Summary
The Offer follows up its best episode with another top-notch one. The entire cast is starting to come into their own making the show better and better.
This recap of The Offer season 1, episode 5, “Kiss The Ring”, contains spoilers.
After having our first great episode of the series, I hope The Offer continues its upward trend with this week’s episode. First, we see that Albert realizes he is in deep with Joe Colombo. Next, Francis finally gets what he wants with Marlon Brando, but Al Pacino takes another deal and can’t be his Michael. Last, Joe Gallo is about ready to take down Colombo for good. What happens this week? Let’s dive in.
The Offer season 1, episode 5 recap
The show opens with a pair of Colombo’s henchmen traveling down the road with some of the supplies. When a car is in the middle of the road, one of them jumps out to see what is going on and we say hello to Mr. Gallo and his crew. Boom, shotgun to the chest — down goes one of the guys and Gallo lets the other go as he knows Colombo will get the message.
Albert shows up at Robert’s front door and needs help. Robert is furious after Albert has gone behind his back twice. He wants Robert to get Pacino out of the deal with MGM, which Robert, who never wanted Pacino to begin with, basically tells Albert to pound sand. Man, I love the dynamic between these two characters.
Barry Lapidus is pitching Paramount and the companies to buyers as we know that Charles is trying to sell the company. Next, we move to Francis getting the news that Pacino is out and he proceeds to freak out. After this, we see Robert sitting down with his girlfriend to watch Pacino on tape and she LOVES him.
Albert arrives at work, and Bettye shows him the newspaper where the man Gallo took out is front-page news. She expressed she is scared. Jack Ballard is in Albert’s office with the film editor, and we see Jack already asserting himself, which isn’t making Albert happy.
Robert meets with the head of MGM to swap Deniro for Pacino. Unfortunately, negotiations aren’t going how Robert wants them to and he has to sacrifice Harrold Robbins’s books to sweeten the deal. Robert is internally freaking out because he doesn’t even want Pacino. Nevertheless, the agreement happens and we know that Albert will hear all about this.
The congressman is giving the production team a hard time as they pulled the permits for where they were supposed to build the set. Bettye attempts to get the guy on the phone, but they fire him because he gave them the permits. We know that Albert’s only option may be to pay a visit to Colombo. Speaking of Colombo, as he talks with the boys about what happened, an FBI raid happens. As the agent walks out the door, he tells Colombo the congressman sends his best. Colombo is FURIOUS.
You are still a Putz, but I got Pacino – Robert.
Albert shows up to tell Francis that he got Pacino and is on cloud nine. We also see that Albert is all dressed up in a suit, where he tells Francis he has to see a guy about a thing. Of course, we all know what that means! Time to pay a visit to Colombo. As he walks in, photos are taken, which I believe will come back to haunt Albert. Finally, he shows up to pay his respects to Colombo for the loss of his friend.
Nobody should be invited to a funeral and everyone should come. – Albert
Colombo meets with the congressman to clear the air on everything. He wants the Feds off his back and the production doors to be open for The Godfather (we don’t see him say that, but we know). Congressman plays ball with him, but I am unsure of what his play is here, but I am intrigued.
We see a production meeting with Albert, Francis, and the crew. The talk isn’t going well because all Albert hears is dollar signs when anyone talks and he knows he is against the budget already. Lots of back and forth is happening at the table and Francis is ready to throw people off the deep end. Jack says they are $2 million over the budget and need to make cuts NOW. Francis let Albert know they can’t make the movie for $4 million. Albert is freaking out because he has cashed all the favors with Robert. Does he go to Colombo? We shall see.
I am going to make you an offer, take it or leave it. – Charles
Albert and Francis show up to talk to Charles for more money. Charles calls them out and says they said they could make it for the $4.5 million. A few back and forth moments lead to Charles telling them they can get $6 million if they put up their fees against any overages. Francis says yes without any hesitations. Deal done. Next, the boys meet with the Corleone family (Cast and Crew) for dinner.
The ending of “Kiss The Ring”
During this dinner, Francis (and us, the viewer) gets a taste of what we can expect from these cast members to film The Godfather. We have a moment where Brando, obviously in character, makes a toast and Francis is in ALL OF HIS GLORY.
As Bettye combed through the budget, she realized they had a couple of mafia members on the take and all had the same social security number. Caesar is the man in charge and Albert wants to meet with him to get things straight. Caesar makes it known that he knows where to go if he has any issues. Bettye lets him know that the FBI agents arrive to speak to Albert. (I told you that showing up to the wake would haunt him). They offer to set him up with a wire for protection, and he turns them down.
Barry calls to tell Robert that he was right about Love Story. It freaks him out because Barry is never right, and he now believes the sale rumors could be true now. Charles and Bettye are sitting down for dinner. He offers her a job to work for him. She puts two and two together about Charles selling off Paramount and calls Albert. We transition to Robert, who is freaking out that Charles is selling his baby.
Colombo calls Albert and says he doesn’t talk business over the phone to come to see him now. Before he leaves, Albert talks to Francis about the production of The Godfather starting tomorrow. The duo has a reminiscent moment about how no one believed in them. Colombo is on the stage in front of the Italian American League, throwing his support behind the congressman. He sees Albert in the audience and he announces that they made a deal to let them make The Godfather and follows that they will donate all the proceeds from the premiere to the league’s hospital fund.
We have an incredible end of this episode where we see Colombo set Albert up in front of an audience to announce their partnership. He brings him onto the stage and a million questions are being asked while Albert stares with confusion and defeat at the hands of Joe Colombo.
You can stream The Offer season 1, episode 5, “Kiss The Ring” exclusively on Paramount+.
