Mikey Likes TV

HBO certainly has a knack for getting viewers to empathize with unlikely protagonists. Misogynistic social hierarchy and fervor for Jesus are two of my least favorite things in this world, so it’s kind of odd that I’m head over heels in love with a group of polygamous Mormons. When they were outed for being just that at the end of the last season, I feared their charming, dysfunctional family would never be the same again. And apparently it won’t.

Now that the shit has hit the proverbial fan, Big Love can finally move past the introduction to the large family, and their many conflicts, and onto the dissention among the ranks that is inventible in a situation like their own. Most notably, this dissention comes from the first two women in Bill Henrickson’s life – his first wife, Barb, and his oldest daughter, Sarah. While Barb’s doubts in their lifestyle are now quite obvious, it’s Sarah’s openness with friends and acquaintances about her family, and her disgust with it, that bodes to be the most exciting. Even the looming threat of uber-creep and polygamous “prophet” Roman doesn’t offer as much drama as an angsty teen.

Jeanne Tripplehorn continues to be my favorite part of the show and shares a spot with Connie Britton at the top of my list of TV’s dearest leading ladies. It is my greatest and least realistic hope for this show that it will eventually conclude with her putting herself before everyone else and leaving, but I know it’s impossible. And that makes her brief estrangement even more traumatic. There was always something in Barb’s eyes that gave away how she desperately yearns for the normalcy of a conventional nuclear family. Now it’s in her heavy sighs and delayed responses. Her return to the family at the end of last night’s episode was sad but predictable.

Their pseudo-exposure could have brought them even closer together, but it looks like the Henricksons will become more polarized than ever. It’s sad to see the harmony of the first season go out the window, but if this was a happy show about a man with three wives, it would be pornography.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 4:34 am and is filed under Big Love, hbo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.