All On A Mardi Gras Day
Treme | Season 1 | Episode 8

All On A Mardi Gras Day

TV-MA | 1 HR 0 MIN

Written by Eric Overmyer

At church, Mrs. Brooks lights a candle for her son as LaDonna Batiste-Williams watches. Sonny and Annie play outside of the cathedral. Complimenting their performance, a former New Orleanian who lost his home and neighbors in the flood gets emotional about coming home for Mardi Gras.

Still in jail, Albert Lambreaux complains to Delmond about not being allowed to place a call for two days. Regardless, Albert plans to mask on Tuesday and instructs his son to tell his Indians to keep sewing.

Antoine Batiste greets Ian and Ivan Neville as they all set up for a gig at the Howlin' Wolf. Antoine informs them he has no plans to work on Mardi Gras -especially not this year.

Sofia Bernette stares at the guest house where her father is still holed up. Antoinette "Toni" Bernette assures her Mardi Gras always cheers Creighton up.

Janette Desautel and Davis McAlary part after a day together, as Davis teases her that working on Mardi Gras is a venial sin.

LaDonna and Mrs. Brooks welcome Larry and the boys. When Larry senses something is wrong, LaDonna says she's fine.

Delmond receives a call from his father's lawyer: The hearing has been changed to Wednesday. Delmond understands they're sending a message by keeping a chief locked up on Mardi Gras. He has to change his plans to extend his stay.

A spruced up Creighton Bernette emerges from his study and tells Toni he sees light at the end of the tunnel. Excited by her father's re-appearance, Sofia asks to join him on his drive. He takes her to Lake Pontchartrain and compares the sight to "an ancient ruin." Pointing out what used to be where, he says, "It's good to get out and see the destruction."

Delmond goes to Poke's to tell Albert's Mardi Gras Indians the bad news. Lula Pritchett expresses her regret that Albert will be alone on Tuesday. Delmond shares his opinion of Mardi Gras: New Orleans should focus on more pressing matters.

At a gig, Antoine bumps into Koichi Toyoma and buys him a drink. Antoine confesses he gave the trombone Toyoma bought him to Danny Nelson. Toyoma, who was sad to hear of Nelson's passing, is pleased that the trombone is now with the maestro's grandson.

Creighton and Toni reminisce about the parades that no longer take place. Unlike Creighton, Toni is not sorry that the Knights of Momus parade was discontinued since it featured riders on horseback wearing pointy hoods. When Sofia names Endymion as her favorite, Creighton scoffs, "B-list celebrities and tons of plastic beads."

Mardi Gras Day Annie awakes to find Sonny on his way out, and he announces he plans to spend the day apart. "Do what you wanna," he quotes. "F**king asshole," she mutters, suspecting he plans to get high.

The Bernettes head out in full costume. LaDonna's family attends the parade, but Mrs. Brooks stays behind saying she might attend next year when they're "all together again." McAlary, dressed like a pirate, pockets Judge Williams' get-out-of-jail-free card on his way out. In jail, Albert lies on his bunk.

McAlary stops in at his parents' party.

On the street, LaDonna runs into ADA Renée Dufossat who explains that in court she represents the office -- but she hopes Daymo is found soon.

When Desiree has to leave the parade to take baby Honorée home, she urges Antoine to stay and have fun. At a Mardi Gras party, Delmond meets a pretty girl.

LaDonna encounters a furious Riley: The police came and cuffed him in front of his kids to make an example of "crooked contractors." LaDonna insists all she wants is a roof for her bar. Antoine shows up as Riley is cursing out LaDonna and follows her to Gigi's.

Navigating the parades, Creighton is not satisfied with this year's experience. He urges his wife and daughter to stay and heads off alone.

Spotting Annie in a pirate costume, McAlary introduces himself. Escorting her through Mardi Gras, they stop in at a café. He is surprised to learn that Sonny is her boyfriend, and when she asks if he has a girlfriend McAlary responds, "kinda, sorta, I'm not really sure."

Sonny exchanges glances with a woman in a bar. Another patron recognizes Sonny as the man who rescued him from his roof during Katrina and buys him drinks.

Finished serving, Desautel changes into a fairy godmother costume and ventures off to enjoy herself, alone.

LaDonna tells her family to start eating without her - she's still cleaning up. Later, when Antoine begins to massage her sore muscles, she turns off her ringing cell phone. The two kiss.

The Bernettes eat their gumbo in silence. At his neighbor's house with Annie, McAlary can't identify the piano player in a horse mask. Toyama tells him it's Tom McDermott. A tipsy Desautel wanders the streets, singing "Iko" and tries to turn cars into cabs. Driving with the girl from the party, Delmond spots Indians dancing. Sonny does lines with the woman from the bar before they have sex.

Onstage at Le Bon Temps Roulé, Delmond works the crowd which includes the girl from the party, McAlary and Annie. He says he got goose bumps seeing the Indians, and notes: "New Orleans might just make it.

Antoine arrives home to find Desiree asleep on the couch with the TV broadcasting the meetings of the courts of Rex and Comus. At midnight, McAlary and Annie watch as the police empty the streets of revelers.

LaDonna returns to her mother's and finds her praying. Larry and the boys headed back to Baton Rouge when LaDonna didn't answer her cell. Blaming phone trouble, LaDonna assures her mother everything is fine between her and Larry.

Creighton films another YouTube video. He compares life in New Orleans to a dream, "the way everything in a dream is the same, yet not the same."

Annie and McAlary sit in front of the cathedral, applying ashes to their foreheads. Refusing the joint he offers, Annie tells McAlary she's thinking of going back to New York for awhile. At the end of the night, he puts her in a cab.

In the morning, Ash Wednesday, Toni finds a still-costumed Creighton passed out on the porch, his manuscript pages everywhere and an empty bottle of bourbon by his side. She orders him to pull himself together before Sofia sees him.

Bailing out his father, Delmond says his Mardi Gras was perfect: "Met a girl, sat in on a gig, saw some Indians." But he assures Albert his Indians will be the prettiest come Saint Joseph's.

Bracing herself, LaDonna steps into the office of a funeral director.

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