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Small Post at 7-16-2007 08:09 Author Only
BIG LOVE Episode Guide: Season 1
Episode 1: Bill Paxton stars as Bill Henrickson in the newest HBO series, this one looking at polygamy. The credits at the end of the first episode mention that 20 to 40 thousand are practicing polygamy today in the US. That's a big number.
In this initial episode, we are introduced to the family, with Paxton supporting three wives and what appears to be about a dozen kids, across three houses that don't exactly adjoin one another - they are next to each other on the same street, however, and share backyards. So he enters and exits through one house, and then the family members move back and forth between the houses through these shared back yards.
Jeanne Tripplehorn plays Barb, who seems to be wife number one, charged with keeping the peace. Chloe Sevigny plays middle wife Nicki, frantically spending money and scheming to further her postion in the family. Relative newcomer (as both an actor and a wife in the family) Ginnifer Goodwin is Margene.
Underused (thus far) is Harry Dean Stanton as Roman, the head of the organization (sect?) from where Bill and Barb seem to have orginated. Not only that, but he lays claim to a percentage of Bill's business profits too. And did I mention that it looks like he is Nicki's dad? Intrigue abounds, to be sure.
Episode 2: The second episode of this new series delves a little deeper into the world of the Henricksons, showing us another (as yet) underused resource in Bruce Dern as Bill's dad - seen only briefly in the Pilot episode as he landed in the hospital after suffering from arsenic poisoning.
The relationship between Bill, his dad and his mom (one of his dad's wives, as his dad is also a polygamist) is an odd one, to be sure. Meanwhile, the kids deal with their friends, with one edging towards a sexual precipice and the other confronting the opinion of a well-meaning, but perhaps overly cheerful, friend.
And of course Bill keeps chewing those little blue pills to keep up with his husbandly duties. At least that is going well, because the wives just can't seem to keep anything else on an even keel. If they don't have what the other one has, they want it - and that could be food, it could be time with Bill, it could be a car, it could be anything at all.
Episode 3: In episode number three, we get another taste of Bill's feud with Roman, but again our appetites are left a bit wanting, as instead the plot focuses on Nicki and her desire to throw a birthday party for 150 guests at a local resort for her son. Bill defuses that situation by putting his foot down and having the party at the house instead, but the tension moves instead to the guest list.
Of course among the guests are Nicki's parents, but the only thing of interest there is a moment when Bill comes into Nicki's room near the end of the episode to find Roman and Nicki on the bed in what may seem to be a bit of an inappropriate position. Nothing obvious, but when Roman gets up, he fixes his hair and replaces his hat - odd behavior for an innocent chat with his daughter, don't you think?
Naturally, the Henrickson's neighbor across the street watches all the comings and goings with interest too, so it seems more drama is yet to unfold.
Episode 4: Bill goes on a hunting trip with his son Ben, Barb tries to get accredited as a full-time teacher, and shopaholic Nicki realizes she can't pay her credit card bills. Meanwhile, Sarah goes to a house party but ends up needing her friend Heather's help.
Episode 5: In the latest episode, we find Bill running around like a crazy teen in love because he's having some kind of affair, and then later on we find out that it's with his wife (that is, with his first wife). Meanwhile, Nicky (his second wife, for those keeping score at home) thinks that he's dating someone outside the family, and she's secretly hoping this means that they will soon be adding a fourth wife. As all this is happening, Margene (that's the third wife) makes friends with the neighbor across the street.
Episode 6: Roberta is Frank's first wife. Who is Frank, you say? That's Bill's dad. And when she dies, Bill's mom (lest you forget, her name is Lois) wants to become first (and only legal) wife. That doesn't go over well. Bill goes to the compound to pay his respects.
Things at home don't go too well, as Nicky continues her conniving ways by pretending to want a child while she takes birth control and Margene grows closer to the neighbor lady.
Episode 7: Finally someone has found out that Nicki owes $58,000. Unfortunately it's only one person (Barb) and it doesn't seem like a sure thing that anyone else will find out next week. Roman has shown his hand and it looks like Bill's brother Joey will be on the hook for the land deal. And since Roman seems to have the upper hand there, he's taken it one step further and evicted the Henricksons from the compound as well.
Meanwhile Margene's new friend has the family on the verge of discovery and Sarah brought home her friend from work, and that can't be a good thing either, though she has said previously that she wouldn't get the family in trouble, despite her father being a police officer.
Episode 8: It's Easter in the Henrickson household, and the evicted family members are there too, since they apparently burned down two rooms at the hotel. Not a fun time. The wives scratch Margene's car. Frank uses the sink rather than the bathroom.
Bill has to go to the emergency room because he's taking too many performance-enhancing drugs for a man his age, he tries to crush Roman and that doesn't work out, so he sets up a meeting and Roman stands him up.
Episode 9: Bill finally knows about Nicky's $58,000 debt. He found out that Roman paid some of the debt, too, and wasn't happy about it.
The state trooper comes to the door and... picks up his daughter. Margene goes out with the neighbor people and gets set up on a date with this nice guy and... sends him away.
The Betty in the title refers to Betty, who almost became Don's fourth wife. But it turns out that she's been through a few different religions, and the other three wives blackballed her, so they didn't get to have the party referred to in the title. Shame, really, since Bill bought $2000 worth of lobster for the event.
Episode 10: Bill tried to buy his way onto the council, which didn't work because Roman called and listened in. But then it appeared that it may have worked because the guy he tried to buy came by Bill's house and asked for protection. So there's no telling.
Meanwhile, Barb's sister Cindy came to town for some reason, arguably to get to know the kids better in case something happened to Barb and she had to take care of them. Maybe she is working with Roman or something.
And Margene apparently had an epiphany with her own baptism, deciding that she was married not only to Bill but to Barb and Nicky as well, so she's not going to be friends with the neighbor lady from across the street. That is probably a good idea.
Oh, and Ben lost his virginity in a very quick sexual encounter that couldn't have been good for anyone. I wonder if she is pregnant?
Episode 11: This week, Bill finally gets his hands on some UEB shares, and it looks like he'll be able to buy them and get a seat on the UEB council, but come on - is Roman really so stupid? It's not like Roman is going to discuss business with Bill sitting in on things. Maybe Bill hopes to get in on some of the profits or something, and that could certainly be interesting.
Meanwhile the wives have forgotten their pledge to be loving, as Margene doesn't want Nicky to keep her kids in case she dies, and Nicky doesn't want Barb to keep her kids, and no one wants Margene to keep their kids - Bill has asked Don to keep the kids in case something happens to him, Barb and Nicky. Poor Margene. Poor lawyer. The guy is running ragged what with Bill's shares for the UEB and all the wives' requests. Then bill leaves the paperwork lying around in his office for that snooping lady to find, so that's bound to be trouble.
Episode 12: As it turns out, Barb has made it to the finals for the Mother of the Year award, and Margene and Nicki are all decked out and ready to go - but only four tickets have arrived, instead of the six that she needs. So Margene and Nicki head out to get some Mexican food instead.
Meanwhile, Roman is ticked that Bill has wrangled himself a seat on the UEB council and that Albie has been poisoned (though he doesn't know exactly what is going on with that just yet), so he makes a phone call to the organizers of the event to let them know that Barb is a polygamist, and she has to step down just as she's getting ready to make her acceptance award. Naturally she is crushed and Bill is worried about being exposed.
And as to Albie, it was Joey's wife Wanda who poisoned him - with antifreeze. And she poisoned Bill's dad Franklin, too. Interesting indeed.
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