Courtesy of ABC
As Billy (Chace Crawford) slowly turns into his enemy, Hap Briggs (Don Johnson), he alienates everyone along the way. Will the oil boom take more than just Billy’s money?
Let’s bitch it out…
In a solid cliffhanger that serves to keep me curious until next week’s episode, Cody (Rebecca Rittenhouse) is attacked, robbed and beaten, leaving the fate of the baby up in the air until next week. Actually, it is a pretty brutal attack to watch as Gary (Paul Rae), desperate and out of time, just keeps kicking her over and over as she’s cowering on the ground. Yikes. Luckily Billy finds her immediately so he may be able to help her injuries.. but man there was a lot of kicks aimed at her stomach. I’m thinking the poor baby may not make it, though, which would be a pretty depressing turn for the show.
In a turn that will most certainly cause another downward spiral, let’s discuss how Wick (Scott Michael Foster) is responsible for Cody getting the crap beaten out of her. One could argue it is his fault since he got the brilliant idea to rob his own father in the pilot, but let’s keep it exclusively to this episode. As Hap so eloquently put it earlier in the show, Wick is just one of those guys that is always going to make the wrong decision. <We’ve all known them, but hopefully they don’t all turn out this bad>. So in this case, in an attempt to get out of his “no win” situation with Gary, Wick decides to do the ol’ double cross and turn Gary into the police. Obviously things go sideways and Gary gets away, and with his injuries from the accident, he only has one option: rob the pharmacy as poor, unsuspecting Cody is closing down for the night. Which brings us back to Cody’s injuries, and possibly the loss of the baby, all of which can be traced directly back to Wick. I’m eager to see how that will play out next week when Wick realizes what he’s done.
In keeping with the old saying “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”, Billy decides that the best way to get one over on Hap is to act like Hap. Since all Hap seems to do is lie, cheat and steal, Billy isn’t exactly the best version of himself this episode. He fails miserably when he can’t stand firm and bails out when presented with a chance to tell Carla (Amber Valletta) the truth about Hap and Jules (India de Beaufort). Not only does Billy show that he’s not up to the task of being the next Hap Briggs, he proves his nice guy roots when he can’t hurt Carla to her face. Oh yeah, and he ruins the relationship between Cody and the only friend that she has in their new town. Can’t forget about that. Although I feel like all will be forgiven when Jules sees the extent of Cody’s injuries. We’ll see. All in all though, huge fail on Billy’s part. Is it possible we are going to see him follow through with something and have a tiny bit of success sometime soon? I’m starting to feel sorry for the guy.
Meanwhile, Carla is the quiet winner of the show. She just kills it, stealing all of her scenes because she’s got this quiet confidence that takes over, no matter who she’s on screen with. I’ve thought this for a few weeks, but it is glaring in two scenes in this week’s episode:
- When Hap calls Billy’s bluff and calls Carla in to the room. She knows something else is going on, and she’s no dummy. She barely says two words but she manages to overtake those two guys without lifting a finger. Which leads to the second scene…
- She confronts Hap about his infidelities and he denies everything. Carla is no dummy, but she recognizes she won’t win this round, and rather than make a move before she’s ready, she let’s it go… for now.
Amber Valletta is the sneaky winner in this show.
Courtesy of ABC
Other Observations:
- Why did Cody plan a house warming party and go so far as to hire caterers but then take a shift at the pharmacy so she would basically miss the whole thing? Don’t try to say it is because she is mad at Billy (’cause I’m not buying it). She must have agreed to take the shift long before she walks out the door to go to work, so that’s a no go. It’s sloppy timelines, but it works for the story so I guess I’ll suspend belief for another plot point on this show.
- Did you hear that the series has had its episode order cut down to 10? This doesn’t bode well, so let’s enjoy these remaining episodes while they last.
Your turn: what did you think of Cody’s attack? Is Billy the most pathetic character on the show? Are you loving Carla? Sound off below.
Blood & Oil airs on ABC Sundays at 9pm EST.
What a shocking ending. I’ve been thinking that it’s about time this series get a real shot of adrenaline, but wow they really outdid themselves here. I knew Garry was an idiot, but wow…that’s all I can say. Also it’s a foregone conclusion she lost the baby right? Devastating. The whole scene was done so well to have such an impact, it is still sticking with me, plus I loved that they used “Trouble” by Valen as the music, what a haunting song. The whole end reminded me (in a good way) of how Sons of Anarchy used to end some of their episodes.