The Deuce, Season 1, Episode 5 Review: ‘What Kind of Bad?’

While last week’s episode, ‘I See Money’, took a pause to survey where each of our characters were at in that moment, ‘What Kind of Bad?’ sees our characters actively making moves to advance their position from its current state. Here, we see Darlene (Dominique Fishback) taking Abby’s (Margarita Levieva) train ticket and using the trip to recruit for more prostitutes for Larry (Gbenga Akinnagbe) under the guise of a career in modeling; Candy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) deciding to take Wasserman’s (David Krumholtz) offer to be in front of the camera for one of his films after being beaten up by one of her Johns; Vinnie (James Franco) decides to take Pipolo’s offer to run a whorehouse so that Bobby (Chris Bauer) can get off the construction site; Abby is still totally not having any of this and is bored with all of you; and reporter Sandra Washington (Natalie Paul) is finally able to convince Alston (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr) to introduce her to a pimp for her story. While the episode didn’t pack a punch across the board this week, ‘What Kind of Bad?’ is another great installment for The Deuce, providing enough momentum to keep us interested to see where all of these characters wind up next week.

Darlene Goes Home to Recruit for Models. Excuse Me, Hookers.

The beginning of the episode dealt a serious blow to those of us that had come to really like Darlene, because it turns out she went back home (with Larry’s blessing) only to recruit more prostitutes to bring back to New York by promising an amazing life as a model. Most of the girls that we see her with don’t seem interested, but she happens to find an unsuspecting, restless young girl named Bernice (Andrea-Rachel Parker) who’s sick of the country life, and is seduced by the idea of being a model in the Big Apple. Just like Darlene!… Right?

Up until this point, Darlene seemed to have a sweet side that would prevent her from a deception this deep, but here we are. It’s actually downright cruel when you think about it. Bernice [willingly] uproots her life to live a glamorous life in the city, only to find out that she’s been duped into a life of selling her body to men on The Deuce. When Bernice confronts Darlene with the lie, Darlene shrugs it off and dismissively asks for more of her fries, which is extraordinarily cold. The only thing I can think of is that this is the way that Darlene was brought into the life, and that she’s just perpetuating a cycle that was in motion long before she entered the game. And while Abby’s thinking that all Darlene needed was a train ticket back home to get her out of hooking was incredibly naive and soaked with affluent privilege, the way Darlene dismissed Abby at the Hi-Hat was rejection in a way that even Abby didn’t deserve. Abby may need a dose of reality STAT, but her heart was certainly in the right place with Darlene, and I would have thought Darlene would at least felt a bit guilty for the deception, which she doesn’t appear to be.

To add insult to injury, poor Bernice gets sold by Larry to Rodney for $2,500, after being dolled-up and being re-named Ginger. And so this is how it happens. We’ve now seen two different ways that girls get pulled into prostitution. The first was with C.C. (Gary Carr) waiting at the train station for girls like Lori (Emily Meade) to recruit with a huge dollop of smooth talk to entice her to his side. But this way was much more insidious and disturbing; that the very women that don’t see a way out for themselves lure other women into it as well. Instead of being protectors to other women, they are complicit in their debasement. This definitely added color to the complexity of how this world works, but to see it manifested by Darlene was especially hard to watch.

Candy Cuts Her Losses

It’s been downright torture to watch Candy descend further and further into depression and hopelessness since Wasserman rejected the idea that she learn how to make porn films, as opposed to just starring in them. Here I was thinking that she would bounce back after one episode, but the show has put her through the ringer so hard – from having a rat crawl on her while blowing a John, to having one literally die on her while she was blowing him, to being applauded by pimps after being named “Mouth of Death” – that I was actually relieved when she decided to take Wasserman up on his offer in the wake of being severely beaten by a customer. Especially after a painful conversation with Rodney (Method Man), where he tries once again to sell Candy on the idea of being her pimp (which I I would have totally understood taking him up on in that exact moment), you want her to find some way, ANY way out of her current situation. Just a smidge above taking on a pimp in terms of palatableness, Candy decides to go back to Wasserman to see if he’ll put her in front of the camera. At the very least, she won’t have to worry about any unpredictable characters beating her up in the process… I don’t think. Who knows. This is a David Simon show and is therefore soaked with injustice, but I’m still rooting for Candy.

On a lighter note, this was the first time that we actually got to see enjoy sexual activity. And I’m not necessarily talking about having sex with Jack. I’m talking about her servicing herself after having sex with Jack. It was great to see Candy enjoying herself, even if it couldn’t come  at the hands of her beau (pun kind of intended), but I got a sense of isolation from the act. He was lying right next to her, and she turns away from him to carry it out. Not that there’s anything wrong with a woman taking care of herself in this way, but I just sensed a separateness to the couple in this scene. Either way, I’d be surprised Candy starts showing up to Jack’s work events any time soon.

Vinnie Gets Some Union Action In On a Brothel

As I stated last week, Vinnie is a guy of simple needs and desires, so it was no surprise when he rejected Pipolo’s offer to open a whore house given that The Hi-Hat is a rousing success. Sensible enough. But ever since Bobby had a heart attack, and his doctors told him he wouldn’t survive a year if he stayed on the construction site, Bobby is itching to take on another sort of business, and convinces Vinnie to go to Pipolo and say that he’ll manage his new whorehouse venture. If Bobby doesn’t quit the smoking and daily drinking, he may not be around to to even run this business, but somehow, I feel like I’m preaching to the choir on that one.

Vinnie seems happy enough to let Bobby take over, and that he does. Looks like he’ll actually make it the simple, classy establishment his bosses asked for. But something tells me that in order to get the girls in, and uneasy partnership with some very volatile pimps will emerge, calling into question who the real boss of the establishment is. At least the city will be off their back, thanks to some back alley deals that Pipolo appears to have stricken with the higher-ups in law enforcement. But that won’t necessarily stop any internal rifts between pimps, Bobby, Vinnie and Pipolo. And will Vinnie and Bobby be comfortable with acquiescing control of the ladies to their pimps within their own establishment, especially since said pimps are prone to doling our their own special brand of cruelty when their ladies don’t fall in line.

Abby Is Bored With All of You

I’m really conflicted about Abby. On the one hand, I like that we have a representative of the Women’s Rights movement on the show, but on the other, her sly machinations and general aloofness threaten to work my very last nerve. Even though Vinnie is definitely no angel when it comes to getting around, when Abby essentially throws in his face that she’s going out with another guy is just plain and unnecessary, unless of course you want to make sure he knows you’re asserting your sexual independence (which comes off as slightly attention-seeking). Of course, when she gets to the party with Evan (Nick Rehberger), she’s instantly bored with talk of the war, with when she’s going back to school, and all of the other completely normal conversations happening around her. She’s bored. She’s leaving. You guys, Abby isn’t having it.

Later in the episode, Abby starts obnoxiously taking pictures of a Reggie Love (Tariq Trotter), who – wouldn’t you know it – isn’t amused. She follows that up by basically telling Reggie that his hoes do all the work while he sits around and collects money, which isn’t wrong. Abby is absolutely right. But she also apparently doesn’t care who she offends while on duty, even if it’s steady clientele that Vinnie has made very loyal to The Hi-Hat. Once again, Abby isn’t wrong, and her heart is in the right place. But at the end of the day, her outbursts and flippant attitude are what you see with people who aren’t used to experiencing actual consequences. She’s always had a safety net, so when she brazenly starts taking pictures of volatile customers and refusing to wear the required uniform at The Hi-Hat, she does so with no fear. She knows she’ll get away with it because she knows she has Vinnie wrapped around her little finger because her looks and her directness have allowed her to get away with it for so long. The rules do not apply to her, but it’s this same protection from the real world she’s enjoyed that make her ask tone deaf questions to Darlene (last episode) about why she’s a prostitute, as if it’s so easy  to leave once you’re in it.

Abby is definitely an interesting character, but something tells me that a lifetime of perceived invincibility will come soon to bite her if she takes a break from absolutely not having any of this.

Sandra Gets Her Source

I actually really like Sandra Washington’s character and her desire to reveal and understand the world of pimps and hoes on The Deuce, but you have to feel bad for poor Alston who’s basically just being used by her in order to complete a story. He’s totally allowing himself to be used, and he appears to be kind of enjoying every minute of it, so he’s not blameless in this charade.

Until now, Sandra has been unable to get many pimps on the record for fear that they’ll get busted, and she was able to get a very reluctant Melissa to talk to her for a fee. When Alston connects Sandra to Reggie Love, she faces a similar request, but I’m sure Reggie Love will be  a fountain of ego-stroking information.

I’m not sure how much longer Alston will play along with Sandra, but given that he seems just as interested in the answers to her questions as she is, I’m figuring he’ll stick around for a while longer. As long as she doesn’t keep asking about police officer payouts.

Why can’t these two crazy kids just be happy together?

Other Stuff That Happened on The Deuce

• Big Mike (Mustafa Shakir) goes from wandering street addict to MVP of The Hi-Hat! He’s not only muscle, but does crossword puzzles, makes ads, and gets your friends out of jail. Is there anything he can’t do?
• I actually really like Paul’s (Chris Coy) character, but I’m not sure where his storyline is going and how it plays into everything else. If the purpose is to give a glimpse of the gay community in this time and place, then it’s succeeding, but I’m not seeing how it weaves into the show’s colorful tapestry just yet.
• C.C. and Lori had minimal screen time again this week, but it appears that Lori was the victim of another “encounter” that C.C. had to console her through (I’m guessing in his own special way). It was interesting that the show decided not to reveal what the exact incident was. I suppose the point is that at the end of the day, these ladies regularly experience a variety of “encounters” that traumatize them, and the details don’t really matter.

Come back next week for a review of Episode 6: ‘Why Me?’