The Westies Use Disco and Rocket Launchers to Free Mickey from John Gotti’s Clutches

Critic’s Rating: 3.25 / 5.0

3.25

So how did the plan to “Houdini” Vinnie go? Yeah, not as well as Jimmy hoped it might.

We called it. That was a very poorly thought-out plan, even with the history our Westies were not aware of at the time.

But The Westies Season 1 Episode 3 waylaid Mickey again, and that put even more strain on the ragtag Irish group of mobsters.

Gotti got Mickey at the end of The Westies Season 1 Episode 2, and he wasn’t shy with his brutality. While some mobsters want others to do their dirty work (has Sweeney gotten his hands dirty yet?), Gotti had no problem beating on Mickey.

I’ve been assaulted (with fists, not a baseball bat), and the damage to my face was brutal. My teeth broke out immediately. How in the hell could someone sustain a bat to the head without similar damage?

Gotti was hoping to use Mickey as leverage to find out what the hell was going on with Vinnie Zaccaro. It probably wasn’t the best plan.

Sweeney was called in to speak with Paul Castellano about the Vinnie Zaccaro business. I may have doubts about Sweeney’s leadership, but he held his own with Castellano.

He slammed unnecessary violence as being bad for the bottom line. He stood up for Mickey. And he reminded Castellano that, at least for now, the Westies were bringing in more money than the Italians.

Castellano had a job for the Westies — kill the Colombians, who have managed to lure his men into their cocaine distribution network. The Italians don’t like drugs. Hey, you have to draw the line somewhere.

So our guys got to go to the disco. I had to laugh when they asked why. One of them wondered if Castellano wanted them to stop the dancing. It was hilarious.

It’s a lot to ask to take out an entire drug operation, but if they wanted Mickey back, then they had to be willing to get their hands even dirtier than they already were.

So, off to the disco they went. Bridget was even on board to make it seem like a legit night out to throw off the scent that they were there for any other purpose.

But would the Colombians really just take Jimmy right into the heart of their operation with such a weak cover story? Granted, Vinnie Zaccarro is dead, so he wasn’t going to deny involvement, but it seemed like a stretch.

Am I willing to overlook said stretch for the sheer enjoyment of the results? Hell, yeah.

It gave Jimmy plenty to work with, and just in time, because upstairs, Connor and Pat were calling unnecessary attention to themselves.

I mentioned in my review of The Westies Season 1 Episode 2 that they were on the list to die before the season ended. They come off as dumb as a box of rocks.

Bridget had a beer with her priest. He introduced her and Jimmy to give her some stability. He knew full well that Jimmy had a penchant for trouble, but as he said, even a bent nail still holds things up.

She really loves Jimmy and respects his love for Mickey. That was apparent when she gave up the rocket launcher.

She’s so committed to Ireland, but her commitment to Jimmy goes even further if she was willing to use a tactical weapon in Ireland’s fight to free Mickey.

But once they fired that thing, I wondered what Brendan Cahill hoped to achieve with it. It didn’t do much damage. It did enough for their purposes, but I would have expected more damage.

It freed Mickey, too, much to Gotti’s chagrin. He’s still not certain what the hell happened to Vinnie Zaccarro, but he had to let Mickey go anyway.

Will Brendan be as eager to forgive Bridget for using his weapon as Gotti was to let Mickey go?

Agent Birdie Polk had more of a role this week, but overall, she’s pretty underutilized. She is considered a series regular, so I hope her role is expanded as the episodes continue.

Agent Polk was giving the feds a good name by calling bullshit on Vinnie’s “crime spree,” though. Officer Glenn was tap dancing his way around her disbelief, and coming off looking a bit like an idiot in the process.

How long will he be able to keep up this three-way charade between two mobs and the feds? He was thinking about that himself.

Glenn ended up confronting Sweeney about what the Westies are trying to pull off with Vinnie. He’s in real hot water by working with Sweeney when a cop has been killed.

He can’t just go along with it, because if anyone finds out he knew something and didn’t tell, or lied about it, he’d be an accessory. No cop wants to go to jail. That’s the worst place for a cop, and it’s a real concern.

Am I the only one who wonders just how much Glenn knows about the Westies? How far back his history with them goes?

He went to his son as if Danny had a special in with the gang. The only time we’ve seen him so far is when Glenn talks with him. He’s hardly a Westies insider.

And yet, his kid did tell Glenn who was responsible. What’s weird is that for as hard as he’s trying to keep his kid away from Sweeney, Glenn is right there in the thick of it himself.

He’s not exactly a role model for the kid, but he seems to know that, too.

Visiting the priest didn’t exactly provide answers. The Irishman sees real justice as a gray area, not black and white, as Glenn might lean with the badge. Not that he does lean in that direction.

From his connections, he’s all gray, which makes him a walking contradiction.

If his first attempt to sway Sweeney to steer clear of Danny got no results, offering to off Pat for what he did to the cop and what he could do to Sweeney will certainly have Danny on the outside of the Westies going forward.

That’s right. Pat is the first of the Westies to meet his maker. This show doesn’t lack for brutality, that’s for sure.

The Westies Season 1 Episode 3, “The Starship,” was slower than the previous two episodes, but it set up a decent story going forward.

It proved that every one of these characters would go against their better judgment if it meant they got the results they wanted.

But it also means that even if it looks like they’re all working together and have a common goal, their individual interests take precedence.

Jimmy wanted to bring Mickey home. Bridget wanted to please Jimmy. Glenn wanted to protect his son. And Sweeney wanted to stay in the Javits Center game.

There is no way that this not-so-carefully constructed house of cards won’t implode at some point. Their loyalties were fractured before the show even began, and it’s hard to pinpoint which will remain as The Westies Season 1 continues.

So where do you stand?

Did you see Pat’s death coming? Did you expect Glenn to become a stone-cold killer? Did you think Mickey was a goner? Drop your thoughts in the comments down below!