SEASON GUIDE
4.04 "The Slender Threads That Bind Us Here"
4.05 "Stop The World (And Let Me Off)"
4.06 "Please Help Me I’m Fallin’"
4.07 "Can’t Get Used To Losing You"
4.09 "Three’s A Crowd"
4.10 "We’ve Got Nothing But Love To Prove"
4.09 "Three’s A Crowd"
(Directed by Mike Listo, written by Geoffrey Nauffts)
Rating: 6.5/10 (C+)
In my review for 4.06 "Please Help Me I’m Fallin’" I talked about how Jeff’s death would fuel Luke and Colt’s upcoming arc and these two had the most engaging plot in an episode riddled with scattered and isolated storylines.
It’s refreshing to see a teenager act out not just for the sake of it or out of entitlement (*cough* Maddie *cough*), but because they have a valid reason to do so: Colt has been through a horrific experience and the one person he thought he could rely on, the person who was supposed to set an example for him not only didn’t help but made matters actually worse by covering everything up and forcing Colt to stay quiet about what he witnessed.
Luke’s attempts to mend his relationship with his son remain fruitless, even when they manage to spend time alone fishing as their bonding session is cut short when the photographer shows up on the ranch. It’s frustrating to watch because Luke’s efforts are genuine but for Colt is still feels like he puts his new company first when their day together intersects with the photo shoot. Fed up with Colt’s attitude, Luke confronts him and things get a little rough when Colt shoves Luke who raises his fist against him in return, ready to take a swing at him. Of course he stops there, this is network television after all but it was enough to prompt Colt to pack his bags and leave to live with his grandfather. Luke then tells Gabrielle she needs to postpone the launch of his company because he needs to focus on fixing the relationship with Colt. I expected him to lash out at her for ruining his day with Colt and the fact that he didn’t shows that getting his son back is of utmost importance to him.
Exploring Luke’s role as a father and making it the focal point of his arc did wonders for his character and I can’t wait to see what is next for him and Colt.
With the best of "Three’s A Crowd" covered, let’s dive right into the worst which is a toss-up between Will and Deacon/Rayna/Markus. Over the course of Season 4, Will has been emotional mess with his storylines being all over the place as well: A few episodes ago he dismissed the idea of being songwriter and even belittled Kevin for being one and after he was done awkardly hiding out in his room like a little, prepubescent girl, he goes on to have writing sessions with Wade Cole who is apparently a big deal in the music industry. But unfortunately, he’s also a massive bigot.
Will’s unbreakable desire to get his career back was admirable but working with someone who is not only against who you are but is also actively fighting against you? Some might call it professionalism, I call it desperation. Will is lost and instead of looking for what he really wants, he jumps at the first bone that is thrown at him. It’s incredibly disappointing to watch and I hope someone knocks some sense into Will soon.
Equally disapponting is the plot revolving around Deacon meeting Markus. At first, it’s all smooth sailing with Markus admiring Deacon’s body of work, they get along nicely and even work together to turn one of Deacon’s unused demos into a song for Markus’ album but everything goes to shit when Markus takes the liberty of altering the lyrics. He was a dick (surprise!) for doing that without giving Rayna or Deacon a heads-up about the changes. It created some tension between our lovebirds which thankfully was quickly resolved but it looks like Rayna’s uncomfortable talk with Markus gave him all the more reason to go after her.
Something that has become stale is the relationship between Caleb and Scarlett. It feels cyclic and repetitive because they are covering the same ground over and over again: They make plans with each other but work gets in the way, they get into an argument, they both apologize for being insensitive about the other’s profession, they make up and promise to do better next time. It’s always a variation of the above and I’m getting tired of it. It’s time to stop beating the dead horse by cutting the dead weight. Kevin should have been the one to stick around instead of Caleb.
On a lighter note, Gunnar and Erin feel up a statue’s breast for no good reason. Their entire subplot seemed pretty pointless with the exception of Gunnar’s admission that Scarlett stopped being a muse for him. There has been a definite change in how those two interact with each other but I’m not quite sure yet what to make of it.
"Three’s A Crowd" is a scattered, crowded and uneven episode and it’s very apparent that the void left by Juliette has been filled by giving ancillary characters more screentime: While it worked for some of them, it ended badly for others. Let’s substract the unneeded variables and focus on the constants of the show (Sorry for all the math terms in this sentence, I just couldn’t help myself).
Other thoughts/stuff/remarks/observations/whatever you wanna call this section:
- Hi guys, I’m incredibly sorry for my absence in the last month and for the lack of replies on the previous reviews. Life got in the way and it’s also the time of the year when I turn into the grinch, except I’m less green but just as grumpy. The review for the winter finale will be posted as usual on Sunday.
- Man, Avery and Will really go at it this week. Television 101, Lesson 54: If you are not family to each other, and bicker like an old, married couple but are not an old, married couple, you’ll end up as an old, married couple (Don’t fact-check that because it’s not true). Still holding out hope there’s a romance brewing between these two.
- Maddie, you suck. Daphne, rock on.
- Emily is sneaking around secretly talking with Juliette. Girl, you better know what you’re doing.
- Where’s Layla? I kinda miss her. I was hoping she would channel Veronica Mars and find out what really happened to Jeff.
