From Zap2It:

Holy shit, that was......wow, I can't take it all in right now. So not what I expected. Much to process. Will make more comments when I'm coherent.

Bill, Bill, Bill. When will you learn that revenge rarely works out the way you think it will?

Dear Rhonda,
Please fall off of a cliff into a bed of cacti.

Yours
LittleLou

Wow. Rhonda is a hateful, spiteful little girl. I just wanted to rip her hair out during this episode.

I really feel for Margene. Ana seemed like a wonderful person--which is exactly why she shouldn't be getting messed up with Hendrickson's Homes Plus!

I can't decide who I hate more; Rhonda for being a lying liar or Bill for being a callous coward. I think that Don actually believes in the Principle and Bill believes in the Principle when it serves his twin purposes; gaining power and pussy. The kids from the first marriage are again bearing the brunt of Bill's decisions.

So will Bill make Roman fight the new bad guys? And what odd looking bunch they are.

Rhonda next time we talk I carry a hidden tape recorder so everyone can hear what a 2 faced little sh!t you are!

Ben is still creepy.

Margene I love you. So sorry you lost Ana.

Gennifer Goodwin was....... AMAZING. She practically carried the ep on her own.

Chloe Sevigny wasn't so bad herself.



I was really hoping that Barb would just kill Rhonda in front of that house. She is quite literraly a pathological liar. I felt so bad for Sarah... she really wanted to help that evil b*tch and look what she got. AS pulled those scenes off extremely well.

While I think Bill is a jackass, he's really not that bad a guy. At least he was made uncomfortable by one of those guy's comments about bringing another wife "into the fold". However, it still doesn't change the fact Margene was brought into their lives due to lust.

I was under the impression Ben needed the car so he could "christen" all the seats in it.

I felt so sad for margene! And sarah too....

I am glad that barb finally has gotten a preview of the 'real' rhonda!

ETA I was actually really proud of Bill for realizing he just wanted a piece of fresh ass and that it wasn't "love". I was also glad he was able to end it. I just wonder if the other sister wives will ever find out?

Ok tonight:

-Barb is bacccckkkkK!!! She kicked so much ass tonight.

-Heather's dad=dickhead

-Ben having sex? *vomits*

-Rhonda please kill yourself!

-"Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne=awesomeness. I DIED laughing when they played that song

My god, Bill is the hugest d*&#! He basically strung this woman along on a false pretense (being a single dude), and went ahead and broke her heart because he couldn't stomach Margene actually having the last word on it.

Also, man doesn't Sarah wish she had just driven Rhonda back to the compound as soon as she showed up by Deb's... That whole scene with Heather's dad? Really really uncomfortable...

I'm totally just admitting to the fact that I totally teared up when Sarah was crying even though they had showed that in the preview. It was just the build-up to that moment was so awesome.

I'm sorry...I know there was a LOT of seriousness going on in this episode, but "Satan's Thrust"?!?! Hubby and I were laughing our asses off. I agree-Chloe S was dead on. I love the squinty look Nicki shot Barb when Margie asked them to lunch. She manages to cram so much shiftiness into every thing she does, it's great. Well, until it backfires and the state trooper is involved because of her meddling....

How many times did I say, "Holy crap!" during that episode?

1. Margene encouraging Ana repeatedly to pursue Bill.

2. Margene getting ALL THE WIVES to meet Ana.

3. Bill's boat, ahem, spontaneously combusting.

4. Rhonda saying that "unspeakable things" happen in Henricksons' HomesPlus.

5. Rhonda telling Barb to kiss off. DUDE! That was not cool!

6. The revelation that the last machine gaming owner got branded by some weirdos.

7. Bill nearly being branded by same weirdos.

8. Bill throwing the blame for the gaming company over to Roman. Which reminds me of the SATs: Bill throwing the blame for the gaming company to Roman is to Bill throwing a cigarette into a pool of gasoline.

One thing I was not surprised about: Rhonda screaming that Nicki was trying to kidnap her. Come on Nicki, you really didn't see that coming a mile away?

Hollis Green and his goons--wow, creepier fundy Mormons than Roman! They all look like gargoyles—a real Stephen King vibe going in that warehouse scene.

I personally wanted to smush down that damn hairdo on top of her head. Rhonda is seriously in need of some psychiatric care because I'm pretty sure she's suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder or something. I cannot believe she'd tell Heather's parents that Bill sexually abused Sarah (I assume that's what she said anyway). That bitch needs to be hogtied and whipped as far as I'm concerned.

Wow, Margene actually came out and said she's married with two wives, eh. I'm was proud for her for that but what kind of box does Margene live in that she's apparently never experienced any kind of disappointment in her life? Well she acted that way to me anyway. Trust me, just because you want someone doesn't mean it will happen. I'm an expert in it.

The scene with Ben talking to his priest was weird. First up, the priest was played by Georgie's husband on Sisters so I just wanted him to pick up a guitar and start singing. Secondly, I get creeped out anytime anyone wants to convert someone to another religion just so you can be with them. I know it's their belief, but it's not one of mine. So Ben do you have sex everywhere? I'm freaked out and where it'll be next.

My fave line of the night was from Bill to Margene about Ana:
"You are my wife, Margene. You can't be seeing the woman I'm dating."

6 days 23 hours to my Bonnie Bedelia. I could possibly pass out after that episode!

Oh, and who else loved it when Margene goes "but I can teach her to pray!" hehe I about died.

The good:

It was quote-a-licious! For example:

Nicki to Margene: “If you feel so guilty, then leave her 15 percent.”

Bill to Margene: “Margene! You’re my wife! You can’t be fooling around with the woman I’m seeing!”

Nicki to Bill: “What is it with her and women in the service industry?”

Bill: “I love you so much, it could only be celestial…I’m sure of that now.” (it’s the “now” that got me)

The bad:

The soundtrack, which is usually so good, was …off-putting, to say the least. “Long Cool Woman” during the torching of a boat?

There’s something …cartoonish…about the way this is going. From peril to peril – either people are greedy, skeevy nutcase polygamists or they’re upright, intolerant, clueless, sanctimonious right-wingers. I've been to Salt Lake City several times. There's more to it than what we've seen.

The random:

Why would a couple with a daughter like Heather want one like Rhonda?

And why is Margene still not showing?

Notice how Ben loves Brynn but she didn’t say “I love you” back. Poor Ben. What did he expect that minister (?) to say? That it’s okay?

Ana is interesting looking, but not pretty.

Isn't it interesting that both prophets have their own Alby? Let's hope Bill doesn't turn Ben into his. Or Don, either, for that matter.

But the best quote, the one that sums it up, came during the previews for next week:

“I think there’s a good case to be made that you’re all off your rockers!”

All the Bill/Anna stuff was boring. I zoned out for a few times, cause I just didn't care. Poor Margene though, all she wants is a friend.

BenSex again? Gross. I so want them to ship him off to military school. I did enjoy his talk with the Bishop though.

Rhonda is officially on my HATE list. I disliked her up until her lies about Bill. Now it's full blown HATE. Poor Sarah. Not only are there horrible lies about her father but she lost her only friend. So is Heather's dad going to make her quite the restaurant to keep her away from Sarah?

Speaking of Heather's dad, that is not the same actor from last season. Heather's season one dad was cuter.

Except for the 2 minute Sarah, Rhonda, Heather storyline and the creepy Greens, this episode was really boring.

ETA:

Bwah! I laughed so hard at that . Too funny.

Oh and thanks for putting that damn Avril Lavigne song back in my head. I had just gotten it out after 3 days of constantly singing the freakin' chorus. ARGGHHHHHHHHHH!

Everyone is getting hurt this episode:

• Ben who cannot really talk to anyone honestly including his old Bishop about his spiritual crisis.
• Sarah, who while trying to help Rhonda has her own family accused of horrible things and is forbidden to hang out with her best friend.
• Margene, who falls in love with Ana but won't get her as a new sister-wife.
• Nicki, who's been accused of running an underground pipeline of underage girls to Juniper Creek.
• Barb who...well okay maybe Barb comes out unscathed here, except her daughter has been hurt and her judgement questioned.
• Don, who now is part of the Weber Gaming business and stuck in the middle of a war between Green and Grant along with Bill, even though he wanted no part of it.
• And finally, Ana who's heart is broken by not only Bill, but Bill's wife too.

I didn’t include Bill because he really made a bad decision by not vetting Weber Gaming better, and I was kind of hoping he would get the butt brand.

Edited because breaking your hearing isn't the same as breaking your heart.

Yes! It took me a couple of tries to realize that one of the goons was in fact, a goonette. I think.

Sorry if I'm a bit clueless, but is Hollis Green the dude we've been hearing about on the news, the dude who Roman thinks makes him look bad (tee hee)? I can't remember if it's the name or not.

Especially, praying the Margene way: "Just close your eyes, and listen."


Next week's previews: Bruce Dern returns! I love him as Frank.

Gertitout, I think you're right! Good memory!

I thought it was Orlean Abbot on the news, but did they mention the Greens as well?

Oh, and I honestly thought Don set the fire up to get Bill off the gaming train. When he talked about the branding, it sounded so fake...like "oh, uh, yeah, this guy got branded, btw." Did anyone else get that oddness?

I totally forgot about that. I was thinking the same thing. I mean last episode it looked like she was showing when she went to tell Bill about the police coming asking about Rhonda and this episode, she had on some skirt with a belt and you couldn't see anything at all.

This season it's John Carroll Lynch. I mostly remember him as Drew Carey's brother on The Drew Carey Show and he was on Carnivale, IIRC.

I posted this in the music thread, but I agree. Avril Levigne while Bill makes out with Ana and ELO's Not in Love had lyrics too on the nose and the tone of the songs were all wrong.

It's official: I. HATE. Rhonda. Compound damage or not the girl is pure evil.

I felt so bad for Margene and Sarah--both so lost and lonely. And what teenager takes his first solo drive to see a bishop at temple? That shows just how lost Ben is, too. I usually don't like Heather, although I love what her character brings to the show. Tonight, though, I felt sorry for her, too.

Was anyone else laughing in anticipation of seeing Bill get branded? Again he avoids (although narrowly) getting what he deserves.

Wow, Rhonda went to an 11 on the evil scale tonight. I knew she was like 95% pure evil but I gave her 5% benefit of the doubt because of her "circumstances" but that went out the window tonight. Boo Heather's father/Norm Son-of-a-Gunderson! What an asshole. Poor Sarah. And yay Barb, it was nice seeing her in action tonight in a constructive way.

The new cult people are scary bad. The man-lady, the branding, the arson - not a fun bunch. The man-lady makes Alby look sane and rational.

Loved Margene this epsiode, it was interesting to see how Bill, with all his schemes and machinations and deception, was completely confused by her honest love and enthusiasm. Bill can much more easily deal with Nicki because they are alike, both coming from the compound means lying and manipluation is second nature to them. And someone as open and heart-on-her-sleeve as Margene confounds them.

Bill is the least interesting character on the show. Even though this epi was chick full I was bored by the Bill-centric portions. I want it to be sister wives all the time. I just love the epi's that focus on their dynamic and struggles.

I can't figure out who is who when they talk about the poly-powers because I zone out. Who is the guy in the easy chair barking orders to brand Bill? I didn't follow that at all.

From what Trooper Tuttle said to Sarah, they obviously think it's their duty to rescue Rhonda. (I hope they quickly discover Rhonda's viperish side.)



I wondered about that too. At first I thought it was because he didn't have his hat on, then realized it was a whole 'nother actor.



Could Ana have fallen in love so quickly? I think she's more about finding security than falling in love.

Yeah, it is it a rule that your second-in-command had to be either androgynous or gay? I KNOW "creepy" is in there, but geez...

I was really sorry to see Bill get off so lightly, but now he's thrown Roman's name into the ring, he'll get somethin' coming to him from there. He's really different from the stand-up "just trying to live my life according to the Principle" self he was last season.

I've been taking up for Rhonda so far, but you know what? I WILL CUT THAT BITCH. NO, SERIOUSLY, I WILL CUT HER.



Bill is a putz.

Someone has to kill Rhonda (and if I were a character, I would volunteer). Any suggestions? I think Wanda's experience makes her an excellent coice.

I agree. Wanda should be making all of Rhonda's drinks from now on.

Wow - Big Love just keeps bringing it with practically every episode so far this season. And it leaves so much to comment on too! Some of my comments will likely find their way to the Polygamy the Fundamentals thread, but I do want to say that I'm finding out more and more about the LDS church beliefs--except I'm uncertain exactly how close what they say on the show is to what actual LDS beliefs are. I hope that makes sense. Like how Ben went to talk to the Bishop of their old Ward (or what I'm assuming to be their old Ward), and what the Bishop said to him about marriage, etc. Hah, had to love those pamphlets the Bishop gave Ben to read, especially the one entitled "Satan's Thrust." Uh Bishop, isn't it a bit too late to close the barn doors -after- the horse has left?!

I like Ana, and enjoyed seeing Margene interact with the prospective sister-wife, but I don't think Ana is polygamy material. In fact, even though Ana seemed accepting of Margene, I think her reaction would be completely different if she knew that Bill was the husband in Margene's marriage. And I think she might also be a bit angry over Margene's semi-deception (I use semi because Margene didn't do it solely to be deceptive or out of meanness). Bill just has so much on his plate right now, I don't know how in the world he could possibly be considering taking on another wife, so I felt relieved when he seemed to back off of romancing Ana. I do think he's still considering her, though, in the back of his mind. ;)

That Rhonda is a manipulative, pathological liar at best. I don't even think she's all that convincing--the ones she's manipulating the most (the Tuttles, that polygamy survivor lady) are hearing and listening to what they want to. I don't know what's going to happen to her, but if she -ever- goes back to Juniper Creek (heh that would please Nicki now wouldn't it!), she will most certainly be in for some real punishment. Hah! That would then make the "story" that she's been trumpeting true! OMG, it's just ... diabolical! Me, I just want to smack her into the middle of next week.

Okay, who the heck is this Greene guy? Is this another FLDS cult leader? His entourage looks even more rag-tag than Roman's! And forgive my bluntness here, but ... okay, those two henchmen ... well, I couldn't figure out if they were male or female. And one of them is named Selma? Or at least, that's what it sounded like, as well as what my closed captioning read. If they're guys, they just look really strange, and the big one is wearing a very odd toupee. That whole compound was just strange - all indoors, and they all looked like they rarely saw the actual light of day. Bill nearly got a brand on his hiney!! Now -that- is crazy!

As I noted, there is a great deal to chew on here. There will definitely be a second watching, and I'll likely have more comments then.

Rhonda's unleased the tiger in Barb--can't wait to see how this plays out.

And I agree with all who said Rhonda's evil--well, we knew that, but no more "compound damage" excuses for this worm. I'd like to see her shipped back to her mother in Mexico, and be stuck selling pine nuts by the highway.

It is really important to me that I see Rhonda get her just desserts in a thorough and satisfying manner. (And not pie from the diner, either!)

Strange that Bill continues to be facinated with Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln signed the first U.S. law against polygamy in 1862. It resulted in the prosecution of 1300 Mormans.

Or better yet, April Blessing.

ITA. The music was totally off tonight. (Nitpick - was that ELO? I thought it was 10CC. I'll have to look it up, now that I've dated myself. Hee.) Lots of good lines though. "And she'll grow to love Nicki!"

Seriously, Bill the dolt is a chick magnet? I really don't get that.

With all this creepy polygamist gangs, it looks like HBO may have found the Sopranos replacement.

My thought was that the one with the plastic-looking face looked like a villian from the old Batman series.

Well, she's not doing much else right now. I think someone should Rhonda to visit Wanda, just you know to check up on her.

I realized tonight Daveigh Chase has totally changed Rhonda into the character "Samara" she played in The Ring

I'm liking this season a lot more that last year. I also think the stuff involving Bill and the 3 wives is a lot more interesting than the Roman stuff, although I thinh Roman himself is a pretty interesting character.



I don't agree at all, actually. Given what he knows, he's doing what he thinks is right.

So when can we expect Rhonda to begin seducing and/or blackmailing righteous ole Pa Tuttle?

Yeah, I don't think Heather's dad is quite a dick head. He doesn't have all the information and he doesn't know Rhonda so I can understand his actions. I just hope Rhonda gets what she deserves soon.

I was expecting to see Ana's shocked face looking out the diner window when Bill & Margie were kissing in the car. Why did the writers pass up that comedy gem?

I haven't seen that many freaks since Carnivale went off the air.

I love this:



From your keyboard to the writer's storyboard!

Also, my comment upthread was about how it didn't make sense to me that two people who could spawn a child like Heather, who is smart, tough, direct and with a very sensitive bullshit detector, could be so deceived by Rhonda. I mean, she's pretty, but after awhile there ought to be a sanity alarm going off somewhere in the Tuttle household.

Also, I'm a little surprised that the boat fire didn't draw all the neighbors. I remember when my sisters and I set our kitchen on fire (it was an accident! We were trying to make popcorn on the stove! It was the 70's! There was no such thing as microwave popcorn!) every single family in the subdivision came out when the fire engine came. Seeing Carl and Pam, plus the other families, plus Bill dealing with the fire department - well, it's something I'd like to have seen.