‘Hightown’ Recap: ‘Crack Is Wack’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 207 of ‘Hightown’.
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Thanksgiving is a time of year that just about everyone in America looks forward to and with good reason. Because you can never go wrong with sitting down to enjoy a giant meal with friends and family and being able to enjoy football and meaningful conversation in their company, just gives us a sense of peace and reinforces the wonder of the season. For it really does hammer home what we have to be thankful for. But while the vast majority of us count down the seconds to our turkey dinner, there was mention of the fact that not everyone eagerly awaits this particular holiday, and they too have good reason as to why they can look upon this day with disdain.
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Because for some folks, there are no family and friends to go home to or they have little to be thankful for. Or heading home is stressful and brings up bad memories or it could by chance… be a holiday that reveals some hard truths that no one wanted to face, and it just so happens, that the darker side to Thanksgiving took the center stage in this week’s episode of Hightown. For ‘Crack Is Wack’ is an episode that took place during Thanksgiving and well, there was little joy to be found on the cape. For Charmaine was beside herself over losing her sister and nearly left the business over her death, and the only thing that kept her going was her Uncle Wayne and his pep talk that asked her to stick with this unsavory career path since she’d already accomplished so much and she wasn’t the only one having a tough Turkey Day because of family related problems, for Jackie is the one that had to face some hard truths about her family and her life.

For her time with her dad, went from joyous to nightmarish pretty darn quick. For once the drugs ran out and the bottles were emptied, dear old dad asked horrible things of his daughter. The kind that made her realize that she uses to mask the pain of the past and the abusive relationship she has with her father, and if she doesn’t address it… more benders will continue, and she’ll stay in this dark place. Which finally motivated Jackie to open up and try to get help, but it will be a little while before she does so. Since her drinking ways brought another slip up to the case, one that revealed to her the hard truth about Daisy and well… while that is a tough reality to reconcile, there is a bright spot to be found in this storyline. Since Jackie is indeed self-aware at last and with the right support, she might finally beat addiction and heal from her past. 

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However, while Jackie’s journey alone could have carried this tale from beginning to end, there were other harsh things happening on the cape in this tale. For instance, Ray Abruzzo made his move to try and crack the case wide open, by playing games. For once he learned about Jorge’s disappearance, he made it seem as though Jorge was in fact, a DEA informant. A lie that he shared with Renee to make her think that she and Frankie might be sent to jail and the panic that put into her soul was powerful to say the least and it downright confirmed that Ray is playing her the same way she played him. All so that he can use her panic to get her to turn in Frankie and he in turn will get his job with the CCINU back and well, that’s about as diabolical as it gets, and Renee’s problems didn’t end there.
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Because Frankie was scary in this tale, since he spent a great deal of this episode brooding and pondering over what to do next regarding Jorge. To the point where Thanksgiving dinner was awkward and terrifying when Alan swung by since they found Jorge’s car (but no Jorge) at the airport. A revelation that prompted Frankie to detach further and figure out that his cousin was dead and well, that means Renee is in a truly difficult place now. For Frankie made it clear, he is going to find Jorge’s killer and he is going to need Renee’s help to run the business and keep the money flowing and it will be quite interesting to see if Renee can keep it together in the weeks to come with this kind of pressure and fear surrounding her.

In the end however, this was just another brilliant episode from this brilliant show. Since it once again added some realistic twists into everyday life since it put the darker side of Thanksgiving on display and finally helped us to understand why Jackie is an addict. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the story figured out a way to make Thanksgiving intense as well, courtesy of the Renee plot line, since there was a genuine moment where it appeared she might die at the hands of her beloved Frankie and well, once again… the wait for next week’s episode is going to be a difficult one. Because the pressure is ramping up and we are all dying to know what is going to happen to Renee and Jackie and Ray, when all of this madness finally explodes. Until next time.  

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