Season 1 / Episode 1 / Cinemax

Sun, when the opening scene to a tv series is the main character (Mac) coming to on a shore, finding his gun, then merkin’some dude we don’t even know (probably the guy he was just fighting) while dude was restin’ on a tree (probably contemplating his life up till now)? YOU. KNOW. ITS. BOUT. TO. BE. FLAMES. Our Mac draggin’ this now into the water while a giant ass tortoise is watching all this shit go down and Mac lookin’ at’em like, “You might be an endangered species but I can’t leave any witnesses.” That Giant tortise said, “Bet” and turned his head like that cop did in The Town.

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Now SNAP BACK TO REALITY and we see Mac coming home from Vietnam with his mans and dem Artie (Marlo the gawd) at a store buying gifts for their wives. Mac is coming home a day early to surprise his wife and Artie trying to tellin’ him that’s some sitcom disaster shit waiting to happen. This dude suggests Mac go with flowers for his wife, and we know this guy is trust worthy cause he looks like a Disco Stu from The Simpsons. Artie’s wife Ruth picks runs through the airport into Artie’s arms like Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard. Ruth hugs Mac sayin, “I ain’t forget about my white husband” we can now breathe easy knowing Artie isn’t problematic and been invited to the cook out for a minute.

It’s all great till Ruth hit these cats with the 411 ASAP. “Oh, y’all wore your army clothes huh? Yeaaaaaah, let’s switch that to some Salvation Army clothes cause they not having that shit outside.” Cats were lined up outside TMZ style throwing that heavy hate at Arthur and Mac. They were implicated in the Phong Nhi Massacre over in Nam but were cleared of charges. Weeeeeeelp the good people of Memphis Tennesse get on Arthur and Mac as if they unplugged the amps at WoodStock during Hendrix set.

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Mac gets dropped off home to surprise his wife Joni and one of two of the most unbelievable things happens. He walks right in cause the door is unlocked. My “What the fuck” meter was on terror alert hot pink. How they do that there? This ain’t Canada. That’s some truly 70’s trust thy neighbor not to shoot up my home different times shit. Anyhow, Mac surprises Joni while she cleaning the pool saying. “Where’s my Otis Redding records?” Off the strength, Mac is officially cool with me from this point on now. I know homie probably did some fucked up shit overseas and will do ever more fucked shit this episode but Mac off that Otis Redding fan shit, you my boy. I got put onto Otis’s magnificence by fellow contributor Thuli and how ayebody been doing covers of his songs.

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Now you know the sex scene comin’ between Joni and Mac since he just got back home… here’s where the second thing I can’t believe takes place, and I’ll keep it PG. They getting it on and Mac slid into Joni’s “dms” like it was a Slip ‘n Slide (which came out 11 years ago in ’61) with no foreplay, lubrication, or anything. The transition is not that easy in real life and I know don’t you try and tell me that when you got a haircut like Mac’s that foreplay isn’t needed. I don’t believe you.

Meanwhile muh fucking Disco Stu is outside Mac’s place keeping tabs on him? This dude got The Punisher’s entire arsenal on his hip, ankle, trunk, and glove compartment. Back inside, Mac gives Joni the sarcastic shitty figurine but sees her collection been down for a minute (foreshadowing). They play around and Mac throws her into the pool, then dives in himself and finds himself 8ft deep in PTSD. He seeing shit from Nam. Over at the Arthur’s place his son breaking his ankles in basketball, his wife putting bacon bits in pancakes, and he gettin’ told by his baby girl his outfit lookin’ like a giraffe. Arthur feeling good but comes to find out the workforce ain’t change, it just got more fierce. He gets an assembly line position at a furniture warehouse instead of a management position.

Mac’s at his welcome back party with Joni listening to his father.
Lloyd: You know what you’re granddad told me when I got back from Okinawa?
Mac: Knowing pop-pop probably something racist.

*Slow claps* My man Mac woke and got some good humor bars on’em and you know what? His haircut is growing on me now too. Mac can’t get onto his father’s job cause real estate is shit (foreshadowing) annnnnd he shouldn’t come around the house cause the new wife ain’t bout this war shit he was involved in. Maaaan, pops try to come back with the “I’m proud of you no matter what, and if your mother was alive she’d be proud too.” “Yeah, maybe she’d (real mom) even let me come by the house.” Wooooooo Mac with the cross over read for filth.

Now skip over to this seedy ass hotel and muh fuckin Disco Stu is out here doing latin karaoke on his lonesome, with a gun as a microphone in tight ass underwear! Whose’ mans is this?! He gets visited by his boss for the file on Mac. The boss decides to meet Carl himself.

Disco Stu: awwwwwww shit Bossman gettin’ his hand dirty.
Boss: Yeah. …Before I go, is there a word for what you were just doing?
Disco Stu: Uhhhhh, Yeah. Mutha fucking breathtaking.
Boss:… I don’t think that word means what you think it means.

Mac out here finding that the workforce done got more fierce his damn self. He goes to his old high school swimming grounds to hopefully get a job but instead he gets that Family Feud red X. Mac stays behind while Joni goes out. Mac out here doin Batman brooding shit in the pool underwater then comes to seeing this boss character sitting by on his patio.

Boss: Deadman's float in the pool? Flare for draaa-aaaamaa-aaaaaaa much?
Boss: Deadman’s float in the pool? Flare for draaa-aaaamaa-aaaaaaa much?

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This dude just broke into Mac’s place but he ain’t shook for shit. Which doesn’t go unnoticed by this guy calling himself the Broker. He wants to talk to Mac about some opportunities, he’s got a guy watching Joni at the movies as insurance for nothing happening to him while they conversate. Mac goes to the kitchen to get a glass and contemplates grabbin’ a knife and goin’ Iron Chef but there’s a guard with a gun on’em in the house. Mac lookin’ at dude like, “No need to be all creepy. There’s cake in the fridge.” The Broker tells Mac he’s a man that solves problems for people. He wants Mac to use his skills from overseas right here in the USA. Slides him over that money in what I assume to be is the first ever man purse imported to the USA.

Mac: The fuck is thisssss? The broker? Yall muh fuckas feds? Yall Mob?
The Broker: What’s the difference, right? Am I right? Don’t leave me hangin’ man.

This dude is willing to pay Mac 30 grand up front to knock some cats off. If he takes the money he’ll be doing some kills over the next couple months that equate up to 4 grand each until he’s paid off. Shit is mad discrete, The Broker would be his only contact. Mac isn’t buying into this but then the Broker talks about him getting shut down from that swim coach position and having full knowledge of what Mac did in Nam. What Mac really REALLY did. What he doesn’t know is why Mac went back. This dude was out the game, the War game, then he went back? Mac’s had enough talkin’ and of this dude off the set of Starsky and Hutch in the kitchen eating his fucking cake, that Mac offered sarcastically not thinking dude would really eat it, plus not even use a saucer and droppin’ crumbs everywhere. Soon as they leave make goes into the bedroom and gets the shotty locked and ready cause clap back season is about to be underway.

Mac gets a job at a shitty car station that looks like it’s got a framed “coloreds enter in rear” sign somewhere in storage from back when America was “great”. He meets Arthur at the juke joint where he finds out Arthur quit his job yet still buying shots for the club. Arthur is disgusted with these sheep ass folks man, he talkin’ bout them being hated in their hometown after the war, damn near dying overseas, and gettin’ the rotten food thrown at them but he buy a round for the bar and now they all wanna love’em.

Arthur: Come on I wanna show you something.
Mac: Last time you told me that it hurt so bad.
Arthur: I’ll spit on it this time.
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That ain’t even my joke man, that’s straight from the show. I love dynamics like this from friends yo, This is also the exact same dialogue between Bunk and McNaulty from The Wire. Arthur takes Mac to his car, pops the trunk, and Mac sees the exact same man purse filled with money that The Broker tried to sell him on. Yeap, Arthur went and took the deal, and he knows Mac said no. Yo, what happens next is THE REAL FUCKING SHIT. Mac giving Arthur all the reasons not to do this shit, Jail, the memories of their friends that did which then leads Arthur and Mac discuss who they were overseas and who they are now. Mac doesn’t want to take the money because that means “we are who they say we are”(killers/monsters/murderers/ take your pick). Arthur says, for 30g’s he’ll be whoever. Killing folk overseas in a war is somehow supposed to be different than folks who got bounties on their head here at home that deserve it? Yo, Arthur tapped into that Marlo and to Mac the real shit about how it is like…

Fam, Mac ain’t tryin to hear that but Arthur telling him straight facts, “WE ALREADY ARE WHO THEY SAY WE ARE! Where you been? …You even feel anything anymore, Mac?” [THIS IS THAT FUCKING GOOD ASS DIALOGUE I’M TALKIN BOUT YALL] Arthur wants Mac to be his partner on this. Mac ain’t agreeing. Fam, I couldn’t even joke pop a joke off about this shit, It’s too trill man, this is that fucking dialogue we been missing on tv boi! This is my grimey shit right here. The next day Mac is at the car shop trying to help out a customer, this dude bringing up Nam to Mac, saying he knows who he is. Talkin bout, “aye whatever, you did. You had to do fam. Talkin bout it wasn’t no massacre.” Yoooooooo Mac goes off. He grabs dude ace on some “I’m telling you to shut up but you won’t so I gotta show you…” gets him in some weird ass hug then puts him under the car hood and had to stop himself from slamming that shit down. Ya mans Mac is going through it.

Fam damn near next scene Mac is with Arthur going over the file on dude they gotta kill like it’s a cheat code to an Playstation Atari video game. The plan is simple, someone comes in and scouts the mark (which is a scumbag private eye), they establish a safe house, recon dudes pattern, then the direct phase is killing the mark.
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Arthur wants to work off that 30k advance together but Mac says “No. We do the four grand for this kill and then I’m out.” Arthur says, cool then shows’em the tools. They then troll the private eye they gotta kill and star roasting dude’s life some’n fierce. Seeing dude fail at getting a prostitute, then driving home to his shitty apartment.

Arthur: Okay, well I done seen enough of this fucker’s miserable life.
Mac: I’d feel bad for him if he didn’t always talk while chewing his food.
Arthur: OH MY GOD I HATE THAT! I close my eyes and I keep seeing him doing it.
Mac: It’s like watching Republican candidate vomit in reverse.
Arthur: this guy ruined Mac and cheese for me for at least seven months.

Mac goes up to the safe house to give Arthur the signal for when to move in on the Private eye (Sugs). Arthur creeps up the stairs, picks the lock, and is right behind dude for the Call of Duty kill… THEN FUCKING TAKES ONE IN THE FUCKING NECK MAN! I WAS SCREAMIN NOOOOOOOOOOO! Dude, had another guy in there watching his back. Bruh, Mac straight up KICKED IN THE DOOR WAVING THE FOUR-FOUR at these dude’s and hit clipped one guy before getting taken out by a fucking frying pan and a lamp thrown at him.

You know you in survival mode when you start throwing Sears furniture for your life. Mac wrestles the shooter to the ground, takes out the Sug’s prosthetic leg, grabs a sock that was inside the prosthetic leg then fuckin rams it in dude’s mouth, holds his nose and suffocates him. Whaaaaaaaaaat the fuck?!? That’s gotta go in the next Call of Duty game. That’s gotta be the most unique kill I done ever seen on television since Sunny from Into The Badlands killed a man with the tip of his wingtip shoe.

Maaaaaaaaan Mac is at Arthur’s funeral service feeling alone in a crowded room. They done killed his boy man. They killed his mans and dem yo. Fuck yo. How you kill Marlo man?! Dats Marlo yo! It’s only episode one and I’m fucking hurt by this death man (That’s what I want from a tv show. That’s prime writing and acting damn it). Ruth and the kids are beside themselves. Mac is at Ruth’s place with everyone and gets a call from “one of the detectives” but it’s actually The Broker setting up a meeting to get his money at the Quarry. Ruth got mad questions, Ruth knows damn well Mac knows something.

Ruth: Mac I swear on Richard Proyr’s stand up if you know something?!

Mac: Huh? No--I ain't. Who- Arthur? Never heard of'em-I-I mean- I don't know.
Mac: Huh? No–I ain’t. Who- Arthur? Never heard of’em-I-I mean- I don’t know.

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Mac you may be a fucking Mcguyver with the kills but you’re a shit liar. Back home Jonie talkin bout going for a swim but Mac freaks out about not being able to find his Otis Redding’s Blue record. Mac flipping out and Jonie like “Ummm you the one that went back to back that you wore out fam. Not me.” Mac getting out not knowing when he coming back for dinner. Mac ambushes the Broker and dude that was eatin’ his cake / fuckhead / Mr. Fucking Potato Head at the quarry meet up but get’s his shotgun shot out of his hands by a sniper at the top of the quarry. The Broker is impressed tho, he reads Mac’s kills from the newspaper to him, impressed again.

[quote_simple]”Takes a certain kind of man to do that kind of thing. Hollowed out on the inside. Hard as rock. Kinda like this quarry. Maybe I’ll call you Quarry. Got a nice lil ring to it.”[/quote_simple]

Mac asks why he wasn’t warned about the other shooter with the Sugs but The Broker tells him that he told Arthur the mark was prone to caution. Mac says he’ll find the Sugs and kill him. The Broker is like nah cause “Apparently a one legged man is too hard for you to kill. So I got some’n else lined up for you. but we won’t be even.” Mac is like you just goin’ keep holding this money over my head?” Dude, Mac been gone for too long and must of forgot about inflation or the rules to capitalism. Mac gets sent over to Disco Stu’s place and we find out his name is Buddy. He’s the one that’s been tailing Mac. He hands him a file on Cliff Williams, the next dude to be killed.

Mac: What he do?
Buddy: He’s part of the group that killed MLK.
Mac:The Fuck? You serious?
Buddy:…. you precious little baby bird. No. Dude pissed someone off and now he’s gotta go. Now take this new man purse. New gun. New Car. New you.

Bruh, the best shit this episode is Buddy giving his condolences to Mac on Arthur dying AND THEN GOING IN FOR THE HUG ON THIS DUDE! Mind you this guy is spiking nails through a fucking Louisville slugger the entire time.
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Mac follows Williams’ routine and it leads him to a familiar neighborhood, then a familiar street, and all too fucking familiar driveway. His. Fam. This dude comes in for the fucking “you up text” from Jonie (that she didn’t send evidently). Yooooooooo, now she said it was over to dude, and coulda told him to go (he did ask if she wanted him to leave) but things ain’t work out like that. Mac outside watching this shit go down from the windows while holding the glock striaght up torn. My man watching this happen like he got a subscription to Bangbus that he ain’t even order yo. He waits, then visits Cliff while he is fixing his car, with his piece in hand.. the icing on the fucking cake? THIS DUDE HAS HIS FUCKING OTIS BLUE RECORD PLAYING WHILE HE UNDERNEATH HIS CAR FIXING IT?!

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Mac looked at dude, asked if he knew who the fuck he was, then Shawn Michaels super kicked the stand carjack out the way, and watched the car fall on dude. He calls The Broker to tell’em it’s done, and that death ain’t complex. That shit is just a switch that gets turned off.

Back home Jonie wakes up to Otis Blue playing, walks in the living room and sees the record spinning with a fucking gun on top of it. Yo she braver, than me cause I woulda gotten the fuck outta dodge soon as I heard the record playing. Yeah, I’m guessing that ain’t have an open relationship discussion while he was away or anything. It’s safe to say Mac knows about the side mack that was happening. Jonie goes outside to see Mac swimming in the pool, taking a break to smoke a cig and look at her…then going right back to swimming. THAT. IS. THE. HARD. SHIT. Oh, and with that I’m now sold on Mac’s hairdo.

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  • Omar Holmon is a content editor that is here to make .gifs, obscure references, and find the correlation between everything Black and Nerdy.

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