That'll Put Marzipan In Your Pie Plate, Bingo!

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Meet Bridget Kelly, she's an ex-stripper who is six months into recovery. She's also in the Witness Protection Program, because she witnessed the murder of a stripper by some bad ass -- whose name I disremember, except that it sounds like a Kipling character. Richard Alpert from Lost is the agent in charge of Bridget's protective custody, and he has her hunkering down in the Two Nickels motel. Because Bridget is really Buffy, and the motel is a dive, Bridget overcomes the police officer guarding her, ties him up in the tub and flees Wyoming and the long arm of the law to the considerably shorter and spindlier arms of her twin sister, Hamptons socialite, Siobhan Martin.

Siobhan and Bridget go boating like you do when you're on the run from the bad guys and the good guys. The thing you know, Bridget wakes up alone in the boat. Siobhan is nowhere to be found. Bridget screams for her sister, tries (and fails) to radio for help, and even jumps in the water to look for her, but it's all to no avail. Personally, I think Siobhan slipped Bridget a mickey, because all that's left is a pill bottle -- empty of pills, but full of Siobhan's engagement and wedding rings. What would her motive be? Well, clearly she got a good look at the laughable green-screen background used in this scene and said, "Screw it. I'm out." Bridget agrees. In fact, she thinks the green-screen is so bad that Siobhan probably offed herself.

Anyhow, Bridget does what any ex-stripper/recovering addict who is on the run from the law and the lawless would. She assumes Siobhan's life. This is possible, because the sisters had a falling out six years ago, and Siobhan's only been married to Andrew Martin (Ioan Gruffudd) for five years, and oops -- she forgot to tell hubby that she had an addict/stripper twin. Siobhan forgot to mention a few things to Bridget too; like that she frequently gets frostbite just from being in the same apartment as Andrew, so she has a little something on the side with her best friend Gemma's husband, Henry. Additionally, she has a bratty step-teen, Juliet, who likes the pipe (yeah, both kinds). This is balanced out by the fact that Siobhan also has a wicked lot of shoes and scarves.

Richard from Lost (F.B.I. Agent Victor Machado) finds "Siobhan" in his search for Bridget, and drives home the fact that the Kipling-named bad ass is not going to let "Bridget" get out alive. Wackiness ensues as Bridget tries to assume and clean up Siobhan's life, but the writers don't seem to want to let the wackiness shine through, at least not in this exposition-heavy pilot. The hour closes with the scene that opens it. Bridget is in the loft Gemma is renovating, hiding from some guy in a ski mask that is trying to kill her. I know this isn't Buffy, but it's still oddly frustrating to see her struggling with a mere human. Fortunately, Bridget stashed the police officer's gun in said loft and uses it to kill her attacker -- who it turns out wasn't after Bridget. He was after Siobhan. And Siobhan's not dead at all. She's smoking up a Parisian apartment, plotting to kill Bridget, whom she totally set up!

I'll be back with the full weecap, tomorrow. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then join us in the show thread, where we've got some stakes and holy water stashed, just in case.

Want more? The full recap starts right below!

So, have you read much about Ringer, yet? I have, and in nearly every piece, the writer seems to have this pressing need to remind me that it isn't Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Imagine that! It's only, what -- nearly eight and a half years later, with a different title, premise and cast save Sarah Michelle Gellar. Who'da thunk? I feel no such pressing need. I feel only two things pressing on me. The first is a back injury I've been dealing with for nearly three weeks, which has nothing to do with you -- um... unless it does, and if so, ouch! What did you do that for? The second thing pressing on me is this need to -- every once in a while -- pretend I am watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I've been dealing with that for more than a dozen years though, so don't worry, we'll muddle through. Welcome to the Ringer pilot weecap! Whether you're here for twin SMGs, or Buffy Stuffy, or a little bit of Nestor Carbonell's guy-liner, or a taste of Ioan Gruffudd getting in and out of the shower, or you heard Logan Echolls... sorry, I mean, Jason Dohring, is going to show up sooner or later, make yourself at home and let's get to it.

We open on the Manhattan skyline at night. The camera pans past a carved stone face -- just trying to make me think I'm going to see Buffy patrolling one of Sunnydale's cemeteries, but Sunnydale got sucked into a hole in the earth, so you can't fool me, Mr. or Ms. Director of Photography. We zoom in on Bridget Kelly's eye, so great -- we've just evoked Lost too. (I think these writers are gas-lighting me.) She's in a loft, being stalked by a guy dressed in black. He's wearing a ski-mask and wielding a crowbar, so I don't think his aim is true. Neither does Bridget. Unfortunately, she sucks at hiding and leans on a boom box, causing Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" (another Lost reference) to echo through the place. Realizing the jig is up, Bridget bolts, but since her boots aren't regulation slayer wear, the Crowbar Demon (what?) quickly catches up to her and takes her down. They say death and taxes are the only certainties in life, but if you're a Buffy fan, there's another: the inevitable sense of frustration you will feel when you watch Sarah Michelle Gellar being physically overcome by a mere human male. As if to call me out of my fugue, Bridget tells her attacker, "You've got the wrong girl." Et tu, Buffy? Title card.

Nine days earlier, we see Bridget in an AA or NA meeting in Backscratch, Wyoming. She's seated between a white woman and an African-American man, Malcolm "Not Reynolds" Howard. He's bald, and he's trying to make me think he's Principal McHottie, but I am not so easily fooled. Clearly, he's played by Mike Colter (Lemond Bishop, The Good Wife), not D.B. Woodside, so take that, Show. Bridget exposits that she's been sober for six months -- longer than some of the relationships she's had. Things have been tense and it's hard to stay clean, but she's doing it, blah blah blah one-day-at-a-time cakes. She says she's finally heard from her sister, Siobhan, who wants her to come stay with her. Bridget finishes her spiel with, "I just keep reminding myself: mistakes aren't tragedies, but..." The group finishes the thought with her. "Please Higher Power, help me learn from them." I like that as the flip side to Dorothy Parker's: "It's not the tragedies that kill us, it's the messes."

After the meeting ends, Bridget's getting some coffee, when Malcolm comes over and mansplains that coffee has caffeine which could interfere with her sleep. He then smirks as mutters something that sounds like, "Gimme that." Naughty! Bridget purrs back him. "Oh, now you want my cookies." Wait! This guy gets to enjoy warm, delicious cookie Buffy? Angel and Spike are gonna get all pouty, assuming they haven't been eaten by a dragon, but I digress. Anyhow, Malcolm asks Bridget if she's sure she doesn't want him somewhere (which we'll later learn is court) tomorrow. She's sure, but she has to split because Richard Alpert is waiting to drug her, put her on a submarine and take her to the island. Or wait...

Here's the skinny. In Ringer, Nestor Carbonell plays FBI Agent Victor Machado. Bridget, a former stripper, as well as a recovering addict, witnessed the murder of another stripper by a Native American crime boss, Bodaway Macawi. The FBI and the local police are keeping Bridget in protective custody at a flea bag motel called the Two Nickels, until she can testify against Macawi. Machado drops Bridget off at the motel and after she flirts with him about having a sleepover, he tells her he'll pick her up at 7:30, and leaves her under the eagle-eyed supervision of Police Office Jimmy. And just a nitpick here, but when Malcolm was mansplaining about how caffeine keeps a person awake, he said something about it being so late. In this shot, it appears to be late afternoon at worst. Anyhow, when night eventually falls, as it is wont to do, Bridget flips on the TV as she tries to relax on her bed, but all that's on is baseball, and coverage of the Macawi murder case. And here's another nit. On the newscast, one second the anchor is referring to the upcoming legal shindig as a trial. The second, he says "Macawi is being indicted." Make up your mind, people. No wonder Bridget looks so distressed -- she doesn't know if she's testifying before a grand jury or in open court. She shuts off the TV, rises and walks to the window. When she spots Jimmy outside, her gaze is drawn to his gun.

Morning. Machado arrives to find Jimmy's chair tipped over and the motel door wide open. Yep, all 5'2", 90 lbs.-soaking-wet Bridget managed to overwhelm this strapping officer, disarm him, drag him into the motel shower, handcuff him to the safety bar, and duct tape his mouth shut. And they keep telling me she's not Buffy. Pshaw.

And now, it's time to meet Siobhan Martin, Bridget's estranged twin that's played, coincidentally enough, by Sarah Michelle Gellar. The elegant Siobhan is all dressed in white and looking out of place at the counter of a bus station coffee shop. She's uneasy and I think the show is trying to make us think this is Bridget on the run, but it's clearly not. Siobhan opens up her compact and looks in the mirror -- an ongoing theme in this episode because they're twins. You dig? When the bus arrives, Siobhan rises to leave and runs into a police officer, who is just entering. She nervously puts on her sunglasses after giving him a good long look at her face. As she walks out the door he calls her back. The jig is up! No it's not. She just forgot her wallet, sillies.

Outside, Siobhan finds Bridget, who gives us a very Buffy boo-boo face, as the sisters embrace. They retreat to Siobhan's weekend place in the Hamptons, where Siobhan explains that her husband is in London on business, and is visiting his teenaged daughter, Juliet (another Lost coincidence), at boarding school. She also admits that Andrew doesn't even know Bridget exists. The sisters then begin an awkward heart to heart. They're surrounded by mirrors, so we don't just have two Buffies -- we have infinite Buffies. Yay! Bridget is really sorry about someone named Sean, who she thinks about every single day. Siobhan, who clearly doesn't want to talk about Sean, knows that making amends is an important step in recovery, but tells Bridget that she's already forgiven. She just needs to forgive herself. There's something icy about her tone, though. Don't believe the sister-bot, Buffy!

Rock Springs, Wyoming. Agent Machado interviews Malcolm (on a college or big high school campus) about his relationship with Bridget. He sounds as much like a jealous lover as a Fed, which works because Malcolm cops to having gotten too close to Bridget, even though he was her NA sponsor. He insists he doesn't know where Bridget has gone, though, so Machado turns up the heat, and hands him a newspaper with the headline screaming that Macawi is free, because his case has been declared a mistrial. Machado goes on about what a badass Macawi is -- having killed his own brother -- and drills home the fact that Bridget isn't just in trouble with the law: her life is at stake.

Meanwhile, Bridget and Siobhan go boating and Bridget remarks that it reminds her of Tahoe, which, it turns out, is why Siobhan loves the Hamptons. Admittedly, I've been to neither place, but I'm finding it a little hard to believe that a western lake and an east coast beach are that much alike, other than, you know, water. After this scene, I tried desperately to find the Bette Davis flick Dead Ringer about a poor twin who kills her evil rich twin and assumes her life, but no dice. I do wish wardrobe had dressed the Gellar(s) in stripey sweaters, though. Anyhow, this is the pivotal scene and not just because of the subpar special effects. Siobhan gets Bridget a drink as they chat about how Bridget is no longer working the pole, but she's still working for tips -- waitressing. She doesn't want to be the sister Siobhan has to pretend doesn't exist. Siobhan non-sequiturs with, "Just so you know, I missed you, too." The thing Bridget knows, she's waking up alone on the boat. Siobhan is nowhere to be found. Bridget screams for her sister, tries (and fails) to radio for help and even jumps in the water to look for her, but it's all to no avail. Personally, I think Siobhan slipped Bridget a mickey, because all that's left is a pill bottle -- empty of pills, but full of Siobhan's engagement and wedding rings. What would her motive be? Well, clearly she got a good look at the laughable green-screen background used in this scene and said, "Screw it. I'm out." And yeah, I just plagiarized myself from the recaplet. I think I'm allowed to do that. Commercial.

Manhattan, night. I think we're supposed to be a little uncertain as to whether it's Bridget or Siobhan arriving at the Martin's Park Avenue digs, but I can't maintain the pretense and have this make sense, so [SPOILER] it's Bridget. She gets out of the car and manages to fool the doorman, so good show. When she gets off the elevator she's confronted by a seven foot high black and white photo of her own face... well, of her twin's face. As she scopes out her sister's home, Andrew Martin (Ioan Gruffudd) arrives home. When her welcome kiss is a little more generous than an icy peck, Andrew's taken aback. He's also surprised when she's fine with the fact that he doesn't want to go to the ballet. Andrew then kindly takes his shirt off for those of us in the audience who have a pulse, and tells his not-wife that he's headed for the shower.

Once she's alone, Bridget heads out to the balcony and calls Malcolm and fills him in on her escape from Officer Jimmy, her sister's suicidal (she assumes) boat ride, and her decision to assume Siobhan's life. We're treated to a flashback montage accompanied by the Pacifika cover of Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4," which makes no more or less sense here than anywhere else, so why the heck not. Already emotional, Bridget freaks out when she spots a man watching her from the street and cuts off her call with Malcolm, who offers to come get her. In Siobahn's dressing room, Bridget sneaks Officer Jimmy's gun out of Siobhan's purse and hides it in the scarf drawer. She then heads to bed where she feigns sleep as a still shirtless, but now blue-jammie-pants-wearing Andrew peeks in on her and seems disgusted that his wife might sleep at night. With his cold reaction to her earlier kiss, I can't imagine he was hoping for a little loving -- at least not from "Siobhan."

The morning, Andrew is up and dressed, while Bridget's still sleeping. When the phone rings, he snaps at her to answer it, making me go over and kiss my husband who is just the opposite. I've been in bed a lot the last few weeks because of my back. When he works from home and I go up to lie down during the day, Scott takes the cordless out of our room so I won't even hear the phone ring. Thank you, honey. We might not have a posh Park Ave. place, but at least you don't give me frostbite when I kiss you hello. And you don't care about any of that, so I'll get back to it. It's Siobhan's best friend Gemma on the phone, complaining that Siobhan stood her up. When she references Siobhan's orange appointment book, Bridget quickly opens it and figures out who is calling and from where. She promises to be there in 20 minutes. Gemma tells her to make it 30 and get her a latte.

Gemma is overseeing the redesign of a Warren Street loft that Andrew and Siobhan have purchased. Poor little ex-stripper/recovering addict Bridget can't figure out what's wrong with their Park Ave. place that they would be moving to this loft. Gemma exposits that it was Andrew's idea and, oh my word, these people are explaining too much. Also, Gemma is the second character to comment on "Siobhan's" thinness. Andrew made a couple of comments that I didn't bother to mention, because SMG is playing these roles, so of course the character is/characters are thin. I can't see a reason for the writers to be hanging so many lanterns on that fact. Maybe they want to show that people do notice a difference between Siobhan and Bridget, but since actual twins aren't playing these roles, there's no physical difference between them, so it just pulls me out of the story. It also makes me feel a little protective of SMG. I think she looks well. Motherhood suits her.

Out on the terrace, a stone Native American bust stares down at Bridget and I feel like it is screaming, "NOTICE ME. I AM A SYMBOL OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN MOB BOSS WHO WANTS TO KILL BRIDGET SO SHE CAN'T TESTIFY AGAINST ME, EVEN THOUGH SHE RAN AWAY SO SHE WOULDN'T HAVE TO TESTIFY AGAINST ME." Bridget doesn't seem to feel the same way, though. Her conversation with Gemma is hesitant, because, of course, these two don't know each other from a hole in the wall. Gemma doesn't notice that she's talking to a complete stranger though, so she confides that she thinks her out-of-work novelist husband, Henry (Kristoffer Polaha, Life Unexpected) is having an affair. She needs a girls' night out, but when Bridget agrees, Gemma has to remind her that she (Siobhan) already has plans with Andrew to attend some benefit.

Now here's where not being a New Yorker is a handicap. I'm sure I'm probably supposed to recognize the venue of the event. Is it the Metropolitan Museum? Lincoln Center? New Yorkers, help a Bostonian out, would ya? Anyhow, while they're listening to an opera singer, Bridget notices that she's being watched by the same guy that was looking up at her on Park Ave. the night before when she was on the phone with Malcolm. After the performance, Andrew offers to get them champagne. Bridget is in recovery, so she pleads headache and asks for water. When Andrew walks off, Bridget notices the same guy staring at her again. Look, it's Henry, okay, as Bridget will soon find out. She tries to make herself scarce, wandering towards some exhibit with a big elephant statue, but Henry is too quick for her. He grabs her and macks her face off. Commercial.

So, it turns out that the person having an affair with Siobhan's best friend's husband is no other than Siobhan herself. He chides her for not showing up at the hotel for their... well, to have sex. Bridget just wants to get away from him before Andrew sees them together. Henry won't let her go until she agrees to meet him at the Dandridge Hotel, Thursday at noon. Henry's an ass. Henry is also the one who seems to most notice the difference between Bridget and Siobhan, other than their weight.

Back home, Bridget asks for help unhooking the clasp of her dress and tries to talk to Andrew, but he remains aloof. She finally asks if they're "cool." Andrew sneers at her. "What are we, twelve?" He also makes it clear they're not cool, but it's her game and he's just trying to play by the rules. Bridget asks if maybe they can't stop playing games, and be happy the way they were at the gala. Andrew glares at her. "Who are you?" Bridget wide-eyes as she asks him what he means. Andrew says she's just so different, relaxed, and agreeable. Bridget: "And you don't like it?" Andrew: "No. I LOVE it. I just don't believe it." He walks off and leaves her alone.

Alone, in front of yet another mirror, Bridget sits at Siobhan's vanity and pokes around her jewelry box. In it, she finds a picture of Siobhan and a little blond toddler boy. On the back is written: "Siobhan + Sean, 2005." Bridget tears up as she whispers, "Mistakes aren't tragedies, but please, Higher Power..."

Brooklyn, day. Bridget is at an NA meeting and the group helps her finish the chant she began the night before: "...Help me learn from them." I am not overwhelmed by this pilot, but I want to give credit where credit is due. It's a really nice touch to have Bridget take time out of her very busy, sister-assuming life to haul ass to Brooklyn for a Twelve Step Meeting. I mean that. It's a nice bit of characterization to have this early on in the series. Girlfriend is serious about her recovery, even in the midst of her terrible decision to pretend she's Siobhan. It makes Bridget more sympathetic to me. At the meeting, a tearful Bridget confesses that every time she cleans up a mess, she ends up dirty. Another woman reminds Bridget that it's important to take responsibility for her actions. Um, isn't that exactly what she is not doing at all, right now? Whatever. Bridget says, "In all this, I lost someone who meant everything to me. I just got her back. Now she's gone. Maybe once things settle down, I can go back to my old life -- be normal again."

When Bridget returns to Park Ave. she hears music blaring and the sounds of boots a-knocking if you know what I mean. She calls out for Andrew as she follows the sound, but it's not Andrew. He wouldn't be having that much fun. It's his daughter, Juliet, who is still reasonably clothed, but her male companion is so not, save for the bed sheet draped over his lower body and the scarf serving as his blindfold. Oh my. My 12-year-old is watching this with me. Can we not? Juliet isn't embarrassed or contrite. She's full-on bitchy as she orders "Siobhan" out of her room. And then Bridget unintentionally cracks me up when she asks, not what Juliet thinks she's doing, or what her father would have done if he'd found her there, but, "Is that my scarf?" Hee.

As Bridget runs off towards Siobhan's dressing room, I remember that she hid Officer Jimmy's gun in the scarf drawer, but I still can't stop laughing. I think SMG used the exact same tone of voice when she asked her college roomie from Hell (literally) Demon Kathy, if she was wearing her sweater. I do have cable and yet, I still make my own fun. Anyhow, Bridget grabs the gun and puts it in her purse. When Juliet's boy toy leaves, Bridget is all nice and agreeable, while Juliet continues to be a total bitch. She answers the phone and announces some guy is coming up to see "Siobhan," and stomps back off to her room, without even saying who. But we know who it is -- Agent Machado.

Machado has come to New York to interview Siobhan about Bridget. Bridget plays it pretty cool when she faces him and talks to him about her "sister." They have their talk in the park (Central Park, I'm assuming), and Machado can't help but point out that the sisters not only look alike, they have the same sarcastic attitude. Bridget says she and her "sister" aren't close -- they haven't spoken in years. Machado explains to Bridget that Bridget is a fugitive who assaulted a police officer and stole his gun. And Bridget, who did exactly that, snaps at him. "Bridget wouldn't do that." Maybe she's forgetting who she is? He then tells Bridget that Bridget was the only eyewitness to a murder. She had been arrested for prostitution and possession, and they were dropping the charges against her in return for her testimony against Macawi. He explains that it's a matter of life and death. Macawi won't rest 'til he's killed the one person who could send him to prison. To drive matters home, we cut to the Wyoming campus where Macawi watches Malcolm with a sneer on his face and murder in his eyes.

Warren St. loft, night. Bridget is wrapping up the gun in a newspaper, when she notices a report that a woman's body has washed up on Long Island. She figures that it's Siobhan, because she thinks Siobhan killed herself, but we know better, don't we? She's interrupted by Gemma, who is surprised to see "Siobhan" there. Their talk turns to Henry's affair. Bridget's voice is shaky as she asks if she has any idea who the other woman is. Gemma: "Well, I went through the list of usual suspects, but the trainer's gay. The maid's fat... The wife's...best...friend..." When Bridget doesn't know what to say, Gemma laughs. "I'm joking. Come on. You're so not his type."

Dandridge, day. When Henry lets Bridget in the room she announces she's not there to sleep with him. Henry: "Why? I'm here to sleep with you." Hee! Bridget tells him Gemma suspects he's having an affair and they have to lay low for a while. "If you really love me, you'll stay away."

Park Ave. Andrew has it out with Juliet. It seems she's been kicked out of boarding school. She plays the "my-family-is-broken" card and says she's going to her mother's house, but Andrew says, "You know that's not an option." Hmmm. What's up with that? Juliet: "Just throw it in my face that she doesn't want me either." As Andrew insists that's not what he meant, Juliet storms off and Bridget arrives home. When she asks what's going on, Andrew is dismissive. Bridget has no time to worry about that, though. Siobhan's cell phone is ringing. It's the doctor. Siobhan is pregnant. Andrew overhears Bridget's stunned, "I'm pregnant," and he and Bridget exchange a loaded look. Later, alone in front of the...say it with me now...MIRROR, Bridget looks at herself as she asks, "Oh Siobhan, what did you do?" Raise your hand if you thought about the Faith/Buffy body switch during this scene. If you said, "That would be wrong," drink. If you said it aloud, drink twice so you'll care less about what your family thinks of you when you start spouting Buffy quotes like me. Commercial.

Another Night/Another Gala. Gemma and Henry learn that Siobhan is expecting. When Henry gets a minute alone, he tells Bridget that he must be the father of the baby, because they've had sex a thousand times, whereas she only throws Andrew a bone once or twice a month. Wouldn't it work better if Andrew threw her the... never mind. The scene is already over. Anyhow, Henry is adamant that Siobhan leave Andrew for him. He demands that she choose between him and Andrew. Bridget chooses Andrew and leaves Henry hanging.

Morning, Park Ave. Andrew is on the phone saying he knows they negotiated "that," but he wants out. He changes his tone as Bridget walks in the room and announces to the party on the other end of the line that "the wife just walked in" so they can finish their conversation later. Andrew asks his "wife" if she thought Henry was behaving strangely the night before. Bridget chalks it up to him being a temperamental artistic type and quickly changes the subject to Juliet. Andrew confides that his daughter got kicked out of boarding school. When Bridget asks why, he takes a cocaine bullet out of his pocket. I will confess here, I did not know what that was. I mean, I knew it was drug paraphernalia, even before Bridget's startled reaction, but I didn't know what kind. I kept trying to see it as some kind of pipe, but it's clearly plastic, so that didn't seem right. Here's a tip of the cap to the cokeheads in the show thread for setting me straight. Anyhow, Bridget is freaked, not so much that Juliet was doing blow at school, but that she might bring it into the home, because, as we've already seen, while Bridget might not make the greatest choices, she is serious about her recovery. She looks at the bullet and says, "You're kidding me." When Andrew murmurs in agreement, Bridget snaps, "Well she can't stay here." She remembers herself and adds, "Not with the baby coming." Oh honey, I do hope you remember you're not actually pregnant. I wouldn't go to the baby well too many times with your man. Andrew seems to understand Bridget's fake concern for their fake baby, but reminds her that Juliet has nowhere to go.

East Hampton. Agent Machado talks to a local cop outside the place where Bridget stowed all her Bridget-stuff in a locker when she decided to assume Siobhan's life. It seems some kids broke into the bus station lockers and the cops caught them. And boy the local cops and FBI sure work well together on this show, because they not only spotted a letter from Siobhan to Bridget, they knew enough to call Machado right away, and in fact called him before they even hauled the kids off in cuffs. Heh. Nits aside, Machado is intrigued to learn that "Siobhan" was lying to him about not having been in touch with Bridget in years.

Meanwhile, we're rounding back to that opening scene in the loft. As Bridget leaves yet another NA meeting (good for you, girl) she sees that there's a message on Siobhan's phone. "It's Gemma. Meet me at the loft in an hour. I think I know who Henry's having an affair with." Bridget does as she's bidden. When she arrives at the loft, Gemma isn't there, but the Crowbar Demon is. He attacks Bridget, who is struggling to get free, and making me so uncomfortable, because I don't care that she's not Buffy. She's still Buffy. Kick his ass Buffy! Oh, look at that. She just kicked his face. Good enough! Game on. She runs from him, but he catches her (boo) and they both crash through some drywall. This seems to knock the Crowbar Demon out for a minute -- long enough for Bridget to spot Officer Jimmy's gun, which she never really got to hide the other day. She reaches for it just as the Crowbar Demon comes to and yells, "I'm not Bridget," before shooting him in the chest. When she takes off his ski mask, she's seems surprised that she doesn't know him. She then reaches in his pocket and takes out a picture of her sister, and it's labeled: "Siobhan Martin." This wasn't one of Macawi's demons after all.

Paris, day. Siobhan Martin sits in front of a window and to a mirror as she answers her phone. A man's voice says, "Siobhan, we have a problem." Siobhan hangs up and looks at her reflection in the mirror, because THIS IS A THEME, and what else is there to do in Paris? Fade to black.

Okay, my back is insisting that I stop sitting at my desk and go lay down and it's the boss these days, so I'm not going to go on too much here or speculate, except to note that I overstated my case in the recaplet. I don't necessarily think Siobhan set Bridget up to be killed (although it is possible) in the sense that she ordered a hit on her sister. I just think that she knew someone was after her and didn't care if they killed Bridget while thinking they were killing Siobhan. But only time will tell how evil twin our evil twin is going to be. I am curious about Sean. He must have been Siobhan's son, right? Was Bridget high when he was left in her care or did she turn to drugs after she failed to keep him safe? I want to know these things, which I think means the pilot did its job. I've read some scathing reviews (and a couple of raves). I'm seldom big on pilots. I think it takes a show time to find its feet. But I'd watch again week, even if I wasn't getting paid to. I hope they work out some of the rough spots, more clearly define Siobhan and Bridget, and give SMG some light material to work with as well as all the angst. It's good to see her pretty face on my TV again, and the male eye candy on this show doesn't hurt, either. What did you think? Please grade the episode at the top of the page and then let us know in in the show thread, where we've got some stakes and holy water stashed, just in case.

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2014-03-30
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