Still brooding over the humiliation he suffered at the hands
of Zho, J. (Mark P. Hawthorne) is encouraged by his cousin Ox (Chyna McCoy) to
take drastic measures in dealing with the situation. J. goes along reluctantly, fully realizing that
such actions are completely out of character for him. Elsewhere, Rhyis (Amin Joseph) gives Grimm
(Sean Riggs) a grisly task to complete.
The third episode of Touye
Pwen, “Dead To Rights,” revolves around a most troublesome question: Just
how should disrespect and slights be handled?
Should they be answered in kind, or is an overreaction always the best
reaction? Even those who have been
following Touye Pwen up until this
point may be startled at the answer this episode offers to such questions.
Yet again, the episode is split between two different sets
of characters having two different conversations. Both feature men who are being ordered or coerced
into violent action. Grimm realizes the
absurdity of what he’s asked to do, but goes about his task like a good
soldier. He’s clearly adept at doling brutal
punishment. J, on the other hand,
exhibits the kind of cold feet that mark him as being a liability to any criminal
enterprise. Nonetheless, Ox sees the
situation at hand as a necessary rite of passage that his cousin must endure.
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The sinister smirk of Rhyis (Amin Joseph). |
The exchange between J. and Ox addresses an interesting and
perhaps little known truth of the underworld: The arrogant tendency that New Yorkers have of underestimating the competition when setting up shop out of town. Such oversights can prove costly indeed (just
ask Alpo or Wayne Perry). It will be
interesting to see if Zho’s hubris will bring about a harsh lesson for him and
the rest of the Strap Set.
Then there is the matter of the little disclaimer that
appears before the opening credits sequence.
I had been warned in advance about this by R.L. Scott himself, so I was
a bit anxious about what to expect. There
is a bit of knife fighting that precedes the moment in question and acts as a
sort of warm up for what is to come. The
sound of blades piercing flesh is excruciating and distinct. The coup de grace is a bit of maiming that is
accompanied by tender encouragement on the part of the torturer (Certain
characters in Touye Pwen have an odd
penchant for speaking tenderly to their victims as they torment them.)
Figurative emasculation and abhorrent rites of passage
provide the thematic foundation of “Dead To Rights.” This is easily the most unpleasant episode of
Touye Pwen yet, and fittingly so. Only a true sociopath would relish what Grimm
is asked to do. While I wouldn’t quite
describe Grimm as a sociopath, it takes a certain kind of man to do what he
does before the close of this episode.
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