To outsiders, Ike Evans may not appear to have changed all that dramatically in the time that’s passed between the New Year’s Eve celebration that kicked off the very first episode of Magic City and where he stands in tonight’s installment of the series, but he’s a much bolder and far more confident fellow than he used to be. Just look and listen to the way he handles himself as he puts his master plan into effect, delivering his instructions in a matter-of-fact manner and wrapping up with six simple words that speak volumes about the inherent danger of the scenario: “You get caught, you die. Comprende?”
That’s a far cry from the guy we saw at various points during season one, who was very much in a place where he felt his whole world caving in on him. He’s putting a lot of eggs in this bolita basket, but it’s given him such a surge of self-assurance that, even if it should go horribly awry (as it very much does at one point, thanks to the bearded, gun-toting behemoth played by Rick Ross), it only serves to make him angry…and, no, you would not like him when he’s angry. Just ask Stevie.
When Ben first helped Stevie secure the DJ convention for the Miramar Playa, it seemed like the sort of thing that would help turn the boy into a man, but it quickly became evident that it had the makings of a major fiasco, causing Ike to refuse to allow the event in his hotel. But then he changed his mind, deciding it was worth giving Stevie a chance to stand on his own if it meant he’d be able to help his son cut ties with Ben Diamond. The end result: Things played out even worse than Ike could’ve imagined. There was a certain amount of comedy to be had from Ike surveying his kingdom and muttering, “I will kill him with my bare fucking hands,” while Vera kept reminding him to focus on the mantra, “We’re completely booked,” but things got much less amusing right around the time Suzi Klein met Ira Stein.
Looking back, it’s a little amazing that we’re at a point when Jack Klein can actually be seen as somewhat of a sympathetic figure, but we get a brief glimpse of his life of domesticity early in the episode, and for all of his undeniably assholish tendencies, he’s still at heart a family man who believes he’s doing the right thing for the community. Stevie may not have envisioned things would get so far out of hand so quickly with the DJ convention, but when they do, they do so in such spectacular fashion that the end result is Klein’s worst nightmare…and that’s not even factoring in the fact that the D.A.’s own daughter is the victim of some of the most despicable debauchery on the premises. When Klein commands Danny “tell your father that I will destroy him, I promise, or I will die trying,” it’s the first time that you can actually find yourself thinking of Klein, “I get where he’s coming from.”
Speaking of Danny, his relationship with Judi Silver continues to develop. “In my extensive experience, the Evans boys are born liars,” she says, but given her gift for charming men, there’s really no immediate reason to believe she’s doing anything other than using him to save herself. Still, she does open up to him about his father’s actions with Jimmy Shoes, assuring him she believes he would’ve done the same thing if he’d been in Ike’s position, and although she later claims to regret revealing the information to him, she also admits she wants to see him again.
But enough about the Evans boys: When it comes right down to it, the big story in this episode is how completely fucking insane Ike’s plan is making Ben…or, really, just how insane Ike is making Ben, period.