This week’s Big Love saw the return of Ana, the “fourth wife” who I had hoped would not be returning to the Love-nest this season. I thought her subplot dragged down last season, as good as Branka Katic was at capturing the mixture of attraction she felt toward Bill and her dismayed outsider-perspective on the polygamist marriage into which she was invited. It turned out that [SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ FURTHER UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THIS WEEK'S BIG LOVE] Ana is pregnant with Bill’s child… a child conceived “outside of the marriage.” This was a big “uh-oh” for Bill just as the man of the clan was ratcheting up his political campaign and trying to stave off the increased influence at the casino of lobbyist Marilyn (Sissy Spacek, you are great), while also dealing with the fact that son Ben has taken off with his grandparents for a Mexican birding adventure. (Sometimes I think the only TV wife who would truly understand the being-pulled-in-all-directions pressure that Bill is under would be Friday Night Lights‘ Tami Taylor… )
But the big shocker of the night was the suicide death of Dale, Alby’s lover. Ben Koldyke gave a harrowingly superb performance as a man tormented by a true love that runs counter to the tenets of his faith. That scene in which he goes through his long history of systematically trying to “cure” his homosexuality with the church elders was just heart-breaking. And his confession to Bill was equally good, especially for the give-and-take between the men, with Bill making a parallel to the secrets he must keep to the outside world about his wives compared with Dale’s closeted life.
The Big Love writers — in this particular episode, Coleman Herbert, but over the course of the entire Alby-Dale subplot — have managed to find one area of Alby’s character that could make us like him beyond his usual highly enjoyable swinishness. The romantic, tender side of Matt Ross’ Alby has been revealed, and now it’s also been shattered.
What did you think of this week’s Big Love?
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Ohhhhhh this episode was so good. I almost cried when I heard Alby drop the groceries. I just knew Dale had killed himself then. So, so sad.
So. Good. Go Nikki!
first!!!!
FAIL
NICKI WITH THE SIDE PONYTAIL = CLASSIC! That was absolutely wonderful! But O my gosh, Dale dying was SO SAD! He was finally bringing out the humanity in Alby’s character, and then he goes and dies… I mean, I understand it, but I think the writers killed him off too soon; they could have developed that storyline further first. But yeah, all in all SUCH AN AMAZING SHOW!
So many twist and turns, but Nikki storming that sealing ceremony was pure gold.
The side ponytail killed it
Nikki is the bomb! She so deserved that Emmy. When the wives were talking to Ana and said why they wanted to talk to her, Nikki piped in: “…and to know the up and up”. It was so timely, and just like Nikki. Then when she went, and in that trashy outfit to get her daughter, hilarious. But is her daughter’s father now going with her own mother? ewww! What’s up with that. I didn’t get that.
Yes, Alby stated a couple of episodes ago that Nikki’s mom was to be sealed to Nikki’s ex-husband. And, ewww..I agree!
she was s 80′s! her wardrobe no doubt came from Margene’s closet
My favorite part was Nikki, side pony tail and all, yelling ‘this is who I am’!
Awww, Nikki, I knew that’s who you were allll along!
I agree, that was my favorite part of the night was Nikki’s arrival to the sealing to save her daughter! Pure magic to see Nikki dressed in her outfit!
I find it interesting that Nicki’s outfit not only showed more skin then she ever would before but it was also dated. It looked late 80′s early 90′s, more appropriate to the time she was married off to JJ then today. Could it have been something that had caught her eye back then? Something she wasn’t allowed then? NO 80′s sideway’s pony tailed allowed on the compound, you must have your hair in a braid.
Have you ever been to Utah? That would clarify Nikki’s outfit choices. All of them.
Nikki! What was she wearing?? Loved it!
I guess Nikki knew about Alby — well, so did his parents, but I guess Alby and Nikki had a open secret?
Great episode.
she always steals the show for me. love her character…and that ratty side ponytail! work it chloe
PS The gay dude in Mexico was creepy. Creepier than Selma!
Ohhh, so much heartbreak tonight! Sad for Dale’s poor tortured soul, upset for Barb and her constant state of bewildered betrayal. At least Nikki’s side ponytail and 80s whore get-up gave me a smile!
Feel like I spent season 3 falling for Bill, and I’m spending season 4 seething with hate for his pathetic self. Who has he NOT betrayed, at this point??
Anyone actually think Ana’s baby is really even Bill’s?
I agree on Bill’s betrayals. I have to see that last week’s episode crushed me when he betrayed his partner the way he did! That was heart-breaking!
I know right!! And they haven’t mentioned it at all since! That was such a low for Bill. I don’t know if I can forgive him after that!
I agree, I was so disturbed by last week’s episode when Bill betrayed both his partner and his son. Last night’s episode even further illuminated his self-involvement. He seems incapable of seeing the impact of his actions and words. All the actors in Big Love are absolutely amazing, Barb and Nikki are such fully realized characters I have to admire the writers.
LOVED the episode — but Barb, PLEASE portray bewilderment with more than your mouth hanging open. In almost every scene, her mouth was agape — except when she signed the agreement with Sissy Spacek’s character — and stuck it to Bill. I wrote Bill off a couple episodes ago when he asked his partner to fall on his sword — did Bill even think about how that would destroy his long time friend — he’s lost his business and any chance of getting his children back, togeher with the public derission. I don’t care how many times he says it, Bill does NOT know best!!
So glad to see someone feels like I do. Bill is being pathetic and all about himself. I love Margene and Nikki the best.
Margene and Nikki are m fav also.Get rid of Barb and make Nikki first wife….I don’t even like to watch when Barb is on!!
Ana’s fiance is yummy–forget the money honey and grab that ma-han.
I knew bad things were coming for Ben, Lois and Frank when they were dancing around, singing and eating shrimp at the beginning. Why was Lois so surprised to see Hollis and Selma? Two episodes ago, she told the women who delivered them the birds at the border to give her regards to Hollis.
She also sang her song in this episode about “cutting out the middle man.” Hollis was supposed to be getting a cut, but she did an end-run around him by going right to the bird guy herself.
There go the last shards of Alby’s humanity.
Looking forward to seeing Alby unhinged.
I’m really sick of Bill thinking he knows best all of the time. Also, loved Nikki standing up for her daughter.
I agree. Bill always thinks he knows best. But he is such a hypocrite. Imagine he had had sex with Ana before they were married, and I didn’t know he had done the same with Margie! He’s such a hypocrite, but Bill Paxon really makes this character work.
Yes, we did know that he was having premarital sex with Ana and Marjean was the babysitter so I always figured this much!
great episode, I knew the suicide was coming after seeing the car scene..it was acting at it’s best. I loved Niki’s outfit..she has always been a provocative actress and this episode doesnt disappoint. Next episode looks great too!
I too knew the suicide was coming when he was talking with Bill. I told myself that he looked “at the end of his rope”, no pun intended.
Yes, I knew the suicide was coming, he was at a breaking point. When Alby’s wife took it upon herself to inform Alby’s lover’s wife of his secret I knew he wouldn’t be able to live with it anymore.
OMG I was so wondering what that was all about. I was wondering if the women killed him, but I thought, there was no way the wife could do that to her kids…. This episode jumped around and cut out a lot and left me wondering in several situations
Sigh. That’s not “Mormon terminology.” Can we just remember that Big Love is NOT about Mormons and that the terminology they use it NOT MORMON.
OK, how about pre-1890 Mormon terminology?
Not about MORMONS? Yeah right. The polygamy, the “lost boys” (in which older MORMON patriarchs dump their, younger male competition aka sons out of the “household”, “sealing”s of women to older husbands and not the other way around, the homophobia, the hypocritical engagement in “sinful” enterprises like gambling and the vending of porn movies in hotels run by MORMON companies. I could go on and on with the accuracy and timeliness of what is depicted about mormonism whether the old-school polygamy strain of it or the sexist, homophobic, hard right wing, all-around bizarre nature of it. Big Love is all about MORMONism. Get real.
After that what more can be said except I agree with you.
yes, and no. you can only know if you have truley been on the inside of mormonism and the outside to be able to see it both ways.
I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but I’ve stopped rooting for everybody on this show. I just want to see them destroyed now. This season has amped up the soap opera-y, unbelievability factor so much, it’s hard to really care about any consequences for any of them. Not that there really are any consequences that Bill can’t talk his way out of (DC cops have your wife for waving around a gun? “Fellas, can we talk?” You got caught impregnating a woman outside your marriage? “Everybody in the car, let’s go see our new house!!!”)
Selma’s character is fabulous!!!
I agree! She’s also great on It’s Always Sunny in Phliadelphia.
I hope she shot Hollis! Can you imagine her at the helm of her group, Alby at the helm of his? Holy smokes that would crazy!!
true, they need to tone down the campiness. and thank you for pointing out the stupidity in the ending scene with Bill and the house. really?? i highly doubt his wives, given all the crap he has given them, would be so nonchalant about this matter.
If they can forgive Nikki for everything she’s done this whole series, it does not surprise me that they can forgive Bill. I was not surprised by the death but I do wish their relationship could have lasted longer, I enjoyed Ben and Matt’s performances so much! And ever since Adam Beach’s character was introduced and seemed to have it out for Barb, I suspected the two of them would eventually develop feelings for each other. Maybe they’ll bring Chip Esten back too! Affairs for everyone!
I wondered about him and Barb too!
I would love to go sweat in a tent with Adam Beach any day.
Agree, stopped caring about the characters last seaon.
I agree with “notwithoutmy tv”. I said it last week…too soap operish! Nikki was great. Alby was great. Bill’s a prick who doesn’t care about “the tenant” he’s like the tiger woods of mormanhood. Just wants to have sex with as many women as possible and have lots of money.
I disagree. This season has me more engaged than ever. It was just amazing to watch Dale’s conflict over his love of Alby. And I love watching the wives come into their own. This season has been great.
When Bill took them to go and see the house, he was all about how “my dream is to be able to all live under one roof.” Did he bother to ask the wives what their dreams were? Could it be possible that they DON’T want to live under one roof? If you have to share a husband, there’s something to be said about not having to share the same house.
So what was with Alby’s #1 wife going to the boyfriend’s house? Did she have something to do with his death?
I too am hating the Ana storyline. It’s probably not even Bill’s baby!! Go away already! Glad Barb finally called Bill on this BS.
What is Bill thinking wanting them all to move in together? Never going to happen.
Alby’s wife (who will ALWAYS be Cutthroat Bitch in my eyes) went to go tell Dale’s wife that he was having a homosexual affair. She then confronted him with it, and then… hanging. I did notice, though, that there was no overturned chair/stool/table underneath his body. How’d he get up there?
I love the Ana storyline, because it further exposes the fact that Bill does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and has managed to surround himself with enough feather-headed women to ALWAYS be able to talk his way out of it.
This season, I root for nobody but Margie.
Val you’re good! Love everything you say. I don’t feel though that Dale’s wife got a chance to confront him. I feel that after he spoke with Bill he went and hanged himself because he was also going to lose his job as well as be exposed. Maybe he had kicked the stool far away that’s why we didn’t see it? Yes I like the Ana storyline, which shows Bill’s shortcomings. I like how Margie is standing up for her finances, haha, but I still root for Nikki, cause she just amazes me with her antics and theatrics.
There was an overturned chair – you could see it plainly in the long shot.
Actually, there was a stool on its side near Dale’s body. When they showed Dale from the front it was to the left of his body onscreen.
Yes, there was a piece of furniture that was kicked over…looked like a table to me but could have been a stool. We saw it in the longshot.
HAHA! I didn’t even know #1 Wife’s name until last night (probably because I never cared to listen for it). Long live “Cutthroat Bitch”!!
there was an overturned chair next to Dale…I had to watch the episode the second time to see it!
There was a stool turned over next to Dale. I saw it in the the long shot showing his hanging.
Ana also had sex with another man during the time that she and Bill had “pre-marital” sex. Bill came to her apartment to talk to her and she had another man there so this baby may not be Bill’s after all. Only a paternity test will tell.
Val, loved your comments but there was a stool/table turned over next to him. Yes, I will always know her as (cutthroat bitch) too lol. Gotta love house. hummm… back to Big Love, I hate the Ana story line, I wish the writers would have dealt more with the exsisting wives then dragging in another woman. I am sure Bill is coming to his sensing soon and will become prophet, he’s just lost right now. As for the wives…Niki, sha’damn baby…loved her scenes this week. Barb, please for the love of “heavenly father” get your head out of your “beep”. <– come on guys write her a better script, she deserves it. OMG…what was the need to kill Alby's lover off so soon. It would have been nice to see him as a human for just one or two more shows.
There was def a chair overturned
There was a stool or an end table under Dale.
Seriously Margie? I can’t STAND her after the whole “I wanna keep all my money” and “I was married to young” IN FRONT OF NICKI, wow what a BITCH. She didn’t even say she was sorry. Nicki seems to do a huge amount of the homework/cooking/child care (she helped Margie all the time) building log cabins, fixing roofs, volunteering in enemy camp. Basically, the unpaid work. She can’t get a good job without a fake name because didn’t finish high school. Margie and Barb have more options then her. Not willing to share the pay, making work outside the home more valuable then inside! Margie really isn’t a feminist, cause she just doesn’t get it. Her earnings are community property just like Bill’s.
I’m going to respond to the question and not bother to read if anyone has responded 100x already – there was an overturned chair in the log shot!! There was!!!
No, there was an overturned chair under him. Look at the rerun.
There was definitely an overturned chair beside him.
Good. I’ll rewatch. I was worried for a minute that they might take a really poignant commentary on the troubles that face homosexual people who love a religion that hates them and turn it into some kind of cheap murder mystery.
Well that pretty much broke my heart. I’ve always felt bad for Alby, and while I knew that this romance was going to end in tears, I didn’t realize it would be this soon and this devastating. Here’s hoping that Nikki comes through with her promise to love him no matter what and support him through this…. Though she has problems of her own right now…
The Dale plotline was amazing. OMG. Phenom. Could have done w/o the Ana bit. Sissy Spacek rocks.