Big Love is at its best when it takes its characters as far away from their comfort zones as possible, something we saw last season during "Come Ye Saints."
That was an episode that featured very little of the show's normal intrigue -- no Roman, no Alby, no compound -- yet managed to be riveting as the Henricksons embarked on a cross-country vacation that daughter Sara likened to -- not that inaccurately -- a "death march." Secrets were revealed, buttons were pushed, and a miserable time was had by all. It was great.
And while it wasn't really feasible to have the entire family away on a roadtrip, "Strange Bedfellows" featured enough traveling and transgression to give this season the forward momentum it needs.
One of the things that made the trip last season so horrible was the tension between Ben and Margene. It's something that's been hinted at since the first episode, but it came to a head last year thanks to an awkward post/pre shower encounter between the two of them. Margene brushed Ben off, yet there she was last night, kissing him and inadvertently revealing him as her husband to 60,000 home shoppers.
A small, short kiss, but potentially a big problem for the Henricksons at home and in public. ("Margene" discusses it in more detail this week on her blog.)
Meanwhile, Barb and Sara spend most of the episode on the reservation, conducting a pathetic sensitivity training session and accidentally running down a local meth head, whom Sara later befriends. This last part is a bit troubling; it seems like an unnecessary plot diversion, a way to give Amanda Seyfried -- whose profile is rising faster than anyone else in the cast -- something to do before she departs later this year.
One good thing about this part of the story: it helped humanize Adam Beach, and showed us that maybe his affair with Barb will be born out of something more than just standard Hollywood "Dislike That Somehow Turns to Attraction."
The centerpiece of this week's episode was Bill (joined by Nikki and poor Cara Lynn) traveling to D.C. to get his congressman's blessing to run for state senate. That in and of itself would make for a boring storyline, if not for several factors:
1. Bill's down-home "charm" in dealing with everyone he comes across. (James Poniewozik compares him to Hank Hill.) The moment when he says "gad darn it," and then apologizes because there's a lady present was priceless.
2. Cara Lynn's reaction to being in a city for the first time...
3. ...which is helped in no way whatsoever by Nikki, who might as well be in Fallujah.
4. Sissy Spacek as Marilyn, the lobbyist who plays Bill like a banjo. I really hope she makes good on her promise to visit Utah. As creepy as J.J. is, she might be the better adversary for Bill.
Other thoughts:
- Don't get me wrong: I'm thrilled J.J. is in the picture, bringing a big chunk of malevolence to every scene he's in.
- Hard to decide what's funnier: Margene's "We've just been home invaded" or Nikki being scandalized by the lingerie with no bottoms.
- During all this, only Alby seems really happy...in sort of a devious way. That cell phone picture can't just be a momento, right? And it's strange how he and Dale are both sort of in denial about what they're doing.
- Welcome to the show, new Teenie.
ben would not believe that it was a different teenie. i wonder why they changed her out. like a soap opera.
Posted by: amber dorko stopper | January 25, 2010 at 03:34 PM
Apparently, Teenie's only supposed to be 11, but the original actress is 15, and no longer looks young enough.
Posted by: Tom Coombe | January 25, 2010 at 03:48 PM
Wow...I'm surprised it took so long to get spam here. I've clearly moved up in the world.
(For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about because I've deleted the comment, it was a series of links I'm too smart to click on.)
Posted by: Tom Coombe | January 25, 2010 at 06:21 PM
Don't know what is wrong what is rite but i know that every one has there own point of view and same goes to this one
Posted by: supra foot | October 31, 2011 at 05:20 PM