Dirty Sexy Money"The Star Witness"
Original Air Date: October 22, 2008
Liz - TwoCents Reviewer
liz@thetwocentscorp.com
The abandonment issues exhibited by Nick manifest in a need to be loved -- and thus is his attraction to the Darlings. He is told that he is needed by them and it's nice to be needed. That maybe be me talking out of my derriere and using pop psychology to boot, but it sounds pretty accurate, right?
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Dirty Sexy Money
ReplyDelete"The Star Witness"
Original Air Date: October 22, 2008
Liz - TwoCents Reviewer
liz@thetwocentscorp.com
The abandonment issues exhibited by Nick manifest in a need to be loved -- and thus is his attraction to the Darlings. He is told that he is needed by them and it's nice to be needed. That maybe be me talking out of my derriere and using pop psychology to boot, but it sounds pretty accurate, right?
Darlings are up to more of the same. Patrick shows a twinge of conscience and is going to defy Tripp's loving… advice to keep quiet about Ellen's death. Patrick rebels, and while the words "I'll show you all!" never leave his mouth, it's more or less implied as he says he's going to come clean at the debate. Tripp, eager to crush any shred of humanity in the politician that he's tried to breed, brings Carmelita to the debate to discourage him from making a possibly career ruining move. And it works like a charm. I'm glad to see Carmelita back. I think it would be sweet if Patrick lost anyway and he and Carmelita and the kids got to have happy lives.
Karen and Simon are becoming a bit clearer. I'm not completely sure about Simon's motivation quite yet or whether he actually likes Karen, but it's pretty clear that he has ulterior motives. I think his exact words were that he has her "chasing her tail." Karen irks me sometimes, but in the way that a whiny but cute kid irritates me -- she whines and I want to deck her, but then she does something adorable so I immediately forgive her. That said, her scene with Lisa was spectacular and nothing short of intense. I never really saw her as a viable love rival for Lisa, and I'm not saying that just because I like Nick and Lisa -- although I do. And as a commenter replied to my recap of the pilot, you're right -- smooth sailing doesn't make for a very interesting program. But it makes me cringe how any problem in a marriage is automatically threatened with divorce. Putting Lisa and Karen in the same scene was good -- it was poignant without being over the top.
Brian makes me proud by formulating his own particular brand of batshit. I enjoy his scenes with Brian Jr., I think he can make a good father. Their webcam talk was sweet with just the right touch of insanity and yelling. Brian Jr. seemed unperturbed, though, so I'm presuming this happens every time they talk. His overreaction was priceless, and topped only by his impromptu trip to Brazil. Fault Brian for whatever you like, but he is working like mad at being a decent father. Kidnapping scheme? Crazy shit, though. So I'm uncertain. Did Brian Jr. stow away in the plane (I find this unlikely -- at least in the real world, but the Darlings don't live in the real world) or was he allowed to come back with Brian and just happened to be hiding in that little cabinet?
Jeremy is living his own little charmed life. He's Nola's secret boyfriend, and is, if I may say so, doing a good job. I mean, a private concert from your favorite group? Be my secret boyfriend, Jeremy; for reference one of my favorite singers is Josh Groban and my favorite flowers are lilies.
The most compelling journey of the episode, to be sure, was Nick's trek to France to see his mother. I don't recall off the top of my head when they said what happened to his mother -- perhaps in the very first episode -- but seeing her let us look at Nick in a way that we haven't really been able to see. Their scenes were, again, poignant but not over the top. There was a lot of pain in there, and I hope we get to see more of her as the star witness for the prosecution. I don't know what else there is to say about it, I think there's a lot of drama to be had here -- and I can't wait for it.
My Reality Check of the Week for this week, to avoid giving it to Tripp all the time, goes to Brian, for his international kidnapping plot. Jeez.
So I guess my big question is this: is Letitia guilty? If Nick's mother testifies, then he really has a job on him. The evidence is not trivial by any means, and it could do it for Letitia Darling. I don't think that she did. But I am perfectly willing to be proven wrong. What do you all think?