Big Love Season 4 (Jan 10)

Tonights episode took on all the subplots I not only hate, but they've gone even farther with them painting them into a crazy corner.  His opponent prepares to reveal him as a polygamist (Bill's ultimate objective anyway) and Bill's strategy undercuts everything.  It would have been far more like Bill to look at all of these signs against him and realize there is something very wrong here and stop.

In fact, in Season 3, Bill's BIL/SIL had pretty much pointed this out, and that should his secret be revealed, they'd lobby to take the children out of an "unfit home".  And now Bill doesn't care about that?  "Oh, it's only a misdemeanor and a fine" yes, true.. but it's also a CPS violation and you lose your kids, which is why in Season 2, Bill had to make sure the nosy neighbors who became friends were kept off guard from reporting because "they had a newborn and young children" they didn't want to get stripped of.

This show has completely abandoned it's own rules.  I admit, I still like the cast.  But if it wants to play by the seat of it's pants and ignore past history of characters and just insert wild storylines then what an incredible waste of talent and time.

I would have never thought I'd say this at the beginning of the season, but: I'm out.  I'll catch up later, maybe.. I'll see what others say.  But this may be one of the greatest "crash and burn" of any show I can ever remember.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Gerdes 



I disagree. Bill is the same pious, self-righteous character he has always been. I think what has happened with Big Love is that each season Bill has taken greater and greater risks to "protect" his family and give them the freedom to practice their religion. In each case Bill has ultimately been successful, and with the casino he is now more protected from the moral judgements of his customers than when he simply owned a home store. 

But Bill is, and always has been, a sanctimonious zealot. As such he takes great risks, often at the expense of the people he loves, blinded to the pain that his testimonies often cause. But I don't see his desire to shape the political process any differently than his desire to be out from under Roman's thumb, or to own a casino. His behavior has been consistent in that regard.

And ultimately, I believe this show is headed to the same place it was always headed. Bill will ultimately take one risk too many in the "real world," and due to the fallout will have nowhere else to turn but Juniper Creek, where he will finally accept that it is his role to be prophet.


 

See, I don't know about that.  I've never taken him as a fundamentalist jerk that you seem to feel he is.  In fact, I thought that was the whole thing, that Bill was finding "a new way".  He had left the compound.  In his situation, women have a voice in the ministry, and they had open meetings of all four in the first two seasons.  A lot of those were focused around growing their family and how the children reacted to the situation.

Bill was presented as someone who believed in "The Principle" but with none of the creepy subjugation that went on at the Compound which is why they talked ill of it.  Those seasons were about him escaping his roots, providing his family a normal life, and living his faith.
 

Season 3 went a direction where the pressure to grow led him to chase Ana, but again, unlike Roman/etc the offer was made, etc. but she wasn't forced or obligated, and she left.  The big sin of S3 was Nikki using birth control and Ben coming to terms with the fact he loved Margine.  Season 3 was great conflict as Margine and Nikki grew into their roles.  Bill protected his friends, even brother/mother.  He viewed himself as "The great protector" in a way.

While Bill self-justifies "this will allow us to come out of the closet" this season has really been about Bill being a lot about personal vanity; he's cashed in friends, beliefs, etc. thrown them all under the bus for his political aspirations.  And it makes no sense to me in relation to the past few seasons.

I'm just incredibly dissappointed with all the subplots this year.  From Bill's complete turn of character to the semi-abduction of a meth runner baby.  It just isn't very interesting to me.