IR TV Review: THE LOWDOWN - EPISODE 7 (“Tulsa Turnaround”) [FX]

Necessity of action comes about in the progression of the plot. With Episode 7 of "The Lowdown" entitled "Tulsa Turnaround", there is an essence of play that finally throws Lee (Ethan Hawke) over the edge. The basis so far in the story is more him being an happenstance passerby who just happens upon some things. It finally seems to affect him in this episode, mostly because in certain ways he has been played...and he finally realizes it. Lee trusts people too much. While we have lost some of his story with his daughter, there is an aspect that is bigger at play. The final performance of Graham Greene is a specific statement if anything and sets off a firestorm. Paul Sparks by far is more interesting play here. Now while there is a similarity to Dunmire (Robert Patrick) in "Tulsa King", Sparks plays it is even more diabolical, especially in a scene with Kyle MacLachlan and its aftermath.

Intriguing in its own way, is the path of Keith David as Marty. While Lee is the heart of the show, Marty is the heart because he is trying to maintain humanity while also getting ahead yet the arena he exists in is fraught by danger. David is known for playing baddies so it is nice to see this play along the line. The episode culminates in a certain way (not giving anything away) but there is very few paths that end up being rosy (though Hawke's Lee has seemingly survived a bunch. With one more episode, it is questionable as to how it will wrap up. That said the middle episodes so far were the more lyrical because they existed in a space where people makes mistakes and yet they move on...or they don't. "The Lowdown" is just like that. B

By Tim Wassberg