The Riches Recap

Last night's episode of The Riches was certainly less exciting than last week's meth-binge-to-make-a-point by Wayne. But things are still rolling along for the Malloys/Riches.

Hey, I have a question. What happened to Didi's "fiance" Ken? Dale punched him pretty hard at the end of the episode a few weeks back, but I don't think he ended up killing him. I'm pretty sure we would have heard about that. And what's up with Ken's vow to not let Dale hurt the Malloys? Did he forget? Because it looks like right about now would be a fantastic time to make good on that vow.

So, it looks like the Malloys have decided to keep their "grandma," at least for the time being. I realize that they have a lot on their plates right now and that taking a contraband old lady back to her nursing home might be kind of low on their lists, but I'm thinking they should carve some time out of their day to make that trip. Apparently they're just leaving her by herself in the house all day and...how the hell is she getting to the bathroom? Or just not killing herself/burning down the house? Well, obviously this show tends to skip over a lot of practical stuff...like how a family could just assume the identity of someone else and not get caught for months and months.

But I digress.

I did have a good chuckle at the nonchalant exchange between Wayne and Grandma over pancakes.

"Here you go, Mom."
"You're not Doug."
"And you're not my mom!"

Hee.

So Didi is boffing a buffer...or is she? Didi is really struggling right now. She's really fitting in with the Riches' way of life and, well, good for her. I have nothing against travelers, but probably the best thing that the Malloys have done for their kids in this whole mess is give them the opportunity to see what it's like to live as a "normal" person.

The best interactions in this episode were between Wayne and Dahlia. Wayne is doing really well at Panco. In Hugh's absence, he has finally signed the partnership agreement and has more or less taken over. Talking to the Panco employees about what they want in their professional lives, which amount to nothing more than trivial things like better snacks and parking spaces, and his most recent case in which he has to defend Panco's discrimination against a lesbian couple who had the audacity to want to move into a cul-de-sac which was actually a homophobic Christian enclave. Wayne's a good lawyer and he can win this case, but at what cost? Dahlia finally mulls over what they've accomplished in their new life and sighs, "The American Dream." Materially, they have everything that they should want or need: money, power, a gorgeous house, good schools, all of the opportunities and privileges that we all are supposed to aspire to. But Wayne, as the father of a transvestite, has to argue in court that his company has the legal right to discriminate against people of an alternate sexuality. Their daughter is turning inward and away from them. Their neighbors maintain a sham of a marriage for the sake of appearances.

And while all of this philosophical crisis is going on, Dale is just down the street being all creepy with the creepy one-armed gold digger.  Why can't  Dale be eaten by an alligator? Come on, plot gods, work with me! Actually, if Ken can swing in during the next episode and take Dale out, I'd be pretty happy. Let's cross our fingers.

At the end of the episode, Wayne and Dahlia stand at their pool. I think I must have missed something because they talk about needing to jump into a cold river and having the pool suffice for now. Is this some kind of baptism/cleansing ritual that they discussed earlier? Anyway, Dahlia asks how Wayne did in court. When he tells her that he won, she says, "I'm sorry." Wayne seems to really be tearing himself up over what he has become and what it is doing to their family. Hopefully that late night swim (is it pathetic that the first thing I thought was, "Oh, I just KNOW they're ruining their dry clean only clothes!") will bring some clarity.

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[The Muse]

Good to know that, even though I had to miss an episode in its entirety this week, I didn't miss a stellar one. Yeah, with a 7:30am conference this morning, I was asleep before 10...