HUNG “We’re Golden; Crooks and Big Beaver” Season 3 Episode 5 – The winning streak continues for Ray Drecker, though I wish I could say the same for Hung. This was one of the weaker episodes in an otherwise promising season.
Of course it didn’t start out looking very rosy even for Ray. Lydia (Ana Ortiz) was on the warpath, and it looked like she was headed for a wall of destruction that possibly included group suicide-by-husband. She’s a hard character to get behind, this Angry Lydia chick—kind of hard to fathom, so the story is weaker when it revolves around her. I’m not exactly sold on Ortiz as an actress either; it sort of feels like they grabbed a Latina and said, “Now go be Michelle Rodriguez.” And it’s been a little unconvincing.
“We’re Golden; Crooks and Big Beaver” was written by show creators Colette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin and directed by Gloria Muzio, and it felt a little like a filler, like something they had to stick in to keep the story moving in one direction and to sort of… pass the time. The episode was made worse when Tanya (Jane Adams) was stuck in the back of the squad car with Ray and began narrating to us exactly what Lydia was doing. It was like some demented play-by-play.
I want to tell the freakin’ producers they need to go less cartoony with Tanya, but apparently that’s mostly what she’s good for. She’s becoming less and less real.
Which isn’t to say the show should be grounded in abject realism. Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff) made her usual colorful appearance, and she’s usually more effective when she’s turned up to 11. Or at least… alright, admittedly I’ve never seen a subdued Lenore. That might be effective too. Creskoff has the skills.
Jason (Stephen Amell) and Sandee (Analeigh Tipton) are believable characters; they’re just a little odd, and still more than a bit of a mystery. But I like odd. I want more of that.
And I want more Jessica “She’s a Haxon, not a Drecker.” Anne Heche is still the most skilled player on the ballfield. I like that they’re setting up something messy with Jessica and her new job. “Your job? Perfectly intact.” Good to know! Doc Matt (Matt Walsh) is not turning out to be the best idea she’s ever had. (If the show tunes in bed thing didn’t clue her into that fact.) For the sake of good television, I hope it gets worse before it gets better.
We finally got to see something from Darby (Sinoa Smit-McPhee) and Damon (Charlie Saxton), thank god. Darby is probably the most realistic character on the entire show; Smit-Mcphee has perfected multiple incredulous look for the multiple bizarre situations her character has been forced to bear witness to. And Damon has a way of reminding us what’s really important:“Yeah, but… where’re his shoes?”
Alright, maybe not. Huggle up anyway!
“So maybe this wasn’t our finest hour; Tanya handcuffed to a pole, me trying to fuck my way to freedom.”
That’s sort of how I felt. I’m hoping now that the Lydia story has been quasi-resolved, we can get back to the more interesting stuff with Lenore and Jason and Sandee. And the twins. We got the briefest glimpse of the twins. More twins, people!
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