Episode Report Card Pablo G: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing!
By Pablo G | Season 1 | Episode 4 | Aired on 09.29.2009
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.As Michael promised last episode, he's already keeping a close eye on David through a mysterious man he has tailing him. The mystery man doesn't ever actually do anything. He just sits back in his car, staking out David's make-out session with a hot brunette. Makes me think the guy might just be a voyeur. This whole thing also makes me wonder if it's not just a diversion from the huge coincidence that Michael's ex-wife, Sydney's sister Jane, shows up this episode as well. She takes over as landlord of The Complex and starts trying to manipulate the tenants right away.
Ella gets blackmailed by Jane into making one of her clients, a well-known actress named Abby Douglas, wear a dress designed by Jane's boutique for a red carpet film premiere. Supposedly, Sydney had been forwarding e-mails from Ella to Jane, and those e-mails could establish motive for Ella to have murdered Sydney, so Ella complies where normally she would tell Jane to go die. She grins and bears it until Abby throws a fit at the premiere over the dress and demands Ella fix the situation. It takes her a moment, but Ella snaps back to her defiant self and basically tells Jane to take her dress and insert it in her anus. Jane vows vengeance.
David sees that Auggie is dealing with an understaffed kitchen while trying to get a promotion at Coal and asks to help out. He gets hired. Everything seems to be going fine until he spies his father-appointed stalker reporting back to Michael via cell phone. David flips and starts a fight in the restaurant with the guy, causing a huge and unnecessary scene. Auggie's boss, Marcello, doesn't appreciate it, fires David and throws him out. This costs Auggie his promotion. With friends like this...
Lauren falls deeper into the world of prostitution. She gets a call from her first customer, Toby, and agrees to meet him when he flies into town. At the agreed meeting place, she's met by another man, and thinking she's been given the bait and switch, she agrees to sleep with him. After the deed is done, she asks for her money and the guy plays dumb about the arrangement. He throws her into a wall before he leaves without paying and then has security approach her on her way out. It looks like Lauren is about to have her first brush with the law, but then a madam whose turf Lauren has encroached upon steps in to save her. She offers Lauren work, but what little pride is left in Lauren's whoring body leads her to deny being a hooker. After taking stock of what happened to her and the danger she puts herself in, Lauren decides to accept the offer of the woman.
Jonah and Riley attend the film premiere Ella was working on, too, and meet up with some important people. It turns out the director of the film is an old friend of Jonah's who Jonah regards as not being as talented as he is. He thinks the guy only caught his break from his connection to a certain agent. Riley manages to catch the attention of said agent and put Jonah's name in his ear. Everything's going fine until Riley gets a phone call from Violet. She's in jail and needs help. Riley excuses herself from the premiere to go help her -- much to Jonah's disbelief -- but it doesn't hurt their impression on the agent. He agrees to view Jonah's film anyway.
Violet lands in prison when she makes a dash from detectives who show up at her apartment to question her. She initially turns to Jane, hoping that her supposed blood relation will appeal to her, but Jane coldly opts to turn her in. Nobody answers their phone when Violet calls from jail. Riley answers and bails her out. Violet is now telling everyone -- including police -- that Sydney and her got to spend a joyful week together before Syd's murder, and that Sydney was delighted to learn she had a daughter. When Riley and Jonah take Violet in, she tells a sob story of how she was badly treated by her foster parents before she stole some of their money and ran away to Los Angeles. She cites this as her reason for initially running from police when they showed up just to question her. Yeah. Right. And I'm the queen of Melrose Place. Actually, now that I think of it...
David comes to find out that Jane is making Ella's life a living hell. He sees this as an opportunity to get his rebellion in for this episode. The files he has swiped from his father's computer contain info on Jane, because she's his ex-wife. Keeping tabs on your ex-wives is a must, I'm told. David's aware of incriminating evidence that supports Jane committed arson on her own boutique so she could collect insurance money. He uses this as leverage to get her off Ella's back. Ella's impressed and sleeps with David. I'm so disappointed in you, Ell. That's all it takes? Jane vows to do everything in her power as landlord to make their lives suck. Expect lots of ice-cold showers, guys.
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Pablo G. is some guy who lives in San Antonio, Texas. Check him out at Space Monkeys!, Obscure Sports Reference, and follow him @PendejoJoe on Twitter.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open on a couple making out in a car. It takes a short while before we see that it's David with a hot brunette in his Porsche parked in an alley. We see from a point-of-view angle the inside of a parked car staked out behind David's Porsche. A man is inside watching the make-out fest. The couple is oblivious, as the brunette claims she's never done this before. Psh. Whatever. A girl who looks like you probably makes out in your sleep. Drop the charges, Michelle! Anyway, David tells her she's good for her first time. They get ready to leave, and as David checks his mirrors, he notices the car. As they drive off, the stalker guy pics up his cell phone in a very stalkerish way. This guy's good.
At The Complex Pool, Lauren, Jonah and Riley are having themselves a little relaxation thing -- just shooting the shit, drinking and trying to look good doing it. A text comes in for Lauren from Toby, her first-ever customer, asking if she'd be interested in meeting up when he comes into town. She looks at the text while wrestling with the moral dilemma that comes with being a vagina rental place. David walks in on the pool party in time to see Lauren get the text and asks if it's a hospital emergency. Lauren jokes about having a drink in her hand, meaning she's not on call. Funny stuff there, Lauren. Violet shows up bragging about her new phone. She gloats like this is a commercial. It has a full slide-out keyboard! Jonah thinks Violet is crazy. I know! What do you need a slide-out keyboard for? Touch screen all the way, kids. But yeah, Jonah thinks Violet is a psycho wacko and tries to deter Riley from giving Violet her phone number. Riley ignores him and gives Violet the digits. Oh, Riley. Stupid, stupid Riley. Ella enters the scene and brings some information that actually sets shit in motion. It's like these characters have nothing to do until Ella shows up. She starts to talk shop with Jonah about an upcoming film premiere starring an actress named Abby Douglas. She offers passes to Jonah, but he's apparently already going because he used to be roommates with the director, Zach McGalvan. Riley perks up at the sight of her fiancée talking business with the woman who is so much better for him than she is. Riley tries to derail Ella's connection with Jonah, but Ella cats up on Riley, again pulling out the schoolteacher card. SCORECARD: Ella 2,437 - Riley 0. Riles is the Detroit Lions of The Complex. When she finally bests Ell, we're going to celebrate it like it still matters after years of futility. A woman walks up on the tenants' nautical good times. She introduces herself as Jane Andrews -- Sydney's sister. And she's inherited the building, making her their new landlord. Weak.