Big Love Watch: "We're a Catch!"

HBO

Spoilers for last night’s Big Love coming up after the jump:

A lot of plot advancement on last night’s episode, so in the interest of concision and meeting my other deadlines, let’s get some of the spoilers out of the way quickly:

* Sarah pregnant!

* Nicki on birth control!

* Joey’s new wife testifying against Roman!

* Don unwillingly monogamous!

* Barb not dying!

* Frank knocked out cold with a shovel by someone who is not Lois!

It’s testimony to the richness of Big Love and the skill with which it has set up the storylines that, as crowded as this episode was, each of these developments had its time to play out—or at least, have a brief, affecting reveal—while at the same time moving ahead the stories of the casino pitch and the courtship of Ana. It’s also testimony to the show’s grounding in its own reality that it can unfold bizarre, creepy scenes like the compound-runaway’s crash pad and yet have them seem utterly natural within the show’s context.

That said, the show can still get you attention with a line like, “Why are you massaging that bird’s anus with a Q-Tip?,” which I plan to work into casual conversation as soon as possible. And another excellent performance from Chloe Sevigny, who manages to carry both dramatic weight and some of the episode’s best comic-relief lines: ”What does she want? She got the front seat, and they gave her endless refills.”

We ended the episode with “Just us” on an immense indoor family picnic at Ana’s apartment. What prognosis do you give this courtship?

beerbaron

I don’t see Ana making it through the season, and I hope they wrap up her story in the next couple episodes. I found it kind of disconcerting the way the Henricksons referred to growing the family almost like growing a business. You’d think adding another wife was no different from opening another Home Plus store. Of course, as Starbucks and the National Hockey League have learned, expansion isn’t always a good thing, and it looks like the children who are going to suffer.
deckerfamily03

I don’t see Ana making it either…she doesn’t seem to actually want it. She only wants Bill, and that is not going to make her able to join into the whole family.
Did I miss why Don’s wives left them? I am confused as to what has caused that one. and why the heck is Nikki on birth control??
I can’t wait until next sunday. :D
beerbaron

I guess two of Don’s wives ran off together; they were having an affair within the marriage, apparently – I remember a scene from season 1, I think, when two of his wives were playing footsie under the table.
deckerfamily03

I forgot about that! That makes more sense to me now. haha thanks. :-)
louiscypher

Nikki’s use of birth control was shown briefly last season. Ana? I was sort of put off by the seeming utter lack of instruction about the religion itself, little less about Bill and Co.’s offshoot of it. How can the girl make an informed choice? I agree…I think she will depart soon enough.
Bemused

I think it would be really unbelievable if Ana joined the family–as pointed out above, she doesn’t seen to want it, and there’s nothing in her background or personality (that we know of) that would make her susceptible to such a lifestyle.

Can anyone refresh my memory on how Nikki and Margene became wives? I vaguely remember that Nikki came to help out when Barb was sick (what type of cancer did she have, BTW?) and that Margene was a babysitter. But why did Nikki agree to leave the compound?