On Treme: “I’ll Fly Away” (s1e10)
Posted on 24. Jun, 2010 by Simon in Television
Because it’s not easy to write a TV recap, but gosh do we love them, every week Simon and Anupa will be discussing HBO’s latest drama venture Treme. Highly anticipated due to the critical success of creator David Simon’s The Wire, we’re leaving the egghead essays on the New Orleans-set show following musicians and people dealing, post-Katrina, to the experts and bringing you our favourite (or least favourite) moments in convenient list form. Think of the highbrow content and easy delivery like being able to grab a steak via drive thru—just because you want that shit on demand, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your good taste. Onward, sweet savants, to Treme:
Simon
- Obviously, we missed a few weeks. The truth is Treme at times has been hard to follow because, lets be honest, some weeks are kind of boring. What I finally got after the final stretch of the season however is a sense for Treme’s greater body of work. This show truly must be judged as a whole instead of by its weekly chapters. Unlike the Wire, which regularly KO’d viewers with raw intensity and aggression, Treme does the job by simply pounding you with body blows. By the end of the night, you might look fine on the outside, but man, you feel like you’ve been run over by a truck. Make no mistake, Treme has hit hard in its first season, exploring the extreme depths of its solid characters and, as a result, forcing its viewers to reflexively do the same.
- Davis somehow has become one of the most likeable characters on the show. And now, he is with Annie, who I have already stated my adoration for. So rarely do audiences get exactly what they wish for, but here you go folks, enjoy it!
- The suicide of Creighton was probably the most significant plot event of the season, and understandably so. Suicide is always a difficult topic and one rarely broached on television. I think the show did an incredible job portraying the complex emotions (and even logistics) involved both for better and for worse. The scene of the detectives walking away while you hear Sophia screaming “NO!” inside the house is simply heart-wrenching.
- BONUS POINTS: there’s just so much to be said for this show. I think if you were to watch it start to finish from a boxset it could easily be placed up there as one of the best debut seasons in tv history. One constant in every episode? Standout performances. Khandi Alexander has been an absolute revelation this season and deserves serious Emmy attention.
That’s all folks.
