(S01E06) "It's not who you are, it's what you're becoming" --Pancho Duque to Alex Vega
Pancho says it all with this quote from next week's episode of Cane. What is going on with Alex Vega? He's a dedicated family man who adores his wife. He's a smart business man who has innovative ideas for Duque Rum. And he's a wrathful man who will exact revenge on anyone who threatens his family. All this in one person. I just don't know if this is believable sometimes.
Tonight Alex moved from getting rid of Quinones to getting rid of the mafia underlords who lent Henry (the son with the looks not the brains) the money for his V.I.P. room. The thugs beat Henry to a pulp because he wanted to call an ambulance for a clubber who had overdosed. Alex, who can't resist getting involved in shady business, retaliated by hiring his own thugs (Cuban ones this time)
I have two problems with this storyline. Firstly, why doesn't Alex ever tell anyone in his family what is going on? I can appreciate that secrets are the crux of Alex's character and a main theme in Cane. But do they have to be the only thing Cane relies on to propel the plot forward? I think all the secrets are too much of a burden to Alex and doesn't allow for development in his relationships with other characters.
Secondly, I didn't like how quickly Alex and the leader of the Cuban mafia became friends. He tells Alex he respects him way too early. Someone in his position should have been more leery of a newcomer, especially a mainstream businessman like Alex. The scene in the car with Santo seemed to build up that Alex should be scared of this dangerous man (Alex even brough his gun). We get to Little Havana and the guy is like, "I respect you. Wanna play dominos?" Perhaps, this mobster will cause trouble for Alex later on but nothing in the episode hinted that Alex should worry about him.
I know I've complained a lot so I will get to something I really enjoyed this episode: Pancho and new blender. Pancho, since he is fatally ill, has to pick a new blender for his rum company. What better place to do it than the International Rum Festival held at the Duque home? (I thought it was funny how the hosts of the festival/competition always win.) I liked the conversation with Pancho and Terry Greenway, who we learned dreams about rum and Clive Owen. Both characters have a passion for what they do. It's endearing. I enjoyed seeing Pancho bond with this woman because he is no longer bonding with Alex.
A few random thoughts...
Did anyone notice the many expressions of violence in this episode? They got really creative with all the different ways they could show someone getting hurt. We learned that when beating the crap out of someone isn't enough, you can always use the following: pitbull attack, snakes in the pool (better than on the plane), or a baseball bat atop a staircase, forced ingestion of pills.
My comments about the violence aside, I did like how the editors juxtaposed shots of Alex reassuring his wife that she was safe with the thugs getting what was coming to them. The editors seem to use these juxtapositions a lot towards the end of the episodes (remember Santo with Quinones's body and Alex talking to his son). I guess it enhances the duality of Alex's character.
Also, Polly Walker has an ever-changing accent. Her heavy Southern accent in the very beginning was terrible. She has softened it but now the accent is a mix of British and Southern. It just sounds off. I will always have a special place in my heart for Polly Walker after her work on HBO's Rome but she is just not grabbing me anymore.
Oh, and before I go, Artie's back? I hope you caught Isabel cursing his name as she picked up his mitt. Not that I missed the little runt, he never did much for me. I was just glad to see that Cane didn't write him off. I hate when TV shows write off characters without explanation.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-31-2007 @ 3:39PM
CeCe said...
I want to like Alex but for a smart business man they have him do stupid things. As the reviewer mentioned, he just got finished with the Quinones fiasco and now he's jumping into bed with the Cuban underground. Really? There are so many stories the writers could explore but they keep going the same route.
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10-31-2007 @ 3:40PM
JENNIFER said...
Color me crazy but I can't get enough of this show. The music, the acting...I tape it and watch it again just to see Jimmy SMith's expressions - which are deserving of an emmy!!! I love the slow motion parts too. I agree with you about Alex not "sharing" certain tidbits with the family (like Frank e.g.) Certainly someone missed Henry - how is he going to explain his hospital stay?? Was Alex the only one who knew he was there - in such a tight knit family???? C'mon. ALSO...please MORE STORYLINE with SANTO!!! mmmmmmmm
:)
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10-31-2007 @ 4:13PM
Vivek said...
I agree with the reviewer. They can do so many things to make the show interesting that doesn't involve murder each and every week. How about showing us more of the business accumen of Alex?
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11-01-2007 @ 4:13AM
Will said...
I share Jennifer's enthusiasim for Cane, but I agree with the reviewer that I just don't think a smart businessman like Alex would continue to get involved in these dumb things. With all the heat of the first murder investigation just relieved, you'd think he would hold off on getting involved in more trouble.
One thing that bothers me, maybe I missed something obvious earlier, didn't Henry get 30% of Duque Rum when Pancho divided the company? If so, why did he have to get a loan from the thugs couldn't he have just gotten a legitimate loan? Maybe someone can enlighten me on this.
I'm still enjoying the show, even if I dislike some of the writing choices.
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11-01-2007 @ 10:14AM
mildred said...
I agree with Jennifer, PLEASE CBS take a note more storyline for Santo.
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11-01-2007 @ 10:55AM
Erica said...
I appreciate this site as i go to night school and sometimes miss episodes of my favourite shows. However, I do not wish to read "fans" of the show completely take away from the show with their opinions on how the writers are doing things that annoy them. Cane is one of the best shows that has hit television in a long time and it's a very nice break from reality tv. With that said, I would like to be able to read a recap that is about the actual episode, not a short summary of the episode riddled with opinions. It is a tv show meant to take you away from ur everyday life. So just state what happens in the show because for fans like me, that is what i come to this site for, to catch up on an episode I missed not to read opinions on what the writers or directors or producers are doing wrong.
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11-01-2007 @ 1:44PM
Jonathan said...
Um Erica, it's called a REVIEW! The whole point IS to give opinions of the episode.
If you missed an episode just go on a message board or something, or better yet record or download it?
I really don't see whats fun in reading a recap of an episode you missed.
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11-08-2007 @ 6:48PM
Dianna364 said...
I was a Boston Legal fan but again this year they seen driven to provide silly, kinky shock value plots instead of a well written story. So I switched to CBS to checkout Cane. Reminds me a bit of the primetime soap dramas of the '80's just more edgy. The first few episodes I watched were a bit slow but I continued to watch because I could see the character's growing and the plot building, I was intrigued.They didn't disappoint,the last two episodes have been great! The new "Face of Duque Rum" spokesmodel is very pretty. Check her out at www.luciaduquerum.com. I also found her web page at www.ashton-shane.com. I just hope the show can make it through the writers strike and the swift ax wielding arm of CBS.
P.S. Show more of the Duque spokesmodel, we all think she's hot!!
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11-09-2007 @ 2:52PM
James Holmes said...
I don't think this show will make it past the writer's strike or even be picked up for renewal. It is a great show with a spectacular cast, but has yet to, and I don't believe will find, a big audience.
I saw the votes online before the winner of Duque Rum was announced and voted for the finalist named "Melissa." She had the highest votes and was by far the most beautiful. I found not only the winner odd, but the whole thing as well. The girls were just so damn ugly. For sure they don't plan on using them ever again. But of course I had to find out more about "the woman in red", they said her name is Melissa Blanco and I found on myspace and facebook. She is absolutely STUNNING! ::drools:: My new goddess of beauty.
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12-04-2007 @ 1:39AM
Dianna364 said...
I went to the "Face of Duque Rum" site to checkout the rules because as you said Melissa, who indeed is pretty did have the most online votes but the rules state that online voting only counted for 20% of each girls total score. I didn't feel the pictures of any of the 5 finalist were very flattering so I tried to look them up online and found much better pictures of several of them including the winner. She really is very beautiful and works very steady modeling. I'm totally hetero, that said I really like this girl. If you take the time to checkout her personal web-site and see her pictures and read her resume of work you might see what I see. That girl just has that "It" factor going. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see her soon on the silver screen, speaking part...with her clothes on! Her web-site is www.ashton-shane.com
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