[Spoiler alert] "You can't show them you're afraid," Albert Lambreaux (Clarke Peters) says in an episode of Treme that focused on fear. He's dealing with it as he faces chemo, and LaDonna (Khandi Alexander) faces it as she's threatened by friends of her rapist. One of the strengths of this season is how a couple of storylines working similar themes make it possible to see all the stories in their light.

This season of HBO's Treme has dealt explicitly with cultural preservation, whether it's the demolition of the projects that came up this week or the lack of respect for its musical landmarks, highlighted by DJ Davis (Steve Zahn) leading a tour of gated and razed historical sites. When one tourist observes that many historical sites in Chicago were leveled by the wrecking ball, he says, "This is New Orleans. We let it go to hell. Preservation through neglect."

Last week's Treme looked at the bargains we make to get what we want; this week's episode examines the same thing from the perspective of those we bargain with. Scenes of Tim (Sam Robards) closing the deal with Janette (Kim Dickens) in The Parkway are intercut with shots of Marvin (Michael Cerveris) doing the same with Annie (Lucia Micarelli) over dinner at Bayona.

"We are going to be back for a season 3.5," Treme producer David Simon announced Saturday night at the Joy Theater. "HBO on viewing the 10 that we gave them and where we left it, they want to see the end of the story. There are people there who fought very hard to give us half a loaf, and we're going to take it and run.

On Tuesday, October 2, 2007, Katy Reckdahl wrote in The Times-Picayune:

Monday, at about 8 p.m., nearly 20 police cars swarmed to a Treme corner, breaking up a memorial procession and taking away two well-known neighborhood musicians in handcuffs. 

"Uncle" Lionel Batiste's afterlife has been as unusual as his life. He was honored with a second line separate from his jazz funeral, complete with honorary watches that initially earned the ire of Wendell Pierce.