DJariya

By djariya at 2011-12-11

Synopsis:



Episode 2 of 9

Promo:

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DJariya

In case you missed the news, Luck was renewed for a 10 episode 2nd season last week.

Geofferson

Hopefully the ratings for this improve. Audiences should get around the subject matter that may not have broader appeal and tune in given the talent involved.

DJariya

I'm not going to anticipate much ratings growth weeks 2 to 9. As mentioned before, despite the star power, the subject matter is kind of a tough sell. I think the drama elements and mob aspects will have to help the show overcome people not getting horse racing. A few people in the Pilot thread mentioned that they either didn't understand the show or found it a difficult watch.

I think this may end up like Treme. Moderately rated show that will still get renewed based on the critical acclaim and of course having Dustin Hoffman as the lead and Michael Mann/David Milch behind the scenes helps.

Shannon Nutt

I rewatched the pilot before watching episode 2, and "comprehended" a lot more the second time around. I still agree with those who say this is a tough sell. I'm actually a little surprised HBO already greenlit a second season...although I'm guessing a lot of that has to do with keeping a good relationship with Dustin Hoffman, who's a producer of the show.

Geofferson

Second episode was pretty good I thought. I wasn't familiar with "claim" races, so that was interesting. Lonnie sure got his ass handed to him by those two women.

flashburn

I was kind of confused about the claim race. If Escalante didn't want to sell the horse, why did he put it up for claim? What decided the $8800 price?

DJariya

Escalante doesn't own the horse. Ace is actually the owner, unknown to him.

I enjoyed episode 2, but you really had to pay attention to follow everything that was happening. I actually had to read a recap afterwards to make sense of some stuff.

So, did Marcus, Lonnie, Renzo and Jerry collect their winnings? I was a little confused about all that cash sitting in the back of Jerry's car when he went to the casino. It was sad to see how pathetic he was and also how addicted he is to gambling.

at the scene with Lonnie and the 2 middle aged whores. For those complaining of the lack of boobs...there you go. For 2 middle aged chicks, they actually didn't look too bad. If you didn't get what went on there, Lonnie was involved with some insurance scam with those 2 chicks and tried to break it off with them and that's why they got pissed off.

Gunde

I don't understand 90% of what's going on or being said, still I enjoyed it. Does that make sense?

Nice boobs on Dawson's mom

Geofferson

Yeah, she looked pretty good. I'm sure I've seen her on TV since Dawson's Creek, but that's where I always remember her from.

flashburn

Well now I'm even more confused! How does Ace own the horse and not know it? Why did Escalante even care that it was claimed then?

DJariya

Sorry I didn't phrase that right. While Ace was in prison, Gus, his driver, handled all his business affairs including the purchase of Mon Gateau. Gus is the owner of record, but Ace is actually the real owner of the horse unknown to Escalante. It was also revealed that Ace was the one responsible for helping Escalante get his start in the horse racing business, even though Escalante has no clue of it.

As for the Claiming race. Escalante was pulling a scam to put Mon Gateau up for auction, hoping that noone would claim him, which would jack up his odds in the next race.

Shady12

That's what I'm trying to do. I still don't understand what's going on. Like just a couple guys on the show having a normal sentence and it's like another language even if they aren't using horse terminology.. I don't get it. Don't really understand what's going on with Hoffman, and don't understand the appeal of the lowlife gamblers. I don't understand why the Arab-looking Peruvian horse guy or stuttering guy get so pissed that the jockey talks. I've never had a hard time understanding the plot of any TV show but I am with this one. I want to like it though.

chess1972

It's not the same horse. Escalante lost his horse in the claiming race but is still the trainer for the horse owned by Ace's front man. A $2 million horse doesn't end up in an $8000 claiming race. Escalante is well aware that Ace is the real owner and has said and implied as much to several people.

DJariya

In the business meeting between Ace, DiRossi and Cohen, it was also revealed that Ace is trying to secure an investor to help buy a race track at Santa Anita and use some influence to help bring casino gambling there. Although Ace is a felon, so that's why it's important for him to secure an investor(s) and have him be more of a silent partner.

Ace also spent 3 years in prison for cocaine possession. He's not a drug user or seller, but took the fall for his grandson sampling his former business asoociate, Mike, who we haven't seen yet, product. Ace said that Mike was probably going to sell him out. Alot of the plot is Ace trying to seek revenge against Mike.

DJariya

The thing I didn't get was where all the cash came from that Jerry used for his card games. There was alot in the trunk. I thought that Marcus said in the 1st episode they were trying to figure out a silent way to collect their winnings without all the tax ramifications.

Shady12

I know he said he would never sell anyone out even though Mike would have sold him out...but he's getting revenge on Mike because he didn't want to sell Mike out and took the fall for him? If he thinks revenge is appropriate why didn't he sell him out and just stay out of prison in the first place. He can't blame Mike because he decided to go to jail instead of Mike. That's Ace's fault.

DJariya

It was mentioned that Mike was storing cocaine in Ace's place without Ace's knowledge. Ace's grandson discovered the coke while he was staying there and threw a drug party, which the cops stormed. Ace took the hit for his grandson. I think he has a pretty legitimate beef against Mike.

DJariya

It's funny how I seem to be the only one who has some sort of comprehension of the plot.

I think this is the kind of show that will eventually reward the non-lazy TV viewer.

I understand this is not an easy show to follow. I had to rewind a few scenes to get the full context of it. You can't watch only half paying attention to it.

flashburn

I think I'm pretty much on track now. Just some of the stuff with Escalante and the claim race was confusing me. That said, I'm REALLY enjoying this show. It was very quick to hook me in. I blame David Milch for that, .

johnnysd

I don't think Ace is actually trying to buy it for real. I think he is trying to trick Mike into trying to buy it himself.

Shannon Nutt

I think the money in Marcus' trunk was Marcus' and his alone. Jerry said something to Marcus about "don't think I don't know what's in that duffle bag you carry around". I got the impression that Marcus keeps his life savings in his trunk. However, if that was Jerry's car the money came from, I think Jerry may have lifted Marcus' bag?

Then again, I could have totally misinterpreted...this IS a very hard show to figure out. It should be GREAT for DVD/Blu-ray - it's highly rewatchable because of the dialogue.

EDIT: According to EW.com's EPISODE 2 recap, the guys DID collect their winnings. So that was Jerry's share.

Damfino

Actually, you're not, but I just hadn't posted yet. I do hope you're right about the 2nd point though.

I liked the 2nd episode better than the first. Unlike last week, they took the time to actually explain how a claiming race works. It was also done without slowing the story down for those of us who do.

Red Dog

That was really the only part of the episode I didn't follow. Whom it is that Ace is plotting to get revenge on.

And I guess those guys did collect their winnings. I guess they wanted to remain secretive so others (families, friends, etc) wouldn't try to leech off them or something. And given the conversation the security guard had with them - about putting their money to work on the streets (loan sharking, given the talk about 'points,'), this confirms that they collected.

Marcus' problem isn't that he's a addict. It's that he's terrible at cards.

Groucho

Ace is getting revenge on an as-yet unseen character ("Mike"). Who will no doubt be played by either by somebody who was in Heat or somebody who was in Deadwood.