Checking In On Brotherhood: Season 2, Episode 6: The Simmering Stew

The second season of Brotherhood on Showtime has been progressing well. Perhaps a little quieter than the first season, but building and percolating as the fine Irish stew of politics and crime in Rhode Island that it is.

Tommy's mistress Dana - well played by Janel Moloney - is an interesting, complex character. Tommy enjoys her well enough, but her off-the-cuff, cutting comments about the nature of their relationship keep Tommy from getting too close. And when she at last ventures a little real affection for Tommy, he pulls back ... and back to Eileen.

I think Tommy (Jason Clarke is excellent) and Eileen (so is Annabeth Gish) belong together, so I'm glad to see this. But I have feeling we may find before too long that Dana is pregnant. (No spoiler here, just a hunch - on the other hand, maybe that's too obvious.)

But it's good that Tommy and Eileen are pulling closer, with the election right around the corner, and the Mayor showing his true, backstabbing colors.

Tommy and brother Michael (can't ask for anything more in an actor than the quiet, explosive power of Jason Isaacs) are getting along better than ever, also. I'm delighted to see Michael depose his insufferable gangster boss Freddie (Kevin Chapman). But playing ball with the police like this is playing with fire, especially when Declan (Ethan Embry) is in the picture. If Michael ever finds what Declan did to him last year...

The cousin Colin (Brian F. O'Byrne) is definitely an asset to the show as well to Michael (and my guess would be Tommy, too, if need be). And Michael will no doubt soon need all the help he can get ... attracting lightning is his place in this universe.

Fionnula Flanagan, as feisty as last year as Rose, will be there to help, as well. But she won't be able to call upon Judd (Len Cariou) any more...

And the stew slowly simmers ... stirred, heated, bubbling on Brotherhood.

See also Brotherhood, Season 2 Episode 9: The Anti-Thanksgiving Gem and Episode 10: Finale

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

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Brotherhood's Back! Sneak Preview

Brotherhood returns for its second season on Showtime Sunday night - right after Dexter. From Miami to Providence - a great sweep of the eastern seaboard, and a great sweep for Showtime.

I've seen an advance copy of the first four episodes. No spoilers below, except for what you have to know already: Brotherhood could never let Michael Caffee die.

So Michael's back. But he's not 100%, and the shake-up that his brain received makes for an important element in this year's story. Jason Isaacs gives a great performance - just as he did last year - of a slightly muted Michael. (Isaacs plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, in case he looks familiar. Talk about an actor with range.)

Jason Clarke gives a fine performance as brother Tommy Kaffee, too. Brotherhood has good echoes of The Sopranos. But the great strength of the series for me has always been the Providence politics. It's not only Rich Man/Poor Man, brother who made good and brother who didn't. It's a show about getting things done - the hard mobster way as does Michael, and the hard political way, as does Tommy. The first ends in blood more than the second, but otherwise they're no less painful, no less easy as paths to success.

The women are also strong and appealing on Brotherhood. Tommy's wife Eileen played by Annabeth Gish is complex, intense, and, whatever her flaws, you'd want her brown eyes on your side. (Her relationship with Tommy is especially difficult now, because of what she told him at the wedding last year). Fionnula Flanagan as mother Rose Kaffee is a classic (if she looks familiar, you saw her in Desmond's UK flashback on Lost). Michael's girlfriend Kath (played by Tina Benko) has a much larger role, and that's welcome. And The West Wing's Janel Moloney is now on the show, as - well, I promised only one spoiler, above.

But I can say that I think the show is more thoughtful, even deeper than it was last year. Ethan Embry's giving a sterling performance as officer Giggs, and the complexity of his personal and professional life could support a series in itself. Brian F. O’Byrne joins Brotherhood as Caffee cousin Colin - from the other side of the Atlantic - and this adds an additional dimension to the family.

Brotherhood's on its way to making memorable television - among the best of the decade.

See also Episode 10: Finale

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book