What I'm Watching: Hung

Hung: Season 1, Episode 4 “The Pickle Jar” (B+)

This fourth installment continues its positive streak with a second consecutive great episode. Part of that is due to the always fantastic Margo Martindale, who has lit up the small screen on shows like “The Riches” and “Dexter.” She always brings a warm sensibility to all of her characters, and in this case, she’s a bit less touching and friendly, but she’s still just as fabulous as always. Her role as one of Ray’s clients is quite helpful for the development of Ray as both a character and as a prostitute. He’s beginning to realize that he has to be completely open to any and all kinds of clients, and also that he can really help people feel good about themselves. The fact that he’s now taking on a number of clients at a time means that he can have several positive, dramatic experiences each episode as well as hilarious and unexpected awkward scenarios. Tanya’s doing her job well as his pimp, constantly working to establish her reputation and Ray’s reputation. The drama with Ray’s children isn’t terribly interesting, but at least they’re trying. And the best moment was Anne Heche’s interaction with Ray’s first client, and meetings like that are always entertaining where characters have no idea how close they actually are to the situation they’ve just encountered (just like “Breaking Bad,” though in a far less serious mode).