I just finished watching The Deuce. I thought it was bullshit how Michael Rispoli's character had a moral epiphany re: the child pornography racket, when in reality nobody with his standing in the Gambino or Genovese family had any qualms about profiteering from it. I know how episodic television works and they had to make him more likeable or relatable in order to make Tommy Longo's betrayal more powerful, but come on...

And don't get me started on James Franco's portrayal of what are supposed to be effectively mafia associates. It would've been nice to have the main characters show more shades of grey, rather than being all out loveable rogues.

Getting back to my original point, this Robert Di Bernardo (who is mentioned in The Deuce) wasn't killed because of the filth he peddled. He was killed because of money. That's what it always comes down to.

The Deuce was a great show all the same. Slow-burning but worth sticking with if you approach it more like a book - just like all David Simon shows.

I just had to get off my chest that one bit which stuck in my craw.

That's what made The Sopranos so great. I love Tony Soprano as a character, as an antihero - but his actions were not written to be admired. His arc was what it should've been. You grow to loathe him by the end of the series. Likewise, Paulie and Christopher are great characters and have scenes and storylines that show a human side (that all people good and bad have) but you are never far away from a scene that shows their true nature to remind you that you're not supposed to be rooting for them.

Some of the mob stuff in The Deuce was uncomfortably akin to all those Movie of the Week type mafia movies, straddling the line too close in favor of making the mobsters look "cool".

Anyways, I'm rambling again...