I've been pulling for Don to give Bill a big middle finger for a while now. He has lost nearly everything good in his life as a result of being loyal to his business partner. His wives have left, his time with his kids is limited and now his mental and physical health have been compromised because of the stress brought on by Bill's public life. Why would he continue to back this guy? Isn't this the same man that asked him to take the fall for Home Plus' insurance scandal? Admittedly, I didn't expect don to sell out to the guy who tried to kill him but hey when he's offering more than twice market value, maybe you forgive a little.
The financial well being of the Henricksons is a secondary concern at this point with both Bill and Barb facing charges of statutory rape and procuring. The DA plans to build their case around testimony from Margene. Bill and Barb would have been fine if Margene would have stuck to the plan and given the authorities nothing to build the case around but in true Margene fashion she cracked under the pressure and started blabbing like a five year old with a secret. I kind of had a feeling Barb was going to dragged into the investigation based on Margene's speech at the youth rally. What I'm not exactly thrilled about is how the other wives have turned on her and her role in all this. Nicki and Margene's assertion that bringing more wives into the fold was somehow Barb's doing seemed completely out of left field. Unless I'm forgetting key moments of Anna's courtship. Nice comeback on Barb's part throwing the secret resealing back at them. I'm still having trouble understanding why Barb is still hanging around though. Her marriage is broken. Her kids are all but grown and the other sister wives are throwing her under the bus. Where is her motivation for sticking by the family? Bill's genes suggest a willingness to cast out the wife who steps out of line. Nicki's insistence on getting her own lawyer was a bit puzzling. Even though she has gotten everything she has wanted lately she is still singing the poor mistreated outcast tune. I've turned on Nicki this season. Although I find her character infinitely more interesting, I find her far less likable. Her selfishness, rudeness and general ignorance though always there have just rubbed me the wrong way this season.
I've been pretty adamant in my apathy towards the Cara Lynn/Mr. Ivey storyline this season. I haven't seen the point of taking away screen time for what seems like a rehashed plot. We got a nice return on our suffering this week though. The first fireworks came when Margene found out about the relationship and Cara Lynn turned to Ben for help. Ben has been a general dud all season. I don't blame him. How is he supposed to recover from the Greenes in Mexico fiasco from last season. Anyway, I thought his confrontation with Nicki was his best scene of the entire series. His willingness to stand up to her finally revealed the maturity and spine long time fans had wondered if he'd ever have. Following Ben questioning Nicki's mothering ability we were treated to another terrifically explosive scene when Nicki took Cara Lynn to break things off with Mr. Ivey. You saw all the frustration and pain Nicki endured from being a child bride herself explode into a fit of rage at Greg. She couldn't change what had happened to her but she was damn well not going to let her daughter follow that same path, at least not right now. I still think Cara Lynn's story ends with her running off with Greg to be married. She's harboring ill will towards Nicki for the death of her father and her defiance is only growing more bold. Of course, if Nicki doesn't survive Alby this will all be moot.
Before we talk about Alby's actions tonight can we just address the elephant in the room? Aside from Solonius on Spartacus, Alby has by far the best haircut on television. His pompadour is outstanding. Now Roman's cowboy hat was more fitting with a compound prophet but Alby's do perfectly fits his Albyness. OK now that we've addressed that let's talk about what Alby's up to. I love his attempt to sink Bill through the back door. What better way to destroy Bill than from the inside? Bill should know by now that trying to get Alby to back down by threatening him only leads to Alby going to greater extremes. Bill threatening to expose Alby's "tendencies" and past transgressions was all the excuse Alby needed to call in a hit on Bill. Alby should be better at hiring his assassins though. Don't hire the guy who just botched offing Don to shoot Bill. Verlan may be a damn fine guy to watch undress but he's proven to be a failure at killing folks. Pretty bold of him to ask for a raise after failing his first attempt at being an assassin. Crazy Rhonda and their baby's got to eat though.
Nicki's brashness and lack of tact got the best of her once more. After learning of Alby's plans to kill Bill she verbally assaults her brother with insults and threats. As we've already discussed, AlbyAlby loves his sister but not even she is immune to his wrath. Nicki kneeling before a five foot grave with a gun to her head is a testament to how fed up Alby is with her and the Henricksons. Fortunately for her, Nicki is the one person in the world Alby does truly love and makes Verlan pay for exposing his plan to kill Bill. Poor Verlan, it's all fun and games being Alby's boy toy until he tires of you and buries you in a shallow grave on the compound. The final image we are left with is Nicki standing on the Henrickson's back port dazed in a filthy prairie dress.
So where are we going in the final two episodes? I think the law closing in and an ultimate battle with Alby all point to Bill and Nicki returning to Juniper Creek with Bill taking his grandfather's former position as the compound's prophet. Even with Bill offering to resign his senate seat the DA is still moving forward with prosecuting him. Alby, I believe ends up dead at the hands of Nicki or Adaleen. There was a little clue in this episode when Alby tells Verlan that no crime committed on the compound has ever been convicted. I think the final unprosecuted crime is the murder of Alby and his glorious hair. I'm conflicted about Barb. I want her to get away from Bill but I'm now concerned that procuring charges may force her to an unfulfilled existence on the compound as well. I can't see Margene ending up with them though. She is completely different from the other wives. She has matured since becoming a part of the Henricksons and now sees there are things in life she can only have outside the family.
Random Notes:
- I found the occult thing bizarre but more than that it was resolved awfully quickly and without satisfaction.
- What is Grant Show's role in all of this? Is he just working as a LDS agent to break apart the Henricksons?
- I found the visit from the other Senator interesting towards the end of the episode telling Bill to continue fighting.
- If you ever have a secret do not say anything around Heather. That girl is nothing but trouble.
- If Carl and Pam were swallowed by an earth quake, I wouldn't care and neither would you.
- I hope Nicki never "rescues" me from anything.
I wanted to punch Nicki after she ran into Alby's office yelling at him. What an idiot. But loved her with her daughter and glad that Margene said something too. If Cara Lynn is going to run off with the teacher can they just do it off screen?
ReplyDeleteI agree that it will be Bill back at the compound taking over where he should have been in the first place.
Agree about Ben, but don't care enough about him to see him with Heather or Rhonda next week.
I also liked Barb tossing the cake at the window when Heather admitted her part in the whole investigation.
Sad to see this show ending.
Have you been watching Shameless? If not I recommend you check it out.
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