Hightown: Season 2/ Episode 4 “Daddy Issues” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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As Ray and Alan rebuild their relationship, we meet Jackie’s dad, Renee’s mom, and get to know Daisy’s backstory.

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Aired	11/7/2021
Network	Starz
Directed By	Radium Cheung
Written By	John Covarrubias
Introduced This Episode
Vernon	Cecil Blutcher
Rafael	Carlos Gomez
Callie	Barbara Weetman
Ron	Hunter Emery
Ruth	Elizabeth June

Recap

People Who Are A Piece Of Work Give Children Who Are Just The Same – Rafael, Callie, Renee, Jackie, Leslie, Ed

In the episode, we have semi-anticlimatic meetings of both Jackie and Renee’s parents. For Jackie, while out with Ed looking into the shark issue, he pushes her to see her dad, which she does, and while they are cool, they clearly aren’t close. More so, Jackie is close with her mom, who, despite still being married to Rafael, she doesn’t tell anything. But you can tell Jackie is definitely Rafael’s kid, and when she talks to Leslie about her dad, she makes it clear it isn’t her being gay that is an issue for them at all. It’s more so what he put her mom through. That and maybe him reminding her about what rock bottom looks like.

But, not to be outdone, we meet Renee’s mom too, Callie, and it is as brief as meeting Rafael. We just see her drop off Frankie Jr. with her mom and see that her mom, rightfully so, expects to be paid to watch her grandson. Now, as for their relationship? It’s cordial. Renee isn’t cursing at her, and there aren’t any tense moments, but you can tell that Renee likely leaves her son with her mom because she trusts her and knows her, not so much because she thinks she is the best person for the job. But with a drug kingpin for a partner, outsiders are dangerous.

Leaving Leslie. We don’t meet her dad, but she makes it clear that he was a cop, and like Jackie and Renee, the parent they probably had the most conflict with is the one they connect with the most. At least, connect in the sense of channeling who they are on a daily basis.

Don’t You Miss The Old Times? – Alan, Charmaine, Vernon, Osito, Ray, Ruth

Alan comes through and moves Osito into the more chill Drug Diversion Unit. There he even makes a friend, Vernon, and gets physical therapy so that he might be able to walk without a walker someday. Now, he does almost mess that up by talking recklessly to the physical therapist, but there is a need to wonder if Osito ever had someone who cared about him, beyond what money they could make him, or they could make together?

Which is perhaps why he is protective of Charmaine when Alan starts sniffing around? She went out of her way to talk to him, offer him some kind of hook up, and while she is a kid, she is ambitious, and Osito knows he isn’t built for that 9 to 5, giving up half your check-in taxes life. He has to think long-term. Problem is, Alan wants more and has no issue sending Osito back into gen pop for lying about his interactions with Charmaine.

But rather than dwell on Osito, Alan and Ray link up to visit Charmaine at her aunt Ruth’s house. The conversation is sarcastic and curt, but Charmaine’s little sister presents just enough tells to give Ray a hunch. Not enough for Alan to use, but enough to provide Ray with something to unofficially look into.

Sweet As A Daisy But Thorny Like A Rose Bush – Jorge, Daisy, Jackie, Frankie, Renee, Leslie, Ron

Jackie and Leslie need a CI to take down Jorge and potentially Frankie. However, Renee clarifies she isn’t entering back into that life, and while Donna may wanna say something, she is new and has to build up her cred. On the other hand, Daisy is ingrained, and after she gets pinched, thanks to Jackie putting up Ron to solicit sex, she is trapped.

Why? For one, Jorge turns on her and can sense she got caught with cops and can tell she is lying to him – which gets her punched in the face. With him doing that, Daisy, real name Britney, goes over her history, but not with Leslie, who was a douche about everything. Rather, she gets personal with Jackie about having a kid, being a first-generation Asian girl who grew up poor, and why she got arrested back in 2016.

All of this leads to trust being built and Jackie solidifying her first real CI. Something that she, naturally, celebrates with Leslie by having sex in her apartment.

Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

Things To Note

• We meet the Scrodfather who directs Ed and Jackie to check into his competition regarding the shark poacher issue

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Why is Jackie so weird about getting eaten out?
2. Should we consider what Jorge said after punching Daisy to Renee a threat?
3. What happened to Osito’s girlfriend?

What Could Happen Next

1. Jorge is really going to try to oust Renee since she keeps putting him under a microscope when it comes to Frankie.
2. Ray doing something reckless that gets him in more trouble.
3. Possibly more Callie and Rafael scenes to flesh out Renee and Jackie’s backstories.

Review

Highlights

Leslie and Jackie As A Couple

They’re growing on me. Mainly since this episode really pushes the idea that Hightown works so much more as an ensemble, with everyone paired up, rather than trying to treat any character as a lead who can carry the show. With Jackie, her relationship with Leslie moves beyond being sex sells, taboo, or enticement, and emotions get involved. With that, you see less of this as a bomb that will eventually blow up and more like a relationship to invest in. Especially since Leslie is opening up and not using Jackie as a crush but almost like that person you’ve been looking for your whole life but didn’t see because you were going the wrong direction.

Alan With Ray

Opposites attract, and Alan needs Ray for there needs to be an anti-hero placed with someone who wants to do things by the book. It is the only way things work, and for Alan, I think the writers know this, and that’s why Ray has reintegrated back in Alan’s story. Plus, while Ray is probably one of the few characters who can have a separate storyline and do well, him trying to redeem himself with his kid and ex-wife is cute but not the best use of the few hours Hightown has to tell a story. It’s good for development sake, but not enough to sequester a charismatic character away from the main storyline for too long. He needs to give that jolt so that Alan isn’t someone who you feel obligated to watch to know what is going on.

Daisy

Seeing Daisy beyond who she is in Jorge’s universe will make you miss P-Valley. Getting to know that vulnerable person who, likely because of her record, can’t get the stable job she needs to potentially get custody of her kid back? It pulls at your heartstrings. Add in the way she talked to Jackie made it seem she needed a friend outside of her industry and someone who didn’t come off judgy or overtly exploitative, it pushes you to realize how lonely Daisy probably is. That and how difficult it must be to be vulnerable when you’ve gotten screwed over or hurt so much. Especially in a way that doesn’t just give you emotional baggage but also a police record.

Osito Made A Friend

I really don’t know why I have a soft spot for Osito. Maybe it is because he gives off the vibe of you watching one of the kids from The Wire or The Chi all grown up? For the way Estimond plays him just gives you this sense of you knowing he is a gangster who will murder people and sell to kids, yet feeling like you knew him before he went down this path.

This is why we like Vernon coming into his life since Vernon seems like the first person Osito has met that he can just talk to. Granted, about drugs and f**king up, but maybe that is what Osito has long needed? Someone who isn’t trying to hang with him strictly out of business and could potentially be just a friend?

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