March, 2016

[For Vinyl “He in Racist Fire” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

HBO Summary:
He in Racist Fire. Richie visits a relative; Devon plays the vixen at dinner with Richie, Hannibal, and Cece.

Vinyl episode five explores themes of envy and disappointment yet still manages to feel kinda fun and invigorating, albeit ridiculous at times. The main course of envy presents us with a veritable platter of furious greens with virtually all the main characters reeling with rage that somebody else has what they want. But there’s a fair share of disappointment to go around too with staff firings and demotions at American Century and the loss of a major client. We find out lots more about Richie’s screwy life history with the introduction of his easily corrupted father. Then we also learn that Richie had a major love affair with Jarvis’s hot PR lady, Andrea when he was first with Devon and she’s coming back into his life now big time.

Coked-out-as-usual Richie asked his father for help with an alibi at the end of the last episode. So, at the beginning of “He in Racist Fire” his father tells still-coked-out-to-infinity Richie he gave the cops an alibi that they were at the movie Enter the Dragon when Buck was killed. Then Daddy wants to know what shit Richie’s messed up in because the cops showed him pics of Buck’s beat up body. Richie, paranoid about phone tapping, says to come by his office to talk about it. When he visits Richie’s office, dad entertains employees with stories of their boss’s adolescence while waiting on his couch. Then Richie shows up to yell contempt at him and Daddy yells envious disappointment back. Then, in a rare moment of peace between them, his father says he wants to see his granddaughter once in awhile and Richie says they’ll have him out the house… but it seems like a lie. After his dad leaves Richie pulls out a yellow legal pad and writes “Alibi Records” in block letters. So, at least he got inspired by all that family vitriol.

That morning was final firing time for those A&R reps with the chance to earn their jobs back and Clark was one of several that didn’t cut the mustard. It seems like he’s fired for reals this time until Clark cries and begs Julian for his job back, he’ll do anything he says. Then Julian offers Clark Jamie’s old job getting sandwiches and coffee, though it’s a pay cut and pretty humiliating to boot. Clark takes it although his Yale degree grants him a belief that he’s better than this. Jamie asks Julian if this means she’s promoted and he says she’s gonna do what A&R peeps do with the Nasty Bitz BUT for the same money she’s already making because American Century is barely staying afloat.

Afterwards Ms. Jamie Fine has lunch with her mother, “Mrs. Fineman” who turns out to be Lena Olin, the same woman that threw her out of the restaurant basement. She demands the key to the restaurant and Jamie hands it over. Her mother speaks to Jamie almost entirely in Polish and makes it clear Jamie is an embarrassment because of her job. Who is she supposed to leave the restaurant to? She threatens Jamie, who seems oddly comfortable under matriarch assault, with fork stabbery. No wonder Jamie wants to work in the music business – it’s just like home.

Richie insists that The Nasty Bitz get rid of Duck, the lead guitarist and the lead singer, Kip pulls a major punk-ass pout, insisting no. But then in the very next scene he gets Lester to do the deed for him. Lester tells Duck he may play better than Kip, but their fans come to see the hot lead singer, not him. Afterward Kip takes Jamie back to his place. Aggrieved about the loss of Duck, he pulls out his heroin cigar box to play junkie sad sack but then Jamie sexes him out of his punk-ass blues. But as soon as they finish he’s got a needle in his arm.

Cece comes in to work amidst envious office whisperings that she’s been doing a lot of late nights with Hannibal. Then Richie asks her if maybe he needs a new secretary since she’s so committed to Hannibal even though he’s married and thus otherwise committed and then it’s finally time to hear from Cece. She tells him Hannibal’s seriously considering leaving him for Jarvis, mainly because of his hot PR lady, Andrea. Andy is super smart, Cece explains, and has better ideas for Hannibal’s career track. So, Richie sets up a dinner with Devon, Hannibal and Cece that night. Then he brings Andrea lunch. He offers her a job at American Century in between them battling over the fact that they used to sleep together and maybe even love each other. Andy says she’ll only come into AC if he makes her a partner, not just the PR girl.

That night at dinner Devon, Richie, Hannibal and Cece have a dandy ol’ time. Hannibal does an impressive party trick, quickly constructing anagrams on demand for people’s names. The guy’s a genius. One of them for Richie is “He in Racist Fire” and thus we have the episode title – though it doesn’t seem to hold much resonant meaning. Then Richie and Devon take them back to their NYC apartment for dancing and more drinks. Richie cokes himself further into oblivion and then joins them in the living room where Hannibal gets exceedingly handsy with Devon. So then Richie pulls Cece into his lap and they both dart envious eyeballs at the gyrating Devon and Hannibal, who keep dancing ultra close. So Richie turns off the music and says he’s gotta bring Devon home to relieve the sitter. He tells Hannibal he’s a “fucking God” and leaves him there in the apartment with Cece. In the elevator he and Devon start to get down and dirty but then Richie gets majorly paranoid and accuses her of planning to bang Hannibal. Devon says she just wanted to remind Richie that he’s into her. But then he retorts that “your cunt doesn’t lie” so she slaps him with meteoric ferocity and walks away.

Next we see the detectives listening to a recording of Richie telling his dad info about the fake alibi. Turns out they weren’t tapping his phone but somehow got a recording of their office conversation. So, either Daddy wore a wire or Richie’s office is bugged. But the cops aren’t the only one’s gloating. Jarvis calls Richie and tells him he just signed Hannibal. So, now Richie’s out for vengeance. He finds Andrea at a Lou Reed show and insists she join him at American Century. This would give him both the revitalization his label needs AND revenge on Jarvis. We find out through their convo that Richie chose Devon over Andrea back when they were all romantically entangled at the same time. But now Richie seems like he thinks he should’ve chosen Andrea and talks about how they even look kinda the same. Andy ends up taking his offer to join AC but insists that she get partial ownership and won’t be his mother or secretary or work wife. It’s clear that Richie feels like this is just the victory he needs.

There’s virtually nothing going right in Richie’s life at this point as he circles the drain yet remains cocaine-fueled confident. We watch in awe as Richie sinks farther and deeper into delusions while the shit storm of his life swirls around his oblivious and massive head.

–Katherine Recap

[For The People v. OJ Simpson “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Marcia Clark deals with public scrutiny.

As any child of the 70s knows, the episode title, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” refers to the Brady Bunch’s most popular character getting ALL the attention. That’s happening here with our Marcia Clark to some degree but only the attention part… the popular part not so much. It’s not Clark’s fault. She can’t contain her pinched ferocity or the tightness of her curls and because Marcia’s so focused on what should matter, she doesn’t notice her appearance even matters until it’s too late. The episode opens on Marcia’s child support hearing where, overwhelmed by frustration and angst, she keeps talking out of turn. Afterward she shows up at the OJ courthouse late and skips the line – all apologies. When she enters the courtroom everyone notices, forcing her to say sorry to the entire courtroom.

Then Darden questions Nicole’s sister who testifies that OJ grabbed Nicole’s crotch and humiliated her at a family event. Afterward Marcia tells Darden it was a strong interview and it’s evident the duo are bonding big time. Then Marcia arrives home to see a TV report focused entirely on her frumpy look. They describe it as a “cry for help,” and then when her son hugs her Marcia sheds a single tear. After her son goes to bed Marcia looks at herself in the mirror and seems to be considering a change. Little does she know this move will only open a future floodgate of tears.

In court Cochran reframes the story of how the detectives notified Simpson of his wife’s death. He shifts it to a story of detectives going to OJ’s house because they believe he’s a suspect instead. Thus Cochran deftly makes the detectives on the case look shady. Then in the very next scene he interviews another detective who had Simpson’s shoes (evidence) in his car trunk overnight. Turns out he was home with them in his car for six hours before booking them into custody as evidence the next day. The detective even admits that this was the only time in his twenty eight years of police service that he’s ever done that with a piece of evidence. Another unfortunate coincidence is that the detective lives in Simi Valley, where the officers who beat Rodney King also happen to live.

Next we see Marcia and Darden in the office late at night and they end up having a good time with even a hint of intimacy in their spontaneous slow dance. Afterward Marcia preps all night but gets thrown in court the next day when Cochran brings up a witness issue that’s a monkey wrench in her prosecutorial momentum. Cochran says he needs to interview his witness out of order because she’s threatening to flee the country. Because of all the subsequent schedule changes Marcia has to call her ex and asking him to watch the kids while she works late to prepare for the unexpected addition of Cochran’s out-of-order witness. It’s OJ’s housekeeper that the defense claims threatened to leave the country but then Marcia notes in court that the housekeeper has no flight reservation. When questioned about the timeline the housekeeper also doesn’t even remember anything. So, their flight risk witness doesn’t help the Simpson defense after all. They did manage to mess with Marcia’s momentum, though. So, not a total loss for them.

But then it looks like it could gets worse for Cochran outside the courthouse when the press asks him about his own history with domestic abuse. Does he care to comment? No, he does not. That night Johnnie calls his ex wife to mention the LA times and how they would likely have some questions for her about being married to him. She says they’ve already called her and are awaiting her comment. Cochran then offers to give her the profits from an expensive building he sold that would make her “quite comfortable”. Thus we’re seemingly meant to deduce that whether or not he hit his first wife, Johnnie’s apparently got a closet with some skeletons after all.

Marcia goes to a salon for “something softer” and entrusts her curls to the hands of cold-hearted demon stylist who cuts them short. Anyone who lived through the Annie perm years of the early eighties knows that if you cut curly hair that short it just goes tighter and harder like a wiry football helmet, not softer. That stylist was either an OJ fan or simply should’ve known better. Then the next day Marcia shows up at the courthouse to find herself crushed when her look isn’t greeted with the warm welcoming arms she’d hoped for. In fact the only comment made refers to her as Rick James and the tabloids all declare her GUILTY of bad hair in the first degree. As if things couldn’t get bad enough for Marcia… then who shows up as the prosecution’s witness but Mark Fuhrman. Luckily for her though, Darden continues to play the perfect work husband role in Marcia’s life and writes her a note that she looks fantastic. When the tabloids get a hold of naked pics of Marcia Clark on a beach and publish them. She’s so mortified she cries buckets in court. Later that day Darden comforts her and makes her laugh in the office and we see their connection blossoming. He always says the right thing. He’s there for her. And in the perfect words of Paris Hilton, “That’s hot”. One thing’s for certain about this episode, it accentuates the best of Darden until by the end of the episode he’s playing the romantic lead role in the hearts and minds of the audience. Whether or not a romance blooms between Marcia and Darden, America is now officially falling for dreamboat babe-a-licious Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden.

Fuhrman gives testimony about all the blood evidence at the Brentwood and Rockingham locations. He says it’s clear someone left the murder scene bleeding and talks about the blood inside the Bronco. About that blood he points out that the detectives were concerned that maybe OJ was hurt after seeing blood in his vehicle. Fuhrman also talks about the bloody glove evidence and it’s all quite damning testimony to the OJ case. But then things take a turn. We see a bar conversation where F Lee Bailey brings up the detective’s use of the N word and says he’s going to ask Fuhrman about it in court so the jury will know he’s full of it. That will bring all his testimony into question. Lee’s going to ruin Mark Fuhrman by throwing the word at him. We see this in action next when Bailey uses the actual word over and over while questioning Fuhrman in court, setting the whole world on edge.

Within this episode a TV executive finds out ABC has shifted all their daytime programming to just show the OJ trial and the network doubled their ad buys with P&G as a result, in other words, this trial will make them serious money. So, this TV exec agrees that the OJ trial is better than any soap opera for entertainment value and decides to do the same with his station’s programming – all OJ all day. They include this scene in “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” only for the sake of our understanding that this trial was an exceptional media event the likes of which didn’t exist before and we don’t really see anymore. It literally took over the attention of an entire nation. After more than one hundred million people sat and watched the entire Bronco chase we were all eternally glued to that screen for the next scrap of OJ trial info. So, though it may seem histrionic that Marcia cries in the courtroom when her new look is rejected and her topless photos appear in a tabloid, keep in mind that it likely felt like the entire world was watching and rejecting her. Anyone who’s ever been rejected by just one person knows how painful it can be – imagine if it was the world saying your new, softer and more feminine style actually just makes you look like a gaunt, pasty, and miserable James.

–Katherine Recap

[For Better Call Saul “Gloves Off” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

AMC Summary:
Gloves Off. Mike considers a lucrative proposal that may bring about dire circumstances.

“Gloves Off” is appropriately titled not just because there’s a bare knuckled beatdown in a parking lot but also because Jimmy finally starts to get real with Chuck and in his face tells him to fight, “Come on, get down in the dirt with me!” he yells. But this one’s more about Mike’s battle than Jimmy’s and thus the episode begins and ends with Mike.

He gets home late at night with a split open, puffed out eye – like Rocky at the end of the big fight. Mike clutches a pair of keychain-sized silver and diamond studded boxing gloves, settling into his armchair with a bag of crinkle cut carrots pressed against his busted eye. Fact is, the episode title also can simply be taken literally. Mike got those gloves off someone and his whole story for this episode revolves around that seemingly small fact. It’s one of those episodes that starts at the end and then circles back – for emphasis.

In the next scene we see Jimmy’s homemade ad playing for the head partners at Davis & Main and they’re upset for lots of reasons; he used his own voice, they have their tighty whiteys all in bunches, etc. Jimmy apologizes for his exuberance but reminds them of all the phonecalls they’re now getting for the case. It’s a boon for them! Why can’t they see that? Well, they’re busy picking those wedgies… for one. Davis & Main’s namesakes don”t see the bright side and tell him to stop “selling” and that exuberance is no excuse. They worry that Jimmy “can’t fit in” and warn him to expect a lot more scrutiny going forward. He calls Kim and leaves a voicemail but she doesn’t get the message because she’s busy getting grilled by Chuck and Howard, who clearly suffer from their own paroxysms of undies up the wazoo.

Next we see Nacho explaining to Mike exactly how he’d like see his partner, Tuco, killed and Mike gives feedback. He points out that killing your partner is a bell you can’t unring. Nacho then explains the circumstances that make it either “him or me” with his partner; namely that Tuco’s on drugs again. This makes him unpredictable, violent, and paranoid – not exactly the ideal drug dealing business partner… Then Nacho tells Mike he’ll pay $50K and that ends the conversation.

Then Jimmy finds out Kim’s being punished and was put in document review for not telling the office what Jimmy did. He’s outraged on her behalf. Jimmy visits Chuck, who’s wiped out from all the well poisoning he’s been doing at the office and so, lies on his couch with the shades drawn nestled under an aluminum foil blanket. Next we see Mike buying a gun in a hotel room from a guy with a suitcase and a lot of know-how. It’s clear from the interaction that Mike knows his way around hardcore guns and ammo but he ends up deciding not to buy a gun after all.

Then Chuck wakes up surprised to see Jimmy still by his side but he’s not there with good tidings. Jimmy confronts Chuck about what they did to Kim; saying that Howard is Chuck’s puppet and not to punish Kim for what he did. Jimmy tells him Kim didn’t know about the commercial until after it had already aired. Chuck is, of course, an asshole about it and says Kim should have known better because she knows Jimmy and thus should expect him to do the wrong thing. Now it’s time for Jimmy to get feisty. He makes Chuck an offer; he’ll stop practicing law completely if Chuck just puts Kim back into her former position at the firm and all’s forgiven for her sake. It’s a tempting deal for Chuck but he says he can’t because it’s essentially extortion and he’s all about rules. In fact, Chuck’s drowning in all the rules he lives by. The rules he worships have replaced any semblance of actual life Chuck might have had. So, this was Jimmy’s “Gloves Off” moment with Chuck, the rule-breaker extraordinaire, but the fight ends in a draw. Nobody wins. We get the impression, though, that the gloves are gonna stay off between these brothers.

Next Mike tells Nacho the big news – he’s not gonna do the job, not even for $50K. Mike tells him this isn’t the best move for his situation. Nacho needs Tuco off the action and out of the way but that doesn’t have to mean dead. He can get him off the streets without killing him and taking that risk. Nacho says he can’t snitch on Tuco, it would ruin his business. Mike says he can help him do it without Nacho having to go to the police or prison. We see Mike’s plan in action next.

Tuco counts an underling’s money sitting next to Nacho, who double checks the count. Then we notice those same silver and diamond studded boxing gloves from the first scene with battered Mike. They hang from a necklace around Tuco’s neck. He’s quite stern-faced and scary with excruciating pauses and dead eyes. Meanwhile across the street Mike calls from a payphone to report a fight with an armed gang member going on at the restaurant where Tuco and Nacho are. Mike then drives over to the restaurant, swiping Tuco’s car as he pulls into the parking lot. Tuco confronts Mike but he says he didn’t hit it but then apologizes when Nacho says he saw him hit Tuco’s car as well. Mike gets his order and leaves but Tuco isn’t having it. He follows Mike outside and demands restitution in cash. Mike says no and then Tuco swipes Mike’s keys and demands his wallet. Mike delays but eventually hands it over. A siren blares nearby and Nacho drives off. Mike grabs Tuco’s boxing glove charms and won’t let go so that Tuco keeps beating him and beating him until he’s pummeled, bloody and smashed, passing out on the ground as the cop car approaches.

In the last scene of “Gloves Off” it’s late at night and Mike tells Nacho Tuco’s gonna be in prison for a five to ten stretch because he had police witnessing the beating, Mike’s wallet in his pocket, and a gun tucked into his belt. Nacho says he doesn’t understand as he hands Mike $25K. Why go through all this pain when killing Tuco would have been doing the world a favor and also made sure Tuco could never come after Mike? He would have made twice the money with a tenth of the hassle. Again Nacho asks Mike why. But Mike never answers that question. It’s one of his policies. He simply drives away.

It’s easy to forget the brilliant strategies Mike concocts or that he’s basically just a guy who wants to look out for his granddaughter’s best interest because he’s such a hardened tough guy in so many ways. This episode reminds us of both these aspects in Mike’s character. He’s super tough and can take a serious beating without complaint. At the same time he’s like a chess player, always several moves ahead of the people surrounding him in the boxing ring. Thing is that Mike doesn’t keep score the same way everyone else at the boxing match does. He’s only got his eye on one prize, a better life for little Kaylee. The picture she drew sits on his freezer door to remind us of this in the first scene when Mike reaches inside for the bag of carrots to quell the bloody ferocity on his face.

–Katherine Recap

[For Vinyl “The Racket” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

HBO Summary:
The Racket. Richie attends marriage counseling with Devon and courts a funk superstar.

“The Racket” is all about dealing with backlash. Characters are starting to pay for the consequences of their actions or at least they think they are but it seems more likely things are in a snowball trajectory they don’t know about yet. The episode opens with Buck Roger’s funeral, a surreal and musical affair with the noted absence of Richie who’s busy pounding on a pillow with a tennis racket in a marriage counselor’s office. Richie tells Devon this rage comes from thinking about his father. Also, Dev should appreciate the fact that he’s missing Buck’s funeral today in order to work on the marriage. But Devon’s not buying it. She points out that Richie didn’t care about Buck at all, which is true enough. In fact, Richie probably cares a hell of a lot more about him now that he’s dead given the circumstances. Then Devon says she’s angry because Richie’s ruining her life by doing drugs and going against their agreement with the coke. She refuses to show her anger with the tennis racket. It’s, understandably, much more fun and on the nose to just yell directly at Richie.

Then we’re in the back of a limo with Richie’s team returning from the funeral pissed at Richie for not showing up and his all around failed buyout backlash. Meanwhile back at the office there’s a special star visitor from funkytown, Hannibal and his queen, Starr. Richie called him in for a “fluffing” because in the last episode the douchebag Jervis threatened to steal Hannibal and he’s about to sign a new contract. Hannibal enjoys some big white lines, hot chicks, and jazz while Richie joins in the snorting. Then he tells Hannibal he’s got the horn player from the record they’re hearing and can get him on Hannibal’s next album. After a round of Finestro brand sensual magic on Richie’s couch he plans a special dinner for after Hannibal’s show that night. As Hannibal leaves Cece, his secretary, tells Richie a detective is on the phone but first he’s gotta deal with Lester who’s in the waiting room. He sits next to The Nasty Bitz and gets called in before them. As Lester walks in he tells them, “Welcome to American Century, get ready to take it up the ass,” and thus perks up the ears of those pouting punks. Feeling confrontational and hurt, Lester then burns the tape that Richie gave him of all his old recordings and it starts a genuine fire in his office, setting off the alarm and sprinklers so that everybody gets soaked to the tune of Janis Joplin’s “Cry Baby”.

Another song perfectly suited to the scene is Pink Floyd’s “Money” which plays while Richie’s money guy, Skip tells his record press guy not to press or ship the Donny Osmond illegal extras he ordered. Turns out they’re being audited and can’t get caught right about now. But it’s too late. The printer has turned his life around after a heart condition and gave up drinking so he’s super efficient these days and no longer a sloth. He already printed and shipped them out to all the Sam Goody stores. Skip’s screwed. He goes to a record store and puts Donny Osmond on the record player then asks the store manager to put all of Osmond’s extra boxes of records in the back room to store them. But the manager refuses and says the store owner would fire him. So, Skip is stuck between a hard place and an impasse.

On the other side of town Devon visits a divorce attorney for a consultation but thanks to the lawyer’s abrupt honesty she soon comes to understand that she’s not going to divorce Richie, she loves him. Devon can’t leave him. Later that night he calls to tell her he has to take Hannibal out late and will be staying in the city apartment. She tries to tell him she spoke to a divorce lawyer but he doesn’t have time to chat and blows her off. Then Devon finally finds that anger at inanimate objects she’d been lacking that morning at their marriage counseling session and smashes the kitchen window with the frying pan she’d just scrubbed clean.

Having left Richie’s office, Lester runs into The Nasty Bitz eating lunch on the sidewalk outside. He tells them all about how bad it can get after you sign a shady record deal and explains that they don’t know the details and that’s where all the stuff that matters about their potential profit lies, in the details. Because Richie’s been so busy all morning with Hannibal and Lester’s fire, they haven’t signed yet. So, when The Nasty Bitz come back in after lunch to sign the tide shifts out of Richie’s favor because Lester comes along as their manager. In their negotiation Lester strikes a hard bargain and gets a tasty deal for the Bitz. Richie then asks Lester about the music he heard outside Lester’s place the night when he saw him from the car in the first episode. It was that funkadelic friend of Lester’s playing two records at once. Richie asks if the guy plays his own stuff and Lester says you never stop hustling do you? Richie responds, “You better hope I don’t”.

Next we see a bit of Hannibal’s funk show with music that’s smooth and sexy, magnificent costumes, and an audience that swiftly loses their mind to the groove. Jervis crams himself up Hannibal’s ass backstage as he attempts to woo the funkmaster over to his label in Richie’s absence while Cece nervously watches. She quickly calls Richie’s office to alert him but he can’t get out because two detectives, there to ask him questions, block his path. Richie tells them he doesn’t have time to talk to them and besides he already talked to the other detective. But then it turns out they’re not here about the Galasso case. It’s about Buck. Uh oh. They’re curious why Richie wasn’t at Buck Rogers funeral and tell him that he was the last person Buck called on the night he died. That’s why they’re here, ruining his evening and probably, eventually, his life.

We hear Robert Goulet recording a Christmas album at the American Century recording studio while Skip hides the boxes of Donny Osmond records in his own apartment, filling every nook and cranny of his place with an illegal stash of the king of wonder bread’s music. Then Richie finally gets out of the office after his zillionth line of coke for the day. The Natsy Bitz celebrate their cushy record contract (thanks to Lester’s finagling) and Jamie goes against her word and smooches with the lead singer again. Richie heads to a jazz club and we’re thinking it’s to talk to the horn guy he said he’d get to perform on Hannibal’s next album but the horn player he talks to there turns out to be his dad, the one he mentioned in the first scene. Richie tells his father he needs his help and the episode ends on the ba da dum reaction echoing through our minds. So, the question remains, is his father going to play on Hannibal’s next album? Just kidding, nobody actually cares about that.

There’s more than just a tennis “Racket” in this episode to contend with symbolically. “The Racket” could refer to any number of things, from musician contract negotiations to divorce lawyers and homicide investigators. So much of Vinyl involves shady dealings it’s hard to keep track of all the rackets involved. Richie’s drug use and recent murdering are only the tip of his iceberg of lies. The coke in his bloodstream has replaced all the platelets with falsehoods. Richie’s gotten to the point where he can’t even keep track of where the truth begins and his last lie ends. His interaction with the detectives illustrates this perfectly, wait… which murder allegedly involving me are you talking about? Meanwhile Skip plays at his own pathetic version of a racket which ends up with him living in a fort constructed out of Donny Osmond record boxes. That’s the thing about shady business, eventually it engulfs the culprit and they drown in their own doings. Yet somehow Richie’s not just treading water, the guy’s still killing it and swimming across the finish line in first place – even weighted down with all the lies.

–Katherine Recap

[For The People v. OJ Simpson “The Race Card” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

FX Summary:
The Race Card. As the trial begins Christopher Darden and Johnnie Cochran go head to head in court.

The episode summary for “The Race Card” says Cochran and Darden go head to head in court but really they ram at each other in AND out of the courtroom. It’s like the characters are two sides of an embattled, self-loathing coin. This sense of war between them arises throughout the episode with the use of the n-word. It comes up right at the start when Cochran’s daughter asks him if a police officer said the n-word to him and again later in the courtroom when the two lawyers debate the word’s presence and relevance in the trial. What we realize from this episode is that much like OJ’s trial, their fight both is and isn’t about race. On one hand it’s a fight between former friends who maybe know each other a bit too well to keep the fight clean but on the other hand race actually is an issue they both care about deeply. The passions are high and nothing raises heart rates higher quite like the n-word.

Johnnie Cochran gets pulled over by a police officer and ends up cuffed for no real reason. After calling the station about him, the cop wishes Johnnie a nice evening and lets him go. Then Cochran’s at church where the minister says a special communal prayer for his work on the OJ Simpson trial. The DA’s office watches the news showing the church’s support of Cochran. Johnnie then comments that isn’t it interesting that now with eight black people put on the jury, the prosecution suddenly adds a black man to their team? Darden see this and looks deer-in-headlights tasered.

Next Marcia leads prosecution strategy meeting while at the same time we see a parallel defense meeting led by Johnny. For every point Clark raises “The Dream Team” notes a counterpoint. She brings up OJ’s history of domestic violence, sixty two instances on record. She says this shows he was a serial abuser and proves motive. Then Dershowitz implies that they will keep all that evidence out of court. Bill then says the the prosecution has a solid timeline and on the defense side Barry Scheck counters saying the fact that the DA’s timeline does them a huge favor because it’s such a small window and thus can easily be attacked. Kardashian also mentions that “their bombshell witness is a dog,” which the prosecution neglects to see as a potential issue. In fact, they romanticize it saying, “Everything begins with the plaintive wail of the Akita”. Marcia then talks about all the blood evidence and Dershowtiz says there’s no way they’ll put Fuhrman on the stand given his racist history. The DA talks about the evidence as “devastating proof” while the defense speaks of the “haphazard” collection of it. So, both sides have their arguments ready, now they just have to distribute the work to back it all up. Clark hands out assignments and gives Darden the detectives Vannatter and Fuhrman to prepare as witnesses.

Next we see Darden interviewing Fuhrman and though he has all the right answers, Darden senses that something’s off with him. He tells Marcia they really don’t need Furhman because someone else entered the gloves into evidence anyway. She’s stubborn about it and says they need Fuhrman. It’s unclear why Marcia doesn’t trust Darden’s instinct on this but what’s abundantly clear is that Darden’s gut is getting tied into knots with all this BS and being ignored.

So, the prosecution is wrapped up in laying out the evidence but back on “The Dream Team” Johnnie explains that evidence doesn’t win the day. Juries go with the narrative that makes the most sense to them. It’s essentially a storytelling contest, whomever has the more convincing story wins.

Next we see Judge Ito and Dominick Dunne discuss how he’s going to sit in on the trial while writing about it for Vanity Fair. Ito gives him a permanent seat in the front row next to the Goldmans. They talk about how Dunne can empathize with the Goldmans because of his own daughter’s murder. What Judge Ito doesn’t seem to realize is that Dunne essentially writes gossip. He’s just a dapper little buzzing bee with thick circular glasses and a burning desire to divulge secrets. Yes, he did lose a daughter but then he used her tragic murder to spark a career for himself writing stories about Hollywood killers. Empathy is not exactly Dunne’s mantra, motto, or strong suit. Hyperbole might be, though. Again this is a case of the strongest story “winning” no matter how much of it actually rings true. We see this later in the episode when Dunne gossips galore at a luxurious dinner among his peers, dishing out dirt on the case like a dump truck in the desert… but only when the “help” is out of earshot.

At the courthouse Johnnie shakes Darden’s hand straight away. Then the emboldened Darden says he hopes they can put their shared past behind them and be respectful. Johnnie pulls Darden closer to say he’s not looking to be respectful, he’s just trying to win. So, it’s ON. Then in the courtroom Shapiro right off the bat asks to exclude the 62 allegations of abuse e as irrelevant because it’s a murder case, not a domestic violence case. Bill then speaks for the DA and says the context and nature of their relationship is crucial to understanding what’s behind this case.

Then Darden brings up Furhman to the Judge and says there’s no reason to forage fifteen years into his past for his use of a reprehensible word. He says this word will hinder the jury’s ability to see the facts of the case. Then Cochran gets up and preaches that it’s insulting to the African American community to say they can’t handle hearing offensive words. They can still tell right from wrong and have to face hearing that word and making important decisions that all the time. The next day the front page of the newspaper is all about this face off on race between Cochran and Darden. At the office Darden asks Gil if he can do some follow up interviews with the black press but Gil says no way. Then Darden approaches Marcia and says they really should take Fuhrman out of the case. He warns her many times over he course of the episode but she neglects to listen.

Johnnie gets a late night call from the office letting them know that Shapiro’s staff screwed up and forgot to submit twelve witness names from their discovery roster, a big boo boo that makes them look bad. The next morning Marcia Clark gives the prosecution’s opening statement. She talks about OJ’s public persona versus the private person. Marcia brings up the blood evidence and how it ties OJ to the murders. Then Cochran gives the defense’s opening statement and quotes Martin Luther King. Then he starts listing witnesses but as he says names that aren’t on the prosecution’s list Bill gets very upset and interrupts to say they don’t have these witnesses on their list. The day in court is cut short when subsequently Bill has a heart attack and exits on a stretcher. Turns out Bill’s down for the count and now off the case, so Marcia recommends they elevate Darden to co-prosecuter and suddenly these two are the dynamic duo – odd couple Wonder Twins against “The Dream Team” and it’s clear that this isn’t a fair fight right from the start.

In the next scene Cochran removes OJ’s whitewashed home decorating and replaces it with items that are a bit more black-friendly. There’s an upcoming jurors tour of the house and of Nicole’s as well. Marcia gets upset during Nicole’s house tour because the defense had all the furniture and personal items cleared out of Nicole’s condo so there are no indications that she was a mother with a family and the human element of the scene is gone. The opposite happens at OJ’s house where Johnnie has completely staged the place to perfection. Marcia complains to Judge Ito in OJ’s backyard and while she does Darden sits on a bench. Then OJ starts yelling at Darden to get off HIS bench. Darden tells Cochran to get his client under control. Then Cochran says OJ just “gets emotional”. Yeah, so we heard on the 911 tapes, dude.

In a dramatic and swift shift, Johnnie then pulls him close and tells Darden not to question Fuhrman, “make the white people do him,” he says. Next Darden practices questioning Fuhrman at the DA’s office and gets frustrated yet again. It’s pretty clear the Fuhrman has something to hide and is lying about using the n-word. During Darden’s questioning Fuhrman mentions that he collects WWII memorabilia along with some sports. Afterward Darden stands firm with Marcia for the zillionth time saying that he can’t put Fuhrman on the stand until finally Marcia agrees to just do it herself. Then in the last scene we see a shot of Fuhrman polishing his WWII memorabilia and turns out, surprise, surprise – it’s Nazi medals. Looks like Darden’s gut is worth listening to after all.

–Katherine Recap

[For Better Call Saul “Amarillo” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]

AMC Summary:
Amarillo. Jimmy’s client outreach efforts succeed and he exhibits new heights of showmanship.

“Amarillo” revolves around the theme doing whatever it takes to get the job done. The thing about Jimmy McGill is that he’s a go getter and doing whatever it takes is just his way. It’s what’s best and worst about him, all wrapped up in a folksy, suited Bob Odenkirk package. At one point in the episode Jimmy says, “teamwork makes the dream work,” and he means it. Trouble is that Jimmy isn’t really a team player. He plays that classic I’d rather ask forgiveness than permission game that peeps play when they’re certain they’re right. And maybe Jimmy is right; it certainly seems so thus far. But he’s not ingratiating himself with the team and in fact is breaking every one of their rules moments after hearing them. So, although we’re rooting for Jimmy we’re also in a waiting game for when this elastic band he’s stretching snaps back at him and hopeful that Kim doesn’t get smacked too because she’s frequently standing right in the line of fire, next to Jimmy.

The episode opens in Texas where Jimmy wears a cowboy hat and visits with a group of Sandpiper residents in their shuttle bus. He’s collecting clients for the Sandpiper class action by explaining that they may have been overcharged with that folksy Jimmy charm and storytelling ease. He gets the whole shuttle bus to sign on to the suit with a contract. In fact, using this method Jimmy signs over two hundred new clients in only three weeks, a fact we find out at his meeting in the next scene. It’s a conference room with all the lawyers around the table. Chuck is there and criticizing Jimmy for what he says appears to be the forbidden act, soliciting clients.

Jimmy explains that he didn’t knock on any doors, which is true. But when he reaches out for some footsie under the table Kim pulls her foot away. So, then he adds that he won’t go about it this way anymore and follows her speedily up the stairs when the meeting ends. She asks him what happened actually. He says he means it when he said he’ll find another way to get clients. Then Kim reminds him that she put herself on the line for him to get this job. He has to do it the right way. Tsk Tsk, bro.

Next we see Mike with his granddaughter and giving money to his daughter-in-law. She seems antsy and worried and eventually tells him she hears gunshots at night. When she called the cops they took a long time to come so when they arrived there was nothing to see anymore. Mike offers to stay the night but she says no. Later that evening he’s parked outside her house, on a stakeout but nothing happens. Mike waits out there the whole night. Right when he gets to work and lets out his first tollbooth yawn his daughter-in-law calls. She shows him a notch broken into the side of her house’s stucco and says she heard shots at 2:13 AM. He ask if it’s possible she dreamed it but she insists no. So, then Mike says that’s it, They’ll just have to move her and Caylee out of there.

Meanwhile Jimmy’s telling Clifford Main that instead of decent direct mail responses (like 10-12%) they often get either none or only 2-3% for their Sandpiper mailings. Jimmy says he suspects the staff at Sandpiper is probably throwing them away. But if they did a TV ad that ran during “Murder She Wrote” they’d definitely reach Sandpiper residents. Jimmy gets a couple of young filmmakers to go through what the ad will cover – a “production meeting”. He wants a grandma rocking in a chair, shivering and clutching a tattered shawl. She’s cold, hungry and friendless. It’s gotta be heartbreaking and shot in black and white, he explains.

Later Kim visits Jimmy at his fancy new apartment to watch his TV commercial and she says it look professional and will work. She also says, though, that she can’t believe Davis & Main went for this. Then we see a flash of Jimmy looking sketchy at the office, checking to see if anyone’s listening and then calling a Colorado TV station’s ad sales department. It’s looking like Jimmy didn’t get the permission he should have after all. His assistant is in on the scheme and helps set up the rerouting of phone lines so that anything from the ad goes straight to his office. At air time of “Murder She Wrote” the phones start ringing and the new clients are rolling in. Then we see Jimmy and Kim watching a movie together late at night. Clifford Main calls Jimmy and yells at him about running the commercial without checking with him first. He’s pissed and insists that they all see the ad first thing in the morning. Kim is none the wiser and Jimmy just hopes the fact that he pulled in all the new clients will make him easy to forgive.

Next Mike goes to the veterinarian who hands out assassin jobs looking for work and he’s told that if he wants next level pay he’s gotta do next level work AKA killin’. Determined to stop his assassinating ways, Mike leaves with merely a bodyguard job. Next we see Mike sleeping and awakened by the vet calling with a next level pay job. He drives out to meet the client and it turns out to be Nacho, who tells Mike there’s a guy he needs to go away.

So, in the end we see that Mike also does whatever it takes to get the job done; whether that means staying up all night to watch his granddaughter’s house or taking an assassin job to move her to a better neighborhood. They are so parallel in this way, Mike and Jimmy. Yet there’s an interesting opposition at hand too because Mike’s trying to go straight in a world that keeps pulling him into corruption. Meanwhile Jimmy perpetuates sketchy stunts in a world (Davis & Main) that wants him to play it straight and safe. One character is like a photo negative of the other. They each have an antagonist working against the very thing they want, Jimmy has Chuck and Mike – Nacho but they are also opposites. Chuck wants to see Jimmy fail and even works as a sort of saboteur against Jimmy at work. While Nacho keeps Mike working and seeks him out for more dastardly deeds. This leaves us with the question; what will bring the parallel lives of those polar opposites, Jimmy and Mike together again?

–Katherine Recap