There was no holding back this week in the world of colossal, capacious and commodious love.  The question of the Henrickson’s three-way marriage, who will stay and who will go, reached a boiling point when, at the end of the episode, Barb and Bill shared the same, shocking sentiment.  The seeds of Rhonda’s return are starting to take hold, and the dead fish that is the “Bill on the hill” storyline somehow continued to flop around.  Lets break it down into the good and the bad.

The Bad: This week, Bill’s rival senator promised to back off his attacks.  A celebration was had, a football thrown, but then Bill was presented with a rather large catch.  The LDS church called Bill into their headquarters to inform him that he’s no longer allowed to call himself Mormon in public.  Bill eventually refused, knowing that by doing so, the attacks on his personal life would continue, as will the attempts to impeach him.

Didn’t this seem unwise?  Lets put it this way.  You’re running for senate as an openly Jewish man, but you belong to a small splinter group of Jews who believe staunchly in pre-marital sex.  In fact, your splinter group believes that Jewish law states believers are to have as much sex as humanely possible with as many people as possible, even outside of your marriage.  Some rep from a powerful group of Jews tell you that you can no longer call yourself a Jew in public, or they will seek to impeach, or disempower you.  Would it not be worth it mince words for a while in order to be able to further the agenda of your crazy Jewish sex cult?   What made this storyline interesting though, was how it illustrated the extent to which the LDS church has power over the government of Utrah, or at least Big Love’s fictional Utah.

Also in the bad category, Margene is called in Goji headquarters where she and Grant Show have it out about her religion.  Show implied that he cannot have a pligy working for the company. This was tough to buy.  No pyramid scheme is going to object to a top-seller’s religious beliefs, not even in Utah.

The Good: Most of the rest of what happened this week would fall into the “good” category: Cara Lynn is hot for teacher and Lois can’t stand living in suburbia, but the major moment in this week’s episode revolved around the following.

Turns out that Rhonda’s baby daddy Verlin had his fair share of trouble in Vegas, which had him wrapped in some manslaughter-y situation.  Alby, as he talks about this seems almost completely overcome with pleasure like he’s just heard about the crazy Jewish sex cult.  Since Alby’s tryst last season, it’s getting hard to tell when Alby is being Sinister, and when he being randy, and whether the two are mutually exclusive.  Asking Verlin to whack Don Embry, it seemed as if he was propositioning him to get beneath his desk, but he wasn’t, was he?  Obviously, their plot is going to be found out really fast thanks to gorgeous and treacherous Rhonda’s big mouth.

Of course, the most notable part of this episode, involved Bill and Barb.  In order to legally adopt Cara Lynn (not necessary considering her age, but I’ll bite,) he needs to be married to Nikki and therefore, must divorce Barb.  Although it’s always been implied, they actually say out loud this week that Barb and Bill have “a special relationship.”  Therefore, for Bill to even bring the possibility of divorce to Barb, was a step too far.  Meanwhile, Barb truly thinks, in their religion a woman should be able hold the same power (priesthood) as a man.  For Mormon’s, this is the equivalent of a Scientologist saying, “I believe that our whole family should be on Ritalin.”  At the very end of this episode, sitting on the bench where he proposed to her 20 years prior, Bill and Barb agreed to divorce.  This was one of the most shocking moments in Big Love history.  It was both sad and beautiful, because up to the very last moment, it seemed as though they were revisiting the depth of their feelings for each other, then it suddenly came to an end.  Us the audience member being entirely unaware of this coupled with their ability to almost telepathically communicate this huge decision, truly informs the episode’s title: Barb and Bill have a special relationship.

My prediction for the show’s ending is starting to take shape. Bill at the end, will be married to only one woman, Nikki, however, the family and the three sister wives in particular will somehow remain bonded in a way that’s unexpected.

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This week, we can officially add Big Love to the list of things, along with pizza and sex that are good even when they’re bad. Truly, an hour of the worst moments in Big Love series history, strung together into a single episode, would still be far more enjoyable than the best episode of Burn Notice.  Here’s what worked, and what didn’t’.

What Didn’t Work

Margene is only Sixteen: This week, the whole, “Margene was only 16 when she married Bill” thing, felt a little stagnant.  The storyline itself isn’t stagnant but it seems the writers haven’t fleshed out the characters feelings about it.  Is Bill upset because he now feels like all of the Polygamist cult leaders he’s claimed to hate or does he really think she might be damaged goods?

Bill’s Dream: Mr. Olsen and Mr Scheffer, lets be very clear about this, you are not the creators of The Soprano’s.  The Sop’s is the only modern show that’s been able to pull off the whole dream sequence thing.  In this is episode, Bill’s dream of his mother with Emma Smith (wife of Joseph Smith), while aesthetically beautiful, lacked the depth and potential analysis needed for a successful television dream sequence.

Mr Henrickson Goes to Washington: This was the big political moment that they’ve been working up to all season, and it just felt like the end of Legally Blonde or some politically slanted rom-com.  Every moment spent of politics feels like valuable final season time wasted.

Best of the Worst: The moment where Bill and the other senator “feel each other’s guns” and compliment each other on their weight and girth, was one of the best homoerotic television moments in some time.

What Worked

Multi Level Marketing: Margene selling Goji Blast to all her housewife friends has been comical and true to life, but this week, she’s begun to believe that her spirituality is somehow wrapped up in multi level marketing.  This feels like a critique on pyramid marketing; also self help culture and the way people use religion to hawk their wares.

Poor Lois: Lois Henrickson played Grace Zabriskie has had perhaps more memorable actor moments than any other secondary Big Love character, and this actress truly deserves an Emmy for her work.  In this final season, she starts losing herself to dementia, and this week we learn that the dementia was caused by un-treated herpes given to her by Frank.  Watching her, leaning her forehead against the Henrickson’s picket fence out in the cold saying, “It was all a waste, I’m filthy,” was one of the most heartbreaking moments on the show thus far.

Ben and Heather: Ben and Heather kiss this week.  But, just beforehand we are reminded that, in earlier seasons, there was very good reason to believe that Heather was a lesbian in love with Sarah.  Is she making out with Ben as some misguided way to channel that love?

Help Me Rhonda: The best part of this episode, hands down, was the surprising return of Rhonda Volmer, played by Daveigh Chase — also known as the scary girl from The Ring. Turns out, Rhonda got off the bus that Bill put her on and turned tricks in Vegas until she met Cara Lynn’s cousin and married him.  Each scene that involved Rhonda this week was among the best, but, at the top of heap was the attempted shakedown of Albert Grant.

This Week’s Best Line: “We may not be Catholics but we’re one up on the Scientologists…according to what I’ve read.” –Barb

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