When last we left, young Paul and Angelo were on the run after Primo decided to kill Paul because of the lowball ransom offer by Getty. This episode opens with Primo at the gas station where apparently he was too drunk and high to get gas and he had to wait until morning for the attendant to arrive. When he makes back with the can of gas he plans to use to burn up young Paul, his pathetic accomplice explains that Paul and Angelo have run off. Primo, not wanting to waste a gas that was such a pain in the ass to acquire throws the guy into the grave and covers him in gasoline. Just before the match is lit the mafioso don and the accountant arrive to inspect the merchandise. Primo is terrified of this guy. The don rings the bells of all the mountain towns and let’s them know he is looking for Paul. They must all form search parties and bring Paul to him alive. If they aid him in any way, the penalty is death.
While on the run, Angelo says that his Nana will be shunned because of his actions and will be alone until she dies.
Back in Rome, Fletcher Chace is being a handyman at Gail’s house. Gail is worried sick about Paul because she has not heard anything from the kidnappers. She goes on TV and begs the kidnappers to tell her something because the silence is cruel.
Angelo and Paul manage to jump on to a train. Angelo gets dragged for a bit and injured himself badly before Paul was able to yank him up onto the platform.
Back at Sutton Place, the eldest Getty has received a few donations from people wanting to help him get the money for young Paul. This pisses him off. Bullimore still hasn’t figured out what the list of flowers the gardener gave him have in common. (They are all deadly if ingested by humans). Getty can’t figure out why the kidnappers are not making a counter offer.
Primo finds Angelo’s broken glasses and blood on the train tracks and figures out they have gotten on the train. I find this scene to be totally unbelievable. Primo is a dumb as a sack of Biermanns, as navymommy would say. When they stop the train to search it the two boys make a run for it. All of this running is in the Calabria mountains. There is literally nothing there, they are starving and need water. Paul has had enough running he tell Angelo that he is going to find a house with a phone. Angelo tries to tell him that they will kill him but he doesn’t listen. Angelo, who is injured, very reluctantly follows Paul. When the come to a village, they can’t figure out why no one is there. Everyone is out looking for him. They go in a house and Paul calls his mom but it takes her too long to get to the phone. The dogs and the search teams are all back. Primo is magically at the house as the boys make another escape. He hears Gail on the phone asking for Paul and tells her “Seventeen million dollars” before he hangs up. There are starting to be an annoying amount of plotholes in this script.
The boys jump into a farmer’s truck in the village and ended up being allowed to use the phone. Unfortunately the phone lines are down because of winds or something. The boys know they should go but the farmer’s wife offers them a home-cooked meal and they are starving. Paul realizes that there has not been a storm. Something is up with this nice couple. The wife says her husband will give them a ride to the main road but they must eat first. They are giving a lot of brandy. Even with all the food they have eaten they are getting drunk.
Holy crap! The farmer’s wife is praying like crazy in the bedroom when Primo walks through the door with a rifle, says, “That’s All Folks” and shoots Angelo’s head all over the place with the majority of it landing on Paul. We hear but do not see a second shot. In Rome, Gail drops her glass as if she knows something has happened to Paul.
This was the fifth episode of ten, so we are halfway through. Are y’all still watching this? Still interested in recaps?
I’m still watching! I’m a day behind though. I read the recap first then watch it on demand
Yes and yes. I find it hard to see Primo as a tough guy, he seems so 70’s douchy. And I am having trouble finding sympathy for Gail because who lets their child run wild like that where he is able to just leave the country and come back and she not know a bit about it. Is that really how rich alcoholics did it in those days?
I am still watching, and I really love this show for some reason.
I totally agree about the mother….WHY is your 16 year old kid not in school and home every night?I love the kid paying Paul.
I am looking forward to the rest of it.
Thanks for the recaps! ♥
My brother had a good bit of freedom around this time. I was in first grade and he was in 11th and our family was living in Libya and he was in a Swiss boarding school. They did things like fly to London to see Hair as a field trip. Clearly he was mostly supervised but I think he traveled with his friends when school was out as well. Not the same. But kinda.
Same with some friends whose dad worked abroad. They marvel today that at 12, 15, and 17 yrs old, they went to Greece alone for two weeks with no hotel reservations and no supervision. It’s kind of nice to think that there was more trust in the world. Or was it naivety?
I am still watching Trust. Love the scenery and the actors deliver. My problem with shows spring boarding off reality is that I have to know what’s real and what’s fiction. This scene is fake, as you said, so no wonder it stretches the imagination. The only hero is Gail. But she should never have chosen a man over her son. She figured that out, though it was too late.
This entire story is a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare.
I was there from age 6- 11 at some point I started begging my mother to send me to boarding school for the summer. Some of the kids in my class went every year. My mother would not let me. She said it was because “those children’s parents just want to travel without the kids” and “I was lucky I had parents who wanted me to be with them all summer. ”
The real reason is that my parents were REALLY tight with money. A trait I managed to inherit to some degree. Mostly because of my fear of being a bag lady.
Stopped, but still reading recaps!
Yes still watching!! I’m really enjoying this show. Did you notice though that the farmers wife was the only woman in the small town? The whole town was empty except for older men, their dogs and the one young boy. I get they wanted to show the town was empty because everyone was out searching but, seriously.
Such a great show. I watched episodes 3,4 and 5 today. If it doesn’t get updated, I lose interest, but I’m glad I caught up. (Same with Imposters, I totally forgot where I watched to season one)
I was sad there weren’t more episodes, could have binged a lot more. ?
I don’t think any families are comparable to this one, which makes it unpredictable and entertaining.
I didn’t hear a second shot. Just another reason to appreciate the recap. ?
(I think I was in shock and dread because I really enjoyed the man and woman and the house in the mountains)
When Paul said that there isn’t a storm, regarding the phone not working, I knew they were coming. So intense.
Sorry for that stupid emoji. It’s a whole lot different than it looked.
This weekend I broke down and watched “All The Money In The World”. I know why this retellung is bothering me. I get the feeling that the whole incident was a romp across Italy. It really wasn’t. John Paul Getty III almost bled to death when his ear was cut off and developed pneumonia. He had no protection from the elements rough does not describe what he went through waiting for his miserly grandfather to offer a ransom. His father didn’t step in to help. His mother remarried and almost quit caring what he did but she was tireless in her efforts to do something. At least he had that.
There are so many characters to break down. We needed to know that Gramps didn’t mind spending money on his harem but the women didn’t belong in the story. The butlers love affair might be interesting but I can’t follow that either.
John Paul Getty III was a screwed up mess. What his childhood and parents didn’t do to him, the kidnapping did. Iam just not getting the weight of all of that.
IMO
Muffintop, I also watched the movie and read a great interview with young Paul in Rolling Stone. I’m still watching the show, but not a lot based on reality in it.
Gail did not abandon Paul. She cared for him from the time of his awful overdose when he was 25 until his death in 2011. He was blind, parallized, and speechless for 29 yrs.
Yes, please. Really hope you’ll do Picasso too.
I’m watching and reading the recaps. Tonight was tough to watch because nothing in this episode was based on reality. I am going to have to suspend belief, but I’ll continue watching.
Yes, I’m watching. Please continue with the recaps. They really help me understand what is going on. My grandmother came here from Calabria and it was interesting to see what it was like there. She had no interest in going back, not even for a visit.
I am absolutely watching this! Please keep recapping as other recaps aren’t as fun. I love how you have commentary mixed in. I still love CahselllllllCahsellllllllll stupid phone won’t let me fix that. Chase, I love Chase!
Primo is reminds me of that kid on the bike yelling and chasing the boys down screaming “I want my two dollars!!!” What’s the movies name? Summer break?
Also when the mom cut her hair wonder what the angle will be with her trying to look like Paul. Will she sneak in and try to look for him I don’t know it’s just weird how does she even know where they’re at
She was trying to look more like Paul. She is fearful she won’t see him again. She is traumatized and terrified. For many women who suffer a major life event, cutting one’s hair is common.
“Better Off Dead “ with John Cusak
I love this show and I LOVE your recaps, TT! I’m suspending all kinda disbelief, but I don’t care. I’m in love with the actor who plays Paul, he’s so good. They all are! I even love evil Primo– he’s so creepy! Please keep recapping!
The actor who plays Primo is another great one here. He’s always on the verge of exploding and fascinating to watch.
Still watching, please continue to recap.
Oh, I am still watching and reading. It’s a new telling on the story!
What Muffin said !
I’m still watching, although it seems to have gone a bit downhill with tonight’s episode – it really felt like filler and a total waste of time and talent.
I particularly love the performances by Swank, the boy who plays Paul and Fletcher (sorry, forgot their real names).
Please keep recapping, all in all it’s a pretty good show.