TV Review: Bored to Death 3.6, "Two Large Pearls And A Gold Bar"
It was a week of excellent gags, delightful senselessness and possibly one of the series greatest lines ever.
rating: 4
It was a week of excellent gags, delightful senselessness and possibly one of the series greatest lines ever. That coming from George, of course when Jonathan inquires why they are so emotionally unavailable, George cooly responds, "We aren't, we just are to women. Spot on George, you've hit the nail on the head. This week explored that a little by going right back to the basics. Put Jonathan, George and Ray in a ridiculous scenario and they will find a way to make it way over the top. Let's take a little look at this week's list, shall we? One staircase sword-fight. Check. One crew dress up session. Check. One Zack Galifinakis in a shower cap. Check. I think that about covers all the bases.
I have said before that the shows true center is with the interaction between the three protagonists. Their best moments are sitting around a table, smoking pot and discussing the existentially mundane. This week put them right back in that spot, and it gave the show a chance to let a crazy situation develop around them while they sat by passively. This episode focused on one of Jonathan's cases, given to him by an ex-girlfriend (the girl he lost his virginity to). He must protect a family heirloom overnight so that it could be used for her wedding the next day. Ray gets kicked out of the house after he is caught with Belinda. He is forced to flee naked and covered in soap suds. I could not have asked for more. It's actually been a while since I truly laughed out loud from one of the episodes, but this week was pretty spot on. I especially love when the show is able to find one stream of consciousness and follow it throughout an entire episode, allowing it to converge at the end. This week it was impotence that was at the center, starting with George not being able to perform, to Jonathan ridden with guilt to the final and complete emasculation of Ray. A bit of spoilers here, but it speaks volumes seeing Ray in the bathtub demanding sensual satisfaction from a tired George. The show is also very good at putting Jonathan at the center of the show without making him the complete star. Jonathan is, of course, the hero in our latest story but he is nothing without his band of stoned men to help with his misfortune. He's still got an umbilical chord attached them, and he hardly makes a decision ever without consulting them. It may sound like I'm just recaping the personality traits of the characters in the show, but I'm just trying to describe the conditions necessary to make the best possible Bored To Death episode. You've got to throw these personalities in a claustrophobic room together every once in a while, just to see what happens. And that's exactly what these week's episode. The result? Something that is a damn thrill ride, the sort of real-life, in the mind of a stoner version of a classic detective novel. The plot this week lay just on the edge of reality, enough for us to see through a little to the world of the surreal. It was a wonderful kind of glimpse and I was happy to relish in its greatness.