My Review of Ringer's 1x14: "Whores Don't Make That Much"

Written by Robert Doherty
Directed by Janice Cooke

Siobhan (re Sean): “My son is dead because of you.”
Bridget: “Siobhan, I am so sorry.”
Siobhan: “I know. I got your messages and when I didn’t respond, I thought you’d realise that I didn’t want you here today.”

It’s times like these that I actually wished the show had delved more into Sean before actually using this whole episode to explain what happened to him and why a drift was caused between Bridget and Siobhan. I knew Sean had died but even I sort of expected the events to have panned out slightly differently.

I thought genuinely negligence from a strung out or drunken Bridget would’ve actually been the very thing that caused her nephew to die and therefore Siobhan’s hatred for Bridget would be more justified but I guess the writers wanted to go down a route where Bridget was responsible for Sean’s death but in a way that wouldn’t vilify the character.

In that respect they actually succeeded. No can exactly have predicted that an innocent trip to the county fair would’ve resulted in Bridget, Sean and Dylan (the boy’s father) winding up in a car crash and Sean ending up dead. Siobhan might have told Bridget to keep Sean away from his father but it’s not like Dylan did on purpose. It really was just a horrendous accident that had cost several lives throughout the last seven years.

Siobhan’s anger towards Bridget and Dylan was pretty understandable, considering she had lost a child but it wasn’t an anger that prevented Siobhan for giving Nancy flowers every year on her birthday and unlike Bridget, it seems that Siobhan had managed to keep her distance from Dylan for the last few years.

I think Bridget needed this storyline pretty badly. She had been living with the guilt of her nephew’s death and also bared the brunt of Siobhan and Dylan’s hostile relationship and the anger the former had towards her. The fact that she was allowed to vent her rage at Dylan, curse him for moving on and then make peace with him after Malcolm had managed to get her to open up was pretty refreshing.

The only thing actually lacking about this story was the actual absence from Siobhan in this story. The only time we saw her was through flashbacks and it just felt like with a plot point this huge, she should’ve factored in it in some way, even if it was skulking in the background and watching Bridget pretend to be her whilst forgiving Dylan. I can’t be the only person who thought that right.

I wasn’t too surprised to learn that Sean’s death had factored into Bridget’s downward spiral of booze, drugs and Bodaway as well. There was nearly a moment in this episode where it did look like she was going to go down the same route when she was trying to get Andrew to agree with Juliet going to Miami with Catherine but then, Malcolm’s words of advice snapped her around.

The one thing I am intrigued about is Bridget’s newfound sense of wanting the people she loves now to know who she really is. You don’t have to be Malcolm to see that might not be her best course of action but considering that this show might not be long for the TV world, I am rather hopeful Andrew learns and accepts Bridget for who she is within the next few weeks.

As for the fake rape plot – I knew Tessa’s reckless spending would result in her getting badly beaten and while I don’t doubt that Carpenter would’ve knocked some sense into her, I get a feeling that it was really ringleader Catherine who might be more responsible for Tessa’s current condition.

Catherine being part of the scheme was another unsurprising reveal but I do slightly feel bad for Juliet, who seemed to show some signs of regret for her actions this week. It’s too bad for her that she’s way in over her head now.

Also in “Whores Don’t Make That Much”

I like a snappy title as much as the next one but this one just seemed aimed to shock rather than give a hint of the main plot points this week.

Andrew: “You tried to clean up before, Catherine.”
Catherine: “We were married then and I was feeling sorry for myself.”

Siobhan must have gone back to Paris to keep Tyler in check while Henry withdrew his funds from Martin/Charles while Malcolm spotted a certain key in Henry’s possession and Siobhan’s secret office was emptied.

Juliet: “You’re keeping your money under your bed, are you serious?”
Tessa: “Where else was I supposed to put it in – a bank?”

Bridget: “Little hard on Dylan, you think?”
Siobhan: “Actually I was thinking I could be harder.”

Dylan might have been something of a deadbeat dad, but Siobhan wasn’t trying to let him make it up to Sean. They also lived in Nevada about seven years, while Nancy (Dylan’s mother) lives in New Jersey.

Juliet (to Bridget): “We need to get a TV in here. It’s like church quiet.”

Bridget: “Married now? So, Dylan, any kids?”
Dylan: “You want me to say I’m sorry again, Siobhan, I will.”

Dylan was played by former Supernatural regular Misha Collins and we had seen in this episode that he had a wife and daughter. Siobhan had him beaten up after Sean’s funeral.

Malcolm: “You sister gave you the greatest gift she could – her forgiveness and you’re wasting it.”
Bridget: “Yeah, but she didn’t mean it.”

Bridget (to Malcolm): “I want the people that I care about to know who I really am. I don’t want to lie to them constantly. There has to be a way I can tell them the truth without losing them.”

Chronology: From where “”It’s Easy To Cry When This Much Cash Is Involved”.

Despite the unwarranted title of “Whores Don’t Make That Much” (thank you, Tessa’s foster mother – not!), this was probably the best episode we’ve had in a while. It loses points for some general predictability and not utilising Siobhan in the present day but overall, it’s nice that the whole back story with Sean has finally been dealt with.

Rating: 8 out of 10