'Big Love' - 'Certain Poor Shepherds': The holy Hokey Pokey
Still too much story for the Henricksons and their audience to deal with
Bill and his wives celebrate Christmas on "Big Love."
A quick review of tonight's "Big Love" coming up just as soon as I replace the ice cream bar with a strip club...
Tonight's episode was the last one HBO sent out in advance of the season (which also means the quasi-review schedule is about to get erratic), and one that seems a bit divisive. Poniewozik thought it was by far the best of the first three, whereas I found the storyline about Margene's age emblematic of everything about the show that bothers me in its "when in doubt, add another plot complication for the Henricksons" approach.
I thought there were some strong performances from Ginnifer Goodwin and Jeanne Tripplehorn, and I liked the Alby/Lura subplot, but mostly I feel about the show the way some people started to feel about "Lost" in its final seasons, which is that I'm fed up of the writers continually adding new problems to solve without having dealt with any of the pre-existing ones. Particularly since the never-ending plot engine keeps getting in the way of the character moments. (As I mentioned in my pre-season review, the scene at the skating rink could have been really powerful if they'd had time to just show the wives' faces for a minute or two, instead of having to cut away to one of the 17 other storylines.)
What did everybody else think?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login Signupkronicfatigue
January 30, 2011 at 11:12PM EST Reply to CommentLast season was some of the worst television I've seen in a long time. I was cautiously optimistic about this season until Margene became 16. You nailed it; we don't need more insanity as all the characters are still reeling from past events. Speaking of characters, I have a request: when you use an actor's name, can you please put the character in parentheses after it. That way I can know who you are talking about w/o having to google.
lztouchthedream Yes, googling is indeed a burden that should not have to be borne. All that clicking, and typing! It takes like, ten whole seconds! That's time I know I certainly don't have to waste.
January 31, 2011 at 1:28AM ESTkronicfatigue Your entire post is an attack on my opinion/request. Sarcasm with no substance. For the record, it probably takes more than 10 seconds to 1) open a new tab, 2) go back to the first tab and copy the name (since my spelling/memory is so bad), 3) paste the name into my google toolbar on that new tab.
January 31, 2011 at 7:38AM ESTIt's definitely enough work where I might not bother if it's just a throwaway line about their acting being good. And while the typical reader of this site is above average in their TV knowledge, I can't imagine I'm the only one who doesn't know the actors names. So now you have a situation where people are missing out on part of Alan's commentary. It would take LESS than 10 seconds for him to add "(Margene)" and "(Barbara)". So why not do it?
lztouchthedream I'm sorry if you felt attacked, but it is not Alan's fault that you don't know the actors names. The two actors mentioned in this post are both MAIN CHARACTERS on the show, whom you've presumably been watching for four seasons now, it's not irresponsible or even bad writing to assume people will know them.
January 31, 2011 at 11:17AM ESTsepinwall Everybody, let's just settle down the tone, okay?
January 31, 2011 at 11:31AM ESTThat aside, I'm with LZ on this. The show's been on a really long time and these are two of the main characters, who appear each week in the opening credits next to their names. There's making things reader-friendly and then there's clunky hand-holding.
a.e.
January 30, 2011 at 11:24PM EST Reply to CommentSo, if Margene was 16 when they married, exactly how old is she supposed to be now? 22? 23? And Sarah is supposed to be how old in relation to Margene? I mean, even if they were married at 18, the plot point doesn't add up with the earlier Margene storylines, even as early as last week when she talks about dancing with her friends to an old 80's song. WTF writers?
K2 Time How sad the legal age of consent of females in Utah is 16 but males are 18 kind of weird but true. But how embarrassing for the show they don't do research. Good luck on that one.
January 30, 2011 at 11:32PM ESThey K2 time True, but in Utah no female may legally consent to sex with a person who is more than 10 years older than the minor until she is over 18.
January 31, 2011 at 2:41AM ESTkronicfatigue I'm too lazy to look it up (seems to be a theme with me), but can they consent to marriage, w/ parental consent, in that situation? Because she clearly had her mother's consent (even though legally I imagine there would need to be some paperwork w/ that). I imagine if/when people find out, it will be a political scandal, not necessarily Bill being hauled off to jail on statutory rape charges.
January 31, 2011 at 7:41AM ESTAndrea It doesn't matter if her mom consented, because Margene and Bill are not now legally married nor were they when she moved in with him at 16. They had whatever crazy poligamist blessing Bill bestowed on himself and Margene, but no legal wedding. Bill's only legal wife, according to the state of Utah, is Barb.
January 31, 2011 at 11:19AM EST
January 31, 2011 at 1:13AM EST Reply to CommentI get the comment on having too many plot twists, but I think that engine needs to keep going. Bill's talk with Heavenly Father in the stairwell wouldn't happen if some of these plot threads are all sewn up.
Then again, if Bill isn't about to get some tesimony about this, then that stairwell prayer becomes filler and just a reason to have Bill in the stairwell when Alby takes Lura.
Efernand
January 31, 2011 at 1:53AM EST Reply to CommentCompletely agree with you, I'm so sick of the way they keep adding new problems every 10 minutes of every episode.
April I know we all loath Nikky all the while feeling sorry for her, but is ANYONE as frustrated as I am in that she never, ever gets called on the carpet for her behavior. She's judging, cruely I might add, Margie for lying while not telling her daughter that her father died. I mean, grieving and closure are important for a reason. She's so fucking mean and that makes her unattractive in the worst way.
January 31, 2011 at 11:49PM ESTMulderism
January 31, 2011 at 2:08AM EST Reply to CommentI agree with these other comments. They just keep heaping more and more problems on them.
The show has gotten really depressing. Didn't it start out as a dark comedy? I guess I'm watching just because it's the last season. It's certainly not a show I would revisit again.
Kelli Oliver George Dark comedy? Thanks for the memories! I had forgotten about the days when we would laugh at Nikki's severity, or giggle at Margene's naivety or chuckle at Bill running between all three houses as they ran circles around HIM. No sarcasm, I truly had forgotten about the dark comedy aspects to this show. I am watching this season, simply to finish out a show I used to love with characters I found compelling. But at this point, it is an ailing beast that needs to be put down.
January 31, 2011 at 9:28AM ESTJREinATL
January 31, 2011 at 12:24PM EST Reply to CommentCan somebody please explain to me how Alby just walked into the battered women's center to take Laura and the kids back? I mean, I thought that the security at that place was the whole point for taking them there to begin with?
Lepidoptera I think it was the same security company that they employed to guard Hollis and Co. in Mexico. Although a machete at the Women's Center would have ratcheted up the tension.
January 31, 2011 at 5:10PM ESTchristy
January 31, 2011 at 1:05PM EST Reply to CommentI think I agree with both sides. The episode in itself was entertaining, and the implications of Margene's revelation are potentially interesting, but...
It felt a little bit like it came out of nowhere, because they've spent so much time setting up the unrelated plot points that needed to happen first. And it's definitely one of too many "this could change everything" plot points. I have a hunch that the show has been leading toward this all along, but last season the smooth path they were taking to get here got very rocky, so what could have been a really cool moment just feels like one more crazy thing.
It does make Bill's election look a bit less pointless from a story perspective, because the fact that he's a public figure adds an important layer to the aftermath of learning Margene's age. From inside the family, it's definitely a big problem, and would cause some serious soul-searching for anyone with any sort of conscience among Bill, Barb, and Nikki. But for them, it's complicated. From the outside, it looks pretty cut-and-dried. I think that juxtaposition is important, but I wish they'd had more time to set it up in a more satisfying, clear way.
One question I had...when Bill was saying that Alby disgusts him, because he takes out his self-loathing on his family, and so on, was he telling Alby he knew about his relationship with the dead DA? This is a good example of the show being too complicated to follow because, there are a lot of things that I can't remember or didn't grok about that bit:
1. Can't remember if Bill knows about Alby and the DA.
2. I remember that Lura knows, or at least suspects, but I can't remember if Bill knows that Lura knows.
3. Does Alby know Bill knows? Does Alby know Lura knows?
4. Wasn't sure if it was clear that was what Bill was saying.
5. Wasn't sure if it was clear to everyone else in the room that was what Bill was saying.
rowan729 The answers you seek are yes, yes, yes, I understood it to refer to all the bad things Alby has done, including with the DA, and I think Bill's wives were lost as to what he really meant, but that Alby's wife certainly got it. I think Bill's speech wasn't just to tell off Alby but also to reassure his wife that she has his support and is right to leave Alby.
January 31, 2011 at 4:34PM ESTAlby's wife is the one who told Bill about the DA-she snuck off from the big house to tell Bill while he visited on the compound-she knew everything because she tailed Alby and discovered it. Bill went to the DA with his info, and the guy hung humself after. Alby does blame Bill for that, but knows that his wife told on him-that's why he cut her face.
Hope that all helps clear it up!
Chalmers I believe Nicki's aware of Alby's tendencies. There was an exchange a couple of years back where Alby mockingly referred to her as "Daddy's Princess" or something, and she retorted along the lines of, "No, that's your job."
January 31, 2011 at 6:01PM ESTI think the pacing of the show got knocked out of kilter when they killed Roman off. You could take a pause while Harry Dean Stanton listened to traditional folk music or something, yet it would still be compelling.
Also, while they probably had no choice with Amanda Seyfried, the return of Tina Majorino made me miss the low-level teen drama that they shared.
christy Thank you, Rowan. That's exactly the sequence of events that wasn't clear in my memory.
February 1, 2011 at 12:34PM ESTAnd I miss HDS and his creepy-folksy interludes, as well, Chalmers.
LStock5034 I agree that the show seems to have gone downhill since they killed off Roman. And I miss Bruce Dern's character. (Bill's dad) I loved the cut-away scenes to life on the compound in the early seasons.
February 5, 2011 at 1:35PM ESTCandigirl1968
January 31, 2011 at 1:10PM EST Reply to CommentOne of the things about the Margene plotline is that I think the viewers always were a little skeptical of how that relationship went down in the first place. Whether it's the age of consent or not, Bill's having sex with the 16 year old babysittter, makes it not just icky, but compound icky.
This actually ties in to a current plot - the morals legislation that was introduced last week. Certainly, if this gets out, Bill is going to have a problem, and his keeping it a secret is going to put a damper on his "this is me warts and all" purported transparency.
Lepidoptera I think that "compound-icky" is a fantastic adjective. Thank you for that turn of phrase.
January 31, 2011 at 5:06PM ESTAbdul Another thing that's important to point out here is what will be Nicki's feelings in all of this? We all know that she was married at fifteen years of age to JJ first and that she feels that her childhood was stolen from her. What does she think about Bill and Margene, now that she knows Margene was 16 when she got married?
February 7, 2011 at 4:37PM ESTIt's a really interesting turn of events that I think should have been foreshadowed more instead of introducing the Goji whatever juice thing that Margene has going. That was totally unnecessary.
Will
January 31, 2011 at 3:50PM EST Reply to CommentI'm sure somebody has mentioned this before, but the pacing of the show, plot complications, and crowded cast make perfect sense given the subject matter. Would it really make sense if a show about a polygamist family led by a man who is always trying to do to much was deliberately paced with a clear plot week in and week out? It doesn't make it a pleasant watch every week, but it does make sense for the topic.
Lepidoptera
January 31, 2011 at 5:03PM EST Reply to CommentSimple fixes that they will clearly never make.
Less compound/more Home Plus.
Less tangential plot/more resolution.
Less politics/more wives.
Less ice skating/more Croatian tetherball.
Come on Big Love.
Abdul But, but, but! The ice skating thing was nice, if too short! I think it was a call back to the first opening titles of the show before the new titles! (Which makes me wonder if the show could have been better if it stayed with the old titles.)
February 7, 2011 at 4:39PM ESTGuyITC
January 31, 2011 at 5:23PM EST Reply to CommentJust checked. Margene claimed to have been born in 1987 but was really born in 1989. This of course makes her age difference with Ben only 2 years. Since Barb married Bill in 1988, since is crazy creepy.