Laurie's Review
Melanie's Review
Laurie's Review:What can one say about perfection? The Deal has been my favorite ep since the first time I saw it; other faves come and go but this one is steadfast. It's brilliant from start to finish. Absolutely everything about it is incredible, there's not a weak moment. Every line, every expression, every scene, no matter how brief, fits precisely. If my life depended on it I would not and could not find fault, not even a minor nitpick. The only thing I would change about this ep is the length. Another hour or two would be nice, thank you. This is also my most-watched ep, at least once a month. Oh, did I say I like it?
This is first and foremost a dramatic ep but it's sprinkled liberally with clever touches of humor, beginning with the choir practice (particularly Ray and Fr. Behan's identical reactions to the arrival of Francesca), Francesca talking through the singing and Ben singing more loudly, Ray informing Lt. Welsh that he even found some waxy residue (I love both Ben and Ray's expressions when he says this), Ray and Ben talking about Pinocchio, walking the wrong way after they leave the lingerie shop and simultaneously letting out the breath they were holding, Francesca in the lingerie shop (though her being there isn't nearly as funny as the thought of her following Ray and Ben), the guys checking everyone's shoes and the tap type music playing in the background (I especially like the transvestite's "you're welcome" and Ray's reaction and the cameo by "Miss Arkansas"), Jack, Louis and Elaine discussing The Wizard of Oz, and Elaine tending Fraser's wounds.
When we first meet Frank Zuko, it's in the most unlikely of all places. At home. His boyish looks and attentiveness to his little girl make it difficult at first to accept him as the mobster he is now and the bully he was. He could have been the typical physical caricature of a bad guy but he's not, which is much more effective and convincing. I love the exchanges between Ben and Zuko.
Zuko: Canadian, right?
Ben: Yes.
Zuko: Well, then, you do understand. I mean you come from one of those nice clean cities where they have no graffiti, no garbage on the streets and people treat each other with respect, right?
Ben: Well, yes, I suppose so. Although it's been my experience that many people live their lives thinking they're respected only to discover they've been merely feared. And fears can be overcome. We will find the thief.The basketball scene between Ben and Zuko is wonderful and reveals so much about both men. Zuko proves himself to still be a cheating schoolyard bully who doesn't like to lose. Ben telling him "I see logic is not one of your hobbies" is one of his best lines, from any ep.
The bus terminal scene with Eia, Mater in the background is one of the most chilling and suspenseful in Due South. The music is an exquisitely incongruous counterpoint to the violence which transpires. I still get goosebumps, even after seeing this ep dozens of times. I love how the action moves back and forth between Ray searching for Joey by the buses and Ben moving through the building. Charlie's raspy voice intoning "Here's the message" followed by Ben just barely being able to move and kick at him still has the power to unnerve me.
Two of David Marciano's finest scenes are in The Deal. The first is his lunchroom talk with the beaten Fraser when he tells him about Marco Metrani and his beating at the hands of Zuko when they were boys. Excellent, powerful acting here. So much emotion. Fraser and Joey Paducci are modern-day representations of Marco and Ray finally gets a chance to stand up to Zuko and do what he thinks he should have done a long time ago. Fraser, rather uncharacteristically, has nothing to say, no words of advice. Ray said it all.
Of course, the second scene is the fight in the gym, when he finally lets Zuko have it. I don't like to see people getting pulverized, but Zuko so deserved it and I'm glad it was Ray who gave him a taste of his own medicine. We also get to feel Ray's fear when he says "I didn't ask for that" in response to Zuko telling him "I didn't say nothing about you being safe," and later in the car when Ben hands Ray his gun and asks him, "How are you?" "Scared to death."
This ep is equally Ben and Ray, and remains so at the end. We see Ray going through his nightly routine while mulling over the day's events, and Ben reading from his dad's journal, petting Dief, tossing the locks for his door aside (big mistake, Ben!), refusing to give in to his fears, until that moment when the door opens (who's there?) and Francesca steps in. No doubt he was relieved to see it was her and not Zuko's men but that feeling was short lived.
Not one nitpick.
Duesies:Ben: Bindlestitch.
Ray: You know, you've gotta stop swearing in Eskimo.Ray: You mean to tell me that you have no recollection of shoe-related elf stories:
Ben: Ray, I would tell you if I did.Francesca: Forgive me, Father, for what I am about to do.
Priest: This isn't about the Mountie again, is it?
Francesca: I know, I know, but this time I'm gonna do it.
Priest: Francesca, I can't keep forgiving you in advance for something that never happens.Welsh: I have to ask you this. Don't you have a job of your own?
Ben: Oh, yes, Sir. But I had the early shift this morning.
Welsh: And you have nothing better to do with your life than hang around here and help us solve crimes?
Ben: No, Sir.Ben: No. That's an old scar.
Elaine: How'd you get it?
Ben: I'd rather not say...someone struck me with a sea otter.
Elaine: I guess that's what happens in a country with gun control.Zuko: What are you looking at?
Charlie: Nothing.
Dief moment:Providing companionship and comfort at the end of the ep.
Keeperships:Everything? No? Well, I'll definitely volunteer to keep the battered Ben, and I love Ray's striped jammies!
I LOVE THIS EP!! Television just doesn't get any better than this.Grade: AAA!
Melanie's Review:Y'know, I thought this would be an easy episode to review, but I've been surprised at how difficult it's been to get my thoughts together. On any given day, The Deal is firmly in my top five and usually occupies the top spot--unless I'm feeling silly and find myself preferring North instead.
So here I start off with a huge "ME TOO" to just about everything that's been said already. How is it possible that I could agree with everybody?
All I can add is that Frankie is my favorite Due South villain, because he is the most human. So many other criminals in this series are two-dimensional caricatures; we believe they are what we're told they are, but there's no there there. Tammy Markles with her used cars, Caroline Morgan with her stolen bonds, Gilbert Wallace with his toxic chemicals, even Randall Bolt on his runaway train had no depth of character to explain their evil schemings. Frankie comes across as a whole person, and in just a few scenes we learn so much about him--his family, his hobbies, his childhood, his values.
A few other random thoughts:
Every time I re-watch this episode, I realize afresh how much the scene at the 27th (in which Ray bickers about the case while Fraser inspects the damaged poor-box) really sparkles.
Ray: Hey Elaine! Get me a list of all the salmon fisheries in the greater metropolitan area, will ya?
Elaine: What?
Fraser: Never mind, Elaine, I believe Ray was just mocking me.
Ray: Yes, I was.Minor quibble: 6 months after he went out of business, Joey's equipment is still sitting in his empty shop? If the equipment was leased, it would have been returned to the leasing company. If Joey owned it, he could have sold it. In any case, the owner of the shop would have wanted to find a new tenant!
I loved Father Behan's comments about not pressing charges. "Who do you think poor boxes are for?"
You know, it wasn't until I started having "Diefenbaker moments" that I realized how often Dief plays no role in a story! This episode is a good example. I wonder what the furniture company employees had to bribe Dief with to get him to lie quietly by while they changed all the furnishings in Ben's apartment? Bad Dief! Bad watchdog!
There's a jarring edit in the last act--does it bother anybody but me? Ray, Ben and Joey are together in the interrogation room. They exchange a bitter smile over Joey's line, "You guys know anybody with a place in the islands?" and then suddenly Ben and Ray are alone in the canteen.
Special kudos to Jim Bracchitta for his acting job in the final beat-down scene: he did a great job communicating the pain of his broken face. I think I can actually hear the blood in his mouth. A hearty round of applause as well to the makeup artist(s) who must have been very busy during the shooting of that scene, as Zuko's broken nose and bleeding lips make his face bloodier and bloodier as the scene progresses. (I don't know why this just occurred to me tonight--I've seen that scene a hundred times and I never thought about makeup--it's just that tonight I realized that Bracchitta's nose and mouth weren't really bleeding.)
I think it's interesting that Ray's demand of Frankie is so modest. He doesn't demand restitution for Joey, or cessation of the protection racket--all he asks is that Joey be allowed to reopen his shop and work in peace.
DS vocabulary words from this episode:Bindlestitch (a mild swear word)
"Did I just send that private message to the whole list? Bindlestitch!"Otter (an attack)
"I'd tell you what I really think about that episode, but I'm afraid I'd get ottered."I learned at RCW 139 '99 that there's no such thing as a bindlestitch. (News to me--I'm very gullible.) Closest thing in my dictionary is "bindle stiff" which is a hobo who carries his clothes in a bundle.
Duesies:Ray: Oh God. Sorry, Father.
Behan: That is your sister, isn't it?
Ray: Uh, yes, it is, Father.
Behan: Oh, God.Ray: You mean to tell me that you have no recollection of shoe-related elf stories?
Fraser: Ray, I would tell you if I did.Elaine: Rumplestiltskin. Didn't he use one of these?
Louis: No, dwarfs don't make shoes, they hide under bridges.
Huey: Those are trolls.
Elaine: So who made shoes?
Huey: Glinda, the good witch in the Wizard of Oz.
Louis: No, that was magic, they were slippers, not shoes.Charlie: Got a message for you from Mr. Zuko.
Fraser: I take it this message is not in writing.
(Deadpan like that takes guts.)Fraser: I'd rather not say. . .Someone struck me with a sea otter.
Elaine: I guess that's what happens in a country with gun control.
Fraser: Oh, I believe he shot the otter first.Zuko: What are you looking at?
Charlie: Nothing.
Snack to enjoy while watching The Deal:Gumballs, big fat ones, for a nickel apiece.
Grading:
Zuko A+ Joey A- Ray A+ Overall Grade A+
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