Dirty Sexy Money: The Plan (2.9)

Can you say Maldovian Massacre? That's all I got from that ridiculous shooting rampage at the inauguration, something straight out of the Aaron Spelling playbook. Of course, it was a lot of fun, what with everybody ducking for cover, Jeremy hitting his head, and Nick leaping into the air to protect the family. Chase Alexander's motivations, like everything this season, were more than a little contrived, if only because we barely know the guy. There were vague allusions to losing his family, but I don't believe that he'd turn murderous in a snap like that. But I guess it runs in the family. Ellen, too, seemed merely uptight before suddenly turning into a crazed banshee.

I don't know what to say about Brian's loss of faith and his subsequent attempts to make right and go back to the church. I could understand why he felt God was being unfair, but the mild upswing in Andrea's condition would be unlikely to pull him back to religion. I like Brian as a character, but he's just as inconsistent as everybody else. And his rages are becoming a little monotonous at this point. But Glenn Fitzgerald and Sheryl Lee have chemistry in spades, which is more than I can say for most of the rest of the cast.

Simon is back on the bio-fuel trip, ordering Nola around to do his dirty work. This story is as weird as always, Simon once again chewing the scenery and the writers desperately trying to convince us that Nola and Jeremy work as a couple. Seth Gabel deserves better than being stuck in this subplot.

The best part of the episode was Karen's run-in with Chase, featuring Natalie Zea doing some of her finest work. Zea, regardless of Karen's schizophrenic characterization, has a complete handle on the character, embodying her so much that she becomes a living, breathing being instead of merely a soap opera stereotype. She reminds me a little of Laura Leighton on Melrose Place (though obviously more talented), in the way that she has become entirely at one with the character she's playing. Karen's scene with Chase was full of awkward humor and discomfort, and Zea nailed it.

The Plan was fun, but spotty in places. Like always, there's that shriek of trashiness that runs through the episode, culminating with that crazy shooting at the end. Most of the cast are phoning it in now, though, instead of reveling in the madness à la Joan Collins or somebody similarly soapy. Meh. C+

Credits
Guest stars Candis Cayne (Carmelita Rainer); Sheryl Lee (Andrea Smithson); John Rubinstein (Dr. Zwerling); Scott Holroyd (Chase Alexander); Richard McGonagle (Bishop Bascombe)
Writers Yahlin Chang, Emily Whitesell Director Michael Schultz