I'm running low on time (again), so I'll have a quick review and won't be able to cover all the different characters.
Since I watch relatively few shows on Sundays, I can devote an hour for Treme, a show that doesn't particularly interest me, but has all the elements of a really good show sans a true plot. If it was plunked on a Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday--and HBO knows better than to do that--Treme would definitely not be getting watched until the weekend.
I suspect that unconsciously, everyone is heaping praise on the show because they don't want to be late to the game as they were with The Wire. The problem is, The Wire had plenty of things going on by the fourth episode, especially a coherent narrative heading towards a foreseeable confrontation. Treme doesn't have the benefit of all these guys getting together to take down a drug dealer or a group of guys selling drugs. Instead, it has a group of fine characters, very disconnected and heading in their own direction. The city will slowly rebuild, but that's about it.
Sonny and Antoine left New Orleans in "At the Foot of Canal Street" and returned, happy with the city they're in, but a little sad about the place they left. Sonny goes to Houston for a better opportunity, but is quickly taken out. He comes back to find Annie at another gig, destined for more. We learn that although Sonny is from Amsterdam (not Hamsterdam), he wants only to be from New Orleans. More and more, he chances of succeeding seem to be receding while his girlfriend, Annie, also not a native of New Orleans, is thriving.
Antoine goes to visit his kids in Baton Rouge and realizes how little he knows about them. He has Christmas presents for them--a toy bat and a football jersey. It's the thought that counts, but it's evident the kids aren't into them. At dinner, there's not much to say and Antoine has to remind them he still loves them.
Score: 8.8/10
