Michael Suarez
The following recap contains spoilers for Lucky S1E5, “Are We Bed People?” (written by Hilary Bettis and Mary Anthony and directed by Jet Wilkinson)
Given the events at the end of the previous episode, it makes sense that the majority of what happens in Episode 5 consists of reactions from our central characters, specifically Lucky, Priscilla, and Agent Rand. By episode’s end, Lucky is the one I feel most for, because we finally get to see her without resorting to her manipulative default.
She does come close, though, but she catches herself. After making it to a hotel, she cleans up as best she can, goes to the hotel bar, and starts a conversation with a man. It doesn’t take long for her to admit that her original intention was to use the man to pay for her drink and her room, and although he playfully asks if this, too, is her manipulating him, I believe she’s being honest. She’s questioning her choices in a big way in this episode.
This is compounded with a flashback in which a young Lucky asks her father if they are bad people. Without missing a beat, he does his best to sell her the idea that there’s no such thing as good and bad. I get the idea that his answer never fully convinced Lucky, but that the life in which she was raised was the life that she knows well. Throughout the show, we’ve seen how easily she can go into a character and manipulate a stranger. Now, Lucky is tired and doesn’t seem to want to live a life like that anymore. However, there is the ending of S1E5, but I’ll get to that.
The thing is, we’ve seen moments of humanity from Lucky, and I’m specifically counting those moments of her alone, whether it’s the hurt of being betrayed by Cary in Episode 1 or driving away from that family in Episode 2. Lucky is perfectly capable of lying and manipulating to her own benefit, which has made her interesting. After this episode, though, seeing her come face to face with the sum of her decisions, I found that I’m more than just rooting for the series protagonist to succeed. I’m fully rooting for Lucky now, and I’m hoping that she walks away at the series’ end in a good place.
That isn’t to say that I don’t feel anything for the other women in this episode, who are figuring out ways to keep their own missions going. I like seeing that Priscilla really did love her son, and even though I saw it coming, the reveal that Wayne was Cary’s father gave things a whole other dimension, which I loved. Priscilla’s anger when she confronts Wayne in his home felt real to me, but also, when he held her down and put a gun to her head, I recognized the first real sense of fear from her. It made me want Priscilla to find a way to take down Wayne before the show’s finale.
What did Priscilla hope to accomplish in that scene? I’m not sure, but I don’t think she knew either. There was anger towards Wayne, of course, but I’m sure her conversation on the beach with Lucky helped set her off, too. We also know that she has guilt for raising Cary in her criminal environment:
“I put him in the life. I pushed him too hard…I could have done better by him.”
Maybe. Probably. As Dutch gives her the following speech:
“I mean, it’s normal in bad moments to…to look back and do a…a warped accounting of sorts, you know? You might wanna find somebody to blame even…you know, even if it’s ourselves. That’s just not how life works in real-time, you know? Life is just a million random choices you make day after day, year after year, and later on, you can, uh…you know, manipulate them to add up to anything you want. But…that doesn’t make it true.”
Well said, Dutch. Suffice to say, I’m looking forward to where Priscilla is headed, but that doesn’t mean, despite my empathy toward her at the moment, that I think she deserves anything close to a happy ending. Also, Annette Bening and Clifton Collins Jr. are consistently excellent in this show, but given their impressive body of work in both film and television, I’m not surprised. I love their scenes together.
Seeing Agent Rand’s family was also a nice addition. We meet her youngest, Dana, as she’s sobbing in the bathroom. By chance, Lucky finds her and, each not knowing who the other is, consoles her. Later in the episode, Dana tells Rand that Lucky talked about her dad and that Lucky told her that:
“[S]he hated that she would do anything for him.”
Unfortunately, Dana doesn’t tell her mom that Lucky consoled her, which I believe would’ve been a nice detail. I’m not sure it would’ve necessarily changed Rand’s mind about Lucky, but it could’ve shown her that Lucky is not some cold criminal, but is someone capable of showing empathy to a stranger for nothing in return.
This leads to Rand forming an idea. Release Lucky’s dad and trail him to her. When he leaves prison, he assumes this, but he still calls Lucky. Both agree it’s a trap, but Lucky has an idea of her own. The two reunite and welcome their arrests, with Lucky telling Rand at the episode’s end:
“Took you long enough.”
Very interesting. With two whole episodes left, I’m curious as to what Lucky has planned, and just how she’ll be using her life as a con artist to end up in a better situation than the one she’s been in ever since she woke up to find Cary gone in Episode 1. Lucky understands that she’s not a good person. She’s lied, manipulated, and has gotten people hurt and killed. There’s a better life for her, and I’m assuming she’s willing to resort to her ways in order to make this happen.
Lucky needs to hand Priscilla over to Agent Rand; she needs the Feds off her back; she needs a life apart from her dad; and Wayne needs to go. I’m still all in with Lucky in a way I didn’t expect to be after Episode 1. This is one of the benefits of a limited series. The story gets told in a fairly quick fashion, which I appreciate. I’m just hoping it sticks the landing, and at this point in the show, I’m confident it will deliver.
