What I’m Watching: Vegas

Vegas: Season 1, Episode 9 “Masquerade” (B+)

This episode got off to an unsettling start with the spotlighting of a doomed actress and her dictatorial director. While having him murder her would have been disturbing enough, the way things panned out turned out to be much worse. It also put one character who really hasn’t been featured all that much, Katherine, in terrible danger. To her credit, she reacted exactly as she should have, making up a reason to need to leave as soon as she realized that she was in the presence of the killer. With Katherine getting some extra screen time, Dixon was afforded the same privilege, allowing him to exert both serious and funny emotions, from his fury at the rape of the deceased actress to his amusing fear of tarantulas, which was apparently not shared by the rest of the station employees. Mayor Grady’s efforts to reach out to Ralph to work with him seemed sincere, but, as usual, Ralph isn’t eager to be anyone’s puppet, and his rejection of Grady’s peacemaking attempts likely won’t work out well in the long run. Vincent had his hands full with the troublesome big whale, who was played by David Denman, formerly known as Roy on “The Office,” in what ranks as his most energetic performance yet. I like how his affinity for Mia, which Vincent chose to hide from her, got turned to her advantage when she played against him and made sure that the house’s losses evened out. I’d like to see more of her since she’s turning out to be quite an interesting character.