One of the promises made by the writers prior to the series premiere was that mysteries wouldn't unfold at a glacial pace, and that answers will be given at a speed which would satisfy the viewer. Sometimes this formula can backfire a little, like in the busy pilot and its abundance of illogical plot twists. But what the show did here was throw everything up in the air, setting in motion events that will obviously create shock-waves throughout the entire series. Being so soon into the show's existence, it's pretty exciting.Bridget's big conversation with Machado was interesting. Cleverly, she's blurring events together to create a consistent story, using half-truths to get the FBI off her back. Of course, she's once again piling lies on top of lies, which has the potential to screw everything up for her. It also didn't entirely work, since Machado was snooping around her cell phone literally five seconds after she left. But I love that Bridget is continuing to be pro-active. She's making decisions, and while they could prove fatal in the long-run, they're decisions all the same.
At the same time, Bridget got dumped on even more when Gemma discovered the identity of Henry's lover, and then she came clean about not being Siobhan at all. Part of the fun of this show is the idea of everything spiraling out of control, and seeing Bridget working her way out of trouble. Something tells me that Gemma won't react well to the twin thing, despite knowing that Bridget isn't involved in the breakdown of her marriage. That's if she actually believes her anyway...
Over in Paris, we got some movement on the whole Siobhan/Tyler subplot. He seems ludicrously naive and stupid, but I guess whatever Siobhan wants, Siobhan gets. I'm eager to find out who she's working with, though. The only logical character right now would be Olivia, who may be interested in some power-play coup at Andrew's company. Hmm.
Something I'm finding a little disappointing is the characterization for Bridget and Siobhan, which is becoming less distinctive. There was a flashback scene here in which we saw Siobhan and Henry together, and Siobhan is cracking jokes and being all personable just like Bridget is. Sarah also seems to be playing both characters too similarly, and it doesn't feel like Bridget is even trying to 'act' like Siobhan anymore. In some ways I guess this isn't really the point of the show, and that the soapy melodrama has kind of eclipsed the 'twin-impersonating-twin' angle, but it still feels jarring.
This was another fun episode. So far Ringer is batshit and ridiculous, but the writers are somehow selling that and making it seem fresh and exciting. No matter how many dumb plot twists and lazy pieces of storytelling appear (zombie Siobhan!), the show is pretty successful at creating a decent cliffhanger each week that pretty much forces you to watch the next episode. B
Credits
Guest stars Tara Summers (Gemma Butler); Justin Bruening (Tyler Barrett); Drew Powell (Detective Singer)
Writer Cathryn Humpris Director Jean De Segonzac
I have to agree with you on a lot here. Everything seems to come out of left field, and they need to be careful that things don't get too crazy, since they only seem to be holding everything together right now.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to see much of a distinction between the two sisters, since other than flashbacks, there's not many scenes of them together, but they do seem to be remarkably similar.Great review, can't wait till next week!
I'm so naive. At the beginning of the episode, I genuinely thought the dream sequence was real and we'd see a '48 Hours earlier', with a whole bunch of crazyness going down before leading to Bridget and Andrew's confrontation. Colour me upset.
ReplyDeleteGemma finding out this early is great though, and we've seen from the previous episodes that she can't keep a secret, and she's fairly irrational. Really great cliffhanger, next week should be fun!
I'm glad we're seeing more twin scenes, even if, like you and Panda said, the characters aren't distinctive enough yet. Those ratings are troubling.
Thanks for the comments, guys. I was actually happy that the teaser sequence was a dream, since I think it would completely destroy the show if Andrew found out about the twin switch so soon. I'm still of the opinion that the Bridget/Andrew story is the most absorbing so far.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree about the ratings. They plummeted last night. Yikes.
The ratings ARE dire, but the CW as a whole is starting to crumble. I think that because of it's tag of being the series to help re-brand it as a credible network, not just full of teen shows, it has a fighting chance. For a full season that is. After that I don't know.
ReplyDeleteAnd max in reply to your comment about Gemma on my own review: I completely forgot about her being a guest star. She's a total goner ...!
It'll definitely get a full season pick-up, but I'm not sure about after that. Nikita is a goner (which is devastating, since I'm strangely obsessed with that show), but at the same time some of their older shows are performing terribly, like Gossip Girl. So maybe there is hope...
ReplyDeleteThe major concern I have with Ringer's fate is the expense of the cast. Sarah is likely to be pocketing a decent-sized paycheck, and Ioan and Nestor are probably more expensive than a couple of the random teenage actors on something like 90210 or that Rachel Bilson show. Eh...
The whole network is a mess, which makes guessing what they'll renew quite difficult (especially this early in the game).
ReplyDeleteGossip Girl and 90210 seem to barely break a million (even if the demo watches those shows in droves). Despite their waning popularity, I think both have a shot at renewal (GG was really the CW's first hit, and will be their first non-WB show to hit 100, and 90210 would be the second. Both are apparently not too expensive according to the new head of the network, which is why they've both got two extra episodes this year).
Before this week, Ringer was actually performing pretty strongly by the CW's current season standards (Vampire Dairies and the witch-y spin-off are doing better, but that was to be expected). They have already cancelled their horrible looking reality show and are placing Ringer repeats in that slot - surely that shows the CW want this to show to thrive? And, come on, even if people aren't watching the show. Ringer should be doing better in the ratings, anyway - people seem to love Gellar, and she has been everywhere lately.
Also, how great is the latest casting news for Ringer! Amber Benson needs a regular gig already, but I'll take her in a guest role, as long as she shares the screen with Gellar.
The link about Ringer being repeated;
http://www.deadline.com/2011/10/cw-cancels-new-reality-series-h8r/
Gossip Girl is one of the ones I'm 90% sure will go this year. Not just because of bad ratings but because of contracts which will be up this year. Leighton Meester already said she wants to go after season 5. Also, with Dawn Ostroff out, and GG being her 'baby' show, I have a feeling that the new boss won't be as forgiving of it's poor performance. Ringer is one of the shows he brought in though, so I'm sure that it has more of a chance than GG. Great news about the repeats though. That might be great for drumming up some interest and maybe add a tick or two onto the demos.
ReplyDeletemax: I wouldn't be too worried about Nikita. Taking into account it's Friday slot, I think it has a much better shot than some other series on there. It seems to be performing on par with others on better nights. For me, GG is the one in most danger. Rachel Bilson's show will probably be axed too, looks terrible as well, so no big loss!
Great review, Max/Adam. If it's not too much trouble, could you drop me a line? I'm at billiedoux at gmail dot com.
ReplyDeletetvfan The Deadline article also mentions that the CW execs are happy with Ringer's direction, which is promising. It's definitely a show they want to nurture. But I can see the whole network folding in a couple of years time, unless they find stronger performing shows. Vampire Diaries is their only breakout hit, and even that show barely cracks 1.0 in the demo anymore. But what the whole network is missing is some buzz. The media doesn't care at all about Gossip Girl or ANTM anymore, and the one thing the CW/WB thrived on at one point was some semblance of buzz.
ReplyDeleteEven though I only watch two shows on there, I still have affection for the network, if only because of WB memories. That time in television (Buffy, Angel, Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Roswell, Popular) really shaped my whole upbringing and formed my love for TV.
Panda I didn't realize the GG contracts were up this year. I can't see any of the cast renewing, since they all seem tired of it. And several of their movie careers have entirely eclipsed the show now. But I can see the top brass renewing the show without Blake, et al, just to see what happens.
Even though Nikita has the Friday slot, it's the worst scripted performer in the 18-34 demo across the whole network, and I imagine it's pretty expensive to make, too. It's such a great show though! I have no idea how it completely flew under the radar. Every episode is exciting and intense and the characters are so badass. I definitely feel it's as good as Alias was in its prime.
Billie Done. And thanks for dropping by.