Weekend at Roman's
By Melissa McKimmey | Posted Under TV Reviews | Comments (15)
New credits! The new credits are Bill, Barb, Margie and Nicki falling in different directions, outstretched hands, everyone trying to connect but missing. No Beach Boys. I’d been was thinking that I was bored with the credits on this show, but I don’t think the new credits are an improvement. It’s boring and doesn’t really give you a feel for the show. I liked the other credits in the way they kind of gave you some insight into the show and the relationships and I thought the planet at the end was a great nod to the quirky aspects of the religion.
This episode had two distinct arcs. One was about the family working to open the casino. The other was about the fallout from Roman’s death. One is decidedly more interesting. Boring first, interesting second.
It’s been six weeks since we last saw the Hendricksons. The casino is set to open in three days. It seems fast. Barb’s been doing a bunch of casino stuff with Bill, being the front wife. Turns out no one likes Barb because she’s bossy and a know-it-all. Of course she’s that way, it’s about the only benefit to being first wife. Margie should be doing this stuff, because she rocks at it, but she’s still trying to be the QVC queen.
Everything for the casino seems to be moving smoothly until the FBI starts making calls to Bill’s partners. The feds are harassing everyone who may be connected to Roman, who is on the ten most wanted list and has been missing for six weeks. Being a fed sounds kind of fun. Bill has to reassure Jerry and his son that he is on the up-and-up. Oh Bill, lying like that won’t get you into the celestial kingdom. They agree to go ahead with everything. And really, what kind of choice do they have? The opening is three days away. And where is Don? Isn’t he Bill’s partner? Why isn’t he the moral front of this pairing? Don’s awesome. Bill’s a tool.
God, I’m already bored with this plot. The name of the casino is Blackfoot Magic Casino. Anyway, they get Kenny Rogers booked for the opening night. But wait! Kenny can’t make it? Who will take his place? Why, it’s Ben and his Christian rock band we’ve never heard about before this episode! I’m calling them Faith + 1. Ben’s got an OK voice, but it’s not amazing or anything. His band just happens to be able to play The Gambler and save the casino opening. Yay? People are really OK with this as the replacement for Kenny? They check the take at the end of the night and damn, that’s a lot of bills. If they aren’t singles, they seem to be golden.
Now, onto the good plot. Roman’s dead by Joey’s hand (pillow), right? Well, no one knows this. Adalene has been keeping him in the freezer (!) and the generator goes out (!!) and Nicki finds her dad in the freezer. Seriously, how screwed up is Adalene that she let Nicki find out her dad was dead that way?! You see why I feel for Nicki? Her parents are sociopaths. The freezer, people.
Nicki tells Alby about Roman being on ice (heh) and has to tell him, “You have to be sad! This is sad, Alby!” Alby and his wife do not think so. He promises to take care of him and he and his wife celebrate. His wife is a great match for him. Except for her not being a man, I mean.
Alby goes to take care of the corpse of his father by driving it to the Casino and propping him up in a lawn chair in a big hole. It’s really very awesome. Then the Hendricksons show up, Bill tries to figure out what to do and he and Nicki wind up wrestling with the corpse when she decides she has to fix this problem so everyone will forgive her. It’s creepy. And sad. No, it really is, not just because I like Nicki. Bill’s fix is to drive the corpse back to Adalene, instead of going to the casino opening. Man, there was a lot of dead body in this episode. It was weird for this show and kind of pulled me out of the scene.
As for corpse removal, I guess I get that Bill really doesn’t need the feds to come to the casino and shut things down, but transporting a dead body is pretty damn extreme.
Also, would it have killed anyone to say, “Hey, Nicki, I’m sorry your dad is dead?” Apparently, it would have because no one did. Jerks.
In non A or B plot developments, Frank and Lois make a welcome return. Lois called Frank to apologize for “attempting to hasten his demise.” Best apology ever. When Frank gets close enough, he tries to kidnap her. Apparently he’s never met Lois, because she saw it coming and has a gun. Nice. Later on, he follows her home and they get into the best old people fight I have ever seen It ends with one person dislocating a hip and the other hurting their back. Frank agrees to back off for a percentage of Lois’ bird-selling business. It turns out that $30 birds sell to pet shops for $700. I am in the wrong damn business. Also, go Lois.
Alby took all the news about his dad quite well, don’t you think? Perhaps it’s because he got a little in the bushes of a park with Luke Wilson’s bodybuilding older brother. The same man who is involved with the group dissolving UEB trust. Scandalous! What’s also scandalous is that Bill got himself on that same board, so he gets to keep his finger in that pie, too. How many hours in the day does Bill get that he can be involved in so many things?
In a small side note, Barb gets Bill to tell her that he’s not slipping it to Nicki yet and Nicki overheard. Then Margie mentions that she’s covering for her in that aspect. Not that she minds!
It was a good opening, and I liked that they moved the timeline along. I loved seeing more of the supporting cast. My biggest issue is the casino. It’s not in Utah because it’s illegal to gamble here, so it’s most likely right over the line into Nevada. Which wouldn’t matter, except that the reason we don’t gamble here is because the dominant religion (Mormonism) says it is a SIN (I even looked it up). A sin, Bill, do you hear that? All the mocktails in the world don’t change the fact you are doing it just because you want to. In the beginning, I saw Bill as a guy who was just trying to provide for his family and do the right thing. Now I think Bill wants to do what he wants and makes up reasons why it is right. Which is why he doesn’t need his own church. I don’t see this plot line going anywhere interesting and I feel like it is weighing down the more interesting aspect of the politics of the compound.
That’s it for this week, folks! I did my best to condense the plots and offer observations. I also tried to keep it short, but there is a lot to this show that has to go in, or it doesn’t make sense. As always, if I missed anything or you have suggestions, let me know in the comments!
Melissa McKimmey is a mom, wife and grocery merchandiser who spends too much time on the internet and has a Chai tea addiction. She spends most of her time on the internet as TWoP Fan and can be emailed at here.
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Comments
Posted by: m bolton at January 14, 2010 11:53 AM
thanks Melissa - i had to let HBO go for those ol economic reasons - but your article is almost better than watching it ---- keep up the good work - m