about twenty seconds worth of civility left in me

Hang on, back up. Larry asks where Rico is wearing his mic, and Stan says, ‘You don’t want to know!’ Er, and how does Stan know? Did he help him put it there? Does Sonny know about this? 😉

Bookends in matching blue:

Sonny is calling his partner 'Rico' all over the place in this ep. And Rico... is being weird (yeah, I know -- what else is new?).

In the beginning, when he helps Rosella after the john tosses her into a mirror, Rico seems sympathetic. Then, by the time they visit her in the hospital, he's downright hostile and stays that way the rest of the episode.

I spent a lot of the ep pondering Rico's reaction and going back and forth about it. I mean, it was the opposite of how he was with the rich druggie in the other episode. I wondered if it was some kind of subconscious reaction to the situation being similar to how Angelina was introduced -- a beautiful woman supposedly the arm candy of a powerful, rich dealer. Or maybe he has a 'thing' against heroin addicts specifically. (Hint: I discarded those theories, and also, the screencap below may give you a hint as to what my final theory is).

And then we get some Stan/Larry, too! In the meeting, Gina is talking about Silva and his protege always competing and trying to top each other, and Stan pipes up, saying, "You mean like me and Lar?" And Larry smiles and looks down with a cute/embarrased look! Look at that face!

In The Maze he was sketching, and now Rico is making paper airplanes in a meeting. At least this time he's paying attention!

But his face when Sonny says Rosella wants to help them! That's when I started realizing his attitude might be jealousy.

Rico is totally against having Rosella help them and comes right out and says no. Then Sonny and Rico are doing that thing where they're holding a silent conversation. Like, WTF is going on here?! Why are these two always acting so weird? Below right, Sonny is still giving Rico that look.

This is not a happy face:

It took me a bit to figure out, because this was preemptive jealousy/protetiveness! Like, he knew Sonny was going to get attached to her before he did. Let's be honest, Rico does have a possessive streak a mile wide (look at him with Val), and yes, it does show with Sonny, too.

And god, do I love it!!! 😍😉

I have to admit, Castillo seems to be picking up on something, too. Although I expect his attitude is, I'm not gonna say anything unless I have to... but don't push it.

And then when they are in the car afterward, Rico has the audacity to ask Sonny what's bringing HIM down?! Like, Sonny has shown zero indication so far that he's moody. Rico is the one with the attitude. Good lord, that man comes on strong sometimes. Good thing he's with Sonny, who can handle that.

It’s really gross watching the scenes with Silva and Rosella while knowing the truth. They were not afraid of dark themes in this show; I do respect them for that.

Then there’s the scene on the beach. LOL'd at Sonny’s expressions. Rico says, "When I get tired, I get weird." Oh, is that his excuse?

Another of those scenes where one of them hands something to the other, and neither so much as glance at it, their attention fully elsewhere, yet unerringly know exactly where it is.

Then we have the infamous scene where Sonny asks if Ivory is sure Silva isn't into guys (because apparently Sonny knows what kinds of looks guys are giving him?). And Rico is contemplating all that, probably thinking, "I've been flashing my big brown eyes at you for years now, and you apparently never noticed." Yeah, Rico can flirt and wink at him, and that goes right over his head, but Silva, curious about who almost outbid him on the yacht, and suddenly Sonny's questioning the guy's orientation. I'm unsure if I should trust Sonny's gaydar or not, to be honest.

Going even further into territorial, Rico faces off with Rosella. Good lord, Rico. Obvious much? Does this remind anyone else of Brenda and Danielle?

She tells him to get lost, and Sonny motions for him to leave. He gives Sonny a look. And check out his fingers on the wall. That man is not a happy camper.

And yet another voyeur (McCarthy was the other) who seems to recognize something about these two that no one else does. It makes sense, since they are watchers. Oh yeah, also someone who can probably recognize jealousy, too. Rico watches while Rosella and Sonny kiss. Silva: she knows I like to watch. Rico: (internally) well, I don’t!

They give their cocaine to a gay waiter (are all the waiters on MV gay?). Sonny says Rosella is in over her head. Rico asks, "What about you?"

Sonny says don't worry about Rosella, I can handle her. Rico: see screencap.

Rico decides to call him Crockett here. It’s so cute how they really think calling each other by their last names is gonna keep them from getting too close. That ship sailed a long time ago.

No, because seriously, Sonny was not that bad in this episode. He was pretty level-headed about Rosella and didn't show any signs of overly angsty feelings for her. Rico was the one who was over the top.