Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Pam Veasey
Directed by Eriq LaSalle
So the idea is that Bridget is trying to fix everything that’s wrong about Siobhan’s life. I don’t think that was the original intent of Siobhan’s manipulation from the other side of the world. Nevertheless, the most interesting aspect of Bridget’s life in New York to me now is the bond developing between Andrew and Bridget. It’s based completely on a lie but it’s the only relationship that is built on something that the show has had very little of: emotional connection.
That’s not going to be present with any of the other plots, with Juliet trying to make things right and still screwing up or Malcolm finally escaping his captors. There is so little interaction during every episode between Andrew and Bridget though, that I sometimes wish the other subplots would go away to bring that to the forefront. It would at least indicate that the show took some narrative risks that it hasn’t before.
The episode does open with a solid conceit in the fact that both Henry and Andrew know about Bridget, the twin sister that wasn’t ever mentioned by Siobhan. The revelation sequence is smoothly filmed and shown, something that the rest of the episode botches. The revelation is supposed to inform on what’s happening with Gemma’s disappearance, but that is becoming a dead end because Bridget is using Charlie to cover her tracks, thus avoiding Agent Machado and the FBI’s investigation. The whole thing surrounding Gemma’s circumstances became more complicated than it should have been. It’s obvious that she isn’t dead and that she’s coming back into the story some time. When that is stands to be questioned.
Malcolm looked close to death here, as his kidnappers leave him blindfolded in a van seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The guy is resourceful and observant, which helps in his escape from capture. After spending the last couple of episodes sitting around, getting bloody and being force-fed drugs into his system, he arrives in New York City just in time to see Bridget faint at the party. He looks to be involved in Bridget’s life there in New York for the foreseeable future and could potentially complicate things if he reveals that she’s faking it as Siobhan. Of course, that secret might come out sooner than Bridget expects if that ultrasound is done by the doctors. I suspect she’ll make some kind of plea with Malcolm in the hospital to cover this up, but the secret is becoming more and more untenable as each day goes by. Certainly, it will ruin the emotional bond that has been growing between Andrew and Bridget.
Juliet is at least trying to be smart about her life. Even when she tries though, things get messed up. Andrew’s solution of grounding her and then taking away her trust fund is a bit harsh, but I can hardly blame him if he has just lost tolerance with everything his daughter has been doing. The schemer that Juliet is, she could use the eventual revelation that Bridget is pretending to be Siobhan to her advantage, perhaps as leverage to get her trust fund back. Juliet is such an unpredictable character that it’s hard to get a bead on what kind of arc she might have as the season progresses. That could be said about basically every character on this series, but it’s most applicable to Juliet.
This show isn’t consistent. I’ll want to watch how Siobhan continues to manipulate things in her family despite being an entire ocean apart from the action. But the series doesn’t want to throw that to the center, and when it does, the plot is weak. This time, I wanted more Andrew-Bridget connection, but they have to service the other, arguably less interesting subplots.
I think that the show is working towards the eventual reveal that everyone knows about Bridget pretending to be Siobhan. The route that the show is taking to get to that point is very muddled right now. There are too many balls in play right now and I think it needs to figure out what works and what doesn’t quickly in order to re-focus things and then take the narrative risks that could make the show better. It’s stuck right now and doesn’t know where to go, and that’s not a good sign with a show seven episodes into its run.
Grade: 6/10
