Bloodline is effectively a different show without Bob Rayburn in the mix. Bob was always Danny’s best foil, and his simmering resentment towards his son made it clear that no matter what strides Danny made, he would always be a fuck-up in his father’s eyes. But with Bob dead, Danny has no one to bounce off. His siblings know his past, but they seem to be underestimating him in the present. In “Part 8,” Danny begins making the transition from fuck-up to being the closest thing Bloodline has to a villain.
Of course, the show has telegraphed this since “Part 1,” but part of the fun of knowing the outcome is seeing how it got there (one of the reasons Better Call Saul is working so well). In “8,” Danny begins burning bridges, starting with Kevin. It’s confirmed that Danny told Eric about Kevin’s stash, and what’s more, he didn’t even seem to do it for any gain. Eric offers him part of the money he stole, but he’s rebuffed. It’s far more likely that Danny just wants leverage over Eric now, which is bad for Eric, who’s growing increasingly wary of Danny, especially as Danny spends more time with Rafi, he of the human trafficking and Jared-Leto-in-Fight–Club dye job.
Danny gets one over on Carlos, too. Carlos, after accepting money from Sally and telling Meg that he’s sober, gets caught drinking and betting at a cockfight, because even sleepy beach towns like Islamorada are still in Florida, and therefore ridiculous. They come to an arrangement, and before long Carlos is Danny’s assistant, helping him unload crates of fish, in which is hidden bags of coke. Well, it looks like coke, but it turns out to be sugar, and the whole thing was just a test. So now the drug runners/human traffickers seem to like Danny, which is…good?
Elsewhere, Marco proposes to Meg – “Let’s get fuckin married” – which of course pisses Danny off. “I thought we had an agreement,” he intones ominously, which translates to Get me back in that will or I’m telling Marco about the motel room key. Later, Danny takes John out for drinks and gets him good and shitfaced. After dropping him off back home – making sure to make enough noise that John’s wife and kids see him in that state – Danny acts menacingly towards Diane, and scares her enough that she tells John she doesn’t want Danny around the kids.l
It’s important for Bloodline to take back some of the goodwill that Danny has earned over the last few episodes. “Part 8” did so nicely, and in the first season’s latter half it needs to move at a brisker pace, and make Danny into the kind of violent presence that would drive his own siblings to murder him.
A Few Thoughts
- Bloodline got picked up for a second season by Netflix. Assuming Danny doesn’t make it out of that exploding boat from “Part 1,” what the hell does this show look like without him?
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Kevin loses out on his bank loan. This show cannot stop shitting on Kevin Rayburn
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