Oz Rewatch 3: S2E05: Family Bizness

[wawamouse]

Originally posted to Tumblr
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Storylines:

• (Mini) Schillinger approaches Said to represent him
• Graduation ceremony; Kenny & Poet, McManus & Devlin, Poet & Said
• (Mini) Bellinger & Mukada
• McManus asks Schillinger about Diane ; rejects dinner with Diane and Deedee
• (Mini) Busmalis and Rebadow digging a hole, continued
• Glynn convinces his brother to come clean to get rid of Schibetta blackmailing him; Schibetta is poisoned and later no longer has leverage over Glynn
• Toby/Chris storyline progresses; Genevieve dies
• Gloria/Ryan storyline progresses; Ryan gets Cyril to kill Gloria’s husband

I'll switch it up and give our final thoughts off the bat today, since today was a bit of a quiet watch.

Sister's final thoughts (condensed) on this episode were as follows:

"It was sort of more fun in the beginning of the season where they were starting the school stuff and there were fresh things happening. I don’t really like the direction they’ve taken the religious guy (Said) in, trying to make him focus on law, because they don't make it work. I don’t recall him getting hit in the head but suddenly he’s stupid and making weird decisions this season and I find it tiresome… Although, I’m surprised the conspiracy to murder trial is taking so long in the show, considering how fast everything else develops. Like, this guy (Schillinger) is STILL getting charged with conspiracy to murder and meanwhile, the execution trials go by and take place in less than half an episode. I’m also surprised there wasn’t more hullabaloo at the writer guy (Poet) leaving. Like, he just left. And why do they keep bringing kids to the prison for no reason? First the guard lady's kid and then the Beecher guy's.

Sister was also a little bit 🙄 about Genevieve getting killed off this episode—"freeing up the emotional ties to progress the [Beecher/Keller] storyline", Sister called it. It makes me wonder what further storylines might've been if Genevieve hadn't died. I feel like if she hadn't died and Schillinger hadn't made the joke later on about being the one to order a hit on her, then maybe the writers would never have gotten it into their heads to have Schillinger actually kill members of Toby's family.

Anyway, for me, I feel like this episode was a little dull compared to last (or maybe I'm just tired today 😅). I know shit's gonna pop off in the next episode, though, and I told Sister as much. One thing I liked was Kenny's conversation with Poet in the earlier part of the episode, which I feel showed a little bit more of the vulnerability in his character that has been slowly disappearing again now that he's firmly rejected McManus's deal with him and isn't interested in making progress anymore. I think that when he asks Poet to help him write an apology to his mom because he knows he's disappointed her the most with his backslide, it shows that he does understand what a shitty situation he's put himself back in and feels ashamed as well as simply powerless to get back on track. Of course, the wholesome moment is capped off in Oz fashion with an exchange of drugs, lol.

In this episode, it's also revealed what Peter Schibetta has had over Glynn's head this entire time. That is, knowledge that Leo's brother, Mark, killed a man. I feel like that's some pretty heavy stuff, but also sort of random? I wish Mark's arrest had played more of a role in the show, or that Mark had been brought to Oz, where that dynamic of him being the warden's brother could've continued to play out. Sure, maybe he wouldn’t have landed in Oz because he is Glynn's brother, but this is OZ we're talking about! When has realism ever stood in the way of drama?! I don't know. I just feel like the Mark Glynn reveal was a wasted opportunity that the show was only too happy to sweep under the rug because it was a plotline only created to explain the Schibettas' power in Oz.

Also, as much as I don't like the Gloria/Ryan storyline, as I said last time, it's good TV, and it's always fun to heckle the screen while watching an episode. Ryan certainly gives Sister and I a chance to do that so 🫡 Love to hate him. Also, he is legit creepy-scary in the scene with Sister Pete where she's trying to tell him that Gloria doesn't love him and he needs to stop bothering her with his obsession. Reminds me of dudes with intense energy who I went to school with 💀

Stray Thoughts

Does anyone know what "Oz / Aran" is supposed to mean? I tried to looked up what "Aran" might be but Google just said it was a name meaning various things in different languages; none of them really made sense in the context of the book title.

Sister: Blind to SCHEMES...

What do we think about this, folks? Was Bellinger just trying to manipulate Mukada into showing her a bit of sympathy and kindness? This is still early on in the season/show, so I don't feel like Shirley actually means it when she comes onto Mukada and then seems aghast, saying "Look at me, I'm so fucked up", etc.

Sister: They’re allowed to play POOL? The game that is 100% WEAPONS?

Sister: They come across like one of them is going to poison the other and they both know it.

Sister: I’m surprised there’s not more homoerotic media involving wrestling…
Me (muttering): No, there’s definitely a lot of media.
Sister (still musing): ...Maybe everyone else thinks ‘nah, too easy’?

Sister: He’s laying it on too thick. (At Chris) You're laying it on too thick!

Sister: A “rectory”? 🥴 What is THAT for? 😳

Aaaand, this episode marks the solving of the "Sycamore and Broome Street" mystery. Did we really need three episodes for that? Would Sister Pete not have served a better use in other storylines? And, unfortunately, the whole Giles thing is not even over.

Sister: What, did he get a tattoo?
Me: Yeah, of a brown paper bag….

(Sister muttering the world's quietest, most disgusted “gross” over my shoulder)

Sister: Noooo! What about Shannon??

Nothing here, really. Sister Pete's tiny nod in this reaction shot just cracks me up.