So... two episodes left, huh? I want to think that a serialized show like Big Love has a solid plan, but the longer the final season goes on the more doubts I have. When Bill tells his wife that he has to prepare for the upcoming trial, we know that it's not going to be shown on screen. In two episodes, there is simply not enough time for a trial unless the writers want to jump ahead in time, which would also force other plots to resolved early. There is still plenty going on with Barb, Cara Lynn, Greg, Rhonda, Ben, Heather, and Sarah is also returning.
My biggest problem is that, for all the plot machinations, it's not that interesting. The writers, once again, are trying to make the show exciting in a 24 sort of way, but the subject area doesn't lend itself to that. Alby, with the poof, tying Nikki up and almost shooting her is actually kind of funny (to me at least), and I watched passively, knowing that Nikki would survive.
Margene's protectiveness of Cara Lynn seems to stem from her own distress over the fact that she too was involved with an older man at a similar man. If we compare to Bill to Greg, it actually looks better for Greg, who is younger and inexperienced himself, whereas Bill was already married to two women and had kids. But Margene does show how tough and perceptive she can be. At long last, after another bout of extended idiocy, Margene decides to cut ties with Goji Blast. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaking of tough, Nikki comes down hard on Greg in the best scene of the episode, standing her ground and even hitting Greg. Cara Lynn, however, remains adamant that she loves Greg and Greg looks like a real scumbag. That's the Big Love I like, where the drama stems from personal problems and not a crazy person waving a gun around.
Alby has become a great example of Big Love's propensity to have too much plot. He's more of a plot tool, doing evil acts and being outlandish, than a believable character we can care about. At the end of the episode, he's slightly redeemed, choosing not to shoot Nikki. However, he still shoots Verlan and he has a hold over Home Plus.
Now that Bill is under direct fire from the government, all the problems before are minuscule in comparison. I definitely don't want to see the marital issues pushed under to rug for the wives to band behind Bill, but with Margene disavowing Goji, it seems we're headed that way. But even if the long term prospects aren't looking great, "The Noose Tightens" has enough emotion to carry it through.
Score: 8.7/10
