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The Joy of Sex: the Opus Dei Edition

By Aggie Maguire | Posted Under TV Reviews | Comments (12)

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A more accurate title for this week’s episode would have been “Sexual Freedom and its Consequences in 1920s America” (perhaps Dr. Pisaster should be covering this episode). We found out that little Albert Francis (Sonny) Capone is deaf thanks to congenital syphilis; Gillian Darmody has been around the block enough times to not even blink when a man she just had sex with tells her he had an “infection” a few years ago; Nucky’s particular version of Catholic guilt involves prostitutes (really? is that supposed to be a bit of a change from Lucy?); and most shockingly, when a man offers to provide for you in exchange for sex outside of marriage, it may mean you are concubine.

Let’s deal with Margaret first. I do love the way the costume people have started to dress her in more jewel tones to mirror the blossoming of her personality, but I’m not sure what the writers are doing with her. Last week we saw some tremendous character development with the brainy woman behind the mousy, prudish front emerging to play a perfect chess game to get her man. But this week, we saw someone completely different. Why would she seek the OK from the Temperance League woman when she must know her new relationship with Nucky would irretrievably separate her from the ranks of respectable women? What, since she admitted up front that he wasn’t proposing marriage, did she think she was getting into if it wasn’t the role of mistress? Why would she do it? Yes, money and protection are compelling motivators but that’s not how she’s been written so far. And most puzzling of all: are her lady-bits made of titanium? How can she walk nimbly out of the bathroom with a grin on her face after douching with Lysol?

If only there were an Emmy for “Creepiest TV Character since Garrett Dillahunt left Deadwood,” Van Alden/Shannon would be a shoo-in. There’s really no lunatic quite like the ultra-right Catholic variety (it’s like Scientology with whips and chains). I absolutely loved the look on his subordinate’s face when the boss asked about the obsession with Schroeder and subpoenaing Margaret’s immigration records. We’ve all had that boss who made us do illogical things and he captured that “don’t look at me: I just do as I’m told” look perfectly.

The Chicago story line was actually far more interesting this week than the Atlantic City soap opera. We saw a new Jimmy, hardened but in control of his emotions, who is finally showing some tactical abilities as Torrio’s soldier (cue the obligatory dog tag metaphor) and figuring out how to manage Capone’s volatility while letting him know he’s not going to settle for the role of the side-kick. And at long last we got to see some of the acting chops that made us love Stephen Graham in “This is England”. I confess I had been disappointed with Graham in BE to date; his character had become a one-note thug, but he turned that around last night and I’m hoping the writers will give him some more rein to show what he can do in future episodes.

The other nice scene this week was the conversation between Nucky and Haig discussing the road paving issue and Senator Edge’s conflicts of interest. I would really like to see the show spend more time on the political maneuvering which is fascinating (and didn’t Buscemi nail that brief hesitation when he realized he didn’t know everything?) as opposed to Nucky’s bedroom antics because honestly, the guy looks anemic and frail enough to need regular iron infusions so I’m not buying three times a day with three different women.

Aggie Maguire lives in a fly-over state where she enjoys waving at the people flying over and wondering if anybody ever waves back. She is a member of the Jane Austen society and a life-long supporter of the Home for Abused Apostrophes.










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Comments

i agree with you on the sex 3 times a day. Buscemi is not a womanizing stud.

This show is not in the class of HBO's previous work. I'm still watching it but it's not "must see".....

Posted by: logan at October 26, 2010 11:41 AM

It's a must see for me. It has gotten consistently better from week to week. I think I went in expecting non stop gangster violence but the plot and character developments are much more intriguing. I actually really really like this show

Posted by: Candy at October 26, 2010 11:54 AM

I think you overestimate the chess game. I truly believe he was there to reprimand her, but then went the other way. Margaret wasn't showing herself his equal. I doubt she even thinks that, which might point more to why she would go along with this new, strange and powerful man. She was just showing him that she is not bowed by him and won't be ignored. That she got him out of the deal was pure chance. So depending on how you play chess... Nucky'd been repressing his feelings, for his wife, of wanting to be a better man, to have everything in his woman and his life up to the highest standards. Margaret's brain, face, and voice certainly are a bigger draw than the cunny. How can you not mention that little gem?

It was also a delightful little look to see Lucky realize he'd been banging Jimmy's mother. Ha! thinking "i'm a mother fucker. That's what that means, and I am one."

Posted by: Jackseppelin at October 26, 2010 12:26 PM

I cringed at the first time Margaret used the lysol douche. That HAS to burn like a mad bastard!

Also, I loved the whole Chicago story arc this episode. Especially when Jimmy got his knife taken from him. I knew he was going to be getting it back, it was just a question of how.

The byplay between Al and Jimmy had overtones of "Goodfellas" to it. I half expected a "I'm funny how" moment.

I end up watching this on on-demand while the kids sleep for obvious reasons.

And if Buscemi looks pale and emaciated, 3 times a day will do that to you, I'm certain.

(I'm a firm believer in "once a king, always a king, but once a knight is enough")

Posted by: Uncle JR at October 26, 2010 1:13 PM

Isn't the name HAGUE?

Posted by: Arkansan at October 26, 2010 1:35 PM

Arkansan:

Good question. I looked it up on HBO's site before submitting the piece but he wasn't listed. He also wasn't listed on the cast list for the episode on IMDB. I went with Haig since I knew the name was around in the US (as opposed to the spelling of the location for the International Criminal Court). I looked again after you posted and there is now a recap on IMDB spelling his name as Hague. I probably could have got the correct spelling from another review site but I make a point of writing my thoughts about the show before reading any other reviews/recaps.

Posted by: Aggie Maguire at October 26, 2010 3:16 PM

You could also have just googled it. Hague was the boss of Jersey city for several decades. I wrote this in last weeks comments. Obviously it didn't make an impression.

Posted by: ed newman at October 26, 2010 6:36 PM

From wiki

In the late 1920s Lysol disinfectant began being marketed by maker Lysol, Incorporated and distributor Lehn & Fink, Inc. as a feminine hygiene product. They intimated that vaginal douching with a Lysol solution prevented infections and vaginal odor, and thereby preserved marital bliss[7]. This Lysol solution was also used as a birth control agent, as post-coital douching was a popular method of preventing pregnancy at that time. The use of Lysol was later discouraged by the medical community as it tended to eliminate the bacteria normal to the healthy vagina, thus allowing more robust, health-threatening bacteria to thrive, and may have masked more serious problems that certain odors indicated in the first place.[8] All the same, Joseph De Lee, a prominent American obstetrician who held great sway over American obstetric practice through his writings, encouraged the use of Lysol during labor. "...[J]ust before introducing the hand, the vagina is liberally flushed with 1 per cent lysol solution squeezed from pledgets of cotton, the idea being to reduce the amount of infections matter unavoidably carried into the puerperal wounds and up into the uterus by the manipulations." [9]

In the US, from around 1930 to 1960, vaginal douching with a Lysol disinfectant solution was the most popular form of birth control.[10] US marketing ads printed testimonials from European "doctors" touting its safety and effectiveness. The American Medical Association later investigated these claims. They were unable to locate the cited "experts" and found that Lysol was not effective as a contraceptive.[10]

Posted by: Sean at October 27, 2010 12:51 AM

Also, that the concubine next door brought in her little girl to go out with another man means that she is not Nucky's.

and if Nucky hasn't thrown Paz De La Vega out yet, she's on her way. Margaret won't put up with being one of two.

But who can say that they've seen Michael Pitt act any better? This is his best role, and I too am looking forward to the Chicago and New York characters. Not so much Jersey City, but if anything, dear Abbie, I think what we've seen are plenty of the machinations of politics. Politics may be considered in terms of office or elections, but it uses all the same stuff we see all these characters playing out. Then, and today with less defined terms and difficult by design.

Posted by: Jackseppelin at October 27, 2010 8:05 AM

E. Newman:
It is nice to see that someone else has a long memory.

Posted by: Arkansan at October 27, 2010 11:55 AM

What, no mention of the brilliant dressing room scene between Margaret and Lucy? Shenanigans!

Posted by: Ginger at October 27, 2010 7:48 PM

Frank Hague is a fascinating character, and the party machine is still alive in Jersey City. I loved his line about how the Senator was just passing through, but that they (he and Nucky) were bosses to stay.

Posted by: Alice at October 28, 2010 2:50 PM