Quick Take: Luck, "Episode 2"
"The Ace is back in place." - Nick
Review: Luck, "Episode 2"
(S0102) There's a lot going on in any given episode of Luck, so sometimes it's hard to keep track (no pun intended). The upside of this is that if one storyline doesn't interest you, there's another one coming right up.
While it may be the sport of kings, horse racing has never held much interest for me, therefore it's hard for me to stay interested in Walter (Nick Nolte) and his mysterious, old horse whisperer routine and while I enjoy a stream of accents as much as the next guy, the drama between Escalante (John Ortiz), the jockeys, and everyone else who works at the track is a snooze.
However, the sordid daily lives of professional gamblers with poor social skills is something I find fascinating. Jerry's (Jason Gedrick) inability to stop gambling (i.e. losing) is fun to watch. Like everyone in his merry band, he has a fatal flaw that stops him from being happy regardless of everything he has going for him. As Marcus (Richard Dunn) implied, the fear of dying broke and alone looms over every one of them and yet, they refuse to get a job or make real friends. Even after winning big on the Pick Six, they have yet to claim their winnings due to the general distrust they have for everyone around them.
Regardless of what story is being told, one thing is undeniable. The acting on Luck is the best around. Watching Hoffman, Farina and the rest of the amazing cast is a lesson in what makes great television.
Paul, try as I might I'm struggling to find how the the total is greater than the uneven sum of its part of the early going here. I agree that the degenerate gamblers (no judging -- that just seems to be the deal here) seem to hold the most interest, but overall, I am struggling to figure out what's going on in many scenes, let alone enjoy it.
Milch has been guilty of this kind of thing in the past... but I have to say that I enjoyed the often incoherent John from Cinnanati more than Luck's first two episodes.