Ringer: Shut Up and Eat Your Bologna (1.9)

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm at that point where Ringer has lost me. I still watch the show, and I'll tune in and review for the rest of the season, but my general interest in the characters and the storylines has drifted, and I don't think I'm ever gonna be completely drawn in again. I bring this up because Shut Up and Eat Your Bologna featured a ton of movement in several story arcs, but I was never particularly engaged with any of it. When that sort of thing occurs, you can't help but feel that the show's general tone just doesn't work for you.

The soapy elements here involved the reveal that Gemma is very much alive, Charlie having chained her up in his basement. It wasn't particularly shocking on either front, since everybody had assumed she hadn't perished, and we already knew that Charlie was nuts. I did, however, enjoy Bridget and Malcolm doing their detective double act thing. With Malcolm suddenly actively involved in a lot of the proceedings, it's only Agent Machado who remains a character drifting around aimlessly on the fringes of the show. He wasn't even in this episode.

Bridget's undercover stint in therapy was interesting, primarily because it dealt with the themes I find most interesting about this show, the ones that have so far been sparingly explored. Bridget is falling for Andrew because of the good that he sees in her, and its directly linked to Bridget's own lack of self-worth. When all the world gives up on you, it's suddenly new and exciting to see this handsome wealthy businessman discovering new depths to your character. Obviously this is gonna quickly blow up in everybody's faces, especially with Olivia and her undoubtedly blackmail-happy ways, but I like the insight into Bridget's psychology.

This episode had a couple of interesting moments. I liked the therapy, I liked Bridget becoming pro-active after weeks of being a passive non-entity of sorts, the Gemma reveal promises some fun in the future. But generally the show has become elevator music for me, which sucks. Meh. C+

Credits
Guest stars Billy Miller (Charlie Young/John Delario); Merle Dandridge (Dr. Anabel Morris); Darren Pettie (Jimmy Kemper); Jaime Murray (Olivia Charles)
Writer Robert Berens Director Scott White