Loved the episode. I don't think I've laughed harder at a scene than I did during Mike and Sean's conversation about how to appear smart and give back. Definitely saw Lou having a heart attack/stroke by the end of the episode about 10 minutes in, though.
I missed it because I watched Deadliest Catch instead. Anyone know when they rerun the episode? It used to be on Friday nights, I think but that was sometime ago.
I hadn't even thought of that. I don't think they'll go that way, necessarily. I will pay extra attention, though, and see if they're doing a 'sixth sense' thing with Lou, where only Tommy acknowledges him, and no one else does. I'm really, really hoping they don't go that way, though... I'm thinking Lou survives, and he and Tommy do an "I'll stop drinking if you stop eating shitty food" thing.
I watched an encore presentation an hour later right after Louie. Anyways, it's hard for me to watch this season one week at a time. I know they've kept the same format, but I've been able to watch all previous seasons at once. Now the show just seems like it's moving painfully slow. Are they going to expand more on Tommy going to hell? I know Tommy is always just barely trying to keep his head above water, but I would think he'd move something to the back burner to try to rectify this.
On wikipedia: (DO NOT read unless you want the next episode to be ruined) Spoiler Lou is listed as a deceased firefighter and it says, "Lt. Shea passes away in Season 6 Episode 3 due to heart failure after a record night of runs with Ladder 62". On a different note, I thought the scene where Damien and Needles were discussing Lou's "gock" and whether "gunt" or "fupa" was the correct term for a "female gock" was pure gold.
Responding to the above. If you didn't read that one, don't read this one. Spoiler I couldn't find that passage about him passing away. I wonder if somebody just edited the wiki after watching the episode and it was taken down right afterwards by people in the know. I can't even find a cached version showing that. There is no way that they could or would kill him off with most of this season and all of the last season left. He's too important to Tommy's character. It just wouldn't make for good tv. Nothing about it would make sense. Tommy would have NOBODY still around him from his earlier days. The show just wouldn't work nearly as well, IMO. I could see a major character or two be offed later this season maybe at the end or anytime in the last season, but right now just doesn't seem right. Lou was too obsessed with Tommy's near death experience for it to just happen to him. I bet Lou now will have his experience and they can compare and contrast. Lou was on his way to the light because he's awesome and Tommy, of course, was headed to hell. That'll make for good tv.
It isn't that Tommy wouldn't have anyone left. Franco and Sean were both at Ground Zero with Lou and Tommy. The reason Lou is important is because Lou has always, for lack of a better term, played the angel on Tommy's shoulder, so to speak. Lou is clearly Tommy's best friend and the closest thing to a real brother he has left. But, I could see them killing Lou. With the way they bring back ghosts for Tommy to talk to, Lou could continue to show up as a ghost, along with Jimmy. The thing they'll miss, though, is Lou's banter during the entire crew scenes. Some of the funniest scenes in the show are when the entire crew is just sitting around bullshitting. Lou is almost always the funniest one in those scenes, and he'd be incredibly missed on that front, but the idea of Lou and Jimmy teaming up on Tommy to browbeat him into doing the right thing might be an interesting way to go. It'd be interesting to see how Jimmy and Lou interact, too. Finally, it could turn into Jimmy and Lou pushing Tommy to take the Lieutenant's exam so he could be a little more in charge and be more of a father figure to the younger guys, taking Tommy in a different direction. I could see Lou in Tommy's ear during the exam, telling him answers. I could also see Lou in fires with Tommy, helping him in his new role as the crew's lieutenant. It is definitely a different way to go.
Again, Pasquale brings out the heavy game. He plays stupid better than anyone, but his "We don't leave anyone behind" speech was touching. Think maybe Balls Out is gonna kick off and Sean will create a fund or a scholarship in his name? Franco is now starting to piss me off. It was bad enough when Tommy started sleeping with Sheila, a widow of not only a fellow firefighter, but his cousin. Now, we have an inevitable tryst between Franco and Tommy's wife, a living partner. Fuck. Peter Gallagher is a wonderfully strange priest. "Can I keep this?"
"You have a mole on your face." "Your eyes are too far apart." "You have Mr. Potato Head lips." "You two look mentally challenged." "Your skin is the color of Elmer's Glue." "Owen Wilson called...he wants his nose back." Congratulations, Nurse Hillary. You just delivered the single greatest piece of dialogue from a day player in the history of "Rescue Me".
One thing that always bugged me was how Tommy got blamed for Connor's death, which Lou repeated in the last episode. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but basically Tommy was working on his truck or something while Connor was riding his bike in the street and was then hit by the drunk driver, right? He's done lots of shitty stuff, but I don't see how you could fault Tommy for not watching his kid every second. I can see where Janet would blame him somewhat irrationally- it was her kid, she has to blame someone, they have lots of other issues- but Lou?
The scene where he found out he was wearing a thong (and the pictures that went with it later) almost killed me. Wow. That was as accurate a portrayal of the remnants of a blackout night as I've ever seen. The repercussions in the next episode should be awesome.
I did love this episode and it sets up well: Tommy will have to address Colleen's alcoholism. At the same time, the reveal of Mickey at Sheila's place was out of left field and an interesting twist. I will agree with whomever said Franco was pissing them off. Franco and his little 'relationship' with Janet is what pushed Tommy over the edge and into that binge. On top of that, he was drugged by Mickey and Teddy. Yet, somehow, it remains all his fault. I guess that is the thing that bugs me, and causes me to root for Tommy: One of Tommy's best friends and a person he considers a brother is moving on on his wife, and his uncle and cousin drug him, but it is all still his fault. It seems like no matter what he does, he is completely fucked. I get that they were trying to make this episode his 'rock bottom,' but I feel like he should've been right back in Franco's face about getting close with Janet, and reminding Franco that it was his bullshit that started Tommy on that little bender. He was more pissed that Mickey and Teddy drugged him (and by extension, Colleen) than he was that Franco is a hair's length from hooking up with Janet. Also, I recall one of the biggest things early on was the crew turning on and beating the shit out of Tommy after they found out he was banging Sheila. Why, then, is it that they all seem to be ambivalent towards Franco's new relationship with Janet? Sure, it is fucked up that Tommy fucked a widow, but isn't it also fucked up that Franco would fuck one of his 'brothers' wives? (and yes, I realize that Franco hasn't fucked her, but I suspect it will happen soon).
That was an awesome-scary episode. I thought colleen might have been dead or seriously injured or something. I mean, what if Tommy hadn't remembered to look in the middle of bum fuck, nowhere? I agree that it's bullshit how Tommy is always getting blamed for shit. Tommy isn't a saint but some of the things the characters pin on him really is not his fault; Teddy pisses me off most of all. More than Franco, Mick, Janet and Sheila combined. Where does this guy get the balls? I hope he gets murdered. edit: I don't know if having all the episodes filmed already was such a great idea. By doing that the show will lack relevance by not being in touch with the world for the next two years. What if there was another 9/11 type of event. That's an extreme case; but still it's possible. I wonder if the plot lines will leak before the series finale. Two years is a long time.
The fact that she was still passed out in the sand 24+ hours later bothered me. What the fuck did they lace that bottle with, heroin?
Did Black Sean just beat the living shit out of boxing-prospect Franco? He was sitting on top of him, raining blows, and I feel like it got passed over a little. Tommy being scared? I get it. Of course, I'm not a firefighter, but I was stationed in the middle east for a couple years. Hell, I think I spent 3.5 of my 9 years in over there. I boarded unfriendly ships with the thought I may have to shoot. I guarded gates the same. I never had to see people die, not in my time on the teams I was on. But if I had, I might have gotten shaken real good. Colleen... Shit, I don't know how they're ever gonna bring her back from the brink. My little sis has been sober for almost two years now, and she's only 19. She quit everything after the second suicide attempt. I have a little bit of experience in trying to convince someone that normal sober life is worth living. I never found a satisfactory answer. People don't quit unless they have a reason to quit, unless they want to. The best thing Tommy could have done, as he was going away in cuffs, was to look back and tell her, "Unless you right yourself, I won't have anything more to do with you." I guess he kinda said that before hand, but... Man. This show has serious issues with alcohol. I love it, because I do too (I drink too much of it). On an off note, could the previews for Sons of Anarchy be any more awesome/vague? Long shot of desert highway. Close up/random confusion of bikers riding said highway. I can't wait.
Even worse, Tommy was awake and functional all day but Colleen turned into Rip Van Winkle. AND, there's a safe bet that Tommy drank more than Colleen did. Sure Tommy is a full grown man, but that's a stretch.
He might have been around 10 or so. Maybe 12? And that was during the 2nd season, so it was about...5 years ago real time. I think there has been a bit of time compression, so he probably would have been in his mid-late teens about now, I think.
I'm loving Peter Gallagher's priest. He steals every scene. Best line: "Beautiful, an Irish bulimic".