A dramatic and exciting TV series that recounts a chain of various stories from the time 1970s and '80s, specifically in the notorious society of New York where porn, drugs and many wrongdoings spread there. In the opening, we follow the story of a hotel in Times Square where the wrongdoings are a usual habits.
This panoramic storytelling is easier said than done, and yet everything already feels ingrained and bone-deep. The casual confidence on display shouldn't be a surprise considering the veterans behind and in front of the screen, but it still pops.
"I See Money" continues to push the story's many threads forward... but it also brings them together in a way the show hasn't yet done, providing a more kaleidoscopic view of its characters and the system they're operating within.
The Deuce doesn't have a sunny outlook on humanity, but the spirit of the show is kind and generous, even when the expression of that kindness and generosity is as seemingly insignificant as some free liquor.
It's not the story's bleakness that's the problem. A show about the desperately impoverished and routinely victimized has every right to be dour. It's the drab story-telling that rankles here. Every scene lands with a thud.
We've reached the midway point of this first season, and now that we mostly know who everyone is and what they do, it's time for The Deuce to start interrogating this world and the people in it.
