After a citywide blackout, Papa Fuerte takes a shine to mayoral candidate Ed Koch. Shao finds himself on the outs with Flash and tries to make amends.
Episodes of television that push the limits of an hourlong running time can often be a slog to get through. Longer doesn't always mean better. "Forget Safety, Be Notorious" is 62 minutes long. Unlike the previous three episodes, it just wasn't as fun or exciting to watch which made it feel less special and extra tedious. The Get Down is a show that embraces and enjoys big and over-the-top moments. Those sequences are completely ridiculous but infuse the show with a sense of energy that is really exciting to watch. Take those moments out of the show and it's an inconsistent mess that really doesn't do anything with confidence. That's how most of this episode felt. There wasn't a big moment to really ground everything around. So instead, time was spent focusing on subplots that don't really seem to be all that important in the grand scheme of things. Not all of the characters on the show are great or even necessary. Zeke, Shaolin and Mylene are the three leads. Everyone else has had brief moments of truly inspired writing but are still struggling to take off in terms of relevancy.The whole premise of "Forget Safety, Be Notorious" is escalating the tension over the many things vying for Zeke's attention right now. So many people have ideas about what his future should be. His school teacher believes he can make something of his life and actually go to college. Mylene knows he's smart and wants him to take an internship with her uncle. Shaolin has seen his talent and wants him to be the MC to his DJ. All of these people are correct with how they see Zeke. None of them see him as something he is not. But they present dueling opportunities for his future. If Zeke goes to work for Francisco Cruz, he would just be paying his dues in the hopes of climbing the social ladder later on in life. He would be playing the game that many in this city think is rigged against them so they fail. And yet, Francisco is very inspiring in the way that he talks about his community. He has big ideas and plans for the Bronx. All it takes is a few minutes with him for Zeke to realize just how great and bright the future could be for a place he has known his entire life. But if Zeke goes with Shaolin, he would be entering into a dark and criminal world. A world that could validate every single thing he is exceptional at doing but a lifestyle that could force him to do some cruel and compromising things.
It's just frustrating that so much of this conflict for Zeke boils down to a choice between Shaolin and Mylene. Shaolin is getting in the way of Zeke's great love story with Mylene while Mylene is getting in the way of Zeke obtaining his musical dreams with Shaolin. Zeke wants to be with both of them. And yet, the two don't believe he can be with the another one. To Shaolin, Mylene is just the girl playing with Zeke's affections to get what she wants. To Mylene, Shaolin is a criminal who is forcing Zeke to do things he doesn't want to do. It's easy to understand why both of them feel this way. They both want to protect Zeke. Zeke was heartbroken when Shaolin showed up and introduced him to the world of the get down. Becoming Shaolin's wordsmith gave Zeke purpose again. But Mylene is seeing Zeke change into a better man. She loves and respects their friendship. Yes, their love has complicated their dynamic so much. But she really does care for him and doesn't want him to get hurt. She listened to everything that was happening in his life just in the previous episode. Their friendship should be stronger than it has ever been before. But when a choice needs to be made, Zeke decides to go with Shaolin instead of Mylene which is sure to be an epic set back for so many story threads in the next few episodes.
Zeke only decides to go with Shaolin because he needs to make it up to him for how much he messed up with Grandmaster Flash. Shaolin finally learns about the party that the crew threw with a bootleg copy of Flash's performance. Shaolin is furious with them. It was a rival crew who told him about it too. Zeke and company didn't have the courage to tell him the truth themselves. That's why they feel the need to make it right. Shaolin believes the only way he can get back in Flash's good graces is by finding the bootlegger and making sure he never does it again. That's something that Grandmaster Flash is actually interested in doing. This is the first episode of the series where Grandmaster Flash actually feels like a real human being. In the previous episodes, he was praised to the point where he felt like the mystical sensei who has all the answers and is able to do some cool and mysterious perhaps magical tricks. Here, he is actually pissed and disappointed that Shaolin and his crew have betrayed him like this. Plus, he needs to send a message that bootlegging any performance will not be tolerated. It grounds the character in a way that makes him feel more real and less one-note. But it's just a small moment in this episode. The rest of the time is spent on the crew trying to find the person responsible for the bootleg.
Of course, all of this once again boils down to how far Zeke is willing to go to achieve his musical dreams. That's a powerful through-line throughout the whole series so far. What are these characters willing to do in order to obtain success? But it has also become a tiring detail as well. It doesn't have the amount of urgency or tension that's necessary to make it compelling. Zeke goes along with Shaolin on this mission to expose and hurt the bootlegger. What did Zeke think was going to happen? He's surprised when Shaolin pulls out a sword that he plans on using to cut the bootlegger apart. That's not something that Zeke wants to be a part of. He wants to find another solution to this conflict. He has embraced more of a criminal lifestyle since becoming friends with Shaolin. And yet, he has continually pushed back because he doesn't want to be that type of person. He doesn't want to hurt others just so he can survive and have a better life. He's excited about what a job with Francisco can mean for his future. But he's willing to go with Shaolin because they are brothers who are with each other through the good times and the bad. Right now, they are in so much trouble. Zeke needs to help. But it's a very chaotic final sequence. The rest of the crew gets involved. They get the tape back but struggle to outrun the guys they steal it from and the gang who's territory they are in. All it does it prop up an ominous cliffhanger that shows Shaolin's sword perhaps being used against Boo-Boo. That would have more weight if that character actually was an important part of the show.
While the boys are off dealing with that whole mess, Mylene is left all alone unsure if Jackie is actually going to come through with a song. She needed Zeke to go with her to Jackie's hotel room to make sure that he was actually working and has something to present to Francisco. Instead she just has to rely on her two girl friends to help her. This story mostly just showcases how bad and cliche Jackie is as a character on the show. He and Mylene had a very tender moment in the previous episode. Listening to her sing his song was enough to inspire him to write something great again. She believed in him and that was such a confidence boost. But now, he has once again reverted into being the drug-addled music exec too busy getting high to do any work. That's heartbreaking once Mylene realizes just how much time she has wasted on this man. This is her dream. She wants nothing more than to be a singer. Her uncle is trying to help her achieve that. He's the one who introduced her to Jackie. And now, he is realizing the error of his ways. Big things are happening in the political sphere for Francisco. But at the end of the day, family is more important to him. He wants Mylene to succeed. He just put his trust in the wrong guy. And now, Jackie is going to have to pay for wasting all of their time. It's a huge setback for the characters. One that shows it will be much more difficult than anyone thought for Mylene to succeed in this industry.
Some more thoughts:
- "Forget Safety, Be Notorious" was written by Aaron Rahsaan Thomas and directed by Ed Bianchi.
- It has been interesting to watch the show incorporate real-life footage and events from the time period in the story. It's just a little too overt in Francisco's story to be all that effective. He's going back-and-forth on his support for mayoral candidates. That could prove important in the future. But right now, it doesn't feel connected to what the show does best.
- Lydia and Ramon pop up late in the episode when Ramon discovers the money that Lydia took from Francisco. It's just a completely random scene that has nothing to do with anything else in the hour. It just shows that Francisco is losing more than he knows right now.
- Francisco promises to come out against graffiti in his new endorsement for mayor. That could have a huge effect on Dizzee, who is still running throughout the city tagging buildings. He even makes a new friend doing so. Though something was off during the scene. So, I don't know if we can trust this new guy.
- Ra-Ra comes clean to his parents after what truly happened to the salon while they were away for the weekend. The boys wanted to blame it on all the looting that happened during the blackout. But him coming clean actually earned their respect - even though his father wanted to beat him for what he did.
- Regina is in an abusive relationship and Mylene wants more for her than that. She has romanticized love because of what she has with Zeke. But love isn't easy like that. But this story is mostly dropped once the girls discover that Jackie has basically overdosed on drugs.
- Can't say that Cadillac and Annie were messed all that much in this episode. In fact, Shaolin is only sleeping with Annie in order to finance his dreams. He has no problem being with other women.
As noted in previous reviews from this series, every episodic review was written without having seen any succeeding episodes. Similarly, it would be much appreciated if in the comments, the conversation would only revolve around the show up to this point in its run.
