Singleton still has his touch when telling a story, or setting a scene of young boys in a neighborhood, and I think it's one thing he will never really lose. One wishes he would have made a smaller, simpler show, about the lives of the working class characters he captures so well, instead of throwing in hundreds of kilos of cocaine, Mexican cartels, (with all the conviction of 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious) Israeli scumbag traffickers, all with the tone deafness and stakes of a B list thriller....It's cliched, hamfisted, heavy handed in authentic and tired trope filled depiction of 80's cocaine craze. None of it feels real, from the dialouge, to the "Goodfellas" lite soundtrack, coke sex tricks ripped out of "Wolf Of Wall Street", and add nothing but "shock value" and sex appeal from people who have never been around a few girls and a few grams.
FX, (think "The Bridge") and television in general struggles to create authentic worlds in which organized crime, or drug trafficking are occurring. The characters are familiar, the clothes are styled, it all feels like a TV set in a lot somewhere in deep suburban LA, which looks every inch has if it was filmed in present day, not even the 90's, much less the 80's. Producers and directors should be taking notes on shows like "Gomorra", which seem to be less expensive, and gorgeously directed, creating a realistic world, where you can picture the characters as real people.
Counting them up:
The crazed drug dealer scene, commits violent act with some charm and grace, showcasing his power and intelligence. Takes a liking to the young upstart kid. Gives him seemingly impossible task.
Drug dealers sniffing coke, remarking on it's quality, someone overdoses, call in a fixer a CIA agent
An unlikely alliance is formed!
At 10:54, I am predicting he takes the block to his uncle, who gives him the "Where did you get this...you know what you are messing with" talk, who nonetheless cashes him out.
Oh, don't tell me, are they going to the big time dealers private table in his (her) club?