Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT My Bologna Has A First Name. It's GEMMA!
By Cindy McLennan | Season 1 | Episode 9 | Aired on 11.15.2011
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.The big news first: Gemma lives! The Butler twins exist; they are ginger and adorable. NA Charlie's real name is John ICan'tRememberHisLastName. Bridget realizes she's falling in love with Andrew. Andrew seems aware that not all of Martin/Charles Financial's dealings are on the up and up, but now that his "wife" is nice, he's maybe ready to clean up his act. This displeases Olivia, who, against Andrew's wishes and behind his back, manipulates Henry, so she can get closer to Gemma's ailing dad's money. Also, when Olivia gets a moment alone with Henry's cell phone, she finds a tellingly cozy photo of Henry and Shiv, so she e-mails it to herself.
As for the rest of it? Well, NA Charlie is keeping Gemma bound, gagged and blindfolded in the basement of his real house. Remember how Bridget brought a jonesing Malcolm to Charlie's apartment? Well, that's his fake flat. Mal twigs to this early on, when he notices Charlie has alcohol-laden mouthwash in his bathroom (which people in recovery eschew). Additionally, Mal notices the TV remote hasn't been used. The batteries or battery compartment, or perhaps the remote itself (sorry my notes suck) are/is still wrapped in plastic. Malcolm lets Bridget know something's fishy with her new sponsor.
Bridget decides to go see Siobhan's therapist. She wants to understand why Siobhan killed herself. The therapist is surprised that "Shiv" booked her appointment under her real name. Bridget declares herself the new "Shiv" and manages to get the therapist to confirm that the alias Siobhan used was "Cora" (the name Tyler called her, when she met him at dinner last week). It is during this session that Bridget realizes she is falling in love with Andrew.
The therapist isn't nearly as talky as Shiv's lawyer was a few weeks ago, so later, Bridget sneaks back in her office, to take a look at Shiv's file. The therapist catches her in the act, but not before Bridget manages to swipe her patient notes. I'll hit those in the full weecap, but suffice it to say, Bridget learns Shiv was afraid someone was out to get her. She also sees a notation that Shiv found what she needed at some church.
Bridget finds the church, which is no longer a house of worship. In it is a bar, and guess who's sitting at the bar, swilling whiskey? NA Charlie, aka John. When Bridget reports this to Malcolm, they decide to investigate, further.
Bridget calls Charlie and requests some quality sponsor time, giving Malcolm the chance to go to John's house (they found the address earlier) and snoop. Bridget has a hard time stretching out her meeting with Charlie, though, so Malcolm never quite gets down to the padlocked basement to rescue poor Gemma, who even manages to tip over her chair. (How does she go to the bathroom?!) Anyhow, when Charlie leaves his meeting with Bridget, he calls Siobhan in Paris, and tells her that Bridget it onto him.
That's not even the half of it. 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 no one puts Gemma in a corner basement.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Tiny bubbles in my soap. Tiny bubbles make me feel dope. Okay, sorry, but I just think this week's episode did everything a nighttime soap is supposed to do and it made me a little high. Let's get right to it, shall we?
Park Ave, Day: Later in this episode we'll learn that six weeks have passed since Bridget first went to Shiv in the Hamptons. Maybe that matters less now that Andrew knows "Shiv" is "no longer" pregnant, but I still like to keep track. We open on Bridget and Andrew making out in their bedroom. Sadly, they're sitting up and fully clothed. And no, I have no idea why wardrobe has my pretty Buffy in that one shoulder brown blouse crowned with a bloom of butt-ugliness. She's tiny, blonde and attractive. It isn't that difficult to dress her, people.
Anyhow, Andrew wants to take his "wife" on a fabulous vacation with world-class beaches, just to make sure I keep on loving him, and so I do. Poor Bridget suggests "Lauderdale?" Andrew laughs and declares Turks and Caicos is the place to be. He also brings back the wedding gown that Juliet damaged during one of her hissy fits, and tells "Shiv" that if she wants to have a go at wrecking Juliet's wardrobe, he'll turn a blind eye. But since Bridget is the kinder, gentler Siobhan, she refuses. She starts to panic when Andrew goes to store the gown on the top shelf of their dressing room, because that's where she has Officer Jimmy's gun. She manages to convince Andrew to let her take care of it and sends him off to the kitchen, so that we can have an...
Answerful Flashback, Wyoming: Office Jimmy enters Bridget's motel room. She clocks him and cuts his head. Surprised when her intruder turns out to be her body guard, she asks Jimmy why he's sneaking in her room. He tells her she can't trust anyone, neither the cops nor the feds, so he's asking her to run, now. I KNEW IT (well, sorta). I definitely suspected there was something more to Bridget's escape from protective custody. Jimmy tells Bridget to flee to her family and tries to give her his gun. She refuses it. When she leaves the room to gather her stuff, Jimmy hides his gun in her bag, because he needs to explain how she got away. I'd still like to know how Jimmy managed to duct tape his own damn fool self in the shower, but am so glad we got these answers.
Present, NYC: Bridget calls NA Charlie and asks him how she can get rid of a cop's gun which could be traced back to her "sister." Jimmy offers to take care of it, saying you can't max out good will. He's busy making a sandwich, and once he's done, he throws down his knife. It lands tip first in the butcher block table. What is he, the Braveheart of 12 Stepping?