Karl Rove Has Stepped Down

...but the more interesting regime change is Alby, n'est-ce pas? whom do you think Condi Rice is swearing in now in some backward fundamentalist ritual involving a Texas hat and incense made from the nosehair of the unbeliever?

Ron, Master of Mixed Metaphor

I just wanted to say again how much I love Ron. "I think you should buck up, step up to the plate and bring her into the fold." Also, by the way, a master of metaphor. "Did she say it for real, or is she just trying to get down your Dockers?"

SELMA GREEN. SELMA GREEN. SELMA GREEN. Hollis isn't Brian Cox, is he? What's with the Caesar haircut? Selma...you go with that branding iron. I'm thinking sister? Maybe she has a few xxxtra wives on the side?

How bad do we feel for Ben, getting shamed by the pastor for having sex?

Statue of Lincoln. "He tried to hold things together in a time of great change. He never forgot that he was an imperfect human being. And he couldn't do it alone." I think it's AMAZING that this scene was written just as Obama and (I think) Edwards have been comparing themselves to Lincoln. YOWZA. Ron seemed nonplussed by the comparison.

Poor Margene. "I can't marry her for you, Margie."

Other than the incredibly irritating "here comes Ana!" music that seemed to accompany that story line, I have loved every turn of the last few episodes. We think Barb is in love with Joey and has a Savior complex towards him. Her sense of shame is so sad - the way she started screaming at the Compound! Oh Barb!

Back in the saddle

I know there is plenty to talk about given that we're 2 weeks behind but one thing has be to addressed before all others: Selma Green! Oh my god! I called that from a million miles away, the very first time we saw her sitting on that pimping recliner in the van-- I knew she was, well not a he. It really clicked though in the scene where she is playing with the kids in the background while Bill is on the phone with Hollis. Is she his wife? His daughter? Sister? All unclear. I wonder if this isn't like Roman's need to chase the young boys off Juniper Creek-- maybe Hollis refuses to have men vie for power so he has a female relative as his deputy. I am obsessed with her. *Obsessed*

The whole episode last night was fascinating for its commentary on the relationship that women have to the Principle. We see Barb become more aware that her husband (gigantic tool that he is) may indeed not be as morally pristine as she's deluded herself to believe-- hence the prayer scene at the end. Her (non)reaction to Joey's new wife (?) is interesting too-- given how she says that Juniper Creek makes her own life feel salacious. Will this be the beginning of Barb's subversive campaign against Bill's growing megalomania? I would love to see her take him down, maybe sell him out to the Feds or the Greens, and take over as head of a new polyandrous family.

I can't even begin to talk about Ginger, but oh my.....

we suck

We're missing tonight's AND next Monday's episode. Catching up next Tuesday since we're both traveling all week.

Meanwhile, we watched all 3 episodes of Flight of the Conchords on HBO and highly recommend it. I particularly adored the first 5 minutes of episode 3.

Nancy Franklin HATES "John from Cincinatti." Honestly, I felt a little bad for HBO reading the review.

Have Fun Tracking Down Your AWOL Sister Wife

Nice post, SO. I too was deeply troubled by the lock-of-hair scene with Alby and I nearly wept for Adaleen. I am a giant fan of Mary Kay Place's ability to use the steely exterior in really ruthless ways, and I enjoyed watching her just barely break down (not the strongest acting moment, but really powerful).

I was telling S. that this episode shows that like Rome, BL is stacking up to be a series that's "really about the women" - note Bill's parodic scenes in the midst of all this gyno-melodrama. "I'm cover-up man!" He's more incidental than ever. While you were at the courthouse, honey...S. points out that the "marriage" in question on this show isn't between Bill and his three wives. It's between the wives. And Roman blathering on about cheese. Who is he trying to be, Andrew Jackson? (http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/23/mcms.html)

Poor Margie. She's like Joey on Friends, always keeping everybody's lousy secrets.

I have a feeling Wanda's talking parrot is going to play some kind of pivotal role. Canary?

I didn't know what to make of Heather's reactions to Sarah and her creepy new BF. The homoerotic subtext is clear, right, but her churchy moralizing caught me off-guard. I guess I forgot she was still a practicing Mormon. Maybe it was just a convenient way to be bitchy to the BF.

The social worker reminded me too much of a quirky Six Feet Under minor character. A bit overdrawn.

Now I'm just nitpicking. Still, this episode was AMAZING.

Nicki's fear of being tossed out by Barb and Bill - was it because she still operates according to the old compound morality rules? If she misbehaves, she might be reassigned to another marriage? We didn't really understand how finding out Roman exposed them would make B&B mad at Nicki.

So it begins

I don't know if you've seen tonight's episode yet, but generally speaking-- this season is crazy good! I love the way Rhonda is being constructed as (finally!) a worthy advesary to Nickie. The women of Juniper Creek are second to none when it comes to deception, manipulation and sheer, joyful creepiness. Tonight alone we had amazing moments of super-psycho-but-kinda-hot-womenhood with Rhonda, Wanda, Lois, Adeline, Nickie and the newest manimal What'sherface Blessings. Do you think it's the inbreeding at the Creek that does it?

There was some very intense foreshadowing tonight--- with Alby showing up as Sarah made out with that (creepycreepyold) former Mormon. I don't like the pedophilic lecherousness, I much preferred the shots of him staring at the cops' asses. Rhonda's fascination with Barb strikes fear in my heart, I see a touch of Buffalo Bill a la "Silence of the Lambs" working itself up here-- lotion in the basket, anyone? The whoel rhetoric of child-trafficking is *fascinating*! The prospect of sending Rhonda to live with the 2nd cousin on a "farm" somewhere, with him asking about whether or not she was able bodied. Especially paired with the way she seeks to commodify herself-- with the blackmail, and one cannot forget her $24 in food stamps.

I am obsessed with Adeline after tonight's episode. When I re-watched it, I caught the first scene where she realizes the depth of Roman's fascination with Rhonda and then later as she sees what it has cost her in terms of her relationship with Nickie... I think she's going to be a fun, if terrifying, loose cannon. If she and Wanda just team up, they could antifreeze all the creepiness out of the compound.

Best line of tonight? Girls shouldn't play physical sports "because it interferes with the menses, it says so in the Bible."

How's Big Lovin' on the West Coast?