Quotable:

"In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is a sign of perfection." - Curnonsky

Monday, January 26, 2009

Dirty Sexy Money - The Verdict

That was more like it! Just as I was about to write off this episode as another bland installment of Dirty Sexy Money, down came an embarrassment of primetime soap riches. Letitia's trial was resolved with the kind of speed only possible in TV-land, and I got a cliffhanger and three major shocks to boot!

The Cliffhanger - Am I the only one who wouldn't be devastated if Nick and Lisa made their separation permanent? Lisa dug her own grave this time, partnering with Jeremy and getting caught lying to Nick about it. If she can't keep secrets, perhaps Lisa wouldn't have lasted in the Darlings' world anyway. I'd love it if the show explored the Karen-Nick relationship further; they have amazing chemistry and a far more interesting history. Still, I'm not sure it's in Karen's best interest to hook up with the man who suggested that Tripp cut her out of the Darling empire. Nick has become a dark, cold-hearted person this season, and I doubt that an affair with Karen would change anything. I'll have to wait at least a couple of weeks to see if he "steps up."

The Bad News - The scene between Andrea and Brian (when she discussed having cancer) was touching, and I'm close to becoming a fan of this couple. I hoped for Andrea's quick exit last week, but her illness brought out Brian's tender side. Brian's snarky personality is more enjoyable when he's given a chance to be a human being as well. Plus, those father-son scenes are the cutest part of the show.

Two Surprising Partnerships - I'll admit that I was caught off guard by Letitia and Jeremy's secret plot to take down Nola and make the murder trial go away. It's about time they gave Letitia more to do this season, and I loved that the revelation followed Nick's toast to Letitia's innocence. At least Letitia had more compassion for her child when he admitted he's fallen for their target; Tripp was less sympathetic to Karen's love for Simon. It appears that Nola won't be suffering from heartbreak anytime soon, though. Her partnership with Simon Elder was less shocking, but has far more potential than the simple romantic entanglement storyline. I'm eager to learn Nola's motivation for hurting the Darling family. Does she have a past with them, or is she acting out of loyalty to Simon? Will she start an affair with a second Darling brother to get what she wants? Simon told Nola that she had a chance to be part of something remarkable. I can't even venture a guess as to what that means.

Other thoughts:

Tripp can really kill the mood of a party. It was a pleasure to watch him crash the engagement party and intimidate Simon, Karen, and the Darling brothers in one short moment.

Patrick's fitting nickname for Karen is "tipsy." Love it.

With the trial out of the picture, how will I learn the truth about Dutch's murder? I expected this storyline to last way longer than it did.

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