Ringer 1.10 'That's What You Get for Trying to Kill Me'

I’m almost afraid if I praise this episode I’m going to suffer an inevitable blow when the series takes a dive in quality, but I think I’ll take the risk. Flaws are still running through the series’ veins, but if this episode is the kind of thing we’ve to expect from the rest of the season, then I can definitely see it working. Problems I myself have pointed out in past reviews were almost all fixed in some way this week, and I don’t want to sound too enthused, but this episode was ‘Ringer’s best effort so far.

In ‘That’s What You Get for Trying to Kill Me’, Siobhan and Malcolm try to stop Charlie when they discover that he’s the one who has been holding Gemma hostage. Juliet gets increasingly frustrated when Mr Carpenter fights off her advances.

Starting with some ridiculous campy elements, Siobhan’s inclusion in this week’s episode allowed for a serious elevation in the over-the-top ridiculousness that I’ve wanted ‘Ringer’ to embrace from the start. Even reading back, what she got up to sounds blasphemous: Firstly she bashes her own eye and blames Andrew; then she returns to New York and shoots Charlie; and to top it off she fools Tyler into thinking that her baby is his. All of that sounds like a load of whacky soap opera digest but it’s this element the series has been lacking so much in thus far. Siobhan returning to New York is the big game changer the series needed to get things really running, and I’m excited to see if it can really explore the huge mystery surrounding not just her big plan, but who she really is and how her actions will change her, irreversibly or not.

The shocks kept on coming, and just when you’d have pegged it as a stubbornly predictable episode, things went from surprising to downright crazy. It seems like the writers have gotten the hang out of pulling us into its off-the-wall plot and slapped us across the head several times this episode so we know they’re not playing around with this stuff. I enjoyed it all, and though some parts like Machado’s own investigatory ploys still feel disjointed, things are really starting to work. Although Gemma’s death, obviously acting as the major catalyst of Siobhan’s turn to killer, was a slight let-down and an underwhelming end to the past few weeks of kidnapping drama. I do appreciate her dodging it the first time though, since it kept me on my toes enough to keep this from falling anywhere near the realm of predictable.

Andrew and Bridget’s strange situation was explored quite wonderfully these past few episodes, all culminating in this week’s anniversary and her confession of her now fully developed love for her sister’s husband. The “I love you” moment felt like a confession of the deep feelings she’s gotten for this man in the last few weeks, after finally feeling like she was wanted by someone. Bridget’s masquerade doesn’t really give her much room for getting honest with anyone, but she seems to find her solace in Andrew, albeit in a strange way. He seems to be the only thing getting her through this, and stopping her from completely falling apart. Their romance is the one thing ‘Ringer’ has gotten right in its rocky beginning.

There are still some blatant problems, like actually keeping us interested in Juliet’s strange teacher obsession, but I’m glad the mid-season finale was an episode that closed the first part of the season on a high, and made me more optimistic about what this series could grow into. Amber Benson’s appearance was so brief it may as well have been excluded but I was still thoroughly entertained. Bravo (ish).

8/10