What I’m Watching: Hung

Hung: Season 1, Episode 6 “Doris is Dead or Are We Rich or Are We Poor?” (B+)

Last week I lamented that Natalie Zea didn’t have a juicier part to play, and my request was honored in this episode. Jemma’s attempts to gain insider information on Ray’s life was a great way of digging deeper into her character, and it was also terrific to see her at work in her extraordinarily crowded business life. Her confrontation with Tanya was one of the best moments of the season, with Tanya trying to stand up for herself and Jemma admitting that she doesn’t care one bit. The love triangle that’s been created, very literally at Ray’s game, of the three women all intoxicated in some way with Ray, is immensely fascinating and a wondrous move for the show. Tanya’s loneliness and yearning to have a social rather than purely professional relationship with Ray is likely to soon take a toll on her, and Ray welcoming Jemma into his life (and offering not to charge her!) is certainly not going to help matters. It does seem a bit early in the show’s run for Ray to fall so hard for one girl, but presumably it won’t last and he’ll come through it a changed and bettered man (sort of like Hank in “Californication”). Ray’s narrated quip that no one ever came to his games for years, and now all three of the women in his life and are at the same game, was very entertaining. Thomas Jane truly excels at portraying Ray, and I’m continually impressed by his exceptional performance.