Oz Season 1, Episode 3 “God’s Chillin’"
Nov. 3rd, 2023 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
switchbladeeyesEpisode 3 has a strong emphasis on religion: finding it, feeling betrayed by it, doubting it, using it.
Whew, a lot happens in this episode.
Jefferson Keane
We have got to start here because wow, what a transformation. Keane gets religion and makes a remarkable change under Kareem Said's guidance. Keane was such an ice cold killer, it's pretty shocking when he basically collapses under his guilt and becomes a better person. In episode 1, I surely would not have called Keane a likely candidate for rehabilitation. In episode 2, we did see a more human side of him. And here, he wants to atone for the wrongs he has done. Mr. SwitchbladeEyes's reaction was, "I was not expecting that."
He's not perfect and quite cruel to his brother, fresh out of the hospital, for being gay, but he's getting there. (I mean, Said is definitely a homophobe, but he doesn't want people to be cruel about it, if that makes any sense. So while he also doesn't approve of homosexuality, he counsels Keane to be kind to his brother.)
Unfortunately for Keane, things don't go so well despite his dramatic change for the better. Trying to keep the peace with Ryan O'Reily by assuring him he isn't going to snitch about Johnny Post's murder and hoping O'Reily will find peace like Keane has… that all backfired terribly. With the help of corrupt COs, O'Reily sets Keane up to be murdered, but Keane was the better fighter and killed one of his attackers in self-defense. His anguished scream when he understands the setup and what he has done are truly heartbreaking.
(Meanwhile, the COs videotaped the whole thing. Brain trust, they are not.)
Ryan O'Reily
I super loved Hill's gleeful official introduction of O'Reily and his crimes. Jubilant, lol. This guy is everywhere. And he is pretty freaking confident in all that he does, for good reason, he's extremely wily. I laughed when he went to confession solely because he thought he could get in a smoke break if he went.
Tobias Beecher
Poor Beecher, still being crushed by Schillinger. The scene where Beecher was forced to literally lick Schillinger's boots, ugh. (Mr. SwitchbladeEyes said, "Schillinger is a bad, bad man. Something needs to be done about him.") As an added bonus, Beecher's wife is now divorcing him. Can't blame Beecher for thinking God doesn't give a shit about him.
Wily O'Reily gets Beecher, a former lawyer, to look into O'Reily's case. And O'Reily, in his way I guess, gives Beecher a bit of a reprieve from life in Oz by getting high with him. (Unfortunately, I know this is going to kickstart a steep descent into drug addition for Beecher.)
Kenny Wangler
Geez, I had totally forgotten about this kid. Literally, a kid. 16 years old. Tried as an adult and in for murder. I mean… 16 years old in Oz. Pretty horrifying.
At first, Wangler is star-struck by Said as a well-known and eloquent activist and spiritual leader. And Said almost gets through to this kid. But keeping up prayer and a healthy regimen of exercise and self-respect turn out to be pretty boring things for a 16 year-old. He'd much rather chill and get high with the Homeboys. Tragic. I can't remember what all happens with this character, but seeing him with Adebisi just makes me think: game over.
Also, I'd like to add to the "what the actual fuck is wrong with McManus?" pile here. Your dumbass experiment is going to go nowhere if you aren't going to keep an eye on your most vulnerable and likely most rehabilitatable inmates. This is a kid, a KID!
Governor Devlin
This twerp. I mean, I get why he's pissed over the multiple murders in the prison (bad press), but also, he's stripping the prisoners of things like being able to smoke in the prison and having conjugal visits with their wives, and then telling the warden to end the lockdown that's in place to avoid a race war… fuel on the fire. Mr. SwitchbladeEyes said to the screen, "Fuckin' punch this little bastard."
Miguel Alvarez
Oh man, HEARTBREAK here. His baby is born, he's there for the birth, it's a transformative moment. And then the baby falls terminally ill, likely because of liver damage from drugs Alvarez and his girlfriend did. Ugh. Alvarez thinks that his vanity has led to this tragedy and that God will save the baby if he isn't so vain. Father Mukada tries to explain that God is not punishing him, but Alvarez doesn't believe it. Later, he stabs himself in the hand and cuts up his face to take away his vanity so God will side with him.
Coooooount! A final tally on various subjects.
Best Bloodshed: Alvarez scarring himself. Tragic, pointless, and brutal.
Body Count: 1
Bodies Connected to O’Reily: 1. Not the body he was expecting, but hey, it's the body he got.
Best Line: Okay, I don't know why that sicko cannibal Donald Groves has to be so unexpectedly and darkly hilarious. He's interested in converting to Catholicism after Father Mukada confirms that transubstantiation literally turns the Euchrist into the body of Christ. Groves responds, "Now how can I not get behind a religion like that?"
LOL. Dead.
Best Scene: Keane asking Said to save him and collapsing into Said's arms. Powerful.
The Best of the Worst: O'Reily wins this time for setting up Keane.
In Oz, sometimes the things you can't touch are more real than the things you can. For instance, fear, hatred, loneliness, are more real to me than a shank. And a soul, every day, can grow into something you can almost hold. How fucked up is that? In a shithole like this, to first and finally see the face of God.
- Augustus Hill
Whew, a lot happens in this episode.
Jefferson Keane
We have got to start here because wow, what a transformation. Keane gets religion and makes a remarkable change under Kareem Said's guidance. Keane was such an ice cold killer, it's pretty shocking when he basically collapses under his guilt and becomes a better person. In episode 1, I surely would not have called Keane a likely candidate for rehabilitation. In episode 2, we did see a more human side of him. And here, he wants to atone for the wrongs he has done. Mr. SwitchbladeEyes's reaction was, "I was not expecting that."
He's not perfect and quite cruel to his brother, fresh out of the hospital, for being gay, but he's getting there. (I mean, Said is definitely a homophobe, but he doesn't want people to be cruel about it, if that makes any sense. So while he also doesn't approve of homosexuality, he counsels Keane to be kind to his brother.)
Unfortunately for Keane, things don't go so well despite his dramatic change for the better. Trying to keep the peace with Ryan O'Reily by assuring him he isn't going to snitch about Johnny Post's murder and hoping O'Reily will find peace like Keane has… that all backfired terribly. With the help of corrupt COs, O'Reily sets Keane up to be murdered, but Keane was the better fighter and killed one of his attackers in self-defense. His anguished scream when he understands the setup and what he has done are truly heartbreaking.
(Meanwhile, the COs videotaped the whole thing. Brain trust, they are not.)
Ryan O'Reily
I super loved Hill's gleeful official introduction of O'Reily and his crimes. Jubilant, lol. This guy is everywhere. And he is pretty freaking confident in all that he does, for good reason, he's extremely wily. I laughed when he went to confession solely because he thought he could get in a smoke break if he went.
Tobias Beecher
Poor Beecher, still being crushed by Schillinger. The scene where Beecher was forced to literally lick Schillinger's boots, ugh. (Mr. SwitchbladeEyes said, "Schillinger is a bad, bad man. Something needs to be done about him.") As an added bonus, Beecher's wife is now divorcing him. Can't blame Beecher for thinking God doesn't give a shit about him.
Wily O'Reily gets Beecher, a former lawyer, to look into O'Reily's case. And O'Reily, in his way I guess, gives Beecher a bit of a reprieve from life in Oz by getting high with him. (Unfortunately, I know this is going to kickstart a steep descent into drug addition for Beecher.)
Kenny Wangler
Geez, I had totally forgotten about this kid. Literally, a kid. 16 years old. Tried as an adult and in for murder. I mean… 16 years old in Oz. Pretty horrifying.
At first, Wangler is star-struck by Said as a well-known and eloquent activist and spiritual leader. And Said almost gets through to this kid. But keeping up prayer and a healthy regimen of exercise and self-respect turn out to be pretty boring things for a 16 year-old. He'd much rather chill and get high with the Homeboys. Tragic. I can't remember what all happens with this character, but seeing him with Adebisi just makes me think: game over.
Also, I'd like to add to the "what the actual fuck is wrong with McManus?" pile here. Your dumbass experiment is going to go nowhere if you aren't going to keep an eye on your most vulnerable and likely most rehabilitatable inmates. This is a kid, a KID!
Governor Devlin
This twerp. I mean, I get why he's pissed over the multiple murders in the prison (bad press), but also, he's stripping the prisoners of things like being able to smoke in the prison and having conjugal visits with their wives, and then telling the warden to end the lockdown that's in place to avoid a race war… fuel on the fire. Mr. SwitchbladeEyes said to the screen, "Fuckin' punch this little bastard."
Miguel Alvarez
Oh man, HEARTBREAK here. His baby is born, he's there for the birth, it's a transformative moment. And then the baby falls terminally ill, likely because of liver damage from drugs Alvarez and his girlfriend did. Ugh. Alvarez thinks that his vanity has led to this tragedy and that God will save the baby if he isn't so vain. Father Mukada tries to explain that God is not punishing him, but Alvarez doesn't believe it. Later, he stabs himself in the hand and cuts up his face to take away his vanity so God will side with him.
Coooooount! A final tally on various subjects.
Best Bloodshed: Alvarez scarring himself. Tragic, pointless, and brutal.
Body Count: 1
Bodies Connected to O’Reily: 1. Not the body he was expecting, but hey, it's the body he got.
Best Line: Okay, I don't know why that sicko cannibal Donald Groves has to be so unexpectedly and darkly hilarious. He's interested in converting to Catholicism after Father Mukada confirms that transubstantiation literally turns the Euchrist into the body of Christ. Groves responds, "Now how can I not get behind a religion like that?"
LOL. Dead.
Best Scene: Keane asking Said to save him and collapsing into Said's arms. Powerful.
The Best of the Worst: O'Reily wins this time for setting up Keane.
