Would you all agree with me that this episode of Big Love should be an Emmy contender? It had so much intensity and forward movement, and, at the same time, offered a real look at how the Henricksons — in particular, Barb — got into their situation. Plus, we got the phenomenal Ellen Burstyn, who was perfectly cast as Barb's mom. So let's start there, since there's a lot of territory to cover (not to mention a link to an extra-special pre-finale treat from EW.com).
Alienation from her mother has been tearing at Barb for as long as we've, er, known her. And finally, they went face-to-face. The circumstances may not have been ideal — unless you're crashing some stranger's reception Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson-style, going to a wedding you weren't actually invited to is bound to be awkward — but it was necessary. Using Ben as a reason for the urgency? That was debatable.
Still, not-so-little Benny is obviously in need of serious guidance, and his father is not doing the trick. Is it any wonder Ben wants to live ''the principle,'' given what his father is teaching him every day? Bill's frank explanation of the UEB seat situation as a ''negotiation tactic'' was basically Ben's primer for a life of deceit. Ben's overzealous pursuit of the compound twins is also cause for concern. (And really, couldn't he do a little better than the Juniper Creek freak sisters, who both want to marry the same guy?) Little by little, we're seeing more of Bill emerge in Ben — the teenager's outburst at his grandmother's wedding that the ''government should allow us to practice our religion openly'' was the kind of rebellious move he learned from the master himself.
As usual, Bill was up to his old tricks — withholding information from his wives, manipulating the tempestuous relationship between his family and the UEB, and making sure he comes out ahead. He ''won'' Weber Gaming? That's almost laughable. Cheated is more like it. And now this business with the UEB seat...Alby may claim not to have the ''fascination'' with the Henricksons that Roman did, but all signs point to a clear case of like father, like son. And if his threats didn't scare Bill, they certainly did Lois, as we saw during the confrontation at Joey's house, where Alby boasted that she'd ''never find the bodies'' of Joey and Wanda if it were ever to come to that.
So what happens between these two warring clans? Alby's called out Bill on all of his offenses of late: humiliating him in front of his father; trying to cover up Wanda's attempt to kill him; and now, the most serious crime of all — playing the Greens against the Grants, which ostensibly got Roman shot. Of course, you could see the consequences of Bill's actions coming from a mile away. Who in their right mind would mess with a bunch of vigilante murderers like Hollis and his gender-ambiguous crew? Did Bill really think he was going to get away with this? Sure, he may have gotten the authorities to run them out of Utah, but it's a big world out there and, judging by their technical know-how (videoconferencing? Last I remember, the compound didn't even have caller ID), the Greens have a good grasp on how to move around it.
But they're not Bill's main problem now — it's all about Alby. Bill certainly looks to have his war face on: ''Without my seat, you're just a pretender,'' he told Alby, who looked ready to jump out of the Hummer and rip Bill's face off. To live peacefully in their own separate spheres? A pipe dream, as long as Joey and Wanda are MIA. And even though Bill's constantly fed up with his own mother, he won't be happy to hear that Alby raised a hand to Lois. Plus, you know things are bound to get ugly if and when it's confirmed that Nicki stole tens of thousands of dollars from the UEB and is blowing it all on clothes and online bingo.
NEXT PAGE: The misery of Nancy's wedding
