Before "Til Death Do Us Part," did Big Love really need another layer of trouble? There was plenty of turmoil and plot going on already, which seemed sufficient to fill the final four episodes. Then "Til Death Do Us Part" comes around and plots a giant new thing on our lap: Alby bought both Home Plus buildings. Where, when, how? When it comes to artificially generating plots, Big Love does not disappoint. To top things off, Bill is being investigated for statutory rape while Heather inadvertently allows this to happen (though she should know by now from every movie/TV show out there that every religious figure is bad news).
Barb is hauled off for questioning, and that should prove to be interesting, but I'm still not sure how necessary this all is. In a position to save or damn Bill, Barb will have a lot of think about, especially after getting legally divorced and seeing the other wives get resealed, and it'll definitely test her commitment to Bill. But it'll happen only after another external element is introduced to an already overburdened show. How many plots will be pushed aside for the "Bill fights rape charges" arc, and why can't there be conflict between Barb and the rest of the family without outsiders getting involved?
It goes back to one of my biggest problems with the show, that the family, which in my eyes is the most entertaining and gratifying, is often relegated to external forces which skew the show entirely. Instead of seeing the family operate and fight as is, these other elements act as lenses. We still see the family, but it's not an exact image.
Margene is an idiot. Bill tells her Goji Blast is a pyramid, and Margene is too ignorant to know what that is. To find the "truth," she goes to Golgi guy and asks him. What does she expect, an admission that he's a con artist? How stupid can she be? But since she's so dumb, I guess we can excuse her for telling Pam to waste what little money she and Carl have.
Lois acts crazy again... The writers top it off with some sympathy, but 95% of pure insanity, which isn't even amusing, is just hard to watch.
With three episodes left, I'm getting really worried where all this is headed. I hope the writers can pull it off, but the signs of disaster are definitely present.
Score: 8.6/10
