My Review of Ringer's 1x08: "Maybe We Can Get A Dog Instead"

Written by Jay Faerber
Directed by Nathan Hope

Malcolm: “I’m sorry. Am I talking to Bridget or Siobhan?”
Bridget: “I didn’t have a choice. I told you Machado made me wear that wire.”

Can I just say that eight episodes in, I am really pleased I stuck with this show? Yes, it’s not perfect and maybe it hasn’t become quite the big time a lot of viewers were anticipating but it’s certainly interesting in how it goes about certain storylines. This week in particular was a diamond of a treat.

I loved Bridget and Malcolm throughout this entire episode and if I didn’t ship them beforehand, this episode certainly geared me towards that direction. What we’ve seen in flashbacks is that Malcolm has been there for Bridget when she’s needed him the most and in reality, it’s fantastic that Bridget returned the favour.

She could’ve treated Malcolm like an inconvenience or even lied further to Andrew about who Malcolm really was but she didn’t. I liked that Bridget’s first mode was to seek Malcolm out after she left the hospital, even if they did have something of a tense reunion in the latter’s hotel room.

Bridget being used by Victor to see if he knew where she was hiding out wasn’t too much of a shocker though. I still did however liked the fact that Bridget managed to get Malcolm to play along with her being Siobhan long enough to get Victor off the scent for the time being but more importantly, it raised something interesting as well.

Bridget rightfully got uppity over Victor’s lack of concern about Malcolm falling off the wagon and I loved Bridget for doing her damndest to try and reach out to Malcolm as well when he was in denial. I think Malcolm had a right venting his frustration at Bridget’s messy situation considering what he went through thanks to Bodaway’s thugs but I also liked that he saw some sense and sought her help properly later on.

And this is where my love for Bridget escalated – she didn’t turn Malcolm away. In fact she got Andrew’s permission and let him crash at their place and she offered to be there for him. The unfortunate part of the equation was that she also got Charlie involved by introducing him to Malcolm but I’m going to give Bridget a free pass on that one because her heart was in the right place and she has no reason to be suspicious of Charlie, does she?

However, it’s amazing that nearly all the complications that seem to have fallen on Bridget’s lap. I’m not talking about Malcolm of course but more that Tyler became privy to Siobhan’s real identity and pretty much dumped the bad twin in Paris while glaring daggers at the good twin who was with Andrew and Olivia at that business meeting.

It’s going to be interesting to see how much of a threat Tyler can now potentially pose to both Bridget and Siobhan. If Tyler blabs about the affair, it puts Bridget’s new life in danger and he’s already made Siobhan penniless and without a home by dumping her. Plus, there’s a horrible chance for him that Siobhan might Charlie to sort him out if he really does pose that much of a threat to her current scheming.

The funny part of the episode was that Siobhan was growing increasingly bored of Tyler’s non stop complaining anyways, so in some respects he actually did her a favour in this one. The interesting part of this episode was Siobhan looking at a photo of Henry. It does make me wonder if she really loves him, then why isn’t he factoring into her overall schemes? Maybe at a later Siobhan drags Henry into her plan after all, especially considering that unlike her sister, she is actually pregnant.

As for the pregnancy segment – an ectopic pregnancy, really show? I’ve noticed a lot of people online are saying that it gets rid of a complication for Bridget but it also puts another one back in her corner. At least when she was pretending to be pregnant, Bridget had the excuse not to touch alcohol, now she doesn’t and that could scupper her at a later date.

Still, I did like the support system Bridget had – Juliet was completely nice and sympathetic to her and even though Andrew got the wrong end of the stick at first, he did eventually realise that Bridget was genuine when she said that she didn’t want to play games with Andrew, even if she technically is doing that by keeping up her pretences.

The only person who didn’t act so sympathetically was Henry, who lashed out at Bridget and more or less seemed to imply that she must have orchestrated something like this. I suppose with Siobhan, you wouldn’t really know but it was hard to feel any sympathy for Henry during those moments though. That being said, he probably still is better than Victor at this point.

Last but not least – I’m not overly enamoured with Juliet and Mr Carpenter and unlike some fans of Veronica Mars, I was never really that bothered about Jason Dohring. That being said, I don’t dislike him as an actor and I don’t dislike Carpenter as a character but at the same time, there is an undeniable filler element to this story as well.

Does Juliet really have the hots for Mr Carpenter or is she just testing boundaries? Similarly, is Mr Carpenter really not that attracted to her or is he trying to fight whatever urges he might have for her? I guess it doesn’t matter because his attempts of distancing himself from Juliet didn’t actually work in his favour. I guess he’s going to have to try harder to dissuade her from pursuing him.

Also in “Maybe We Should Get A Dog Instead”

It’s now four episodes in a row that Juliet has uttered the title. I wonder if they’re paying the actress a little extra for it.

Bridget: “I thought that you were dead.”
Malcolm: “I thought that I was too.”

I thought last week Bridget/Malcolm’s flashback was nine months ago but they’ve actually known each other for seven months? I’m confused.

Bridget: “Are you okay?”
Malcolm: “Bridget, I just travelled 2000 miles after getting my ass handed to me, cut me some slack, okay?”

Olivia: “And how are you dealing with it?”
Andrew: “I don’t know. I guess we were pretty set on not having kids but when Shiv found out she was pregnant, I was starting to warm up to the idea.”
Olivia: “Can’t you try again?”
Andrew: “It’s a very good question.”

I found it interesting that Olivia seemed genuinely sympathetic for Andrew over Siobhan’s ‘ectopic pregnancy’. I guess her friendship for Andrew overrules her dislike for Siobhan.

Malcolm: “So, what’s your poison? Mine was heroin.”
Bridget: “Crushing and snorting.”
Malcolm: “Creative.”
Bridget: “I don’t like needles.”

Victor: “I’m not interested in a drugs bust. Malcolm Ward is gonna lead to Bridget Kelly.”

Fair play to Sarah Michelle Gellar for looking rough during the Bridget flashbacks but if this was a UK show, the make up people would’ve made her look rougher and that would’ve been a good thing.

Bridget: “I really just want things to go back to the way they were.”
Juliet: “Maybe we can get a dog instead.”

Olivia (to Tyler): “French women are high maintenance.”
Andrew: “Then you must be French.”

If Gemma is genuinely dead, wouldn’t Siobhan and Charlie at least blatantly say it to each other? I have a feeling that she’s not dead after all.

Malcolm: “I know this is awkward but thank you.”
Bridget: “I’m just here for back up.”

Chronology: This more or less seems to have picked up from where “Oh Gawd, There’s Two Of Them” left off.

I really loved this episode. “Maybe We Can Get A Dog Instead” delivered more on Bridget and Malcolm’s fantastic bond, it put Siobhan in one hell of an interesting position and it continues to justify my growing love for the series.

Rating: 9 out of 10