Blood & Oil - Convergence / Fight or Flight - Double Review: "May The Best Man Win"

Convergence

After Cody was attacked at the pharmacy, Blood & Oil has really stalled on the drama. Perhaps some would disagree, but for me, I want more. This was supposed to be the most dramatic and sexy new fall show and it really hasn’t lived up to that. I love the casting and the chemistry of the cast is great but the story has been a bit rough from the start. It’s not like Gary is a criminal mastermind yet he can elude police for weeks? This is a storyline that should have been closed weeks ago and it’s really dragging the show down.

Cody is fine after being attacked but unfortunately, they did lose the baby. This storyline could be seen from a mile away so, although sad and disappointing, it wasn't that surprising or dramatic. She did see Gary’s face though so that makes her sort of dangerous for Wick, which is an interesting twist, considering if Gary goes down, so does he. For a minute I was worried that Wick would selfishly try something to save himself but it seems like he’s changing his ways and he was never that violent to begin with. Billy is devastated and wants revenge on Gary so he goes after him and he ends up with Wick confronting Gary at his hideout. They chase him through the woods where Gary ends up taking a fall and being impaled. Wick and Billy decide to leave him there to die, which shows how morally far they’ve both fallen. Gary is a pretty terrible person but that doesn't mean they should stoop to his level. Regardless, I really want Wick and Billy’s bromance to be real but I don’t really trust either of them at this point.

During this episode, we also learned that A.J. wasn’t spying on Briggs Oil in a malicious way, instead he was being blackmailed. At least he didn't backstab Lacey on purpose! I really like them as a couple and I want them to have more of a presence because they seem to fade into the background during every episode. I’ve also really enjoyed Wick and Lacey’s interactions so I want more from them as well.

Meanwhile, Carla is onto Hap and Jules. She confronts Jules about ending things with Hap and if I actually cared about Carla or Hap than this might seem interesting. However, I really don’t care about this storyline at all. Like most of this show, this story just seems way too drawn out. Something needs to change because I’m already bored of this seriously messed up love square.

Fight or Flight

Well, Blood & Oil continued chugging along it’s predictable course with Fight or Flight. This episode was full of ridiculous, foreshadowing dialogue and characters seeing things they weren’t supposed to. Nothing that happens on this show surprises me, which is a huge part of the problem.

On the positive side, I’m finally getting my wish of Billy and Wick working together. I really wanted them to come together and take down Hap but I guess covering up an attempted murder is good enough. I say “attempted” because it turns out Gary isn't actually dead, despite spending days impaled at the bottom of a ditch and Wick’s confidence that he won’t be found for weeks. Wick actually says “no way this will ever come back on us” and then the very next scene someone finds him. This honestly couldn’t be written any more predictably. Cody sees Gary being rushed into the hospital and ID’s him as her attacker. She immediately suspects that Billy might have had something to do with it. Later, she straight up asks him if he did it and he lies to her face! Cody is a good person and this place is really corrupting Billy. Not only does he lie to her about Gary, he also spends the whole episode continuously lying to her about everything. Clifton seems to have recovered from his heart attack pretty well and sends Emma and Billy to Houston to convince Annie Briggs, Hap’s first wife, to help finance their land purchase. Instead of telling Cody that that’s what he’s doing, Billy lies to her and pretends that he’s gone back to work with Hap. The whole trip is kind of awkward because at first, Annie rejects their offer. Eventually she comes around though and now they’re in business against Hap. On an unrelated note, how gorgeous was Emma’s dress at that charity event??

Meanwhile, the Feds are investigating Hap because of a stolen oil map. As if that isn’t bad enough, Carla is doing her own investigating and keeps catching Hap in his lies about Jules. Earlier in the episode, Jules confronted Wick about his involvement in the oil heist and they broke up. It’s really the perfect excuse for her to get away from him and it will lessen her guilt because now she wont be cheating on him. It seems like she’s going to get away with everything until Carla tips off Wick by telling him to look for Hap at the bar where he ends up seeing Hap and Jules hooking up. After previously refusing to help the feds with their investigation, this pushes him over the edge and he decides to turn on his dad and cooperate with the investigation. I’m actually really looking forward to seeing him take down Hap!

The episode continued it’s theme of people seeing things they shouldn't when Cody saw Kess selling drugs out of the food truck. I’m really not a fan of this storyline. What’s the point of this story? What did it contribute? Kess and Ada are leaving now so that’s pretty sad. The only person this really effects is Cody and she has some other friends so it’s not a huge loss. It just seems like a ridiculously filler storyline to give the background characters something to do. It just hasn’t been interesting or developed enough for me to care. Also, now that Ada is leaving, what was the point of the attraction between her and their business partner? These meaningless plots take away from the overall story and this show really can’t afford that.

The episode ends with Billy and Wick meeting up to discuss Gary being in the hospital. Wick says that he’s not expected to live, so obviously he wakes up in the closing seconds. This could be a big problem for them. However, in another moment of foreshadowy dialogue, upon finding out his ex-wife is going to be his business competition, Hap says “at least it won’t be dull”, unfortunately I have a feeling that it will.

What did you think of these two episodes? Do you think Gary will be able to identify Wick and Billy? Is the arrival of Annie Briggs the beginning of the end for Hap? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!

About the Author - Kate Sidwell

Kate is a 24 year old, USA based, Psychology/Public Health Researcher - but that’s just her day job! In her spare time she is an avid TV watcher (some may even say addict!!). Some of her favorite shows are Jane the Virgin, Bates Motel, The Flash, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Rookie Blue, Silicon Valley, Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow, The 100, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, The Royals, Orphan Black…so pretty much too many to count and a huge variety! She’ll give pretty much any show a chance! She also devotes a lot of time to her tumblr (eat-sleep-breathe-tv.tumblr.com) where you can find her reviewing and commenting on most of these shows and just generally fangirling! She’s excited to be writing for SpoilerTV on Complications, Baby Daddy, Proof, Switched at Birth, Secrets and Lies, and Minority Report!

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