Following last week’s premiere episode, expectations were high going into this week’s “A Stone Of The Heart”. Though it wasn’t an easy task, they met those expectations.
Tommy continues to be the center of the story, and as such he’s also the deepest character. If last week it looked like he’s making a complete transformation into a cold hearted criminal, after trying for years to keep his brothers on the right track, we saw him struggling very hard, with himself and Kevin, to try and keep this one incident, huge as it may be, an isolated one. It seems like he still hasn’t grasped the consequences of his actions.
The writing continues to be excellent. Tommy’s so well defined (And kudos in that regard has to go to Jonathan Tucker as well) that his actions this week make complete sense and don’t appear to be out of character (And that’s saying something, considering it’s only the second episode). While he did seem cold and calculated when the pilot ended, this week it was obvious that he’s not in his comfort zone, that he’s in over his head and he knows it. Last week I said that the Donnellys are small time crooks making a transformation into big time criminals, and this week it was evident that this transformation will be long and hard. Tommy and Kevin had so much trouble getting rid of the body and it was completely believable no one goes in one night from failing in a small truck heist to being a pro in eliminating evidence. But Tommy prevailed again with his leadership and hands-on approach. And after he got himself covered in blood, he wanted to make things right. He still wants to keep his brothers safe so he goes Nicky Cottero with a peace offering the ransom money in exchange for closure. But he’s not going there as a weak man he hold his head up high and stands up to Nicky when he’s confronted with threats directed towards Jimmy and the demand for a weekly pay-off. His main goal is to restore order to the neighborhood, but he won’t pay any price he’s asked to he knows the importance of making a stand. But still, he keeps playing the father figure, as he tries to go at it alone and leave Kevin outside of hid dealings.
I mentioned the visual of Tommy covered in blood. This is a prime example of the changes network TV is going through. In the past, scenes like that one belonged only on the big screen or cable. But the networks realized that they need to change their old ways in order to keep the viewers. That resulted, on one hand, in more sophisticated shows like Lost and Heroes, and on the other hand in a change of atmosphere in prime time. A show like The Black Donnellys demonstrates that, as its creators come from the movie business and thus use movie techniques both visually and in the script. The shots of Tommy swinging the sledgehammer and standing up bloodier with each swing were stunningly beautiful. It was also disturbing, but beautiful.
When the show first started, I thought that Joey’s narration will get annoying soon. So far it hasn’t happened. He provides some much needed back-story and information, both from their childhood and adult life. As a regular character, there’s still something missing, as his shtick of appearing from nowhere will get tired.
The romance between Tommy and Jenny is very interesting. She doesn’t want to believe what she hears about him, but she learns the truth when she finds the bloody bar. She could either stand by him or leave him, but she chooses a weird path. First she sleeps with him and then she leaves him, telling him they can’t be together. It’s like she wanted just one night with him, to see what she’ll missing, buy I doubt she’ll be strong enough to keep away from Tommy.
Last night, Studio 60 started airing here in Israel. As I watched the pilot I kept thinking how can a show start so strong and be good for months and then take a free fall and turn bad. The Black Donnellys also starts very strong with two good episodes. Now it’s up to them to keep this up. It might be easier for that show, as a mid-season replacement doesn’t have as many expectations as a new fall show. Also, having a 10 episodes order can help the creators write tight plots with conclusive developments and a clear path. While I still want to have hope that Studio 60 will be back and be back to its good start, I wouldn’t mind seeing The Black Donnellys get a permanent spot on Monday nights.
