Big Love season 3

Big Love returns for its 3rd season tonight on HBO 9 p.m. EST.

re: Big Love season 3

Awesome beginning! I completely relate to this show, more then most here, I assume. A few of our friends live in a polyamorous household (they aren't religious, rather they are atheists, but still) and so I always have that as a point of reference. But a great great beginning. Triplehorn is incredibly good in her role.

re: Big Love season 3

Chloe is looking better and better every season! Enjoyed the first episode.

re: Big Love season 3

"Your daughter is peddling smut!" "Oh, is that all?"

Gotta love the twisted nature of this show. Surprised they decided to fictionalize the tension from the Texas raid instead of dealing with it directly. Although I supposed the lawyers were afraid that the Texas compound would have sued.

re: Big Love season 3

Everything about this episode was awesome. I am very glad this show is back and starting off the season strongly.

One thing though, less air-time to Teeny please.

re: Big Love season 3

The beginning was awesome. I like this show very much and I hope it keeps going on with more seasons.

I had missed an episode of season 3. I watched it on tv show online site. I really enjoyed it.

re: Big Love season 3

Love it! The 4th wife issue is going to be great for problems this season. I really love Barb/Jeanne. Hope they don't put her through too much of a wringer this season.

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I have the feeling it's going to be Nikki that finds herself out of the picture. Whether by death or just Bill telling her to hit the bricks when he finds out what she's doing at her new job.

re: Big Love season 3

It was a Great Premiere, my wife and I have watched the show from the Beginning, but I was kinda Afraid they might work Tripplehorn's Cancer back in, right now that subject is way to close to home as my wife is going to begin a long and ardous cancer treatment soon, so this show might get shelved for awhile and I'll come back to it somewhere down the line.. same might happen to Galactica as well, as much as I love that show the Roslin storyline and the Despair the entire storyline is entrenched in we just might not be able to take..

re: Big Love season 3

Great second episode tonight.. I loved everything about how it progressed, until we get to the preview for next week.

HBO has the WORST previews for next week of all time, they basically give away HUGE plot events, which spoils most of the week between now and then, because you know a lot of the stuff that was setup in tonight's ep... there is no speculation, they show you what the results are. That's just cruel & lame.

But I do love almost everything about tonights ep

re: Big Love season 3

HBO is always VERY tricky about their previews. So, don't get too worked up. I quit guessing during DEADWOOD which had preview you THOUGHT were giving stuff away but purposefully mislead.

I'm glad Barb is healthy! That wrapped up quick, only to give us the new thread started by her look at Anna - "oh crap, I don't REALLY want a 4th wife." I don't think Anna fits in anyhow...so, I look forward to her phasing out.

I sure didn't expect Sarah to be pregnant! That's a big problem!

And, boy, the Indian Casino thread is so frustrating. You know they won't succeed! It would make things too easy!

re: Big Love season 3

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of Anna either. That said, this episode was a perfect example of what this series is capable of... we saw Bill in just about every role a husband could be in. I loved the scene in the car after Bill got the call from Barb at the clinic. It was so intimate, and showed that when it gets right down to it, her and him are at the heart of everything. The look on his face when the call came in at the end with the healthy news just about said it all.
On the other hand, I let out an audible "Oh, no" when the camera panned out to show Sarah with the young mother's book. So close to getting free, and it's suddenly snapped away.
Don's situation really challenged my thinking. On one hand, I think the potential for abuse is so great in polygamist relationships, that it should be illegal. On the other hand, the thought that a father can't see his children is devastating. I loved that Don's first wife took Bill to town about it in a way that Don couldn't, and I love that she stood by him even as everything else fell apart.

One thing I did like was that the ASU issue came down to finances. Since Bill is already pretty much planning to pull out of Utah, he certainly can't blame Sarah for wanting to do the same.

re: Big Love season 3

Good episode, but Sarah being pregnant is too much.

Bill seems a bit sleazier this season with the dating business.

Re: Big Love season 3

Which I think will come back to bite Bill in the ass. I doubt he was using protection when he and Anna slept together and unless she's on the pill, I bet she ends up pregnant.

Re: Big Love season 3

Another episode full of truly complex emotions. The most intense was the scene where Lois murders (or appears to murder) Frank. It really captured all the ambiguities of their relationship. She loves him, even though she hates him. And I was kind of moved by Bill's reckoning as well as Rhonda's pathetic misery as Sarah inadvertently takes away the last (first?) thing she has to hold onto. And then, of course, there is Sarah's confession at the end.

Re: Big Love season 3

Boy, I really hate Rhonda. I have no idea what's going on in that warped little mind of hers, but it bugs me.

I was surprised to see Barb seems to really like Anna. So, it looks like she'll champion her. Of course, if they 'come out' and do any testifying it won't be easy to get a 4th wife into the mix.

Re: Big Love season 3

She's the biggest victim of all in this whole mess. She's never been anything but a pawn in everybody else's games. She thought she'd finally found something authentic with Franky, which is why she became so desperate when he seemed to toss her away for Sarah (from her perspective).

Re: Big Love season 3

She is a victim. Her mind was basically contorted as a young kid into believing in the messianic prophecies of a crazy man. And then she got drunk with power and became an evil (but believing she was riteous) bitch, and now she's having to deal with it all.

You can despise her character, but she is someone who was truly tortured by what happened there, used and spit out and went a different way.

The backstory on Nikki this last week was heartbreaking, and for the first time really made me feel for Nikki. You realize now that she had that kind of twisted child hood and couldn't escape it.

Barb, on the other hand, is finding in plurarity that the thing that binds her to Bill and the others isn't that they live some twisted, messed up lifestyle.. it's that their relationship... her, bill, margie & Nikki is more "family" to her then her own real family.

It's the reverse of the bitter spite of all the compound dwelling crazies around her, that she feels as though she's treated with respect and that she has respect in her poly-family, where she doesn't have respect with her own siblings.

I thought that was a great touch. I really like this show, it's one of the few on HBO I make an effort to catch, but it's been very good this season so far.

Re: Big Love season 3

It would be a shame if Frank ends up dead. He's one of the most entertaining characters IMO.

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Well, they just sort of skipped over the whole Frank thing! That was very weird.

And, I can't believe Roman is out. Friggin' nightmare!!

Re: Big Love season 3

Definite nightmare for the fam, though it was good to see Nikki kick his ass down the stairs. Nikki is one of those characters who is so deep, Chloe does an incredible job playing her because she has such conflicted motives.

Great episode this week all the way around.

Re: Big Love season 3

I don't think Ginnifer Goodwin gets enough credit for her work on this show. Chloë Sevigny has the flashier role, but Goodwin imbues the seemingly simple Margine with a good deal of complexity.

The best scene this week was the liiving room scene with Bill and Barb's mothers.

Re: Big Love season 3

It took me a long while to get into this show, but this season has turned it up to '11'. Did they get new writers? The suspense and overall quality is rivaling the (good years of) Sopranos. And the casting director should get an award. Can't wait for next Sunday.

Re: Big Love season 3

Wow! That was one of the best hours yet! All around great performances by the cast.
So do you think Bill will figure out about Nikki's part in the outcome of the trial??

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Great episode. Absolutely loved Margene's dance routine.

Re: Big Love season 3

Bicker Bicker Bicker.

And then it all falls apart.

Re: Big Love season 3

So, what's the thesis of this show? Are the writers/producers making a point that polygamy just isn't tenable without the subjugation of women's basic human rights? Sometimes I feel like TPTB are just laughing at polygamy as a lifestyle/calling.

Re: Big Love season 3

If it is, it's kind of disappointing, actually. I think that's the angle a lot of people wanted, but I always thought the better angle was how difficult it was to have a positive plural arrangement and how Bill was trying to break new ground, in a way.. the setup as obvious - Roman and his old cronies in forced oppression, etc. And Bill trying to do something entirely different by having open meetings, discussions, and a lot of free will.

I liked that setup a lot. In fact, I don't have any problem with the Ana storyine on that end. Bill may be hurt, but he's not the Roman old-style dictator who will go out chase her down and force her to obey. He's always won allegiance so to speak based on treating his wives with respect.

Re: Big Love season 3

This episode really showcased how much of themselves Barb, Nikki, and Margie have put into the marriage. Because of the nature of having one husband and many wives, having seperate bank accounts isn't tenable; it puts different wives on unequal footing. I can understand why Ana wasn't willing to give that basic measure of independence up, but I can also understand why Bill had to ask it of her. To me this episode wasn't mocking the Henrickson lifestyle, it was demonstrating how complex and delicate of a thing it really is. Our society puts a premium on induvidual achievement, but what Margie, Nikki and especially Barb sacrifice deserves to be respected. It was in respect of that relationship the women in it that Ana ultimately pulled out. The demand for a house and seperate bank account was a selfish act. The decision to pull out of the union, however, was a selfless one. I don't agree with polygamy, but I think that's beautiful. Bill provided the modern trappings and access to the outside world. But don't forget, that it was ultimately Barb's decision to let it happen. The biggest contrast between their household(s) and the compound families is the relationship of the wives in the family. They present a generally united front to Bill as, collectively, an equal player. All four partners in the marriage generally proceed in good faith, which is why Bill's one night stand with Ana was so shameworthy.

Re: Big Love season 3

I've never taken the show as laughing at polygamy. I'm not sure what the intentions of the writers are, but from a viewer standpoint, the show allows me to take something I've had some interest in (not necessarily from the Mormon perspective). I've never discussed polygamy with a Mormon (or Mormon offshoot), but I have discussed it with people of other religions who believe it's fine. I enjoy challenging my taboos to at least see if I understand why they're taboo. The guy I used to talk to about this made sure to point out to me polygamy isn't a harem. There's a boatload of responsibility that goes along with it. The average man has enough trouble supporting (and keeping happy) one wife, let alone multiple. For me, this show is an exploration of that.

I haven't watched any of this season yet because I'm saving it up for a marathon, but it's one show I really enjoy watching.