Costello and her daughter are back in their apartment. Florian Selby is also with them for the time being. Episode 2 of “Rain Dogs” continues Costello’s struggle to take care of her kid and earn a living while trying to put into effect, her desire to become a writer. She doesn’t earn much and has to make do with what little she has. But there is no end to adversities, it seems.
Spoilers Ahead
At Least Not Homeless
Costello is finally able to contact Gloria, who hadn’t been informed of her whereabouts. Gloria promises to make it up to her, but it will have to wait. Costello has to get back at Konstantin’s peepshow. It’s time to get to work. Chop, chop. The first customer at Costello’s booth isn’t another of those drunkards, but a journalist for the London Informer, Sophie Fenster. She is a big fan of Costello online and wants to take her interview. Costello makes it clear that she hates people like Sophie and that she is a writer, so she can write for herself. Sophie offers for her to write an article in her own words, and she will have it published. Costello agrees but for 500 pounds. This might just be the break she had been looking for to begin her writing career.
Florian Selby is out with Iris. He takes her to the Mahjong parlor (Episode 1) to make some money. He has a taste for it, while Iris has the luck. However, it is Fen from whom we find out that Florian has been lying to Iris about going to prison. She thinks that Florian was away taking care of his mom. But that’s because Florian doesn’t want her to find out the truth. Sometimes love makes us lie, and it’s alright as long as the person we love is happy. Isn’t it?
Gloria, too, is back at work, which is kinda demoralizing considering how flamboyant she is. What does she do? She dresses up dead people. She is a mortician. She has pulled multiple stunts at work, and her father, as humiliated as he has been as the potential owner of the funeral home or its head mortician, has forgiven her every time. Her latest customer in the coffin doesn’t have a family, but she is told to prepare him nicely in case someone turns up. Turning on some music would help too [if not the family or anyone else, then herself at least]. Because who doesn’t like music when there’s a dead body right in front, right?
A few minutes later, Gloria is alone in the room with the dead man in the coffin. Warren Zevon’s voice from the speakers seems to hit the spot for Gloria, and she starts shaking to the tune. It slowly turns into dancing, and she gets on the floor. It’s quite a sight for Paul to behold, who walks in and sees a woman dancing in front of his dead father, whom he is also seeing for the first time in the 45 years of his life. Talk about timing. Gloria is embarrassed and decides to leave the father-son duo for some alone time. But Paul has something else in mind. He asks her to stay and has come prepared with drinks that he wants to have with his “old man.” Gloria doesn’t drink at work. Paul pops a beer can. A handful of seconds later, both clink their cans “to dad.” Some more seconds pass, and they are making love in front of his father as he lies peacefully in his eternal sleep.
A Lady’s Part
It is nighttime. Costello is working on her article when Florian and Iris return. They have bought snacks with the money they made at Mahjong. Florian puts Iris to sleep. Later on, Gloria arrives with Paul. They bring a desk and a chair as gifts for Costello so that she can write comfortably. There is a not-so-happy reunion between Florian, Gloria, and Paul, after which the latter two leave. Costello returns to her work. There is a deadline for everything.
The next day, Costello arrives at old “proud pervert” Lenny Wilson’s house for cleaning. Lenny is an artist and one of Gloria’s former customers at the peepshow. He has now been banned from there. His paintings share a single theme, i.e., women without clothes. Lucky for Costello, who has found an interesting topic for her London Informer article. Once she is done with her cleaning, she takes one of Lenny’s paintings for Immy, the mother of Iris’s friend Ada who has her birthday that day. It is of a woman’s genitalia in red. Costello doubts that people might recognize it and don’t appreciate it, but she has no idea how the human perspective works. At Ava’s birthday party, the red genitalia (portrait mode) becomes a transient Indian sunset (landscape mode). Immy has also found out from Ava that Costello is a writer and cannot wait to read her article on an “undercover project at a peep show.”
Florian is busy at his rehabilitation group at the London City Gospel Hall. He hates being a part of it, but he has to attend it regularly as a part of his probation unless he wants to be sent back to prison. We are yet to find out why he went there in the first place, except that he beat some man to a pulp.
Night falls. Costello is at her peepshow place when she mails her article to London Informer’s Sophie. She also has a new guest. It’s Richard from the London Informer who has come to take some pictures of her for the article. It seems that she will soon see herself in the newspapers. She is going to be a real writer finally.
‘Rain Dogs’ Episode 2: Ending Explained – Is Costello’s Article Published?
The next day, Costello arrives at Nikki’s store. Florian is already there and shows her the article. It’s not hers, sadly. Sophie Fenster has turned it into a sad interview in her own words. Costello is devastated, but she seems to have expected it. As the sun sets, she and Florian sit down on a bench and read the article. She tries to smoke her pain away, and Florian adds to the puffs. Florian offers to get Sophie Fenster whacked, but Costello has a different plan. In her novel, Sophie is going to be the “monster.” Florian throws the paper on the ground, adds some alcohol from his bottle, and drops his cigarette on top of it. “London Informer” receives death by immolation. Later that night, she and Gloria are at the peepshow. Konstantin wants Costello to get back on stage and make more money, but she is done for the night as well as in general. Konstantin fires her, but it barely affects her apathy. Outside, she and Gloria meet Richard, the photographer, who is holding a burning issue of the day’s London Informer newspaper, showing his “solidarity” with Costello. He even asks her out for coffee. Gloria appreciates the gesture. Costello is just about fine with it. So, Richard is a go.
What happened with Costello seems to have sparked a fire in her to write her novel and get it published. She wants to prove herself to Iris and make a better life for her. Costello is a good mother and has good friends who love her and Iris a lot. Let’s wait to find out what new job she manages to get in the meantime because she has to feed her child and herself. No one can write on an empty stomach, can they?
