Getting Away From It All
Written by Bob Daily
Directed by Wendy Stanzler
8.0
"Great"
On a wet, horrible January day when sometimes I don't know whether I'm coming or going, the idea of getting away from home sounds pretty appealing but sadly for me, it's something that will have to happen on a much later date.
Interestingly that little wish of mine has a point as this week's episode is all about getting away from it all and like most of the second season, the ladies all embark on mostly separate adventures in an attempts to evade their problems. Suffice to say there are some problems you just can't get away from.
For the ranking of storylines will be done on more of a case of who I sympathise with the most (don't be too surprised who comes in least) and whether their dilemma is interesting or not.
This week, I extend the most sympathy to Lynette because aside from being my favourite housewife, her situation is more problematic and surprisingly enough, one in which she isn't exactly responsible for as well.
Not only is dealing with the fact your husband has a secret love child until a few months ago even he wasn't privy to but when the mother of this child happens to be a full on nut job such as Nora, you'd certainly need a hefty dose of narcotics and alcohol to deal with her on a regular basis.
Lynette was getting a god start this week with Tom taking the kids away and her and Gabby delighting in spa treatment but when Fairview's most weakest of me couldn't deal with the little nightmares he helped co-create, Lynette ended up getting shafted and had to swap bliss for boredom yet again. I love Tom but damn, can the guy not have some form of backbone at all?
If I had to pick between being stuck in the Brecon Beacons with cannibals and cadavers or being stuck in a car with Nora, then oddly the former would have a better sense of appeal because as Lynette has pointed in no shy terms whatsoever, Nora has a tendency of swooping in and invading way too much.
I'd like to say that Nora's decision to join Lynette on a car journey to the campsite for Kayla's sake was her motivation but we all know that it wasn't. As threatened as Lynette is by Nora, it turns out that Nora feels the same way herself about Lynette and only wanted to go on the journey just so Lynette couldn't be a martyr and sadly, that's not where Nora's petty behaviour ends.
Not only does Nora annoy the hell out of Lynette in every scene during the car ride but there's also one incident where Nora's wacky behaviour nearly gets them killed which is another reason to hate backseat drivers all the more.
Lynette's patience with Nora reaches breaking point during this episode where she begins to openly call her new enemy a nut job and in a moment of slight coldness mocks Nora when the latter jokes about killing herself. I can understand why Nora wouldn't be especially pleased to have someone crack a joke during her strop but if I had been in Lynette's position and I had to deal with that amount of insanity I think I would've responded in a similar manner and Nora didn't do herself any favours by getting in a truck with a complete stranger in another attempt to manipulate Lynette.
Still Nora did have her plus points in this episode and one of them besides great comedy was her calling Lynette on how the latter treats Tom and in a very interesting scene on the way home, Lynette encourages Tom to go find his dream whatever that may be but here's hoping for Lynette that Tom's dreams are somewhat realistic ones.
Speaking of reality, Bree is hit with a nasty dose of it when her honeymoon is put on hold after spotting a news report on homeless teenagers in the airport with one of those teens being Andrew. The look of sadness when Orson had to bin their tickets was priceless though.
Bree's guilt for what she feels was abandoning her son during a pivotal time is understandable but at the same time, Andrew got left on the side of the road because once again, he went too far and Bree couldn't deal with him anymore. If anyone's to blame for Andrew's current situation, it's Andrew not Bree and even Orson has a difficult time conveying that message to his new wife.
Orson's attitude in regards to learning more about Bree is interesting because although he's insistent on their not being any secrets in their marriage we both know that neither Bree or Orson have any intention of addressing their past baggage and we don't know whether or not Orson's is any better or worse than Bree's.
Bree's attempts of apologising to Andrew are pretty feeble, mainly because I maintain that Andrew is the one at fault and not Bree and also because I could see Andrew rejecting Bree's attempts of making amends without even thinking about because there are times when certain character traits are just too easy to tell.
Orson on the other hand has a much better try of talking Andrew into coming home despite the fact that they've only met and there's a fantastic sequence where Orson manages to get Andrew back into the now Hodge household by discussing anger issues. Orson and Andrew also have the fact that they've been involved in hit and run incidents as common ground anyway and the camaraderie between them is very interesting indeed. It'll be very interesting to see how these two will interact for the rest of the season because so far, I think Andrew kind of likes Orson.
Meanwhile Susan and Ian get to know each other much better while on vacation and to throw in a further divide between them, there's the neat little revelation that Ian is a little inexperienced when it comes to the women department and despite his protest, you get the hint that he has a complex about that as well.
The funny thing of the week in the way it's deal with is the fact that besides Jane, Ian hasn't really had much sexual experience so when he finds out that Susan isn't exactly the vestal virgin (nor IMO is she a slut), his reaction is pretty immature to say the least and on this series that can go many ways.
Susan and Ian spend most of the fact bickering over their sexual experience while coming up with names and assumptions of each other that are not totally unjustified. As rushed as this relationship is, Susan and Ian do have the fact that they're pretty immature emotionally and are impulsive as their own common ground and when they finally do kiss and make up, the time couldn't be more off if the writers hadn't planned it even more.
After lying in a bed and nearly having his face mutilated everytime Susan tried to shave him, Mike has finally woken up and while it's not like a cool moment from Kill Bill when Beatrix woke, it ends the episode on a great hook and the first person to spot the discovery is Edie. Again, the writers couldn't have planned it any better if they had tried.
Although Edie is not evil personified, her reasons for visiting Mike were more to do with getting back her CD player as opposed to seeing how the man she lusted for was doing but you can imagine what kind of thoughts are now surfacing in that devious little brain of her. I think someone is about to get shafted due to Edie's advantage of being the first around Mike.
Then again, Edie does have her good points and one of them includes warning Julie off her leery nephew Austin. Julie is beginning to see him in a new light when he helps her during a science project and Edie's pretty quick to point out how good girls become bad girls and Edie more or less told Susan back in Season One that she was something of an outcast, although I don't particularly see Julie as one.
Elsewhere the only other person beside Susan to get her holiday was Gabrielle and after being ditched by Lynette, a reunion was in store for Gabby due to the return of John Rowland and while Jesse Metcalfe's acting is still pretty dire, it seems that John has moved up several ladders in his life.
Instead of mowing gardens, he now owns his own business and instead of screwing housewives, he's hooked himself to a vapid Jessica Simpson look alike. Not all change is good and neither are all constants as the quick and speedy way that John and Gabby get reacquainted in the bedroom.
Luckily in the increasing trend of watching Gabrielle getting shafted, she's pretty pissed off to learn that John didn't tell her about his fianc Tammy and more hacked off when she's stuffed into a bag and left in a lift as John tries to hide his indiscretion from his bride to be. The funniest part though is John refusing to allow Gabby to become the other woman after she offered to be and although hypocritical, he's right when he told her that if you keep screwing up, you'll end up alone. Maybe that will make Gabby realise that part of the reason why her marriage went up in smoke is down to her because I'm getting of her blaming Carlos all the time.
Also in "A Weekend In The Country"
Housewife of the week: Once again it was Bree, who was with Orson at the airport when Andrew's new situation was made public. Gabrielle: "I'm all about relaxing, rejuvenating"
Lynette: "Could you be all about shutting up?"
Lynette (re Tom/kids): "God I hate my life"
Gabrielle: "I know. I wouldn't trade with you for anything".
Maybe I wasn't paying attention but where exactly were Tom/the kids and Susan/Ian situated in the country?
Susan (re negligee): "Did you notice?"
Ian: "Hard to miss".
I loved the transsexual Bree was talking to. I think she was called Pearly Gates and I think the actor playing her may have played a similar role in Sex And The City once.
Gabrielle (re her imminent divorce): "Really so why are you smiling?"
John: "I don't know why are you?"
Isn't it a bit of a stretch that John is this quickly successful? I wouldn't mind getting an update on Justin at some point as well.
Nora: "You think I'm crazy?"
Lynette: "No you're colourful, colourful in a way that might respond to medication".
Austin: "Let me grab a flashlight"
Julie: "Maybe you could also grab a shirt and some pants. Pants would be good".
Julie's little project reminded me of Lisa Simpson, who in a lot of ways Julie could be modelled on.
Ian: "Cheers, bob's your uncle"
Susan: "Get out".
Ian thought Susan worked in the recording industry because she's had 11 sexual partners whereas Susan called Ian "Mr Virgin + 1".
Edie (to Julie): "Oh honey, that's what all good girls say before they become bad girls. Trust me, I know".
John: "You didn't have any problem sleeping with me when you were married"
Gabrielle: "You knew about Carlos, my cheating was upfront and honest".
Speaking of which, Carlos is the only regular absent from this episode.
John: "Enough of those screw ups and you'll end up alone"
Gabrielle: "Yeah that can happen".
Orson (to Andrew): "I know about rage. I know how it eats you up but rage goes away and when it does, you're just left with the mess you've made".
Chronology: Seven months since "I Know Things Now".
Well you may not want to go on holiday with these ladies but "A Weekend In The Country" offers a nice change of pace for the series and I like the fact the show is feeling more like an ensemble series once again.moreless
