Last night's John from Cincinnati on HBO - Episode Seven and the next to last - was the most upbeat (until the very end) and my favorite so far.
I also think I'm finally beginning to get at least a little of what this is all about: the frothiness and invigoration and power and pitfalls of surfing - whether the ocean or the Web.
Butchie is back in the water and beginning to regain his prowess. Kai has saved his gear, rather than sell them for the cash that Butchie needed for his drugs. All of that is great.
Also good is what Dwayne tells Butchie - the web hits on Butchie's page have jumped to 1244 in 24 hours (hey, Infinite Regress gets twice that on good days, thanks to all of you John from Cincinnati readers, which I truly appreciate), and Dwayne suggests that Shaun should get a site of his own. It's all part of the halo effect, Dwayne explains - not John's sort of halo, but all the publicity about Shaun's miraculous recovery drawing people online to Butchie's site (actually, that does have to do with John's recuperative halo, doesn't it)... Butchie, as usual, gets in some good lines, including a comment that Shaun's already on "MyTube" (good synchrony, I just posted a rave review of the first YouTube/CNN Presidential debate).
Meanwhile, back on John from Cincinnati, Linc's Stinkweed media-surfing company is trying to get him to see the merits of the Web. Linc resists, with apt comments about what the Web's most popular commodity (porn). But by the end of this thread, Linc may be a millionaire, and have Tina (Shaun's mother) along with him, too.
See, I told you it was an upbeat show. Even Palaka recovers after getting a raging infection from a tattoo.
But near the very end of the episode, John remarks, "Shaun will soon be gone..."
This means, what? John's powers of healing are only temporary? Shaun will have another fatal accident? Or maybe - if the series can end with at least a little hope - Shaun will be going on to have some great career that will take him away from Imperial Beach....
You know, I'm really beginning to warm up to this insane show and its pace and characters, and will miss it after the next weeks.
Including its fine music. The show ended tonight with a great rendition of John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" by Matis Yahu - one of my all-time favorite Lennon songs.
See also reviews of other episodes ... Episode One ... Episode Two ... Episode Three ... Episode Four ... Episode Five ... Episode Six ... Episode 8 ... Episode 9 ... Episode 10
See also John from Cincinnati: The Meaning in a Sentence or Two
12 comments:
I love this funky show. It captures something for me. I haven't figured it out yet. You think John might be an angel of death maybe? Where's Mitch? I enjoy the character interaction, it's very dynamic.
That's a scenario I hadn't thought of -- the whole idea of Shaunie leaving IB for bigger and better things. I do find the show really intriguing, and find it almost like a modern day Jesus story, with each character developing into some type of apostle, although it's hard to decipher which is which since they are all such complex characters.
The whole "Halo Effect" is also very interesting, in fact, the whole concept of the show revolving around surfing (walking on water) is cool, as well (if not obvious). I thought the whole Link and Stinkweed meeting was almost pharisee-esque -- like the whole "blood money" thing with Judas, but then Link turned the tables and got an even better deal. Tina could also be looked at almost as the Madonna character -- a stretch, but if Shaun is "holy" it would make sense for her (remember how the Virgin Mary was chastized for being pregnant before getting married) to be portrayed as a woman who is redeeming herself. Cass, I believe is almost like a Mary Magdeline, delivering John's message and taking care of him (clothing him after he was stabbed), etc. Anyway, yes, I'm rambling...just a few thoughts.
Excellent, excellent show!!!
theresa,i think your real close with your interpratation or the show.witch i savor every second of that one hour on sunday nights,like a highschool boy removing his first bra.anyways john is an appostle{healer}such as in the book...but so many of the charectures have different tasks ..danm what a beutifull show..anthony from florida
Excellent analysis, Theresa!
Welcome - and the anons, too - to Infinite Regress!
I have made out a few connections with the show and the bible. There is a part in episode five or six, when john is in the crowd at the hotel but nobody really knows he is there. He goes on a crazy rambling spell when he is talking about his father and all that. Later he says some set of numbers which I though might correspond to a bible verse. I checked it out in the new testament and it somewhat completed the sentence. Also John from Cinci also is JC and I gotta a few more but Id hate to blow yalls minds/
-Rob from Wilmington
I have found a few relationships between john and the bible. In episode 6 I believe it was John starts rattling out all this stuff that does not make sense. he says something about his fathers word and then some other numbers and I checked that with the new testament and it fit in perfect with what was goin on. Also John from Cinci = JC (Jesus Christ). I gotta few more but I would hate to blow your minds.
-Rob from Wilmington
sorry i did it twice. im a jackass
It's ok - it was good enough to read twice ...:)
Maybe Shaun will leave with his mother who leaves with Link.
This will cause Cass to go atomic opening the door for John to reveal his true devine self.
So, not sure how valid this could be but someone told me they heard that (since John could be "working for" God) that Link could possibly be the counterpart, working for the Devil. I haven't seen much to show me that beyond that fact that he is a sleezy sponsor, any thoughts on this?
Hi Chris -- well, based on my interpretation, which could be COMPLETELY off base, Link is sort of the Judas of the group. You can tell, even through his sleaze, that he does have some sort of heart and is torn with the thought of ruining Shaunie like he ruined Butchie.
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