3.11 - "GUILT BY ASSOCIATION"
Directed by Liz Allen
Written by Melissa Carter
Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington
April's guilt about Daniel leads to trouble in her relationship with Blair which ultimately brings her closer to Lucy. Karen tells Alec and Vivian about the baby and despite Alec's initial shock there seems to be some hope that they can form a modern kind of family, until Vivian staggers Karen with the news of her own. Daniel's mysterious tape turns out to be surveillance from the neighbor's camera which proves to complicate matters for Calista. Just when things are looking up for Joss, she's stunned to learn that the cops think she and Calista conspired to kill Luca together.
SEASON GUIDE
2.01 - "
Rebuild" (June 2, 2014)
2.02 - "
Boundaries" (June 9, 2014)
2.03 - "
Open House" (June 16, 2014)
2.04 - "
Friends With Benefits" (June 23, 2014)
2.05 - "
Playing With Fire" (June 30, 2014)
2.06 - "
What Do You Really Want" (July 7, 2014)
2.07 - "
Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" (July 14, 2014)
2.08 - "
An Affair to Surrender" (July 21, 2014)
2.09 - "
Coming Clean" (August 4, 2014)
2.10 - "
Charades" (August 11, 2014)
2.11 - "
Choices" (August 18, 2014)
2.12 - "
Surprise" (August 25, 2014)
2.13 - "
'Til Death Do Us Apart" (September 1, 2014)
3.01 - "
Gone Girl" (June 18, 2015)
3.02 - "
I'll Be Watching You" (June 18, 2015)
3.03 - "
Odd Couples" (June 25, 2015)
3.04 - "
Into the Woods" (July 2, 2015)
3.05 - "
Threesomes" (July 9, 2015)
3.06 - "
Love Is an Open Door" (July 16, 2015)
3.07 - "
The Best Laid Plans" (July 23, 2015)
3.08 - "
Murder She Wrote" (July 30, 2015)
3.09 - "
Unreliable Witness" (August 6, 2015)
3.10 - "
What Could Have Been" (August 13, 2015)
3.11 - "
Guilt By Association" (August 20, 2015)
3.12 - "
Reasonable Doubt" (August 27, 2015)
3.13 - "
Goodbye Girl" (September 3, 2015)
'GUILT BY ASSOCIATION' REVIEW
I have to begin by saying I enjoyed this episode way more than the one before, the
What a Wonderful Life-esque episode. After watching this episode, I realised just how much episode 10 stalled the storytelling in order to give us those 'what if' flashbacks that were admittedly enjoyable, but due to the intensity of the story right now, it was fairly unnecessary. 'Guilt by Association' managed to develop every single ladies' storyline that got me really excited again. We had a few developments in Joss's case that meant Calista is now joining her in jail, Karen told Alec and Vivian about the baby and April managed to have her best episode yet (in my sole opinion). There was a lot going on without bubbling over too much with some shocking and unexpected turns.
Joss spent this episode still in jail (I am dying for her to get out, to return to her usual amazing clothes) but things definitely seemed brighter in Joss's dim little world in there. When all hope appeared lost, David presented her with the video that Daniel secured him in order to help Joss. We got to see what was on it - someone driving Calista's car, dressed like her and wearing her ring, as she drove away from the scene of the crime. Good news, yes? Even though Harry put doubt in Joss's mind about David, I still believed he could do a good job. I'm glad Joss saw through the doubts and remained with David as he did do a good job with leaking the tape. But now the police think Joss and Calista co-conspired to kill Luca?! The police in this show are very assumptious and, as Joss says in the promo for the next episode, it looks like she'll never get out at this rate. It was awesome to see Calista again after she was missing from the last episode and as strange as it sounds, the show just felt back on track with her in it. I've only known her for 11 episodes now and I think she's an awesome fit in this show - I really hope she'll stick around if the show is renewed. Other than that, I loved her scenes with Patty and her coming clean about the plan Joss confessed to. It's so frustrating when Joss is still in jail though (but awesome at the same time)!
Karen's story consisted of telling Alec and Vivian that she is pregnant and dealing with her feelings about it all. I felt like her story wasn't as dominant or interesting in this episode though as I felt Joss's and April's overshadowed her a little, which is fine as there's always going to be one of the ladies with a least-interesting role in an episode. I was looking forward to seeing how the married couple would react to the news of Karen's pregnancy, and telling them felt very awkward and intriguing. I still very much enjoyed the scenes between Karen and Vivian, especially when Viv told Karen "we were at our happiest when we were with you." Really highlights the struggles of the three-way relationship and the conflicts they have over moving forward. When Karen saw Vivian with another man at dinner, I knew she wasn't having an affair. It was shady though and I understand why Karen would jump to that but I knew she jumped the gun by jumping on the affair explanation. Moral of the story - just ask, don't assume. A lot of confusion could be avoided that way. Vivian telling Karen she is sick again was expected and I can now see her dying in the next couple of episodes unfortunately, but don't take my word for it.
I really loved April's scenes in this episode. I usually find her the least interesting of the bunch, but I actually loved her more than Joss in this episode. I could feel her tension throughout, from snapping at Marc at the beginning to her telling Blair the truth about Daniel. It was also a huge episode for her and Lucy in moving forward and the deterioration of her relationship with Blair - and we're all pretty happy about that, right? I knew the dinner wouldn't go smoothly and I thought Lucy giving her attitude was pretty normal for her at the moment. I was half expecting Blair to do something in front of April to discipline Lucy or something along those lines, so it actually took me by surprise how quickly things escalated from Lucy calling her mother "fake".
Lucy did have a point about April not being herself around Blair, and it was a cringe to watch as Lucy called her out on it. I felt so embarrassed myself and I didn't know what April was going to do. I was really shocked when Lucy called her mother a bitch, but I was really,
really shocked when April slapped her. It was coming - the tensions between the two since the premiere have been rising to this crescendo. It was such a good scene that really took me by surprise. I could tell by April's reaction straight after that she knew what she did was wrong and awful, and I loved her kicking Blair out. Who knew that a fight and a slap would be just what this mother-daughter relationship needed to move forward. I loved Lucy's honesty about her feeling mad at her mum but sad the other times. They both love each other and apologise and it's really beautiful and I am so glad that we are finally moving past the Lucy-angst. We still have Blair to deal with though, I bet. After April came clean, he seemed to leave without much of a fight. I expect him to be back - he wouldn't have taken being cheated on lightly.
And can I wrap this review up by saying how much I loved that Marc and April connection at the end? It was almost a fleeting moment but April saying how she wants Lucy to know there are good guys out there, and Marc handed her the glue stick, well, it was so sweet. I have shipped Marc and April basically all season and now I want some actual progress there. Marc is such a lifesaving sweetheart, helping April out with her dinner. He's becoming the man he wanted to be for April.
EPISODE VERDICT
Firstly I want to apologise for the lateness of my review. I always post reviews within 24 hours of an episode airing, but I was so busy on Friday and yesterday that I didn't have a chance to actually watch this episode until this morning. I loved the episode and I am so glad we are going full-steam ahead into the finale after last week's little stop. Joss and Calista are finally going to be sharing scenes together again which I have missed, yay! It was awesome having Calista back and I didn't realise that I actually did miss what she brings to the show. April had her best episode in a long time as I loved her dinner scene with Lucy and Blair, and now I don't know if Blair will get revenge for her infidelity. I actually talked quite a bit about April in this review so that's a very good sign. Karen wasn't as interesting as I would have liked but I'm hoping she'll have a bigger episode next week. All in all, awesome episode and it ended in a very exciting way. Bring on that penultimate episode!
Best Character: April. She had an awesome episode which I'm finally thankful for.
Most Interesting Character: Blair. I just can't figure him out.
Best Moment: April's dinner with Blair and Lucy.
Most Emotional Moment: Joss finally getting to see Harry.
Best Line: "It's a mother-ducking nightmare is what it is." - April.
Runner-up: "My spotty lesbionic past is a stretch at best." - Joss.
Best Pairing: April and Marc - that end scene with them was sweet as!
Shadiest Moment: Vivian having dinner with that man (though it is explained later, it was shady at the time).
Did you guys enjoy 'Guilt By Association'? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to watch the next new episode of Mistresses, August 27th on ABC!
About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV in August 2014 and reviews 2 Broke Girls, Devious Maids, The Flash, Mistresses, Pretty Little Liars, Salem, Scream Queens and Sleepy Hollow. Gavin will write previews for Devious Maids and Shadowhunters, and backs-up Empire, iZombie, Once Upon a Time, Reign, Scandal and Supergirl. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
