Misery Loves Company

I've been trying to write this assessment of the first episode of the new season for the best part of two days. Usually, if I can't pull the whole thing together, I just mull it over for a day or so and the right way comes to me. It's probably something to do with Jesus.


But I am having trouble. I wanted the show to redeem itself. I loved it, initially. And I thought at first that it could come back, that they could make things better here, this year. But I'm not sure if that's possible. Putting everything else aside - the ridiculous story lines, the bad acting on some parts...okay, one - I think things have gone too far for the Henricksons.


We open with the Henricksons hiding out in the desert, in the best lit tents in the western world. Yes, hiding. Because that is the point of coming clean with the world and claiming to be proud of what you are. I mean, lets not start pretending that you care about what a shitty time the children are having of it....

Bill is walking around in some sort of haze. He seems to spend most of his time labouring under the delusion that no-one thinks that badly of the family, and that they should hold an open house so that everyone can come and throw pineapples at them, or something. All the workers at HomePlus, the business he can't be arsed to think off half the time, think he's either a paedophile or worse, a bad boss. He seems unaware that his neighbours hate him as some reporters hung around for a while and left some cups on the floor, ruining the good name of the neighbourhood forever. He makes an apology to everyone at some point (I may have fallen asleep) for risking everything, but Paxton's acting is so flat that I can't even bring myself to try and believe him. 

Margene looks like she's about to have a nervous breakdown. There's a woman ripe for a cult/pyramid scheme if ever I saw one. 
She is freaking out (and is the loudest crier EVER) as she realises the true cost of coming clean is everything that she loved about her life, and that her chances of financial independence are dwindling now that she seems to unemployable. She drops the F bomb at a school meeting that contains more drama than a Walker family dinner, but no worries - it appears as if the next story for gullible Margie is lining up.

Barb doesn't know what to do with herself. She seems torn between the family that she loves and the life that she hasn't had, all the things that she hasn't experienced, wondering about what sort of life she could have had. Bill of course, seems utterly shocked to discover that she has bought a bottle of wine. Not a surprise though, as the man seems to wander around in a self-involved dream, completely unaware that the people he shares his life with are utterly sad. Because of course, what else do you do when your lives are falling apart and two out of your three wives are ready to cry at any moment? Why, you hold an open house for your constituents! Isn't it obvious? 


Nikki is...well she's Nikki. Conflicted as always, vacillating between smug contempt for the rest of the world and shy insecurity in the face of her new position as a public wife of Bill Henrickson. Chloe is marvellous, as she always is.


The thing is....everyone is just so miserable. I don't think I've ever felt so depressed after watching a show. How can they come back from this? Can Bill not see that his wives are just so completely unhappy? A happy ending at the end of this season would be completely unbelievable. I almost wish we had cut our losses and just not had the show back again. I could then sit and ruminate on how things could have been good again, instead of feeling sympathetic suicide pains for fictional women. And Alby. Who appears to be spending the final season going even more batshit crazy. Hooray for love, eh?