"Treme," Season 2, Episode 11

• Courtesy of HBO
• THE FEST IS YET TO COME: Clarke Peters, Donald Harrison, Jr., Rob Brown

I’m going to hazard a guess that when David Simon et al wrote and shot “Treme’s” second season finale, “Do Watcha Wanna,” they didn’t know whether or not the show would be return. On May 13, HBO did indeed renew the sprawling New Orleans drama for a third season, but “Do Watcha Wanna,” with its supersized 90-minute running time, would have made an excellent series swan song. In fact, the episode ties off so many loose ends and gives so many characters closure and grace notes, it’s hard to know what’s left for another season to explore. Let’s consider where the episode takes the main characters, and how its final montage leaves them.

Antoine: “Do Watcha Wanna” opens with Antoine listening to his voice mail as The Soul Apostles bail or flake on him for various reasons, with contradictory messages arguing over who’s responsible for lost musical instruments. After last week’s epic mid-set walk-out, Wanda even leaves messages reminding him how mad she is. (Later on, she gives Antoine a smug smile in the audience while she sings at JazzFest.)

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Only a handful of musicians show up for a gig, and Antoine pulls the plug, remarking that leading a band is like raking leaves in the wind, “only the leaves are talkin’ shit to you.” Instead, he’s so willing to support his young musicians that he pays for Trumpet Boy’s lessons out of his own pocket, and leads them in their first busking performance one evening. Antoine points out that the first thing they do is open an instrument case for tips, and put all little of their own money in: “You gotta seed that shit.” At the end, we see Antoine and Desiree moving into a house.