The Grinder, “The Curious Disappearance of Mr Donovan,” was written by Dominic Dierkes and was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. Dierkes’ other credits include Workaholics, Allen Gregory and The Onion News Network and Chandrasekhar is also known for The Goldbergs, Royal Pains, and Community – as well as The Dukes of Hazzard movie. This show continues to be well acted, written and directed, and Fox just ordered an additional 6 scripts this week.
The episode opens, in what I’m going to assume will be the regular formula, with Dean (Rob Lowe), Stewart (Fred Savage), and Ethan (Connor Kalopsis) watching an episode of The Grinder. Stewart asks if re-runs are on all the time – a nice nod to the importance of syndication. I think my favorite of the episodes meta-moments will always be last week’s discussion of the importance of knocking the second episode of a series out of the park. It’s amazing just how blue Lowe’s eyes are in the show within a show! This week they pick up what could be a successful long-term formula – the theme from the show bleeds throughout every aspect of the storyline. The Grinder ran for seven seasons, and there’s nothing to prevent them from also mining the same episode twice!
Dean explains to Ethan the concept of a “good” lie while Stewart once again pokes holes in the logic of the storyline. The theme of lying runs through the family storyline as Debbie (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) and Stewart try to find out who deleted Ray Donovan. Neither Ethan nor Lizzie (Hana Hayes) will admit to it, dredging up the memory of Stewart being blamed for breaking a window when he and Dean were kids. At the office, it seems there may be a mole leaking case information to Rozz (Will Greenberg) and Landry (Matt Hobby).
Dean accuses Claire (Natalie Morales) of being the mole and Todd (Steve Little) offers to help his idol prove it. Of course, it hilariously turns out that Rozz and Landry have been plying Todd with “free” drinks at a bar and listening to him tell the bartender everything about the firm’s cases. A clear violation of client confidentiality by the by.
Dean complains at the beginning of the episode that the episode of The Grinder had been really hard to shoot because the Grinder had to lie and he has a real problem with that. In fact, he’s a very good liar and simply has a hard time with the truth and admitting he’s wrong! I loved Ethan pretending to confess to get Lizzie to take the blame. Kalopsis seems stronger in each subsequent episode.
Todd confesses to Dean who is upset to learn he’s been wrong about Claire. He swears Todd to silence. Stewart, meanwhile knows, and vows to get The Grinder to admit he was wrong. Naturally, poor Stewart is thwarted in his quest as Dean fakes him out in the same way as the first scene.
Stewart gets the big final scene in which he wants the client held responsible. Turns out he’s really talking about Dean who finally comes clean about the broken window. There’s a nice group hug including the brothers and their Dad (William Devane). I’m still hoping to see Devane do a little more in episodes.
All in all another enjoyable episode. What did you think of the episode? Did you like the way the theme ran throughout the episode? What was your favorite scene/funniest moment? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
