Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Robert Berens
Directed by Scott White
Having Siobhan so far removed from the action in New York seems like a mistake to me. I mention this because if she is pulling some kind of long con where she’s taking down her twin sister, she would be better off staying in a small town within the state instead of some 3,000 miles away in a foreign country. She is counting on a single lackey (Charlie) to keep a close eye on Bridget and that also seems like a big mistake, especially now that it looks like Bridget has found out who he is. It seems that Siobhan is criminally underestimating her own sister and that Bridget is starting to feel a little too comfortable with this rich housewife lifestyle.
It has been clear for several episodes now that Bridget and Andrew share some real chemistry. Even as it should disgust a normal, sane person to kiss your sister’s husband, beyond that, there should be no surprise that Bridget admits to falling for Andrew. That she does it in her sister’s psychiatrist office while pretending to Siobhan adds to how twisted all of this seems. She can’t seem to stop herself. It is in her second secret visit to the psychiatrist’s office that she finds out more information about why her sister was seeing that psychiatrist. She’d been paranoid, thinking that someone was after her, possibly trying to kill her.
This is the kind of information that hasn’t been acknowledged since the very first few episodes of the series. Since there is such a long layoff between storylines, I have to wonder if it will be addressed any time soon or will be dropped once Gemma returns to the picture. It’s all very complicated, and it’s good that Bridget has Malcolm on her side, being the calmer voice of reason. Unlike Siobhan, who only has Charlie working for her in New York, Bridget seems to have much more manpower by which she can use to uncover whatever it is her sister is doing since faking her death in the pilot.
That bond between Andrew and Bridget is going to remain tenuous until the truth comes out, which I believe will occur eventually. The longer the lie goes on, the harder the fallout will become and I don’t know if the relationship will recover from that. It also doesn’t help that Andrew is in what looks like unsteady financial straits. Olivia tries to convince him to make a play at Henry’s rich and powerful father-in-law, but that growing bond in his marriage keeps getting in the way.
It’s a pretty dry storyline, but I feel it has to be connected to what Siobhan is doing with his company in Paris. If Henry is named as the chief beneficiary to Mr. Arbogast’s fortune, then it would serve Siobhan better to align herself with Henry (whom she apparently loves more than Andrew if we are to believe the flashbacks so far) and run away with both the baby she’s currently carrying and his money. Andrew would just be left behind to deal with the fallout of Bridget’s lies and deceit. Olivia might be making the first of several moves to get herself aligned with Henry as well. Or at least give herself some leverage with that scandalous photo of Siobhan and Henry on his phone.
This episode had a lot less clutter than the ones presented so far. I don’t think it’s quite as focused as it would like to be, but it’s the start of something. The show doesn’t seem to want to go into the over-the-top, campy tone that might give it some spark. Everything is taken in such a gravely serious manner that suggests it probably won’t go that direction.
The show has been criticized for looking and feeling too much like a soap opera that it’s surprising the writers wouldn’t consider going a little crazy. Bridget could continue to unravel the darker strands in Siobhan’s life, but the lack of consistency means there could easily be a glut of episodes devoted to Bridget’s indulgence into the Martins’ lavish lifestyle. There’s just no way to know for sure where any of this is going in the end.
Grade: 7/10
