HBO's Big Love Season 3 - Episode 5
Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin
Feb 26, 2009
In the last episode of Big Love Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) finally got his day in court and was found not guilty, Sarah (Amanda Seyfried) considered adoption, Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) went blonde, and Bill (Bill Paxton) proposed to Ana (Branka Katic).
The Possible Fourth Wife – Ana
While out bowling date Ana accepts the proposal and she and Bill are sealed later that afternoon. Immediately after the wedding Bill leaves and Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) announces that Ana will be moving in with her. Later at the wives’ daily meeting Nicki has all kinds of issues. First, she fusses because Ana is sitting in her usual chair. Then she complains because Margene brings a cherry pie in honor of Ana. While Margene and Ana leave the table to get plates Margene mentions that Barb usually assigns everyone their duties and Ana finds that strange. Margene also tries to convince Ana to move in with her. She tells Ana that she will talk to Bill about it, which puzzles Ana.
In another scene Barb and Ana are in Barb’s room and Barb says that she feels she now has a true friend in the marriage. Ana tells Barb about what happened with Margene and reassures Barb that she wants to live with her. Barb replies that she will talk to Bill and again Ana is puzzled. Once Bill gets home, he decides that Ana should move in with Nicki since they know each other the least. Nicki’s response is “Why am I the one being punished?” Bill ends the conversation. On Ana’s move in day, Nicki gets upset because Ana is a little late and then insults Ana by offering her a small drawer and a bed in her nook instead of the spare room she has upstairs. Hearing this, Barb and Margie run to Bill for help. Nicki runs out to talk to Bill as well and they all, except Ana who was listening in Nicki’s house, get scolded. Bill finds Ana, who immediately demands her own house and upon finding out that all the money she has and stands to make must go into a community pot gets furious.
Later Ana and Nicki try to bond over bowling . Nicki tells Ana that she and Barb are the closest of the three of them and Ana mentions that Barb seems lonely and wants to do everything with her. Nicki’s feelings are hurt. When they get home she plays on Margene’s jealousy and tells her that Barb hates her hair and that Barb know Ana’s favorite color is white and is planting magenta azaleas anyway. Both of these statements are false, but they set Margene off. Both women start uprooting the plants. Barb runs outside and they argue, with Ana looking on. Nicki alludes to the fact that she’s not interested in a fourth wife and Barb reveals that she wants Ana for herself. She says that Ana makes her feel like agreeing to living in polygamy wasn’t a mistake. Bill walks into where Ana was listening and tries to take her on a honeymoon, but Ana refuses and by the time everyone comes back in the house she announces she wants a divorce.
Other Big Love Characters
At the beginning of the episode, Bill has a meeting with his brother in law Ted, and a lawmaker to talk about killing the anti-gaming resolution. They all agree and Ted informs Bill that he wants a particular document from Alby Grant (Matt Ross). Bill agrees to make it happen. Later Barb gets a call from one of her Eagle Forum friends saying that the bill is still alive. Bill goes to see Ted and demands that he kill the bill and calls the bank and gets the loan that he and Don (Joel McKinnon Miller) applied for approved. The bank had previously denied it.
Nicki quits her job and while she’s packing up her desk her boss comes over to talk to her. He comments that he wished that she would stay. She smiles and they stare at each other for awhile. Later he calls her and leaves a message on her cell phone saying that he wants her to continue to work for him. After going bowling with Ana and feeling rejected by Barb she decides that she will keep the job. She also met with her father at a hotel. Bill found out and confronted her. She lied and said that she was just trying to find out where they stood with her father.
Ben (Douglas Smith), Sarah, Frankie, and Heather (Tina Majorino) decide to take a trip to the compound. Frankie tries to see his mother, but finds out that Frank (Bruce Dern) sent her away to Nicaragua. By the end of the episode he decides to go to Nicaragua to find his mother.
Sarah decides to keep her baby and raise it with Heather’s help.
Big Love Commentary
It seems that the whole idea of a fourth wife was a bad one. How will the family recover from this one? It was interesting that Barb ended up taking such a liking to Ana when it seems that she is still not sure about the whole polygamy lifestyle.
And who knew Margene was so desperate for acceptance? Her feelings got hurt when Barb didn’t jump at the chance of her and her kids moving into Barb’s house so that Ana could take Margene’s. And again when Barb said that Ana made her feel like polygamy wasn’t a mistake because she wanted it to be her that made Barb feel that way.
It’s great that Sarah decided to keep her baby, but how is she going to tell her parents? She can’t hide it forever as she will start showing eventually. Will they let her go away to school knowing that she is pregnant?
HBO’s Big Love airs Sunday nights at 9pm eastern
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