What I’m Watching: Perpetual Grace, LTD

Perpetual Grace, LTD: Season 1, Episode 5 “Wandering Left” (B+)

There are so many elements of this show that are complex and require explaining, and it’s fascinating to see each of them delved into without much warning. In this case, I had never given a second thought to the identity of Valerie, the woman Hector was so eager to run away with, and it turns out that she’s pretty heavily involved in things, even more than James. She went after Hector by insulting him the same way she intimidated someone else into buying a car, and it really worked. Describing her pitch as the “softest way to do something hard” explains why Hector was even working with James in the first place, and I assume he’s in for a whole lot of heartbreak when she reveals that she’s just been using him all along. We also saw how James got involved, crashing his car into the dealership to demonstrate just how perfectly disillusioned he was. I like that Pa made up a long story about being the father of Hector’s two sons and that they bought it and now want to spend time with him, unaware of his nefarious plans, which will surely get even darker if Ma did in fact meet her end thanks to the unfortunate issue with her breathing tube. Walker identifying James as someone other than Paul didn’t compel him to give up at all, and instead he’s now linking Glenn’s disappearance to the previous murder he believes Paul committed. The fact that James is indeed in Mexico with Glenn won’t much be helped by the truth that the worst thing he’s doing at the moment is lying to him about how he and New Leaf give people compliments all the time.