HOLLYWOOD—Last week’s episode of “Big Love” was the beginning of the end of the HBO series. By now viewers have fallen in love with the characters and have grown to hate a few villains; however, the one thing we were not prepared for was the shocking reaction that Bill and his sister wives all received from Utahans who felt betrayed by the Henrickson family. After restful post-election days in the wilderness, reality hit the Henricksons on their return to Salt Lake City. At Home Plus, Bill’s (Bill Paxton) attempts to bolster morale in the wake of his polygamist revelation fall on mostly deaf ears, and he faces an uphill battle for his political life even before the swearing-in. Bill managed to isolate and antagonize virtually his entire staff at the store by firing a very popular employee he caught making polygamous jokes to others.
At home, he tried to assuage the concerns of his wives and kids, who face psychological ”“ and physical ”“ threats around town. One of his sons was beaten up by bullies at school. Then Nikki went to confront the head bully and ended up knocking out his tooth and causing even more scandal to her husband’s political career. To stem the growing tide of ill will, Bill decided to hold an open house for his 40,000 constituents, some of whom may actually show up. Almost a dozen people arrived late that night at his home, hoping that no one else would see them attend Bill’s meeting. These polygamists feel that Bill is their hope for the future, but danger lurks around every corner for the newly elected senator as well as his family.
Alby (Matt Ross) returned from his desert exile with a newfound desire to “purify” the compound, and exact vengeance on Bill. Alby cannot forgive Bill for causing his male lover to commit suicide last season. Alby, like his father, is a dark force and the compound’s sister wives are preparing for a battle of good versus evil between Bill and Alby.
On this Sunday night’s episode titled “A Seat at the Table,” look for Bill’s political career to take a further nosedive and Alby’s plan for vengeance to take shape.
“Big Love” was nominated for an Emmy® and a Golden Globe in the category of best drama series. The show continued to inspire critical acclaim for its fourth season, which concluded in March 2010. The Wall Street Journal hailed the “spectacular performances,” while the Salt Lake Tribune called the show “one of the finest hours of drama on any network,” and Entertainment Weekly termed it “bracing” as they praised “the mighty performance of Bill Paxton.”
“Big Love” is produced by HBO Entertainment in association with Playtone and Anima Sola Productions; created by Mark V. Olsen & Will Scheffer; executive producers, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, David Knoller, Bernadette Caulfield and Mark V. Olsen & Will Scheffer; supervising producer, Patricia Breen; producers, Seth Greenland and Peter Friedlander; co-producers, Dauri Chase, Don Bensko, Melanie Marnich and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; executive story editor, Julia Cho; story editor, Jami O’Brien; staff writer, Aaron Allen; casting, Junie Lowry Johnson, C.S.A., Libby Goldstein and Lisa Soltau.
Photograph is Courtesy: Isabella Vosmikova/HBO
