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Post by trisha on May 9, 2004 21:46:51 GMT -5
Does anyone know what the title means? I'm sure it's very clever, but I don't-a speak Italiano. I do speak snark, though, and that comes in handy with our Eames, especially in this episode. She was very quick and witty, and easily the best part of this episode for me.
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Post by darmok on May 9, 2004 22:02:43 GMT -5
In the episode, Goren said it was a type of fig. I think he gave the literal translation, but I'll have to rewatch it to catch it.
Hey, they even gave Deakins and Carver a scene without Goren and Eames. They're trying to expand their characters a little, at least.
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Post by Patcat on May 10, 2004 9:23:51 GMT -5
I'll have to see this one again--I caught the major plot points, but there's some smaller things I got lost in.
I also enjoyed the scenes with Carver and Deakins, especially the way Jamey Sheridan radiated tension. It was clear Deakins knew this was going to be a day that would make him consider early retirement. I also liked the depictions of the potential turf wars among the police and prosecutors.
It was illuminating to watch Goren and Eames' relationships with the other detectives. It's clear that they're both very much part of the NYPD world (especially Eames), but not completely in it. The reactions of the other detectives toward them seemed a mixture of varying degrees of respect, fear, resentment, and hope.
Not much angst for Goren and Eames in this episode, but it did offer a great demonstration of their teamwork.
Pat
[Edited to remove spoiler space-J]
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Post by trisha on May 10, 2004 9:27:03 GMT -5
Okay, I'm lame. I did hear him say, "Fico di capo, the fig of The Don." I get it now Here's what I don't get... why was Mikey being hauled off at the end? I guess Chops will want to turn on him in the Danny Lucci (?) shooting, but though Mikey benefited from it, he was neither the mastermind, nor one of the assailants. Plus, neither Lewis, nor Chops had said anything to implicate him yet, so an arrest was premature. [/nitpick] darmok, I was thinking the same thing when I saw that scene with Deakins and Carver. It's nice to see the case moving without Goren continually driving it. ETA: Patcat, you crept in there before me...
I think you are right about the way other cops view Major Case. Whenever a cop is murdered, or nearly murdered, Major Case gets the case by default. When it was someone elses case and they have to hand it over, there is a little resentment because (1) they have some emotional involvement already, and (2) they probably won't receive much credit, if any at all, for the work they have put in thus far. [/ETA]
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Post by dreamcatcher on May 10, 2004 19:16:28 GMT -5
I suspect that this was a very good ep, but unfortunately my cable system chose to have transmission troubles from 8:30 to 10:30 Sunday night I mostly saw horizontal lines and snow, but there were clear spots. I liked the ending where Goren "played" the three young men and systematically pitted them against each other. There was good continuity, and it all seemed realistic. My favorite scene, at least until I get to see the entire ep again, was the incredible range of expressions on Goren's face during the brief time it took him to whip his handkerchief from his pocket and wipe the fig juice from the don's mouth in the hospice. Truely amazing! It also fit in with his constant chiding of Chopper to find the right emotion and expression to suit the current circumstance. I'm looking forward to seeing the scenes you all have mentioned.
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Post by caljic on May 10, 2004 20:06:12 GMT -5
I thought they pinned the gun that Eames found hidden on Mikey (because he was left handed). Assumed that's why they hauled him away also. Silencer and printless grip...aren't silencers on handguns illegal in some states? Or maybe they figured if it was his, they had enough to dig up "intent" on his part.
Hi everyone, new here. Used to lurk on the other board, looks like everyone moved over!
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Post by Cassie on May 10, 2004 20:25:26 GMT -5
Here's what I don't get... why was Mikey being hauled off at the end? Could it be because they knew he did plant the gun, to kill Chops. Goren, did mention to Chops that Mikey's father wasnt going to allow Chops to kill his son. Goren also made some comment to Chops about loyalty within the family, and that Chops couldnt understand about families since his own mother gave him up. I think that is why Mikey got hauled off, plus Goren and Eames destroyed the trust within their friendship down in the basement. They were all ready to spill the beans on each other.
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Post by darmok on May 10, 2004 20:30:40 GMT -5
I don't think they made it clear if Mikey really had put the gun there or if they had planted it. After all, they took the knife away that Chops had left and they planted the fig juice on the other guy. Although I thought it kind of fit when they said the old man wouldn't let Chops hurt his son because he was family; the old guy had said that he was scared of Chops.
I'm sure Metella must hate the "I'm bad because of my parent" theme in this one. But wasn't the mother amazing? (and to think this aired on Mother's Day!) Eames was dumbfounded when she heard the woman say why she gave up her son (Eames: "They're natal teeth.")
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Post by trisha on May 10, 2004 20:59:36 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure Goren and Eames planted that gun. The Capo was going to let Mikey die. Goren even said during their last visit to the hospice, they weren't telling him anything he didn't already know. So Goren decided to turn the tables on Chops by making him think his buddy had flipped on him.
I'm guessing they arrested Mikey on the arson case with hopes that Chops and Lewis would implicate Mikey to cut a deal with the DA. Still, without either saying anything against Mikey yet, the arrest seems premature. So, Metella, does darmok have you pegged? Are you not posting on this one because you hated the theme?
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Post by domenicaflor on May 10, 2004 23:52:28 GMT -5
Does anyone know what the title means? I'm sure it's very clever, but I don't-a speak Italiano. "Fico di capo", as Goren quotes, is "Fig of the Don (e.g. the Godfather)" It's a type of sicilian black fig, also called Sicilian Black, Sal's, Corleone, or Fico-Nera. Now, I don't speak Italian well enough to know this for a fact, but it strikes me that colloquially, figs might also have a connotation similar to other similarly shaped, round, anatomical objects.....you know what I mean? If so, Chops certainly had the "chops" and the "figs" to try to insert himself, an average neighborhood tough, into an established mob family for an inside takeover. D.
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Post by LOCIfan on May 11, 2004 0:01:40 GMT -5
I think Mikey was arrested in the basement on the simple charges of criminal trespass/breaking and entering. Regardless of what Chops said about his mother allowing him to be there, all three of them were guilty of breaking and entering unless Mrs. Chops gave him a key, which she said she didn't. The fact that Mikey didn't know he was breaking and entering is his word against the fact that he was unlawfully there with Chops -- who certainly had the requisite criminal intent. Even if they couldn't make that charge stick, it would buy them some time. Once Chops and Lewis turn on him, they'll have enough to add arson and conspiracy to commit murder (of the arson witness -- in the opening of the show, Chops and Mikey were talking about killing the witness before he could testify).
I enjoyed this episode a lot, and need to watch it again. Did anybody else notice all the parallels to Shakespeare's Richard III? I was an English Lit major, and I'm a little rusty, but one thing I do recall is that Richard III was born with teeth and his mother hated him. There are probably others out there who are better acquainted with the play and could point out more similarities.
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Post by Patcat on May 11, 2004 2:05:41 GMT -5
LOCI certainly give us plenty of examples of bad parenting (G).
Chops' mother is certainly an extreme example. I think she would have found some reason to give him up even without the teeth. She called him ugly--he didn't strike me as particularly bad looking.
And could someone help me with a point--was Chops sent to foster care, or adopted? If he was adopted, he would have taken his new family's name--unless he was abandoned by them as well.
Pat (who clearly needs to see this one again)
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Post by trisha on May 11, 2004 8:09:34 GMT -5
LOCIFan, nice call on Richard III. It's probably not a coincidence that Chops' first name was Richard.
Patcat, Chops was raised by his Uncle Eddie until he went to jail for assault, then it was foster care until Eddie got out.
I think that what Gina found repulsive about Richie were his teeth. Have you ever seen natal teeth? They are not very pretty, and a newborns already look like little aliens, so add those little fangs and he must have looked like a little demon to her. Plus, when she tried to bond with him by nursing, he bite her. Maybe her nurse didn't tell her that that's what new born babies do. They don't actually suck until they're a few weeks old. Until then, they sort of gnaw. That would really hurt if the baby had teeth, so she should have been given a breast pump and some bottles straight away.
It makes one wonder what could have been if she had been given bottles and had a chance to bond with him. Maybe he would have become a kind and loving person. Nature vs. Nuture, right?
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Post by Metella on May 11, 2004 18:29:16 GMT -5
right-ie-o; so sorry; finals week and all ...... and I screwed up a protein gel blah blah blah gotta prepare all the sample over again and do the whole thing tomorrow all the while hoping the protein doesn't denature overnight.
What? hum. Oh, right, Mom's & stuff.
Naw, this mom was just plain short in the grey matter, she was crass and harsh but not a bad mom to the kids she "understood" Since Chops was taken away at such a young age, this shouldn't really fall under my parent did horrible things to me ..... this could only go so far as any adopted child can take the issue.
I think the cops planted an unloaded gun to further their ruse.
Fig of the Don - sure, that one is plain then the Chops having the cahonas (sp?) sure, I like that, didn't think of that then there is the SON of the Don - fruit of the Don, eh? While he didn't have much screen time, his weakness was the whole eye of the storm. If the fruit had been good, Chops would have been in his place and there would have been piece in the mob world.
I really liked this one ..... how about the casual leaning and chomping on the fig - what was that - a kinda smirk as Goren was staring from behind those shades?
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Post by trisha on May 12, 2004 7:51:47 GMT -5
I dunno, the mother didn't put him up for adoption, she gave him to her good-for-nothing brother, who as she said, died the way he lived. What sort of chance would Richie have to be a good man if she sent him to grow up with a criminal?
No, I'd say this mother is a real mother f*cker, and though she my be too stupid to fully understand what she did, she is nonetheless to blame for the misery her son went through and his subsequent personality development. He has every reason to blame her and that's why he decided to killed Mikey in her house. What better place to bring the story full circle and finally get his mother to acknowledge him? And once he took control of the Domiano family, he could really push her around. He may even have thought of bringing her to the Don's house to be at his beck and call. Judging by the look on his face as they left, he definitely had plans for the place.
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