My Review of Ringer's 1x17: "What We Have Is Worth The Pain"

Written by Scott Nimerfro
Directed by Howard Deutch

Andrew (to Bridget): “You’re in over your head, just admit it.”

Er, Bridget’s been in over her head since the bloody show started and she foolishly reunited with Siobhan but in terms of the naff Ponzi scheme plot, er not so much. This episode tried to give Andrew a bit more facets as a character and sadly, it didn’t succeed all that well for it.

Ioan Gruffudd did the best he could but with a script as wildly inconsistent, it’s like the show wanted us to view Andrew as a serious threat and sympathise with him in equal measure. It really should’ve stuck with the latter because Andrew is just not cut out to be a big menacing presence.

It’s times like this when thinking about Buffy is bad for me. The flashbacks where Andrew actually threatened to kill Siobhan made me inadvertently laugh because in another universe, Sarah Michelle Gellar would’ve put Andrew through a wall for coming out with such a threat, wouldn’t she?

I think it making it worse then was trying to backtrack Andrew’s sudden mean streak by having Juliet be the voice of reason and remind Andrew that Siobhan’s presence in their lives was actually a good thing. It just meant that Andrew got to deliver a rather heartfelt speech to Bridget about loving her before getting shot for his troubles.

I’m not going to entertain the possibility that Andrew might be dead because it’s fairly safe to assume that unlike Tyler, Gemma and perhaps Malcolm that Andrew will survive being gunned down. So, who tried to kill Bridget that Andrew received the ouch end of a bullet for? I’d say there’s a decent list of suspects with decent motives.

Siobhan herself might have finally snapped and wanted to further ensure Andrew’s downfall but similarly both Olivia and Catherine also had their motives this week for wanting “Siobhan” dead as well. With only five episodes left to go, this is definitely one little mystery I can see being solved quicker than anything else.

As for Bridget – I liked that this week she suspected Andrew and Olivia of hurting Malcolm and I also liked the fact that her and Solomon made for a formidable team as well. It’s also kind of relieving that apart from getting his usual paycheck that Solomon isn’t all that bothered about Bridget posing as her sister. In fact, he went to good lengths to protect her this week as well in Malcolm.

As for Malcolm – I hope he’s not dead but I have a nasty feeling that he is. More than likely, Andrew will not have been responsible for it – it’s probably either Olivia’s dirty work or someone from Macawi’s employ got to Malcolm before he could turn himself over to Victor.

Speaking of Victor, that man’s incompetence is reaching ridiculous levels of stupidity. Did he really think that publicly taunting Bodaway was going to work in his favour? I knew the second he did that Malcolm was screwed and I was right. On the plus side, at least he’s taking an interest in Martin/Charles’s dodgy dealings but knowing Victor, he’ll probably screw that up as well for good measure.

Meanwhile as Victor’s stupidity continues to be more apparent, at least Henry is showing some vague common sense. He challenged Siobhan on her myriad of lies and while he seemingly understood her animosity towards Bridget, he didn’t seem entirely convinced that her plans were still the best course of action. Maybe we’re getting a future development where Henry is responsible for Siobhan’s downfall.

Last but not least – nice that Juliet figured out Catherine was the one behind Tessa’s attack but the whole plot of actually meeting/flirting with Cash the basher in the hotel was a bit much though. I liked that Juliet actually tried to be a friend to Tessa in this one and I also liked that she turned on Catherine too. However I don’t think the last course of action is going to do Juliet any good though.

Also in “What We Have Is Worth The Pain”

While it’s nice that Henry is still excited about Siobhan carrying his twins, he still doesn’t seem to be paying attention to the other set he has, is he?

Siobhan: “Come on, Andrew, what are you going to do to me?”
Andrew: “I’ll kill you. I mean it, Siobhan, I’ll see you dead.”

Bridget remembered from the first two episodes of the series the hit man she fought off but if Andrew cancelled the hit, Olivia must have set it up again.

Bodaway: “You find Bridget Kelly?”
Victor: “I’m not even looking for her anymore.”

Juliet (to Andrew): “I’ve been here all morning. It’s a little break in the educational system I like to call Saturday.”

Siobhan is still insisting to Henry that Bridget was responsible for Gemma’s death as well as Sean. Did Henry even know beforehand that Siobhan had a son?

Solomon: “Then end the charade. Go to the police.”
Bridget: “I can’t.”
Solomon: “Why not?”
Bridget: “Because -”
Solomon: “ – Because you’re not Siobhan Martin. You’re Bridget Kelly, aren’t you?”

Henry: “You faked your own death. Siobhan, that’s insane.”
Siobhan: “It was the only way to make it work.”

Who exactly is Olivia in cahoots with? I bet it’s either going to be Catherine or Bodaway or maybe even the real Siobhan? It can only be one of those three, right?

Andrew (to Bridget): “I love you, Siobhan. That’s what I came to tell you. I don’t care how much you hate me right now, I’ll accept it because I believe what we have is worth the pain. I’ll do anything for you.”

Chronology: I think at this point, it’s been nearly six month since the “Pilot” episode.

I wish my excitement for this show could back to the way it was in the first half of the season because “What We Have Is Worth The Pain” has it’s moments but the writing is too inconsistent at this point and it’s looking less and less likely that this show will deliver a satisfying conclusion to these chain of events or go further than this series.

Rating: 7 out of 10