The Deuce, Season 1, Episode 7 Review: ‘Au Reservoir’

NOTE: Due to recent events that involved me pulling a muscle in my leg, not sleeping, and hobbling around like a gimp, you are not going to get my normal 2,000-word dissection of the episode. You’re welcome.

‘Au Reservoir’ has to rank as one of the most positive episodes of The Deuce, and that’s even when you take into account a drug overdose and a (fatal?) shooting.  But the reason this episode was such a breath of fresh air is that we got to see the most sympathetic characters get a taste of something good, if only temporarily. Whether it’s Eileen (Maggie Gyllenhaal) flexing her filmmaking chops on the porn set; Alston (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.) finally making a successful leap out of the friend zone with journalist Sandra (Natalie Paul); Ashley (Jaime Neumann) getting treated like an object of desire for once and abandoning the life that most girls in her profession find it impossible to do; Vinnie (James Franco) getting to help his new gal Abby (Margarita Levieva) give a big fat middle finger to her family’s elitist lifestyle; and a once-skeptical Abby gets a chance to actually help a prostitute who’s sincere;y willing to take her help. Let’s dig in!

Eileen Adds A Dash of Heat to the Andy Sandwich

While it’s not all wine and roses in Eileen’s life because she still has to turn tricks, albeit for a much more well-heeled and reputable clientele, we finally see a genuine light in her eyes as she helps Wasserman (David Krumholtz) calls the shots on set. She may not be the director, but she certainly knows sex, and she knows how to coach Lori (Emily Meade) about the nuances of pretending to enjoy sex with Andy. She knows how to dress sets and boobs alike, and to top it all off, she is commanding the respect of Wasserman, who rather than be threatened by Eileen seems to really admire her tenacity, and appreciate her talents. Whether he has romantic designs on Eileen remains to be seen, but you can certainly see that he has an affection for her that has manifested as a close friendship (for now). Either way, after seeing Eileen (previously known as Candy) be put through the ringer the past few episodes, it’s a welcome relief to see her thriving in her element, even if she has to moonlight as a high-priced escort during down time. Baby steps.

Alston is a Good Cop in the Streets, But  a Bad Cop in the Sheets (I Think)

I lamented a few episodes back that Alston was such a nice guy that he would let himself be used by Sandra as she pursued a story about pimps and prostitutes on The Deuce. But Alston was still taken with Sandra despite her laser focus on the task at hand, rather than a budding romantic relationship with one of her sources. He opens up about taking payouts for shoving the prostitutes to the parlors, then pulls the whole how-would-you-like-to-see-my-rent-controlled-apartment trick. Smooooth. At first, I was taken aback at how suddenly Alston went back on his word to be a gentleman, but then when Sandra reciprocated, I couldn’t have been happier for those two crazy kids. I just hope she’s not using him to get even more dirt about the police force to add to the spiciness of her story. In a way, it would be fitting with the themes of the show – that a woman would use her body and her sexuality as a trade for information. Somehow, I think this might be where the story is going, but part of me hopes that she’s being on-the-level with Alston.

Dorothy (Ashley) Clicks Her Heels Together and Goes Home

Until now, we’ve only known Ashley as CeCe’s former #1 gal before Lori came along. She seemed to sincerely love him, only to be tossed aside and gradually treated worse and worse by her former pimp/lover as the show has gone on. So, it was a nice surprise to see Ashley defy CeCe, skip the clock, and go to a bar to mingle with a very frisky Frankie. What I loved about pairing these two up this episode is that it not only gave Ashley’s character a chance to have someone actually desire her and want her company, but it also allowed us to see Frankie as more than Vinnie’s fuck-o criminal brother. He’s a lady’s man, a man’s man, and a survivor, despite the many character flaws he possesses that could get him killed at any moment. Here, we get to see a softer side of him as he dotes on Ashley, and attempts to help her out of her delicate situation(in trying to hide from CeCe) by asking Abby to take her in until she can figure out next steps. Adding to the warm fuzzy feelings is that Abby is finally able to help one of the prostitutes actually get the hell out, and not take her help for granted. As opposed to Darlene (Dominique Fishback), Ashley seems to  be appreciative of the help, and an incredibly decent houseguest to boot (she cleans, people!). It’s a shame that it took until this episode to reveal that Ashley had such depth, kindness, and warmness because I just wanted to spend more time with her. But I had hope for her as we see her ride up the escalator to the bus stop with the faint hint of tears in her eyes. Is it because she’s scared to leave, or elated to leave? I’m guessing we’ll find out soon enough.

Jamie Neumann hasn’t gotten to do a lot as Ashley throughout the season, but she really shined in this episode, injecting the character with engaging dimension and empathy. I’m really hoping it’s her last because i fear if it’s not that it will involve some form of brutalization at CeCe’s hand. These are the guys that gave us The Wire, so nothing is off the table.

Abby Continues to Not Be Having It

When Abby isn’t busy helping prostitutes get out of town to escape “the life”, she’s basking the in the opportunity to stick it to her highfalutin family when they invite her to a formal event at their palatial estate. And by God, she’s going to sucker boyfriend, leather jacket-wearing bar manager Vinnie into the whole affair to twist the knife into her family’s elitism just a little bit more. Unbeknownst to her family, she’s also donning the dress from an actual prostitute to make her statement rather unmistakable. Thankfully, if there’s anyone that knows how to charm the socks off of dear old dad, it’s Vinnie – the guy that knows how to talk to anyone or smooth over otherwise uncomfortable situations (just look at how he handled the Reggie confrontation this episode). Abby’s father seems cordial enough, and not entirely surprised by how Abby busted into the party scantily clad in a dress that barely covered her labia. Her mother and sister, on the other hand, seem slightly horrified by Abby’s display, giving her exactly the reaction she came for.

I have to say, I’m really conflicted about how to feel about Abby. While her benevolent gestures to prostitutes shows her heart is in the right place, I don’t entirely understand the resentment she holds towards her family, and her desire to stick it to them unnecessarily. I suppose it could be yet to be revealed that she was traumatized in her childhood by the gobs of money she had at her disposal and the obscene amount of comfort it brought her, but I’m not sure her family deserved the ghetto ho parade they got at their very formal event (which I think was her sister’s engagement party?).  At least they haven’t told us why they deserved it yet, so until then, I think Abby is acting like an entitled little brat. Ironically, it’s her privileged upbringing that allows her to prance around suggestively with Vinnie at the party without fear of any negative circmstances. It seems that she genuinely likes Vinnie, but this latest episode makes it a real possibility that she’s using him to fulfill some fantasy of being with the guy that Daddy wouldn’t approve of. They seem to have developed a genuine closeness, but if Dad takes a liking to Vinnie, would that ruin her perception of him? We’ll need to keep watching to see.

Other Stuff That Happened on The Deuce

• CeCe, Larry, and Rodney’s diner talk about the woes of being ho-less pimps was one of the highlights of the episode, as was their discussion of their love of Fantasia. I die.
• Reggie (Tariq Trotter) getting shot by Leon (Anwan Glover) was at once shocking and oddly satisfying. Though I’m not sure Reggie deserved the death penalty, I really hope that Leon doesn’t get too severely punished since his heart was in the right place as he attempted to stand up for a beaten-up Melissa (Olivia Luccardi).
• The uptick in Alston’s outlook after hooking up with Sandra took a nosedive once he had to take the new Captain for a spin to see the precinct. The Captain basically pays Alston a backhanded compliment by saying he can trust him because he’s a black, grass-eating, unambitious cop. Thanks?
• Bobby (Chris Bauer) is quickly discovering the growing pains of running a “massage parlor”, from overdoses to cops putting on the squeeze.
• Eileen seems to be doing much better for herself, but I’m guessing that Jack isn’t coming back anytime soon, eh?
• Just when you think Darlene may feel some slight bit of remorse for luring Bernice/Ginger to New York under aggressively devious pretenses, she winds up only regretting that Bernice isn’t cut out for it. For all the times that Darlene has shown true humanity, we’re now reminded how hardened and cold the life has made her.

Join me next week for my review of Episode 8, titled ‘My Name Is Ruby’.