Bloodline - S2E3 - Part 16
Previously on Bloodline, “Part 15”
The twisted web of lies that surround the Rayburn family continues to be spun in Part 16 of Bloodline. This episode could also be titled “The One Where Kevin Fucks Everything Up” because he’s cementing his place as the weakest Rayburn link, as well as the craziest. The investigation reaches a major turning point and John further attempts to put the toothpaste of this whole mess back in the tube.
Danny Plays The Masked Robber
This episode starts off in a flashback with Danny in his chef’s coat back when he had a successful restaurant and possibly wasn’t actively scheming to fuck over his family. He gets into a car with Ozzy, portrayed by John Leguizamo, and is given a gun which he unloads before being dropped off to “pop his cherry” by holding up a pharmacy.
This scene unfolds in snippets throughout the episode, revealing slowly the absolute savagery of Ozzy’s character and Danny’s distaste with his behavior. Danny starts off robbing the pharmacy with his gun, telling the pharmacist to hand over all of the good stuff. As he’s finishing up, Ozzy enters and demands that the cashier open the register and give him the cash. In the process, the cashier also pushes the silent alarm and as a result Ozzy ruthlessly bashes him in the face with his gun while Danny cringes in horror.
These scenes are interspersed with Ozzy making his rounds in the Keys, visiting those who knew and loved Danny, including Eric O’Bannon and most importantly Nolan. Eric can’t seem to understand why Ozzy is so concerned with the fact that the Rayburn family seems to have conspired against Danny in the end, but Ozzy assures him that he has his own issues with the Rayburns to settle. Foreshadow much?
Kevin Is, Once Again, Literally The Worst
Kevin, as most people involved in the drug trade are, is quickly enamored by the ease with which he is making money and continues to unload the stolen coke to his buyer, using the same pie box delivery method as the first deal. While he drives away from the drop distractedly counting his envelope full of cash, the buyers tase him at a stop sign and throw him in their van where they tase and question him regarding his involvement with the cops he chatted with on his way out of the diner.
Kevin manages to escape somehow, and the leader of the two of them is found the next day dead with cigarette burns over his body and a bullet in his head. Meanwhile, Kevin is in hiding in a motel while John and his wife search for him. He calls Meg who meets him and calls John once Kevin stops moaning and crying about how he fucked up and tells her the story of what he has done to fuck up. Once John arrives and the story is conveyed, mostly by Meg who is not a crying bitch-baby, John assures him that he’ll handle it, but that he is to stay put in the motel and contact no one. Simple instructions, stay put and contact no one. Meg is ordered to stay and mind him because obviously Kevin doesn’t know how to handle himself.
Meg misses her flight back to New York to handle the cases she was summoned for by her boss. Her and Kevin exchange words a few times, mostly where Kevin tries to pass the blame for his fuck-up-heavy actions to other people and she calls him on his bullshit. He weeps more and is generally just annoying and manic. Eventually her boss calls asking why she didn’t show up and while Meg is in the bathroom explaining that she had a family emergency come up, Kevin bolts out the door and drives off claiming that he’s come up with a way to fix this whole thing.
Nolan Leaves A Trail Of Breadcrumbs
Nolan is still lurking about and being conniving, but all in all impressing me with his mindgames. After being dropped off for a job interview with a completely fabricated resume, he makes his way out to Eric’s remote cabin and drops off some supplies. From there he is sent to Chelsea (Eric’s sister, and late Danny’s lover) to drop off a paper bag with something scribbled on it. He is almost caught and is also obviously being watched from afar – we later find out by John.
He meets Lennie Potts for lunch to answer more of Lennie’s questions and it is revealed that Lennie was the one to originally find him when Danny went missing. Lennie tells him that he knows that Nolan is lying about what he knows, but Nolan is not giving up any information easily, refusing to answer his questions and in turn asking why he doesn’t go directly to John and Kevin for answers.
After his lunch date, he hitchhikes back out to Eric’s, but is followed by John. Once he leaves, John comes in to the shack on the water and surprises Eric, but we’ll cover that in another section. Eventually Nolan makes it back into town, and is met by a small sedan being driven by what looks like a hooker, but is revealed to be his mom.
No More Mrs. Nice Sally
Sally is about done with being lied to by everyone in her family. Lennie asks her in the beginning if she is sure she wants to continue investigating, considering that a lot of times what is uncovered is not pleasant information, but she assures him she wants the truth, and that she thinks that Nolan knows a lot more than what he’s willing to admit. This leads to Lennie and Nolan’s lunch date later in the episode.
Sally visits Diana’s flower market and Diana immediately notices that something is amiss with Mama Rayburn and invites her to come back and chat. Over iced tea, they discuss Danny and his disappearance. Diana, being oblivious about what really happened to Danny, insists that he was dangerous at the end and threatened their children. Sally dismisses this as John’s opinion and not fact, but Diana is not having it and asserts that this is what happened and that she needs to accept that. Sally gets upset and tells her that she has no idea what it’s like to lose a child and that she hopes she never does.
That evening John visits and Sally lets him know that she knows that he and Kevin took the drugs from the inn and placed them in Danny’s apartment. John lies and says that hypothetically he did it because he was trying to protect Danny by allowing him to return the drugs instead of having them seized by the DEA when they came to search the inn. Sally buys this and is appreciative that John would have risked his career to help his brother.
The Investigation Takes A Turn
Marco and John are called out to investigate a dead body, which John initially thinks may be Kevin as he hadn’t been located yet, but turns out to be one of the drug dealers who attacked Kevin. It appears that he was tortured for information, which we learn was a result of Lowry’s boss trying to figure out how the hell the product supposedly seized by the DEA in the bust of Danny’s apartment is back out on the streets. We and John know this is all Kevin’s fault, but Lowry is utterly perplexed at this development.
After following Nolan out to Eric’s hideout, John brings him back into town and blackmails him with the threat of death to do everything he tells him to do. Eric tells him to go fuck himself, but ends up being arrested regardless. Chelsea comes to visit him and talks him into going along with John in this and getting the protection he is being offered. Eric agrees to pin everything on Lowry, from the drugs and human trafficking to Danny’s murder.
Lowry Starts To Sweat
With Eric in custody and their supposed link they need for the case, John approaches Lowry and informs him of this development. He offers Lowry a federal deal in exchange for Danny’s tape implicating John. Lowry is unsure, despite his desire to keep his wife and son safe. He leaves telling John he needs to think it over, but when he arrives home his front door is ajar and even though he finds his wife and son safe and oblivious, he calls his lawyer and contacts the feds about a deal.
The agent approaches John and Marco with the information that Lowry has requested a deal that includes pinning him with all of the drug and human trafficking charges, but leaving the murder of Danny out of the case. This would effectively make Danny’s case go cold and no longer investigated, which is a huge plus to John at this point. Marco is outraged but John hems and haws enough to make it look like he is mad but that he’ll accept this if it means that his family can rest because they’ve been through enough.
If I didn’t know this was only the third episode out of thirteen, I would think this was much closer to the end of the season. It seems as if we are starting to get a conclusion to the investigation, but then we know that Kevin has fled the motel and is further going to fuck things up because he doesn’t know any other way. I’m excited that John Leguizamo finally showed up, and that he seems to be an exciting character. I am also dismayed that Chloe Sevigny appeared because I really can’t stand her. My money is still on Kevin dying at some point in this season.
