By Kofi Outlaw
If you saw any of the numerous ads for this week’s episode of CANE, you knew going in (as I did) that it was going to be an over-the-top soap opera of family hardship. I can say this much: the advertisers didn’t mislead.
The episode started with Isabel confronting Alex about the gun she found at the end of last week’s episode. Needless to say she was not happy. At the same time, a body was being dragged out of the Everglades. Though the crocodiles had snacked on it, Detective Grasso still recognized the corpse as the man Alex had complained was threatening his family. Before alerting anyone else, Grasso called Alex and had him come I.D. the body, just to be sure. Alex did so, but the sight of the mutilated corpse haunted him for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, the Vega’s hated rivals the Samuels conferred with their private investigator, who had yet to dig up any real dirt on Alex. In a not so subtle threat, Ellis Samuels suggested that the private dick “make his own luck” and get them something to use against the Vegas.
At the Duque mansion, family matriarch Amalia confessed to husband Pancho that she was aware his cancer had returned. She implored him to tell the family, to which Pancho responded, “When the time is right,” more concerned with opposing the move towards a mechanized system for harvesting sugar cane, which Frank and Alex needed in order to secure the ethanol subsidy. Being old school, Pancho had always relied on migrant Cuban workers to harvest his fields, and wanted that tradition to endure. Alex’s wife Isabel, (a shareholder in the company,) supported her father’s wishes, driving a rift between husband and wife.
On the club front, perennially immature Henry threw a big party featuring celebrities Nicole Sherzinger (Pussy Cat Dolls chick) and Kristin Cavallari (playing “Casey”) to attract business. Trouble ensued when Henry’s niece Katie left with Casey and her friends for a night of partying, only to end up stranded after the drinking-while-driving celebutard crashed into a tree. Nicole Sherzinger attempted to get re-acquainted with old flame Henry, only to be scared off by Henry’s menacing new business partners, who came around looking to get a piece of that pussycat.
Having established that the swamp-corpse had been shot in the head before being dumped, Grasso came to the Duque mansion asking for Alex’s gun so that he could run the necessary ballistics check. Alex reluctantly handed the gun over.
At family dinner that night, tensions boiled over and Alex called for a vote on the mechanization initiative. The vote was deadlocked due to Henry’s refusal to get involved, and the whole thing melted down into a fight. Amalia commanded everyone to be silent, dropping the bomb that Pancho was dying. Everyone was stunned, all business suddenly seeming trivial. Pancho decreed that to honor him, the family had to vote with their hearts, regardless of his health, and that it was time for Henry to grow up and take part in the family business. The mechanization initiative passed, with Alex, Frank and Henry all in agreement. Henry, finally shouldering his adult responsibilities, told Katie she was never allowed in his club again.
Finally, in the series’ most sappy, cheesy moment to date, Isabel and Alex reconciled their differences, with Alex saying he was sorry about her father and Isabel responding (sniffle alert!) “He’s your father too.” Cue the fade out, and the cheesy sentimental music.
My big argument so far has been that CANE needed to “keep it in the family.” Well this week they went a little too far with that. I guess what I’m looking for is a nice balance of family drama and crime intrigue and only one of those was present in this episode. But, if previews are any indication, next week’s episode should swing us back in the right direction. Sweet.