HBO’s Vinyl
Season 1, Episode 9: “Rock and Roll Queen”
Directed by Carl Franklin
Written by Debora Cahn

* For a review of the previous episode, “E.A.B” – click here
* For a review of the Season 1 finale, “Alibi” – click here

Richie (Bobby Cannavale) is trying to get himself out of jail, drug sweats and all. He and his lawyer are in an interrogation room trying to work things out. But things are looking rough for Mr. Finestra. There’s a deal being worked out. If Richie will help the feds bring down Corrado Galasso (Armen Garo), then he’ll be all right. Otherwise it’s manslaughter, as well as a possibly tough god damn time in jail.
Over at American Century Records, Maury Gold (Paul Ben-Victor) is making things complicated for everyone. Zak (Ray Romano) is not too happy, but does what’s needed to get by. Maury’s an old school-type, also one who’s connected tightly to the mob. This is a messy situation for Richie.

In a room with her new photographer friend Billy (Richard Short), Devon (Olivia Wilde) is embracing the photographer in herself once more. Also, they’re pretty much falling love. Or for the time being it’s a sexual release for her. Either way, she is free of Richie. For how long who knows.
Boardroom time. ACR is trying to get moving again, to start signing a few new acts and so on. In the mix, again, is Maury, which sort of makes everybody nervous. Julie (Max Casella), Skip (J.C. MacKenzie) and the rest are discussing business; The Nasty Bits, even the prospect of Hannibal coming back to the label, et cetera. Not everything is hunky dory, though. A bit of interjection from Maury causes a dull uproar over the direction of the label, the sub-label. All of it. And when things get too much for Richie, he goes to do some cocaine. Instead, he opts to toss it. Is this a new side to him? He needs his wit to deal with the cops. Better off without the coke.
Everyone’s in a bit of a hard spot. Jamie Vine (Juno Temple) is kicked out on the streets, though, she does have Kip (James Jagger) to take her in, to comfort her. Meanwhile, Clark (Jack Quaid) is attempting to get along with his new colleagues, doing a decent job so far; I feel there’s more to his story that’s coming, I hope so anyways.

 

Trying to kick the habit, Richie has to watch everyone around him snort to their heart’s content. Joe Corso (Bo Dietl) is around, too. Being an idiot. Is it realistic to believe Richie will be able to get himself clean?
At a photo shoot for The Nasty Bits, manager Lester Grimes (Ato Essandoh), Andrea Zito (Annie Parisse) and Jamie try to corral the band. When Kip gets a bit pissy, Danny (Rodrigo Lopresti) offers to chop off his long locks to make things balanced. Looks like there may be a future for this little punk outfit after all.
Julie goes to Richie, about some acts, all that stuff. Well, he ends up talking about Devon, seeing her at the bar during the last episode. The two men bond over broken marriages. But Julie has a few choice words for his boss and friend over all the things happening, personal life and business wise, every last bit of it. Nothing is sunny at ACR. No one is happy, especially not the guys who’ve been there longest like Julie, Zak, the others. Even Cece (Susan Heyward) – she’s got issues with Hannibal returning.

 

Richie: “Screamin‘ your heart out into a mic, it ain‘t cheap anymore. And if you don‘t have $800,00 in the bank – truth and sound, it ain‘t available.”

There’s a lot of things happening at the office. Andrea’s not pleased with the “stupid fucking twats” around banging the acts, from Cece – now pregnant – to Jamie, whose semi-management of The Nasty Bits is slightly jaded for the fact she’s sleeping with Kip.
At the same time, Lester is very unhappy. The sight of Gold in their boardroom absolutely crushes him. He is not impressed with Richie and his involvement with Maury/Galasso. So many things are basically crumbling around Finestra, from the actual label itself to the employee-employer relationships to, obviously, his shattered marriage. Speaking of which, Devon is supposedly living her “divorce fantasy“, but it’s anything other than that to her. “I don‘t know what I‘m doing,” she tells her friend desperately.
So Richie goes searching for her. He ends up at the apartment where Devon stays with Billy, just as the latter is trying to kill a bat flying around. This is a hilarious situation, after Richie whacks Billy in the face accidentally with a tennis racket, trying to help. Then, he realizes who the guy is, and they slowly shuffle away from each other. When Devon shows up, naturally, they argue. She makes clear the rift between them is not closing, not anytime soon, anyways. He loves her, but like everything else in his life there’s always this necessity to do the easy thing, not the right thing. Which only ends up making his life that much harder. At least he gets to see his kids for a bit.

 

Devon: “You stood in front of me coked out of your mind and told me you spent the week with a dead man.”
Richie: “Yeah, and you fucked a live one.”

At Kip’s place, he and Danny and Jamie rock out together. Is this a burgeoning threesome situation? Could mean for some nasty band relationships. Right now, it’s as if Kip doesn’t mind a whole bunch. The three of them are enjoying themselves. Let’s see how long the Golden Age of their good times lasts.
Zak and Richie have a bit more personal time together. The former does his best to ensure Richie his marriage will get better. A good drunk, a nice fuck, all is forgiven. Then there’s Clark, who heads out for another night in the clubs with that good music spinning on the tables. He’s busy trying to get Indigo’s new album out for some play. Except it clears the dance floor after the DJ puts it on for people to hear. Not a hit. At least not immediately. A minute or two pass by and then people start grooving, dance circles form, and the music gets people to move.
On the phone, Zak gets a call from Vegas to fly him out, free of charge. Because of his “patronage“, what he says was only $800 at the table. He and Skip talk, but it’s not immediately evident to Zak what’s happened. Although, the seed is planted in his mind. It grows, quickly. The concept of Richie’s betrayal dawns on him. What an awful feeling and a terrible turn of events, particularly for Richie who has enough trouble already.
So Zak gives Richie a few whacks in the elevator. He takes out his rage, best he can. This is a true fracture, a possibly unfixable one in their relationship.

 

After his beating, Richie goes to the Chealsea Hotel. He sees Devon, admitting that he killed Buck Rogers, in self-defense, but also that he tried covering it up. This is what made him fall off the wagon. He comes clean to her about every last detail. Clearly shocks her to the core. Why wouldn’t it?
But where does this go from here? Will Devon somehow understand the plight of her husband? Will she help him? Or is Richie about to fade away into the muck and mire of addiction? Hard to tell. I’d like to think he’s going to face things head on. There’s no guarantee either way. One thing’s for sure: Richie has the spirit of rock n’ roll flowing through his veins, it’s only a matter of whether he can keep himself from going off the deep end. If so, American Century Records could turn things around.
Richie may not live to see that day. In the end, he decides to take the deal and help the cops take down Galasso. Uh oh.

 

Stay tuned for the Season 1 finale “Alibi”, which airs next week. Loving this series. Excited to see where the finale takes us and where Season 2 will begin from afterwards.