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“(and was I the only one that glossed over her having heard that? I had to rewatch a few scenes to remember when that happened.)”
You weren’t. I did too!
“So him being casual in his G’s after sinning? Not buying it. “
But then again, he’s already a pedophile who’s obvoiusly willing to step outside church rules. I think he wears them like he wears his public persona – total facade.
Sidenote: OMG BUTTERMINTS. I haven’t had those in..20 years? I had a TASTE MEMORY and want one now. My grandmom kept them on her sideboard in a cut glass container.
And now, like always, I have to rewatch with your explanations in mind. Thank you, again!
Re: pedophilia. You know, I just don’t buy Greg seeing himself that way. He’s a guy that’s over 30, Mormon, and not married. There’s something going on with him i the first place, because that’s rare as hell (hence his mom saying “DATE” when Nicki invited them to the reception.) Second, Cara Lynn is a bit more mature than her peers if only because of her life’s experiences thus far and because of how intelligent she is. Third, May/December (or March/December) romances are pretty common out there – guys like their women just old enough, if you catch me.
I’m hoping the writers just messed it up, because really, he’s so totally Mormon, I bet he makes them pray after having sex. He’d not be wearing those Gs. It’s seriously a taboo, like eating a person. Gs can protect you from death, as the mythology goes. You can’t even throw torn ones away without a little ritual performed. I just think the writers aren’t paying attention (they forget that the Juniper Creek people would have those on, with the one exception of Adaleen in hers to shoot her hormones.)
HEEE, BUTTERMINTS! I actually like them, but I can’t tell if it’s from my background, or because they’re actually good. Clearly I need to go buy some and give them a whirl.
Re: Caralynn and Greg–
Has it been established that they’re having sex? I seem to recall something said in the kitchen scene that indicated they were waiting. You’ve watched more and I already deleted my recording, so I’d love to know what happened.
Then, re: the garments. A friend of mine was having an affair with an LDS man for quite awhile. She’s not Mormon (or religious at ALL). She told me that he always wore his garments. So I guess different people have different rules for themselves.
Oh, I don’t think Greg sees himself that way. I think he’s amazingly oblivious to his crimes/sins/illnesses/whatevs. I think he’s got a big, fat ole’ cognitive dissonance going on. It’s sorta like abusive parents being able to think of themselves as wonderful parents.
Cara Lynn IS intelligent, and not naive, but at the same time, she IS. It’s just that her naiveté/experience is very patchy. And she WANTS to believe. Self-delusion is an amazing thing (see: Greg). Yeah, they’re made for each other, right? :/
My Sicilian Catholic relatives had rituals like that for certain Catholic thingies. Later I realized it wasn’t Catholic, it was Sicilian. Our superstittions come straight from pre-history and color our religion. (well. their religion, not mine anymore. But…take girl outta church, can’t take church…). It really speaks to how f’d up the church is.
I AM SO JONESING FOR BUTTERMINTS NOW. Amazon has them. But I looked up the carb count and I’d be allowed like, THREE. And I can taste them on my tongue. It’s really not so much the taste, as the texture – how they sort of melt into smoothness. (Gawd. Can you tell I haven’t been allowed candy since October? And won’t be again? I’m talking like a crack addict!)
Susie: you know, I was thinking about it after replying and I wonder if the writers will pull a fast one on us, as in, they’re just having “Mormon Sex” (dry humping and making out.) It’s still considered a no no, but it would be more in character for Greg, who told Cara Lynn in the beginning that he believes couples “should wait.” I’ll have to re-record the ep and watch that scene you mentioned and get back with you.
Oooh, her lover kept on his garments? He was not a real believer and was Mormon by rote. Maybe he didn’t want his devout wife to see him without? That would make more sense to me. There’s a LOT of “keeping up appearances” with Mormons. In face, a slogan of sorts is “avoid even the appearance of evil.” So. *hands*
TXVooDoo: Cognitive Dissonance is spot on for him. And it’s TOTALLY how they melt on your tongue that is so appealing! Mmm candy. I’ve not had any in a long time, too. Solidarity sister! Wheat grass is just as yummy. …right?
Yeah, sure. JUST AS YUMMY. *sniff*
If I didn’t know they’d spike my sugar so high that I wouldn’t have a syringe big enough for a correction shot, I’d be driving around right now looking for buttermints!
i get confused about Gs.
see, i dated a Mormon. his wife [and... that was weird. she wasn't mormon when they got married, and they STILL hadn't been married in Temple] had had an affair, so he left, and 8 months later i met him.
i eventually broke it off, because, well, i’m NOT Mormon [or any sort of Christian] and sex is important to me. “waiting til marriage” was NOT on, since i wasn’t getting married to someone who wanted me to convert AND he wasn’t actually divorcing his wife, cuz “that was a sin”. [his grand plan was to, somehow, get me to convert and marry in-Temple WITHOUT divorcing her. he wasn't FLDS, just LDS, so...???]
not only were HIS Gs firmly in place, so were HERS. [seriously? wear them UNDER your bra? how freaking uncomfortable can one BE?!]. after i stepped out, they got back together, finally saved enough for that “Temple” wedding – and she kept right on cheating. with the same guy.
still wearing her Gs. one of her defenses was that she ALWAYS wore them, even while having sex with said other dude. ? is that a defense? or was i just subjected to crazy people? [or both? heh]
Well, it’s not weird that they weren’t married in the temple, because they COULDN’T be seeing as she wasn’t Mormon. [Or was she? You mention she had temple garments? None of that is making sense to me, sorry.] Also, this is some personal stuff to put on a public blog and not related to the show. I can’t make heads or tails of where you’re trying to go with the story, sorry. (Err, we got 1200 hits last night. You might rethink what you put up here.)
i believe it’s vague enough, but if you don’t, take it down. it’s 14-year-old gossip, from another state.
[she converted while they were seperated. sorry for missing that] it was just the Gs thing – they confuse me. so it sparked the question, and oxy = no filters [not that i think it's an issue, at ALL. they're both technophobes, because i still have small contact with them, i know they don't own computer or TV or even a cell phone.]
I agree with the comment on the previous show’s commentary, these are great summaries of what’s happened in the episode. Not just capturing events but the emotion and issues that stem from them.
I was browsing for a discussion after watching this episode. I forget now why, been so captivated reading some of the posts out there. So much going on, to think about, and as someone of no particular denomination but many of my own beliefs, it’s really really interesting to read commentary on the accuracy of events depicted from a religious perspective.
I catch a lot of the subtlety in the show on my own, but there are some things I simply could not know about that add so much depth to it. Both for their accuracy and inaccuracy.
Sad to see the series ending. Has been a source of so much thought about life, families, society, religion, all of it. Great show. Great episode. Great review!
I keep another blog (it’s just a personal one) where I’ve been following Big love from the beginning, explaining all of the Real Life Events they’ve put in this show. The Juniper Creek stories are practically [find/replace] with the names. It’s amazing how well they’ve researched certain aspects. (Which is why I get pissy when I see something silly, like the “are they garments, or not?” in a little scene.)
This show has been utterly fascinating, and if nothing else, rekindled my love affair with Grace Zabriskie – she’s astounding.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
After reading the recap, I think there is a mis-direct at play. I bet Heather was smart enough not to repeat that Margene was underage. There’s no doubt that there’s enough shady stuff going on in the Hendrickson house that Heather could have been troubled about any number of things. I’m going to take a guess at the divorce of Bill and Barb.
I bet the underage incident is Cara Lynn and Greg. I’ve been thinking of them as “wrong” and “bad” — no to mention desperate, at least on Cara Lynn’s part. I think she wants out of the craziness of the Hendrickson’s home, repeating exactly what Nicki did, finding what she sees as a good, smart, more worldly man. But the underage part was just mixed up in the rest.
In fact, the timing was too perfect with the police arriving and Heather getting her phone call. Classic mis-direct technique.
And speaking of parallels, Ben, like his dad, now has an LDS woman in one hand and the wild, needy woman in the other. And heck, he’s already gone after Margene, making the trifecta.
The first thing I thought was that it was about CL and Greg, too, but the teaser for next week has Margene freaking out (and I feel like they ret-conned that in for a reason.) I think Heather honestly believed that she could tell her bishop something in confidence and let it all out. Time will tell, and it would be pretty neat if they pulled off the switcharoo.
What an excellent point about Ben!! I feel dumb now for not even seeing that, it’s like they’re showing us how Bill got started, in a way. Great observation.
I totally missed that point about Benn, too! Excellent catch, Justhuman!
I wish I’d found this website when I first started watching “Big Love.” You have explained so much! But I still think the writers are inconsistent and lazy as to how they work through the LDS issues, not to mention the timelines. And of course, the biggest faux pas was the premise that no one would remember (and by “no one” I mean the Republican/LDS leadership in Utah) would remember the Mother of the Year fiasco in Season 1. Which is why the contrivance of Bill’s run for State Senate was so annoying – there were other ways to get this family exposed, if that’s the direction they wanted to go.
Valerie: I think you’re right that they’ve dropped the ball on some issues. It’s been so long since S1, I’ll have to revisit that to have all of the inconsistencies in mind, but I will say that up until Big Love started airing, the state/Repubs/Church Leaders were inconsistent with polygamy and its enforcement, so maybe the writers are making a nod at that? (Ha, that’s me giving them a teeny bit of slack.)
I’ve followed/blogged about the show from the beginning, but just started recapping here since S5. I’m thinking of back dating all of that here, just to get it all in one place. Glad you found us!
I would love to read your earlier recaps!
Meanwhile, when it comes to “doomed and/or failed” relationships, what about the one between Bill and Don? At first I thought Don might have been the one to call the cops because of the look on his face when Barb answered the door. It made me completely forget about Heather and the Bishop.
Bill really has treated Don like a doormat. I was so happy this episode when Don stood up to him, although I don’t think Bill realized what was happening.
And I guess Wendy Phillips is off doing something else, because her Peg would certainly have something to say about all this…and I’d love to hear it.
Ah! The TiVo failed to capture the scenes for next week for me. After some fruitless internet hunting, I rewatched the end of the episode repeat. No scenes for next week online? Where is the love HBO!
Now I have completely random and potentially wild speculation.
Margene says she’s not guilty, which could be about any number of things, but the connection to the underage issue is very viable. Then I thought about the possibilities for actual/perceived underage issue and LMAO — there are so many choices. There’s Bill/Margene; Cara Lynn/Greg; Sara/guy she married; there’s any number of possibilities with Rhonda; Ben and that heart-breaking, non-sexy encounter in S1. Although some of these may not break the law in Utah.
But now I’m thinking, Ben and Margene. They never did it, but they did kiss in public and Margene said on TV that they were married. For the people trying to bring them down, it’s not about truth, but what they can create a media sensation around. Sure it’s a shocker for the public about Bill and Margene, but in the end the guys will be laughing about the middle-aged guy getting the babysitter and they got married and there are kids and years ago.
On the other hand, that footage of Ben and Margene would be all over YouTube. She won’t be convicted of anything, but she won’t be able to shake the stigma either. Bonus: Family strife about the issue coming up again.