My Review of Ringer's 1x04: "It's Gonna Kill Me But I'll Do It"

Written by Cathryn Humphris
Directed by Jean De Segonzac

Bridget: “Siobhan, you just can’t run away.”
Siobhan: “Don’t you dare lecture me on what I can and can’t do. Andrew loves me. I can start over.”

And if you’ve made to the first four episodes of this show, aren’t you glad you stayed with it? I sure as hell am! When the writers talked about this show having something of a fast pace and not all the mysteries/secrets would be dragged out, even I didn’t think we’d have Bridget being forced to admit that she’s not Siobhan so quickly to someone during this Hamptons set episode.

Also I am beyond glad the someone in question happened to be Gemma as well. She was after all the best choice (with Victor being the obvious candidate for the worst) and it certainly gave this character driven episode one hell of an ending as well. I can’t wait to see how Gemma deals with this one.

Plus, it’s obvious that Gemma was going to find out after Victor informed her about Bridget’s disappearance and she had a heart to heart with her best mate about previously unmentioned sister she had. It was really telling as well the way Bridget talked about herself, obviously blaming herself for the drift that had occurred between her and Siobhan for the last six years too.

It’s also too bad for Gemma that she had to overhear Henry once again bleating on about how in love he is with Siobhan but it served as a catalyst for Bridget to confess who she really was. Andrew finding out that he’s been spending time with his wife’s sister instead of his spouse probably wouldn’t go down well as the possibility that Siobhan is carrying Henry’s child in the mix.

For the first time in the series as well, this was an episode where nearly all the main characters seemed to come alive. Gemma really does care about Siobhan in the way a best friend cares and her anger when she realised that Henry had been sleeping with her was easy to sympathise with. It certainly felt palpable when she couldn’t even celebrate Siobhan’s birthday that well either.

Speaking of Henry, this was actually a great episode for him too in a way. Up until now, I wondered how deep the relationship between him and Siobhan was and it seemed that they both seemed to love each other. I actually found myself rooting for them a little during the flashbacks scenes as well.

Those were scenes where Siobhan showed a support in Henry’s writing abilities where Gemma hasn’t and also where Henry was there for Siobhan in a way that Andrew hadn’t been. The flashback to the year before showed that work had been more of a priority for Andrew than his wife’s birthday and I’m sure there were plenty of incidents like this as well, hence Siobhan and Henry seeking solace in each other.

I also liked during the flashback was Siobhan looking at the necklace that Bridget had sent her a year ago and Henry gently probing her about it. I got the impression that had Henry pushed a little further, Siobhan might have revealed a little more to him instead of pretending that Bridget was an old friend she fell out with.

It certainly stood out during the scene where Henry saw how much the necklace affected Bridget on her birthday while pretending to be cool about walking away. It’s too bad for him that he was overheard by Gemma as well. Even if she doesn’t say anything to Andrew, I doubt Gemma is going to let Henry off the hook so easily.

Keeping with the flashbacks – I loved the plot with the necklace about Bridget and Siobhan because it obviously tied well into their present day dilemmas. Siobhan was determined to always make a fresh start and never be poor and she did that once by moving to New York and marrying Andrew. Now she’s trying to maintain in Paris with the limited funds she has.

Siobhan’s antics this week in Paris were certainly her most interesting to watch and in the last two episodes, she’s become a better character for it. I don’t doubt the actual vulnerability she displayed to Tyler when he used Martin-Charles to keep her in her hotel indefinitely but I also liked the fact that she resumed her game mode and got her plan back into action.

Four episodes in and I’m still clueless as to what Siobhan is genuinely up and who’s she both running from and trying to ruin. Is it Andrew and Bridget on both accounts or someone/something else for that matter? Either way, while it does look like Siobhan’s regained some ground, I still think it’s possible that Tyler could be well aware of who she really is. I can’t seem to shake that suspicion off for some reason.

As for Bridget, it really is about making amends though. She’s maintaining Siobhan’s life because of the people who need her and has been trying to right some of her sister’s wrongs. In flashbacks, we did see her reaching out to Siobhan at least twice while here, she was reaching out to Gemma as well.

That being said though, Bridget was also slipping in this episode too. Her continuous lying to Victor keeps egging him on (and he really is a dog with a bone here) and little things like disliking soccer and eating meat (Siobhan’s a vegetarian) seemed to rouse some suspicion as well. If she’s not careful, it’ll be more than Gemma who’ll have become privy to who she really is, won’t it?

Also in “It’s Gonna Kill Me But I’ll Do It”

I loved the opening sequence where Bridget’s nightmare including Andrew knowing who she really was and a zombie version of Siobhan.

Andrew (re Siobhan): “You let her drown.”
Bridget: “I didn’t. I wanted to save her. I tried.”
Andrew: “You lied to us all. Me, Henry, Gemma.”

Victor had gotten wind of Bridget’s distress call and Siobhan’s boat being in the wrong port. He also knows that Malcolm’s been in contact as well.

Victor: “Siobhan knows where her sister is. We’re gonna find Bridget Kelly.”
Gemma (to Andrew/Bridget): “He wasn’t looking and the vase broke.”
Henry: “No, you threw it at me.”

Bridget fell for Victor’s ruse of going back to collect her stuff. At least she had the sense to burn it all though.

Siobhan (re necklace): “We could always buy one and share.”
Bridget: “I don’t wanna share. We’ll never know whose turn it is.”

Bridget (re Victor): “What did you tell him?”
Gemma: “Nothing because I don’t know anything. I’ve known you for five years, Shiv. I didn’t even know you had a sister, a twin. How do you keep that hidden?”

Now that Victor made contact with Gemma, I suppose it can’t be that long until he actually talks to Andrew, right?

Henry (to Bridget): “What is wrong with you? It’s like you’ve forgotten the last year existed. Don’t you remember how happy we used to be?”

Siobhan (to Henry): “I’m not fussy. I’ll take presents off anyone.”

Malcolm did not appear in this episode, so no torture scenes and no Bodaway either. Juliet’s also not around too.

Bridget (re necklace): “I told you about this?”
Henry: “You don’t remember? You were pretty upset.”
Bridget: “I guess it’s hard thinking about her.”
Henry: “Your old friend? You didn’t tell me her name and you wouldn’t put the necklace on but you couldn’t stop staring at it. Does it mean you guys made up?”

It was announced this week that the series has been picked up for a full series of 22 episodes. That’s excellent news.

Siobhan: “One night with me and you’re already speaking French?”
Tyler: “One word a night. This is gonna take a long, long time. Thank God.”

Bridget (to Gemma): “I’m not who you think I am. I’m not Siobhan. I’m Bridget.”

Chronology: September 30th was down as Bridget/Siobhan’s birthday in the opening episode, so it’s been three weeks since Siobhan faked her death.

I loved this episode. “It’s Gonna Kill Me But I’ll Do It” was character driven, funny, dramatic, shocking in the right places and just enjoyable from start to finish. This show might not be to everyone’s tastes but it’s certainly worth a look at.

Rating: 9 out of 10