Vinyl Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Alibi
Carissa Pavlica
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Well, that was disappointing.
The best that can be said about Vinyl Season 1 Episode 10 is that the season is over, and it seems like they may have wrapped up as much of the mob and murder storylines as they could have.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much delivery on Richie's promise from Vinyl Season 1 Episode 2 that he was looking to change the future of music.
For a season finale, this did absolutely nothing to inspire me to watch next season.
Seeing Zak get the wind taken out of his sails both with Galasso and the diva Xavier, and shooting a guy right beside him were rather depressing storylines for a guy who was finally finding his footing.
The glare he have Richie at the end proves he's hardened, but how many hard characters does Vinyl need?
The Nasty Bits's show almost fell apart because of the threesome between Jamie, Kip and Alex. Jamie developed "feelings" for Alex.
It's the exact scenario Andrea warned against with female A&R reps, although it's unlikely they all end up ODing on the floor 10 minutes before showtime.
There was nothing at all about Devon and Richie's family. Not a word.
Not that it was necessary, but odd for a finale to leave them out completely after spending so much time developing Devon as a character worthy of screen time.
Meanwhile, there was time to visit every basement disco in New York City to see how Indigo had done with Clark and Jorge's promotion.
They're incidental characters and the music doesn't fit with the Alibi label in the same way the Nasty Bits supposedly do.
But Galasso seemed to pull out of everything concerned with American Century outside of the loan. He shot Joe, and that should get Richie some breathing room for the Buck Rogers murder.
The feds might just close up and go away and the NYC cops were happy with their chop shop bust. Stranger storylines have just disappeared, right? We can hope.
Even though yes, the mob was involved with the record business and Martin Scorsese is big into mobsters, the promise was about the music and changing the face of it going forward.
It's all about the songs, guys. Can you hum it? Will you remember it tomorrow? Does it make you want to call the radio station and ask who the band they just played was? Think back. Think back to the first time you heard a song that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, made you want to dance, or fuck or go our and kick somebody's ass! That's what I want! In two weeks.
Richie
That should be the focus. Finding the music, moving us forward in the industry so we can be a part of it. We've seen the mob stories. They're old hat by now.
That stuff got really messy really fast and, frankly, boring.
The only way to keep such a large cast is to focus, and the series is called Vinyl, not Mobsters. If Olivia Wilde is to remain, please find a way to get her involved, too. Maybe she can shoot the album art. Keep it in the family. Save costs.
If we're to come back again to invest our time, the promise about changing the future has to deliver more than spray painting f*ck you all over the walls of the office.
The question is...will any of you be back to watch what comes next? And what do YOU want to be the focus of Vinyl Season 2?
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
