Ringer 1.20 'If You're Just an Evil Bitch Then Get Over It'

Seeing all the parts of Ringer’s year long mystery slide into place is like watching a child force two puzzle pieces together that really don’t fit. It’s fun to watch it unfold, but beyond the flashiness and faux shocks, was there really much substance to it?

Bridget comes closer to the truth about who has been trying to kill her in ‘If You’re Just an Evil Bitch Then Get Over It’. Meanwhile, Siobhan’s attempts at rectifying Henry’s precarious situation don’t go over too well and Juliet tries to help her mother.

The shock of Catherine’s undermining of the Martins had already worn off since it was revealed just last week, so Bridget’s realization of her deception wasn’t full of the surprise that it should have been. We knew what she was up to, we knew that any of her recovery attempts were faked, but excitement has always been Ringer’s strong suit, and the way this episode unfolded was fast, fun and diverting; enough to keep me happy, at least by this show’s standards.

By now it’s become pretty certain that any of Bridget and Siobhan’s near misses were going to be just that. Any hope of a confrontation before episode 22 has been wiped clean, and though I’m enraged at how long it’s been dragged out, seeing the writers take a stab at boosting the anticipation of such a confrontation has been fun. The idea of identity hasn’t been taken as seriously as it could have been, but in Ringer’s case, that’s always been a major issue. Any of Siobhan’s ridiculous attempts at maintaining her sister’s belief of her death make it seem like they’ve stopped to make this show anything other than what it is; absurd, faceless fun.

Given the writer’s inability to reveal big mysteries in any conceivable way, it shocked me how much drive and intelligence Bridget showed this week. Even Henry’s painfully obvious lies were visible to her. She’s spent the greater part of 8 months running around New York like a ninny, while her sister stays one step ahead of her, using her stupidity to her advantage, so any display of general human comprehension on Bridget’s behalf is always welcome in my book.

Catherine’s final attempt on Bridget’s life is the kind of crazy storyline that could have livened up the show’s first stretch of episodes. Since we’ve seen every opportunity for fun being forgone in favour of more standard and mundane sleuthing, the fact that such a straightforward case of bonkers is being capitalized on is refreshing, and I honestly do think it could carry over into next week’s episode. Catherine’s demented personality has always been a nice go to, so seeing it being taken advantage of in such a massive way should provide a steady stream of laughs, if nothing else.

Stupidity aside, this was a fun 40 minute jaunt, I just wish I could see past the flaws so I could enjoy myself more. Want to start making bets on how many twin cop-outs can be crammed into two episodes?

7/10