
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Mar 13, 2007 2:22 PM
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Sheldon, good catch on my names gaffe. You'd think that even with the Joey Ice Cream introduction every week (with arrows! I love that), I'd be able to keep 'em straight.
At this point, I almost have to refer to the brothers who are not Tommy as "the junkie," "the unlucky one," and "the formerly-pretty one."
Hopefully (fingers crossed!), the show will be around long enough for me to properly learn all their names.
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Mar 13, 2007 6:57 PM
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Haha I like the arrows too--I'm pretty quick with learning character names, but since I find Joey really amusing, I find the arrows even more amusing.
Speaking of...not that I'm complaining, because I personally love when Joey randomly inserts himself into scenes...but did anyone notice that he actually had relevance to the story this week? And had a reason for knowing what happened? Funny. What I really want to know is why he's in jail--obviously he's telling the story of the Donnelly brothers, which means there has to be some sort of big event at the end to merit his storytelling. Hopefully it'll stick around long enough to see why Joey's telling the story in the first place.
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Mar 13, 2007 8:39 PM
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hm.. I still couldn't tell who is whom. Arrows would be more effective if they included names 
Didn't care for this ep either. Am definitely starting to tune out.. 
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Mar 13, 2007 11:41 PM
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