The Deuce Season 3 Premiere Review

From left to right: Alston, Candy, Vincent, Abby, Paul, and Lori

     

     To be totally honest, I had no idea that The Deuce was premiering tonight. I had an idea that it was premiering in September, but maybe it's because all of the other shows I watch start in late September, so I just assumed it did , too, but I'm really pumped that this show is back on. I finished watching the first two seasons about a month ago, and it's definitely a hidden gem of a show with great characters and interesting plotlines. I wrote down notes for tonight's episode because this show has so many characters and storylines in it, which is crazy because a lot of the characters' storylines ended last season and in season one. I really enjoyed this episode, and I loved how we got a time jump to the 80s. I'm going to write my initial thoughts of the episode and what the characters have been up to.

     Let's start with Vincent and Abby. Honestly, who cares about them? I always felt they were the weakest characters in the story. I'll give it to Abby for fixing her hair after that bird nest disaster she had in '77. It looks like the two broke up, but still have feelings for each other. Vincent walks her home in this episode since the 80s have brought about a more dangerous city with muggings and beatings, but as he and Abby point out, the real estate is turning for the better with higher property prices and new apartment buildings being built, but Vincent doesn't think the Deuce will be affected. It shall be interesting to see if that affects their relationship, but still I think they are a snooze, especially Abby.

     I was shocked to see Lori come back this season since she got a very satisfying ending in the season two finale; however, her story really is far from over, now. She is introduced as getting out of rehab for the fifth time, which makes total sense. She was always doing blow last season at least once every episode, so I knew that that could be her storyline in the future if she came. At the end of the episode, she relapses in a very disturbing manner where she is literally shoving cocaine up her nose and down her throat. It's very upsetting to watch something so relevant in society be shown like that, but it just shows how far gone she is. She also doesn't seem to be happy to still be in the porn business, either. Her boyfriend/husband is pushing her to stay, but she wants to "rest." It's very obvious that she is getting flashbacks of C.C. controlling her and not giving her breaks from prostituting. I really do think Lori is going to die this season. I can just see her overdosing or maybe even her boyfriend/husband getting violent with her and killing her. Her story would come full circle if that happened, so it makes total sense.

     Paul's storyline was very obvious especially since it is now the 80s. It's the peak of the AIDS epidemic where the fatal disease is prominent in the gay community. Paul is advocating for safer sex on the streets. His boyfriend is revealed to have legions on his face. Like Lori's cocaine addiction, it's very disturbing to watch this time period where the gay community was really being wiped out from that horrible disease, and no one really cared except their own people. The guy on the street that Paul talks to clearly has it, and he's outcasted. We see him again in the bar not celebrating the new year because to him, it isn't that exciting knowing that he is most likely not going to survive the disease. It was very sad to watch since this happened to the LGBT community everywhere. We'll see how Paul deals with this disease within his community. I think he will catch it, or he may have already contracted it. Bobby also is worried that he may have AIDS, but he thinks it is airborne from the gay community. I'm glad the show touched on this issue that just because you were straight didn't mean you weren't protected from the disease. Bobby is such a sleazebag that he is "advised" to stop cheating on his wife, so he won't catch the disease, but he cannot help it. Shocker. I think his test results are going to come back positive. The dynamics of his friends and coworkers should be interesting if it is revealed he is positive since they probably have the stigma that only gay men can have it.

     Frankie now has a family, and he is directing porn with Irene. He also has this business arrangement with Tommy to where Tommy doesn't want Rudy to know that he is going behind his back. I'm not sure where this storyline is headed, but I think Frankie and Tommy are not going to come out alive from this. Rudy is part of the mob for God's sake; he isn't messing around. Frankie was another character I couldn't care about. He really has had no character development other than tricking people into giving him money, so whatever.

     Detective Alston teams up with Herc from The Wire (My Wire people noticed him immediately). They are trying to stop the gang violence on the street. They combine their forces and catch two muggers at the subway in a brilliant set-up. I mean, I would have never guessed all those people were cops. I'm actually interested in what Alston will do this season. He's really the only character that hasn't had any sort of resolution to his arc. I think he'll most likely expose the corruption of the police towards the end of the season. He always seemed like a good guy, so I hope everything works out for him at the end.

     Now. Let's get to one of my top five favorite tv characters of all time, Candy/Eileen. I just love how good she is in the show. She is powerful, relatable, and just likable. Maggie Gyllenhaal needs an Emmy nomination for this performance. Candy seems to be in a rut with her porn directing. New technology is changing the pornography industry, and Candy doesn't seem to be understanding why. She sees a newer porn movie where the women are treated like fools; she always portrays the men and women as equals, sometimes even having the women be the dominant characters in her films. Harvey wants her to change with the times, but she feels like she isn't sticking true with her vision. A good thing that went on over the years, though was that it seems like she somewhat made up with her family since they locked her out of her home in the 70s for appearing on a talk show to talk about the porn industry, where her son was beat up because of it. That seems to be the best of the news for her, though because her mother is dying and she hasn't talked to her son, Adam, in a while, but she doesn't seem to want to talk about him. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she goes about handling her estranged relationship with her son. It seems like her luck may turn with her directing visions since she meets the guy at the bar, and it seems he wants to help her out. I am praying that she survives this show because she really is the heart and soul of it. Go Candy!

     So, yeah, that about wraps things up. I know there are other character storylines floating around, but to me they are either not interesting or just not major enough right now, but that could change. I am happy this show got a third and final season because it deserves a proper ending. If you haven't seen this show, go watch it! It is much more than a dirty-sounding, pornographic show. It has depth and characters you will love and love to hate. There also are not that many episodes to catch up with, so it is a short watch! I guarantee you'll enjoy it!

Thank you for reading my review of The Deuce premiere! I will be writing more reviews in the upcoming weeks once my shows come back on, so be on the lookout!