"Treme," Season 1, Episode 8

“Treme” took off the week of Memorial Day weekend, and I was on vacation the week before that. Maybe it’s me, but in the interim, the parallel between New Orleans post-Katrina on the show and the Gulf Coast in mid-BP spill has become extremely acute. Creighton’s patented rants and laments about the death of New Orleans express and echo current anxieties about the destruction of the coastal ecosystem, jobs and hundreds of miles of beach. “Treme” feels more relevant than ever, unfortunately.

The May 23 episode proved to the most powerful to date, and elevated a pair of running subplots to illuminate massive civic failures: Albert’s squat-in at the boarded-up housing projects and Ladonna’s discovery of her brother’s body amid a fleet of refrigerated trucks, all carrying untold other unclaimed corpses. The sequences not only delivered devastating emotional impact, they resonated with big moments from that other series from creator David Simon.

It might be inevitable that the follow-up episode would be a letdown, but who would guess that “Treme’s” Mardi Gras episode would disappoint, even a little? “Treme” always ladles out the local atmosphere in generous portions, but last night, the Crescent City color proved almost suffocating. Every other line of dialogue seemed to contain the word “gumbo,” “beignet” or “beads.” Granted, Professor Longhair’s “Mardi Gras in New Orleans” is a great song, and its signature whistle seemed to snake through the scenes, finding new connections to the characters. But its repetition became almost oppressive, particularly when Davis had to go and quote from the song during his lovely, impromptu date with Annie. It's like "Treme's" reflexive salesmanship of New Orleans hijacked half the episode.

Conflict and crisis reveal character, but on “Treme’s” Mardi Gras episode, the pursuit of pleasure provides revelations. Davis goes out for the day dressed as Jean Lafitte with his “get out of jail free” card in his pocket, but instead meets lovelorn Annie and turns out to be a perfect gentleman. Janette finishes a morning grilling gig with typical professionalism, gets in her car, wriggles into boots and a fairy princess costume and reveals a gloriously daffy side of her personality. (When we last see her, she’s drunkenly trying to turn parked cars into taxicabs.) Jonny confirms that he’s an inconstant jerk.

Creighton proves unable to find joy in Mardi Gras “I’m just not feeling it this year” — even though he parades with his family all dressed in blue tarps. Earlier in the episode, Creighton offered a moving elegy at the waterfront for some of the city’s bygone landmarks. Overall, he’s sunk into a slough of despond that sees things as even worse than they actually area. I must confess that my wife and I are almost eagerly waiting for Creighton to expire from some kind of self-destructive act. The fact that John Goodman isn’t in the opening credits makes Creighton’s survival seem far from certain.

Prodigal son Delmond voices his opposition to Mardi Gras (sacrilege!) and suggests the money and effort go to improve the city (he’s got a point!). When he hears partiers pass his hotel window, he goes out like he’s about to shout “You kids get off my lawn!” When he sees that they’re hot chicks wearing pasties, he starts throwing beads with the best of them. Alas, Delmond’s father Chief Albert misses Mardi Gras, since the police keep him in jail until the morning of Ash Wednesday. Apparently St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) is also big for Mardi Gras Indians, so he’ll get another chance to befeather himself.

Mardi Gras provides some unexpected reunions, including a charming scene with Antoine and the Japanese superfan, who approves of his giving the fancy horn to his old mentor. Later, Antoine meets up and then hooks up with his ex-wife, Ladonna, but we’re not inclined to harshly judge her, given the heavy load she’s been carrying since her brother’s disappearance. Jonny reunites with the guy he rescued during the flood, suggesting that he might be a shit-heel, but he’s capable of doing good. When the guy asks Jonny “Remember me?” he reacts with instant suspicion, as if only angry husbands and dope dealers normally ask him that question. Next week, I hope Annie dumps his sorry ass and kills a follow-up audition for the Cajuns.

The episode’s best scenes came when Mardi Gras officially ended and the police swept the streets of revelers. If the party-hearty scenes and songs were overly familiar, the after-hours, still-of-the-night moments had a delicate loveliness. I would have guessed "Treme" would have completed its first season with Mardi Gras, but two episodes remain. Without Mardi Gras to look forward to, how will our New Orleanians face the future?

Photo courtesy of HBO