March 26, 2007: Run Like Hell
I'm glad I didn't grow up with the Donnellys. It's hard enough trying to find a decent man in general, but in their neighborhood? I would have been single for the rest of my life! Seriously, was Tommy the
only "good" guy for women to choose from? Of course, that was before he committed murder, stole from widows and beat up old friends to collect gambling debts. And even after all of that, he still looks to be the pick of the Irish-cream crop.
Maybe it's not the women's fault that they picked deadbeats to marry. Jenny will soon take over the family diner (as suspected, her father is suffering from Alzheimer's) and has always
seemed smart. Marianne owns her own printing business. She has to have
some brain cells. And yet, both ladies married losers. At least Marianne's husband, Eddie, is still alive. The neighborhood didn't need another widow this week.
I'm also shocked at who my favorite leading ladies are. Of course, Kate Mulgrew is the greatest mom on the East Coast. We'll get to her later. But for some odd reason, I find myself liking Jimmy's drug-addict girlfriend, Joanie (played wonderfully by
Betsy Beutler). She lit up the screen tonight. It was the only real excitement during the show. That and the shovel to the back of Nicky's head. By the way, I believed Joanie over Whitey (
Kevin Corrigan).
I jumped out of my seat when Nicky got slammed with the shovel and fell to the ground. My first thought was that it was Dokey. Then we saw that it was actually Nicky's boss. Nicky likes to bend the rules. Sal had asked him not to hurt the Donnelly brothers, and then he beat the crap out of Sean. And his new boss simply sent him to get an answer from Dokey -
not to kill three Irish Union workers. Nicky is very arrogant. And so is Dokey. With Sal and Huey gone there is no one to keep the peace between the Italians and the Irish. Watching both Nicky and Dokey is almost painful. I feel like any minute one of them is going to explode. Nicky seems more controlled than Dokey, but Dokey and his axe have only hurt their fellow Irish. Nicky knows no boundaries.
Sean (
Michael Stahl-David) is finally getting more screen time. The poor guy really needs some female lovin'. "SOS. Calling all Kims!" I was surprised how embarrassed he was when his mother walked in on his phone call. I doubt Kim will return. And if she does, will anyone ever explain to Mrs. Donnelly that she had nothing to do with Sean's beat-down? Speaking of Mrs. Donnelly,
Kate Mulgrew is one of the greatest TV moms I've seen in a long time. She devotes herself to her boys, but stands her ground. I loved her response to Sean when he said he wished she hadn't told Kim to stay away: "Yeah, well, I wish your father was still alive and I lived in the country."
And finally, we were introduced to another new character - Jack Trevor, the councilman. Apparently, he was close with Huey Ferrell and Bobby Donnelly. Joey told us that it was no surprise he was the only one standing. So, what did he do to get so lucky? He definitely has some deals made with the Italians, or he wouldn't be so concerned with Dokey's actions. I think he will be the most evil character on the show. Most politicians are. It will be fitting to see his true colors as the story line expands.
By the way, I'm trying to find out which episode will air the showdown between Jimmy and his new business partner, Whitey. When I know, you'll know.
