Big Love Season 1 Episode 12

This was the episode we had all been waiting months for, the explosive conclusion of the first 11 episodes and the buildup toward next year's dozen's worth of TV; and it delivered, with possibly the best hour of Big Love yet. The event saw Barb's polygamy be exposed in front of the state, with one of the most jaw-dropping scenes yet. Hopefully there are plenty more to come.





More importantly the show built up on the action of the first 12 episodes and made you want to start counting the days toward next season with cliffhangers such as the fate of Alby Grant.

So much happened in this episode !





Albie's being poisonned ? and by the serial poisonist Wanda ! Did not see that coming !





Rhonda ? I surely did not like her before but now ? she really is pure evil and a match made in heaven or in hell for Roman...





Is the family wrecked ? I was so sad for the sister wifes. Barb in tears, Nikki terrified and in the middle Margie maybe not really understanding (even if i want to give her more credit). Sarah and Ben realising that a change is gonna come...





really good season finale anyway, the actors magnifying the writing !

Where do I start? This was an excellent episode.





The look on Nicki's face when Rhonda asked why Barb was getting the Mother of the Year award..."Why did they pick Barb...Is she more important than you two?" Awwgh! I love it. Nicki already has a complex about being second wife, and now this. If I see Nicki roll her eyes once more....!





Roman accusing Bill of being relentless? Huh? Pot calling the kettle much?





Bill cooking breakfast for Margie! That was so cute. Bill has become thoughtful with all that is going on around him! It is a wonder he had time to cook breakfast.





The scene with Albie in Wanda's kitchen. That was super! Who would have thought she had it in her! Best quote: "Why is Albie sleeping on our couch?" That was hilarious.





I actually felt bad for Nicki when she walked in on Barb and Margie talking about her dowdy look. I don't like Nicki, but this episode changed my opinion of her a little. She looked great after Margie was done with her, and the little freak out that she had at the end? That was a fantastic portrayal of how kooky the people at the commune are.





I felt so bad for the Henrickson's at the end of this episode. I thought that the ending was great and the cliffhanger well thought out. Great great episode!!

An explosive finale from Big Love tonight and we got some of the best acting I've ever seen. From Chloe Sevigny freaking out to Barb being completely humiliated in front of the whole state. In the words of Sarah: "We are goners" and yes, yes they are.





Wendy exposing the family out of all people? That was just perfect buildup for the finale, there really isn't any unnecessary scenes on Big Love or filler episodes or anything. Every episode matters. Did anyone else think Teeny voting Barb as Mother of the Year would amount to anything? Now here we are, episodes later, and that's how the whole family gets exposed. It only makes sense with Barb being pushed in the spotlight. Nikki's transformation was great and it brought us some good development with her character. Just great acting, great writing, and just a great first season to this show.





I can't wait for season 2, and this was literally a perfect finale, very suitable for this show.

First off, I have to say: I grew up in a heavily Mormon-powered town; the conversations between Sarah and her friend Heather ("what ward are you in? Are you in young women's?") are familiar enough to me to make me uncomfortable while watching them occur-being a non-churchgoer in a region over-saturated with churches was long a thorn in my side during my youth-as were moments such as Ben and Brynn's uncomfortable struggle towards sexual activity. Likewise, I'm more than familiar with the area the show is set in-after years of roving around, doing construction work in the smallest, creepiest of Western towns, a good majority of Utah is under my belt-at times, I'm sure I've been in exact locations shown in the show. That being said, I never knowingly have known a polygamist. That lifestyle is almost completely foreign to me (oh, I remember compounds being raided-or, at least, people discussing it), which, I suppose, is the main draw of this show-it's a foreign concept to most of the American viewing public. What surprises me, though, is how incredibly in-tune with it the series writers are; like their understanding of the region (subtle mentions of different areas of the Salt Lake Valley, for instance) or of the social constructs found in said region (Pam saying things like "It's against the Church"), they seem to have a pretty good handle on the sub-sub-culture of polygamist sects of the Mormon religion, including the compound lifestyle, and that's what draws me most to the show: these writers have gotten inside a frame of mind and made us view it as insiders, something that is both horribly difficult and incredibly amazing for writers in any medium.





As for the rest of the cast and crew, I'm not sure I've ever been let down by Chloë Sevigny or Harry Dean Stanton, but I'm not so sold on Bill Paxton yet (I've always had a hard time swallowing him, since Aliens and/or Twister), and most of the rest of the cast (not counting the lovely Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ginnifer Goodwin) is so buried by the vast reaches that you don't really have the ability to ascertain their weight-outside of the Henrickson core children, none of the others really have traits we pick up, and the supporting cast is spotty-again, if they're not Henrickson, they don't seem to carry much dramatic impact. Likewise, while some episodes are directed with sparse beauty, others seem sort of run-on. All of this, of course, comes down to a show making its journey through its first season, and so I look forward to continuing on. All in all, its a success-demanding content, alluring characters, and a season cliff-hanger built to hurt you.