The powerful first season comes to a harrowing end
My Name Is Ruby is about dignity.
My Name Is Ruby is, in other words, a fitting season finale forThe Deuce.
Frankies brother, Vincent, is not so ignorant.
Credit: Paul Schiraldi/HBO
Vince realizes hes in too deep.
He storms out of the newly leased building.
When he returns to the Hi-Hat, however, he appears similarly lost at sea.
Vince suddenly appears 10 years older, his hands seemingly on the verge of covering his ears.
it’s possible for you to feel him thinking, Whathappened?
For Vincent, its another extreme that makes him feel out of place.
It becomes clear that Vincents self-worth is tied in with a traditional masculine image.
Abby doesnt bite, initially.
As long as hes the one taking out the garbage.
Yet Vincent, while mostly well intentioned, is not quite this enlightened, fun-loving guy.
He believes he has a certain role that commands respect and action.
He wants to hit back, because thats what youre supposed to do.
And hit back he does, whacking Eddie across the knees with a pool cue.
Its fleeting, of course, and enough to turn Abby off of him.
Theres a fascinating parallel between Vincent and the pimps: old-guard types not yet ready to adapt to changes.
Reggie Love had a few things wrong, come to think of it, C.C.
says, as they semi-mourn him.
But we see a similar yearning coming from Ruby Thunder Thighs in this finale.
He asks why shes still outside and not in the parlors.
I wasnt getting chosen all that much on the inside, she confides.
Im a big girl, in case you didnt notice.
Alston compliments her beautiful eyes, and they share a moment of intimacy.
Tell me something, she says before she walks off, back to work.
How a dude like you get to be a cop?
Alston has gotten closer with Sandra, spending the night with her and freely feeding her information.
Alston going on the record with hard documentation.
In any case, he steals a book from Sweeney that essentially proves corruption and gives it to Sandra.
McDonagh is still promising to clean house, but its really an effort to keep his cops in line.
Instead, shes left with the dreaded human interest story.
Meeting with Marty Hotus, shes asked why people are so attracted to rough porn.
S, fellas, well even f the dog when youre not looking.
I mean, thats the fantasy, right?
Thats the s were selling here.
And when Darlenes on set, Eileen takes it upon herself to bring her back to herself.
She notices Darlenes put on a big, outrageous wig.
Thats some wig you got there kinda screams its not really you, Eileen offers.
You worried youre going to make a movie and youre going to get recognized?
Theres a power in the way theyre viewing themselves.
You just have to take charge.
I like girls, he tries convincing her.
She cries for him and tries inspiring him with her own experience of empowerment.
Patrick, the world is changing, she says.
Most people wont f with you, not like they used to.
She grabs his hand and sees a glimmer of hope in his smile.
But it quickly fades away.
Later, shes off to the special red carpet premiere ofDeep Throatwith Harvey as her date.
She sees men in suits and even a few kids instead of the usual crowd.
Now shes getting a little wistful.
She sees Ruby and like Alston, glows at the sight of her.
she screams out the window, showing off a toothy smile.
But Ruby doesnt hear: Shes too busy working out terms with a john in another car.
Eileen throws her head out the window one last time, before giving up.
Suddenly, shes not the woman on her own, consistently facing threats of violence, totally exhausted.
forces Lori to walk out of the theater, and she doesnt see what Eileen sees.
She sees a place that will never be hers.
We see Ruby, back upstairs with a john, routinely wiping semen off of her stomach.
The john tries taking her money back, then threatens her when she fights back.
She lets him go, but corrects him when he calls her Thunder Thighs on his way out.
My name is Ruby!
she shouts at him a final plea for dignity.
With a disarming lack of emotion, the john then pushes her out the window and kills her.
The price for demanding dignity.
Its even the way the pimps chatted about their old diner buddy Reggie.
Alston was one of them.
Surrounding her dead body, C.C.
cracks, inhumanely, Girl was in a hurry, I guess.
Alston sucker-punches him, disgusted.
Vincent and Abby, also on the scene, go back into the bar.
I liked Thunder, I really did you think I like seeing that?
She brings it back to his beating up Eddie Bucco, and demands to know why.
He says he did it for Andrea, and she scoffs.
You got me wrong, Abby.
Way wrong, he tries assuring her.
I love women but its the Deuce.
Most importantly, its a nexus point for change, powered by sex and navigated by money.
