My Review of Ringer's 1x02: "She's Ruining Everything"

Written by Eric Charmelo And Nicole Snyder
Directed by Rob Bailey

Bridget: “I’m sorry.”
Siobhan: “You’re not sorry, you’re selfish.”
Bridget: “Come on, Shiv, I need you tonight.”
Siobhan: “No, you just need someone to clean up your mess and I’m over it.”

First thing is first – this was the episode that made me want to review the series, not because it’s a masterpiece but more down to this show’s potential but more importantly, when it comes to Siobhan, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we need more on the woman and preferably sooner than later.

A flashback to her and Bridget at a bar and a scene where she’s narked about being cleaned out of her secret account are well and good but seriously, more is needed for Siobhan. What the hell is she running away from that she’s in Paris and why does it seem like she wants Bridget out of the picture? I don’t want to wait too long to find out the answers to both of those questions.

I sided with Siobhan in the flashback scenes though. She had every right to be furious with Bridget during that scene. I have a feeling this was one time too many that Bridget relied on Siobhan to get her out of sticky situations and I think it was the first of several incidents that caused them to estranged.

I forgot how amusing Sarah Michelle Gellar is when it comes to playing drunk. Maybe it’s time I watched “Beer Bad” again to find out. Bridget was in an awful place nine years ago with herself and the writers were able to make a not at all subtle parallel between the way Bridget used to be and the way Juliet is currently behaving.

I actually left watching this episode liking Juliet more than I expected too. Every though her hedonism seemed to a way of manipulating sympathy for the character, I liked that it served as a neat catalyst for Bridget to maintain her pretence as Siobhan, though it still amazes through Andrew and Juliet how well they seem to respond to the more sympathetic and agreeable version of Siobhan.

Juliet let her guard down long enough for Bridget to help her and even let her comfort her and Andrew through the antics at the cocktail party finally felt like his wife was on his side again. Again, it’s amazing how much damage Siobhan seems to have caused to both of them that Bridget is sort of repairing.

But it’s also interesting that Gemma doesn’t seem all that suspicious of Bridget though. I don’t know how long Siobhan and Gemma have been friends (probably as long as Siobhan and Andrew have been together/married) but isn’t it odd that Gemma doesn’t seem a little more perturbed by her mate’s niceness?

Or Siobhan was always jovial and warm with Gemma (apart from the sleeping with Henry bits) and that’s part of the reason why Gemma doesn’t seem that suspicious by comparison. Also keeping with Gemma, this was another good one for her. I liked that she pieced things about Henry being a cheat and even though she slapped the wrong woman, she managed to be the most entertaining thing about that cocktail party in the loft after all and I also found Bridget’s advice to Gemma about Henry rather interesting too.

Of course if Gemma’s not a potential threat to Bridget posing as her sister, then something tells me that Andrew’s business partner Olivia has the makings of a big threat. Olivia did very little to reign in her hostility towards ‘Siobhan’ and that comment about getting pregnant as a strategy definitely suggested to me that Bridget should watch her back with Olivia. I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens in the next episodes to have Olivia gunning for her.

Speaking of gunning for Bridget/Siobhan – Victor really is like a dog with a bone. I read somewhere that he was being compared to Paul Ballard and I have to admit, it’s a fair enough comparison, though Victor has yet to be that annoying. With any luck, Victor is smart enough not to be irritating.

Also, I suppose his suspicious nature should be seen as a good thing. He might not have copped on to the fact that Bridget is posing as Siobhan but he certainly had a way of getting under her skin during the party as well. I do hope there’s more in store for Victor than his pursuit of Bridget because he could end up being one dimensional if there isn’t anything else.

As for Malcolm – the one person who actually knows what the hell Bridget’s up to and it looks like he’s going to pay for it. I really hope that he doesn’t wind up killed by Bodaway and his cronies but I certainly get the impression that he’s in for some bad times ahead. Bridget better come to his aid when that happens.

Also, wasn’t there a thing with a body this week? I loved Bridget’s many efforts to keep people from discovering that she had killed someone in self defence but I totally saw the fact that the body would disappear at the end of the episode. And that strange man at the party – clearly he’s one of a few reasons as to why Siobhan’s in hiding, right?

Also in “She’s Ruining Everything”

There’s a nice opening narration from Bridget explaining the events of the series so far. I wonder if we’ll get that every week.

Andrew: “It’s not just you anymore, Shiv. You have to think for two now.”
Bridget: “I know.”
Andrew: “Please do as you’re told for once.”

We learned in this episode that Malcolm is a college professor. One of his students met him during the nick of time as well.

Malcolm: “Bridge, you gotta stop telling me what to do. Let me help you.”
Bridget: “How?”
Malcolm: “If I can’t come to you, meet me halfway.”

Gemma: “You have an answer for everything.”
Henry: “Only when it’s the truth. Look, I’m not having an affair, you gotta believe me.”

Olivia was played Jamie Murray who has the likes of Dexter, Hustle and Warehouse 13 to her credits. Her character also seems to be British too.

Bridget: “I know where you’re headed and it’s not pretty.”
Juliet: “What the hell do you know?”
Bridget: “A lot more than you think.”

Olivia (to Bridget, re Andrew): “Do you mind if I steal your husband?”

Victor seems to have a thing for old buildings. He knew exactly how Siobhan’s loft had been used in both the 1920s and 1960s.

Bridget: “Did you come here to give me a history lesson?”
Victor: “Nah, I love old buildings, I love them. The history, I love the architecture.”

Bridget: “Getting pregnant isn’t a strategy.”
Olivia: “It is if you need to hold onto your husband.”

Standout music: Lifehouse’s “Everything”. If I remember correctly that was also used during the first year of Smallville.

Andrew: “It’s been a long time since I felt like you were on my side but tonight; it was like I had the old Siobhan back. Don’t go away again.”

Siobhan (to an unknown person, re Bridget): “She’s ruining everything, it has to get done. Sooner rather than later.”

Chronology: Pretty much from where the “Pilot” left off.

“She’s Ruining Everything” was certainly a better episode than the first one. While the show definitely has some things to iron out, I really cannot help but find this series enjoyable. I certainly hope the CW give it a chance to flourish and don’t pull it too quickly from the airwaves.

Rating: 7 out of 10