Previously: everybody hit Cliff in his beautiful face, and while the show doesn't think it's worth reminding us, we also found out that weirdo Liza is the one behind Johnny's mysterious instant messages.
Speaking of whom, Johnny catches sight of the neighborhood freakazoid carting one of her smoking failed experiments to the trash, so he pops on over to her garage-cum-laboratory for a visit. Liza's actually less squirrelly than she usually is, and Johnny's doing his usual flirting-without-realizing-it thing. He lets loose with a Williamsonism that sums up Liza: "Unlike people, science can't disappoint you." Tell it to the Creationists, kid. Liza notes how Johnny's fist failed to disappoint Cliff's face the other night, and says Cliff seems to have that effect on people. Johnny explains about the Cliff/Greta/Eddie weirdness (though not the IMs). Now's Liza's turn to look squirrelly. Liza lies(-a) that she didn't really know Eddie all that well, and then she looks past Johnny and sees her laptop screen with a ridiculously gigantic and prominent photo of Eddie with his arm around Liza on it. And unless Johnny has a giant laptop-shaped cataract on both of his eyes, there's no way he would have missed that. But miss it he does, and Liza's able to cover it up and shoos Johnny out the door, making tentative plans to "hang out."
Over at Cliff's house, we hear that finally someone's getting some action on this show. Of course, it's Tess and Travis, and Cliff is understandably grossed out. He's still trying to convince his mom that Travis is a loser, but Tess is still pretty invested in her youthful lover. I'm trying not to notice much of the mother/son creepout vibe and am chalking it up to Cliff being able have chemistry with a ceiling fan without much effort. And on that note, we see Cliff and Johnny kiss and make up after about a half-second of awkwardness, Cliff even apologizing for causing any friction with Greta. Cliff then lays out more Dead Eddie exposition: his parents split up after he died, his dad leaving town and his mom becoming a recluse in town.
At the Club, Johnny bitches about all his problems to Jessie Jo, who essentially tells him to avoid all this Palm Springs drama by...avoiding all the Palm Springs drama. And then Miss Palm Springs Drama 2007 shows up, flirty as you please with her 10-cent words and armchair psychoanalysis. It's like I get to relive the experience of hating Greta as if for the first time! Johnny finally wises up and tells her he can't be around her moody shit anymore, and she pouts off in a huff about it.
Under the guise of forwarding her mail, Johnny tracks down Eddie's mom, who's played by Valerie Cruz, who you've already forgotten from her role on the first season of Nip/Tuck. She played the woman who came between Christian and Sean before Ryan Murphy realized that role could be played by every single other female in the cast. They talk about her withdrawal from the community for a bit before Johnny totally smoothly (only totally not) segues into asking what Eddie's screen name used to be. Was it "08Nova"? Mama Eddie instantly gets her back up and says Johnny should go.
Hey, so Nikki's still around. She finds Jessie Jo at the Club and prods for clues about how Johnny's doing. Jessie Jo, like a good sponsor, ain't giving up anything and actually gives her the cold shoulder until his nurturing instincts kick in and he asks if she wants to talk or have a bite to eat. Nikki isn't in the mood for the twelve steps anymore, though, and she snots off. What is with people at the Club today?
Johnny has Liza over for some popcorn, video games, and Eddie talk. Liza keeps trying to float the idea that Eddie didn't kill himself at all and maybe, just possibly, this mystery IMer, whoever it may be, is trying to tell Johnny something. Johnny's basic point is: "This shit is totally fucking up my life and I wish it would stop," and Liza looks totally guilty. And then she shows that she's a total monster at Halo, which means she definitely killed Eddie with a high-powered sniper rifle.
Cliff continues fucking with Travis, claiming to be 100% sincere in his intention to make nice because Travis makes Tess happy. Even Travis getting all gross about his intentions to bleed mama's bank account dry and do her in the room to Cliff's doesn't phase him. And, yes, Cliff does manage to flirt with him, a little. I don't know how he does it. Then he spots Nikki as he's leaving the pool hall and turns the charm up to eleven, going so far as to score the phone number of the flop house she's staying at.
Johnny's mom gets a call from Mama Eddie, and she's kind of disproportionately furious at him about it. Instead of telling his mom about the creepy IMs, Johnny just keeps repeating "he died in my room!" at louder and louder volumes, until he breaks down and runs off. I kind of see what they're going for here -- Johnny's dad died in his room, too, and he's trying to get closure on Eddie because he still can't wrap his head around his dad's death. The fact that Bob makes the same connection in about two scenes, however, tells me the show's not so confident that we get it. But up until now, the Eddie thing sought out Johnny, not the other way around, so I'm not sure we're to blame for this one.
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Back at the Wiatt manor, Tess ogles Travis washing his car without a shirt on, while Cliff...ogles Travis washing his car without a shirt on. He asks Travis if he can take the car out for a spin, and Tess twists his arm to let him, saying Cliff is "making an effort." Elsewhere, Johnny finds Nikki at the Club and reads her the riot act. He says he's willing to be her friend and help her out, but not until she starts helping herself. After he storms off, Jessie Jo once again offers his mentor services, but Nikki once again blows him off.
Tess meets Mama Eddie -- we can call her "Maria" now -- at the Club and is more sincerely warm towards her than she's been to anyone else on the show, including her own son. Maria says it's about time she started getting back into the Palm Springs swing of things, but when she spots Cliff off torturing Greta for the fourth consecutive week, she approaches them. She's very sweet on the surface, but you get the sense near the end that she might be twisting the knife a bit with her "I hope you don't blame yourselves" talk. Whether she meant to or not, it works -- Cliff can barely meet her eyes, and once she leaves, Greta ONCE AGAIN says she just can't lie anymore. Uh huh. Wake me when you've turned yourself in, dear.
Big surprise: Cliff takes Travis's car out for a total joyride, Nikki in tow. They are seriously just a handful of weapons away from a crime spree now! I can't wait. Cliff's disappointed that the ride didn't scuff up the car more than it did, so be busts a couple headlights on his own. Nikki's not-so-secretly thrilled at Cliff's simmering insanity, and then they dry hump right there in the middle of the desert. Getting closer, show.
Back at Johnny's, Greta shows up all tearful and distraught and confesses that the night before Eddie died, Greta slept with Cliff, and when Eddie found out, he killed himself. Johnny, hilariously, is like, "That's it?" Because even he knows it doesn't just end there. She blubbers some more about how she was scared to tell Johnny because of what he'd think of her. Johnny's all "the past is the past" about it, and then they get to dry-humping (and maybe more!) on the back patio.
Cliff returns home with the busted convertible and assures Travis he took real good care of it. Travis, of course, runs outside to see his poor tarnished car and he races back by the pool, tackles Cliff, and starts to choke him to death. Tess tries to pry Travis off, but she gets a backhand for her troubles. Travis continues choking until Tess fires her gun into the air. She makes the requisite "I'm from Texas" joke about why she has a gun, and she tells Travis that while she'll put up with a loser, a liar, a cheat, or a moron, she won't put up with a choker/abuser. ...Go Tess? Whatever, I'm too busy being happy to have the Sharon Lawrence I know and love on this show to care.
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Back at the club, Jessie Jo's closing up as Nikki comes back again, this time more receptive to the advice of an aging drag queen. She says she had one of the best days of her life today (carousing in the desert and humping a vandalizing sociopath, she doesn't mention), but still all she wants is a drink. Jessie Jo's sage advice competes with Augustana on the soundtrack as he offers her a couch to crash on and all the restrictions she could ask for. Augustana ends up winning, but seeing as your recapper just saw them perform a free concert last week and thought they were pretty good, I'll give it a pass.
Cliff and Tess have a scene that's alternately warm and creepy, as she laments having gone through too many Travises in her life, Cliff says he just wants her to be happy with a good man, and she assures him he's the only man in her life. See, it's that last one that gets you.
Johnny makes a late night trip to Liza's garagabatory, enthusing about how his life has taken a turn for the better tonight. Then he gets a glimpse of the back of Liza's sweatshirt in a mirror and sees it reads "08Nova." He calls her on it, and she says she was Eddie's friend and she knows he was murdered -- she saw it. She saw Cliff and Greta kill Eddie. DUN!
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