The Lowdown Recap: Chattering Teeth

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The Bank of Lee is open for business, and he’s freely spending the money left by the recently deceased Bertie as if it weren’t his own. He even gives a thousand dollars to a convenience store worker watching makeup videos to cover up his injuries before seeing his ex-wife. He pays his ex-wife the child support she’s owed, plus extra interest, without trying to hide where the money came from. Lee casually hands out a hundred dollars to a random passerby just for being in the right place at the right time. Some people save their money, and some spend it, but the spenders always make for a more interesting story.

There isn’t a set format for each episode of *The Lowdown* – not yet, anyway. The show simply follows Lee, and he’s incredibly unpredictable, bouncing from one thing to the next. He’s completely unprepared for a normal weekend with his daughter. Instead of taking care of himself, he leaves a mess at a gas station and tries to cover up his injuries with heavy makeup and a hat, making it clear he’s not ready to be a dad.

Lee bluntly tells his ex-wife, who just mentioned her weekend getaway with her boyfriend, that he doesn’t care about her schedule – and never will. This dismissive behavior perfectly illustrates what it must have been like to be married to him. Thankfully, Samantha has found someone better: Johnny, who does jiujitsu and enjoys quick trips. He probably owns an Audi and meticulously cleans even the smallest parts of his car. Meanwhile, Lee is driving an old, possibly rundown car after picking up his daughter. He’ll soon drop her off at the bookstore with Deidra, because just like him, his daughter seems driven by a constant search for the truth, even when it disrupts their custody arrangement. It feels like the truth itself wishes their weekend schedules could change.

First things first, Lee needed to take care of a few loose ends and pay everyone back. He gave Deidra what he owed her, and even added extra for watching Francis. Surprisingly, he paid Waylon, his security guard, even though Waylon completely failed to protect him – he didn’t stop the assault or the abduction! Lee handed over the rest of the cash, along with a creepy first edition of *Mein Kampf* he found in Blackie’s car, to his lawyer, Dan, who he also owed money to. Then, he told Waylon and Henry, Waylon’s cousin, to just make Blackie’s car vanish – I guess the idea is you can’t be a witness to a double homicide if the car you were in doesn’t exist. Honestly, Lee should have collapsed and gotten some rest, but he just kept moving, even though his body was screaming at him to stop. He was stumbling around, barely able to stay upright, and it felt like his body was collapsing on its own, like he was being forced into the shape of a chair.

Even though he was badly injured, Lee quickly found a potential clue. He called Frank’s company hoping to locate Allen, but that didn’t lead anywhere. However, Lee wasn’t the only one targeted the night before. The skinheads had also vandalized the offices of the *Tulsa Beat*, the newspaper that had published their photos and names alongside Lee’s recent article. Lee’s publisher, Cyrus (Killer Mike), seemed more confused than worried about what happened, especially since he’d given Lee a gun for protection in the first episode: “How could someone with a gun end up locked in a trunk?”

Cyrus uses $800 from a special fund meant for minor expenses to fix his broken windows and announces he’s finished buying stories from Lee, whom he considers unreliable. However, despite his cynical nature, Cyrus is a journalist at heart and feels compelled by the truth. He provides Lee with the address of Blackie’s mother, Bonnie, a reader of the Tulsa Beat newspaper who is cancelling her subscription because of a recent article about her son-even though she disapproves of his Nazi affiliations.

Bonnie is desperately searching for her baby boy, Nazi, but hasn’t been able to reach Blackie all morning. Meanwhile, Lee is pretending to be an old prison friend named Johnny to get close to Bonnie, and he’s convincingly playing the part with a Confederate flag tattoo, a bruised face, and a hat connected to Dale Washberg from a previous episode. Dale Dickey, who often plays similar characters, perfectly portrays a worried mother who is both anxious and reserved. She’s concerned about her son but unsure how to help Lee (as Johnny) find him. Fortunately, she’s starting a relationship with Phil, one of Blackie’s friends, and Phil is very talkative. Phil reveals that Blackie met Allen in prison, and Allen is a dangerous member of the Aryan Brotherhood – someone who likely enforces a strict “blood in, blood out” policy. Phil also confirms that Blackie and Berta work for Allen and recently made a mistake on a job in Skiatook, the same town where Dale Washberg lives.

The first episode shows Lee subtly straightening a crooked picture in Dale’s house during the estate sale. This episode reveals the story behind it: Don having an affair with Betty Jo in the bed of his deceased brother. The Washberg family is deeply troubled. Betty Jo, feeling increasingly isolated after Dale’s death, desires a deeper connection with Don. Meanwhile, Don’s wife, Mary-Ann, discovers their affair. Dale’s daughter, Pearl, struggles to accept her father’s suicide, and often blames her mother for what happened.

At Dale’s memorial service, everyone made an effort to look presentable and act like a close-knit family. The church was filled with people we’ve seen before. Frank was there, as powerful men like him often know each other. Surprisingly, Marty, Don’s private investigator, was also present. Don had hired Marty to follow Lee after Lee published an unfavorable article about the Washberg family in the *Heartland Press*. Interestingly, Marty used to admire Lee’s writing until their unpleasant encounter at Sweet Emily’s. Even the police officers who often bother Lee were there, turning the memorial into a campaign stop for the governor.

Lee manages to stay relatively well-behaved during the church service, but things fall apart at the reception. He follows Don into the bathroom to angrily confront him about hiring a private investigator to follow *him*. Don, understandably, doesn’t want a confrontation at his brother’s funeral, and a physical fight quickly breaks out. Lee loudly accuses Don of supporting white supremacy – a claim based more on his gut feeling than actual evidence – and also labels him a “CEO Christian,” a potentially damaging accusation for some Oklahoma voters. As Marty drags him away before the police arrive, Lee begins passionately reciting the abolitionist poem “John Brown’s Body.” While Lee is being disruptive, he’s also clearly intelligent and well-read.

Okay, so this guy… let’s just say he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. He tends to react impulsively, shouting before he even processes what’s happening. And his judgment? Questionable, at best. He asks *two* complete goofballs to handle evidence from a crime he saw, and instead of, you know, *disposing* of it, they decide to film a music video with a burning car and put it on YouTube! It’s unbelievable. Plus, he tries to lie to his really observant daughter about his van being fixed, then shows up *in* the van, which just makes her even more worried. He might be the hero Tulsa needs, but honestly, he’s a bit of a wrecking ball – stubborn and prone to causing chaos.

Driven by a mix of stress, tiredness, and arrogance, he needlessly antagonizes Marty, the man who saved him. He accuses Marty of supporting the very person he’s trying to expose, simply because Marty doesn’t immediately accept his claim about Donald Washberg being a Nazi. The show features two Black main characters, Cyrus and Marty, and both repeatedly point out Lee’s race to him. Early on, Marty dismissively remarks that there’s nothing sadder than a caring white man, but by the second episode, he’s angrily calling Lee a “self-righteous cracker.”

The show consistently focuses on Lee’s race, and it’s not an accident. He’s a white man in a white van, oblivious to why people are calling him a terrible name. He’ll have tea with a Black family one minute, then turn around and lecture a Black stranger about how to navigate life. This lack of self-awareness is jarring, considering his positive traits like his ambition, kindness, and love for the city. Frankly, I’m more interested in Lee himself than in solving the mystery of Dale Washberg’s death – whether it was suicide or murder. So far, Lee *is* the central mystery of the show.

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2025-09-24 07:55