'The Westies' Episode 1 Recap: Is Vinnie Dead?

The Westies opens with the revelation that Davey, a member of the titular gang, has abducted a member of the Italian mob, Vinnie, and is giving him a shakedown while holding a gun to his face. The head of Davey’s gang, Sweeney, as well as the rest of his crew arrive to keep Davey from actually killing Vinnie because the Irish and the Italians are enjoying a period of ceasefire. Davey refuses to listen to Sweeney, so the boss tells Jimmy (someone who is closer to Davey than Sweeney) to step in and knock some sense into Davey. That approach works out and Davey hands over his gun to Jimmy, who then passes it onto Sweeney. Instead of giving Davey a pass, Sweeney shoots him down, thereby showing that he means it when he says that the Irish have no intention of messing with the Italians; Davey was a stray case and hence, he has been eliminated. What happens next? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

Davey Is Dead

Jimmy criticizes Sweeney for killing Davey over such a small issue but Sweeney underscores the fact that if Davey hadn’t been killed, all the members of the Westies who look up to him would have started acting similarly in order to make their name in the world of crime. So, it wasn’t just about killing Davey; Sweeney nipped a potential mutiny in the bud. In addition to that, Sweeney reminds Jimmy that their gang can’t afford angering the Italians and going to war with them. He wants to move away from these petty squabbles and focus on the “big picture,” which is the Javits Center. Usually the Italians enjoy all the kickbacks that come from such million-dollar projects, but since the Javits Center is happening on Irish turf, Sweeney has managed to sink his claws into it. If they can keep their grip on it, they can extract money from the project for the rest of their lives; and the whole arrangement will be bloodless. Jimmy understands Sweeney’s perspective but he’s still upset about Davey’s death. Later on, we see Jimmy and his girlfriend, Bridget, attending Davey’s funeral. Given how nobody’s getting up to eulogize Davey, Bridget pushes Jimmy to do that task and, after some hesitation, he gets the job done. During the after-funeral “party,” Bridget tells Jimmy that Sweeney has achieved a new level of shamelessness by attending the funeral of the guy he himself has killed, and Jimmy advises her to shut up because such opinions will get her and him in trouble. Thankfully, Bridget brings the discussion on that topic to a close before Sweeney approaches and Jimmy has a conversation about the latter’s history with the gang. After Sweeney has left, one of the ladies at the wake informs Jimmy that his friend, Mickey, is receiving great treatment at Bellevue, a PTSD and trauma recovery hospital, and that he’ll be out soon. Speaking of Mickey, we see him getting electro-shock therapy to stop him from thinking about his time in Vietnam. Once he is discharged, Jimmy and Bridget go to the hospital to welcome him back by taking him to the nearest bar. He wonders why Davey hasn’t joined them and Jimmy assures him that they’ll talk about Davey later.

Deke Has Been Silenced

Sweeney meets up with Gotti to address the elephant in the room, Vinnie’s kidnapping. Gotti thanks Sweeney for doing the right thing and Sweeney says that the only thing he truly cares about is his arrangement with Big Paul. That said, he does criticize Vinnie’s decision to intimidate his boys by walking into Irish turf. Vinnie tries to defend himself but Gotti gets him to put a lid on it. Gotti then gets to the topic of the Javits Center and underscores the fact that since the government is involved in the building of that project, every gang will be scrutinized by them. So, for things to run smoothly, he wants Sweeney to keep his boys in check; Sweeney tells Gotti to take his own advice and keep his boys on a tight leash. Gotti then relays a message from Big Paul about an Irish union leader named Deke who has apparently been running his mouth. Sweeney says that that’s a non-issue because Deke is only trying to get a better salary. But Gotti makes it clear that Deke has to “be silenced.” Sweeney understands that the Deke situation is serious and leaves without saying another word. He goes to the pub where Jimmy is hosting a homecoming party for Mickey and greets the veteran. After exchanging pleasantries, he tells Jimmy to meet him later to talk about a job. Once the party is over, Jimmy and Bridget take a very drunk Mickey over to their house, plant him on the couch, and then go to their bedroom to get freaky. The following day, as requested, Jimmy and Mickey show up at Sweeney’s office at the Javits Center construction site to talk shop. Sweeney informs that he wants to have Deke “silenced.” Both of them understand what Sweeney is insinuating and are perfectly okay with carrying out this task but Jimmy doesn’t want to take Mickey with him for this job; he wants Connor and Sean to assist him. Mickey doesn’t like that one bit and he insists Jimmy to let him be of use; and Jimmy accepts Mickey’s request. After one of Deke’s speeches, Mickey and Jimmy attack him and his men, cut off Deke’s tongue, and deliver it to Sweeney.

Keenan Strikes A Deal With Polk

Officer Keenan can be seen taking bets from his colleagues on the latest baseball game but that’s interrupted by his boss because he has to go downtown for some Internal Affairs related matter. Keenan meets up with the Special Agent in Charge, Polk, who gives him a rundown of the Gambino family, how the Bureau is building a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) case against them, and then plays a tape where Gotti can be heard talking about disregarding Paul’s Javits-centric arrangement with the Irish and killing them all. What can Keenan do about all this? He apparently has a history of working in Irish and Italian territories, so the FBI thinks that his knowledge about these gangs can help them avert any kind of catastrophe. He has to focus on Sweeney and report back to them if anything looks shifty. Keenan tries to reject this offer and that’s when Polk reveals that she not only knows about his gambling side-hustle, but also about his son Danny’s involvement with the Irish gangs. I mean, they have a picture of Danny with Sweeney’s lieutenant, Breen. So, Keenan confronts Danny but the kid chastises his dad for bothering him and tells Keenan to get out of his hair. Keenan goes to the Javits Center to meet up with Sweeney. After securing his bribe money, Keenan tells Sweeney about how the FBI wants him to join the task force that’s investigating the Gambino crime family and that he has refused to work with them. Sweeney advises Keenan to walk back on that decision and be a part of that task force so that he can be Sweeney’s informant in the FBI. Keenan says he’ll do that but on one condition: Sweeney has to fire Danny so that he doesn’t end up in any trouble. Sweeney says that he can’t do that and he advises Keenan to take the money and do as he is told. Keenan meets up with Polk again and tells her that he’ll join the task force on one condition: she is free to take Sweeney and his people down, but she has to ensure Danny’s safety. Polk doesn’t make any promises but it looks like she’s gonna honor Keenan’s request.

Bridget Reunite With Brendan

Bridget can be seen giving a speech about a free Ireland and whatnot. Once he notices someone called Brendan, she wraps up her speech and meets up with him. Brendan knows Bridget from her rebelling days in Ireland. At some point, he was arrested for acting against the crown. After bribing his way to freedom, he has come all the way to New York to meet Bridget (whose original name is Sarah, by the way). But reuniting with Bridget isn’t the only reason he has made this trip; he wants to exploit Bridget’s access to the docks to bring in a “package.” Bridget refuses this business proposition, so Brendan gives her his card and tells her to give him a call if he changes her mind. The following day, Bridget goes with Brendan to the docks (which means that she has accepted his deal) and asks him to at least show her what are the contents of his “package.” After beating around the bush for a while, Brendan agrees to open the crate that he wants Bridget to store, and there’s a goddamn rocket launcher in there. Bridget wonders what Brendan intends to use it on but he stops the question-and-answer session there and advises her to keep the weapon safe. Bridget doesn’t protest anymore because maybe the sight of the rocket launcher has reignited her rebellious spirit (and killed her diplomatic spirit). She goes back home and tells Jimmy about Brendan’s return. This angers Jimmy because it has taken a lot of effort to divorce Bridget from her violent past; seeing her regress doesn’t sit right with him. However, since he has to tend to a situation involving Mickey, he puts the conversation about Bridget and Brendan on the backburner.

Vinnie Is Dead

Mickey and Jimmy are seen having drinks at the bar. They try to learn about each other’s lives and Mickey doesn’t want to get into any details about Bellevue. Their conversation is further derailed by the appearance of Vinnie with an Irish girl named Erin. They see Vinnie disrespecting Erin and things get heated, which leads Vinnie to reveal the fact that Sweeney is Davey’s killer. Mickey gets so angry that Jimmy has to pull him out of the bar. Mickey orders Jimmy to confirm or deny if Vinnie was telling the truth. Jimmy tries to say something about focusing on following the rules to make more money, which angers Mickey even more (because he understands that Vinnie was telling the truth), and he takes off into the night. Vinnie is seen getting freaky with Erin and he warns her to not mess around with Irish boys because it’s a big turnoff for him. Then he dresses up and boards his car only to find Mickey sitting in his backseat with a gun. The ending of The Westies episode 1 mirrors its opening scene as Vinnie finds himself yet again in a warehouse with an Irish dude pointing a gun at him. Just like earlier, Sweeney, Jimmy, and their men enter the warehouse, requesting Mickey to put down the gun and let go of Vinnie. When the time comes for Jimmy to kill Mickey (because Sweeney had asked him to), Jimmy turns towards Vinnie and shoots him. If it’s not clear already, yes, Vinnie is dead and as soon as this news surfaces, the Irish and the Italians will go to war, something that Sweeney was desperately trying to avoid. Whether or not Sweeney will be able to convince Gotti and Big Paul to ignore this mishap, for the sake of the greater good, is something that remains to be seen.

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