What I’m Watching: Episodes

Episodes: Season 1, Episode 5 “Episode Five” (B+)

We’re back on track after a less-than-stellar installment last week, as a night of heavy drinking and marijuana smoking leads to some humorous and entertaining revelations about our favorite characters. I was thrilled by the opportunity to see Carol for almost an entire episode, loosening up a bit and spilling her secrets to a much more relaxed than usual Beverly, who did a great job of playing stoned as she got quite the craving for pork. Sean’s night was considerably more disturbing, as Matt proved insensitive by refusing to wait until after the keynote speech to open a bottle of wine. We also got the first chance to see Sean’s attraction to Morning develop, something that was foreshadowed in the future scenes seen in the first episode. This installment had a surprisingly dramatic – and very effective – ending that shows just how much this American lifestyle has corrupted the strong relationship of two Brits. Sean’s defense of his actions by explaining that he could have done something with Morning but chose Beverly instead was predictably heinous, and Beverly was right once again (after Matt’s winning statement last week) in her assertion that he doesn’t get extra points for not cheating. Sean’s decision to get up in the middle of the night and watch Morning’s porn film is pretty appalling, and did he really have to do it without using headphones? In a show filled with despicable characters, he’s fast on his way to becoming the most dishonorable. We still have two episodes left in the season, which means we’ll reach the point of the pilot episode scenes quite soon.