'Ringer' Season 1, Episode 4 Recap - 'It's Gonna Kill Me But I'll Do It'

This week “Ringer” ratchets up the drama as Bridget’s web of ill-spun lies begins to unravel. The show has been steadily improving and finding its groove since its exposition-filled pilot and this episode continues that trend.

Is “Ringer” a perfect show? Not really. Is it a show worth of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s talents? Not yet. But at least it’s a show that’s beginning to revel in its soapy trappings in a way that finally feels more organic. Plus this week the scenes with Bridget and Siobhan sharing the screen did not look like they were filmed in front of a green screen in the 1950s, so there’s that.

Also it’s pretty obvious from this episode alone why Bridget is the twin that ended up a prostitute while Siobhan ended up in a Manhattan penthouse. Clearly, the IQ points were shared rather unevenly between the two siblings. While Siobhan is off plotting in Paris, Bridget is losing control of her double life quicker than she loses dead bodies.

The episode starts innocuously enough. After a bad dream of being discovered, Bridget wants to take off to the Hamptons to go destroy the evidence of her old life left in the locker. She’s been so caught up living under the watchful eyes of Siobhan’s gigantic crazy glamour shot that she’s totally forgotten her own birthday. Andrew helpfully reminds Bridget that they should spend the time together and offers to come out to the Hamptons with her.

When she suggests taking the Jitney, Andrew looks at her like she just suggested they go dumpster diving for her birthday dinner. Next she’ll be suggesting they take the subway with the mole people! Then they both laugh at each other. Poor people are the worst!

In the Hamptons, Bridget mopes around remembering how the last time she was there her sister drown herself. But there’s not much time to mope because Andrew, in an attempt to make up for the year before when he left her birthday dinner, is crawling all over her like a newborn puppy. This year’s birthday celebrations will be great! Bridget melts enough to insult him about soccer but before he convinces her that soccer is a real sport, Gemma and Henry have arrived to celebrate Siobhan’s birthday by throwing her vases around. Happy birthday! Hope what you wanted for your special day was for me to destroy some stuff in your house!

Bridget is understandably worried because Henry is looking at her with his best angry sexy look. By now she knows this look means he is going to corner her somewhere and whine at her, and boy is she correct. He wants to know why she doesn’t remember all the good times they had sexing each other by the Hamptons fire, laughing about betraying their spouses. The times when Siobhan used to look at him with such love that she would even listen to him read experts from his terrible book while calling it genius. Believe me Siobhan; I don’t think you want to cop to being a muse for that.

But Henry sees that she’s giving Andrew the look of love now and agrees to back off if that’s what she wants. He’s still concerned about the baby though, and Bridget promises they’ll talk about it later. What is she going to do about this whole baby situation? She can’t wear unflattering, blousy maxi dresses forever. Or can she? I look forward to the terrible baby-related lies she will be telling. “Oh, I know I’m six months pregnant and only 90 pounds but the baby’s in there somewhere!”

Unfortunately for Bridget, her terrible lying finally catches up with her this week because both Gemma and Agent Machado are onto her in big way. When Agent Mascara catches up with Gemma and tells her about Siobhan’s twin sister, Bridget convinces her not to tell Andrew. But later Gemma overhears the baby conversation and freaks out. Right in the middle of Bridget’s birthday dinner Gemma runs off in her disco ball dress, reflected light from the sequins blinding sea creatures and crashing boats as she goes.

When Bridget catches up with her Gemma delivers a great big bitch-slap and is gleeful about the prospect of telling Andrew about the affair. Freaking out Bridget blurts out her identity. “I’m not the person you think I am!”

Frankly, I fail to understand why Bridget would give up her identity to save a marriage that’s not even hers. Sure, maybe she likes Andrew because he’s handsome and British and cares about soccer. But that doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to give her whole scheme away. What’s the worst that happens if the affair comes to light? Andrew divorces Siobhan and she gets a decent amount of cash and can bounce from her sister’s crazy life to start over? Wasn’t she going to do that anyway like two episodes ago? Oh Bridget.

In the backstory portion of the episode, little Bridget and Siobhan are poor, just like those people that have to take the subway. They are so poor that they have to share $20 to buy themselves birthday gifts. They pool their money to buy a cheap heart necklace that they decide to share. They’ll pass the necklace back and forth to each other every year on their birthday. So we see several examples of the girls throwing, receiving and crying over the necklace as a symbol of their tattered relationship.

Meanwhile, Agent Machado continues to close in on Bridget. After seeing who he thinks is Siobhan taking Bridget’s belongings out of the Hampton’s storage locker, he begins to look at her more closely. That’s when he discovers Siobhan took the boat out that fateful day when she faked her death and plays Bridget a recording of the distress call she made about her sister on the boat. Good thing Bridget wasn’t more specific on that call because she backpedals to tell a lame story about how the two had a fight.

After she stomps away, conveniently and stupidly leaving her cell phone right next to the federal agent, he flips through her recent calls and sees all that calls she’s been putting in to Malcolm. Hey, what’s up with Malcolm and Native American Tommy Wiseau? You are tearing me apart, Malcolm!

In Paris, Siobhan is traipsing around wearing a truly ridiculous and hideous black full length jumper. It’s also cut down to the navel and looks as if the only thing holding her ladies in is some double-sided tape and a prayer. I cannot stress how insane this outfit truly is. But Tyler, the guy from the bar in the episode previously, must be feeling it because he shacks up with Siobhan and pays her hotel bill. Siobhan steals some paper from his briefcase signed by Andrew, smiles evilly at being the one in the family with brains and calls someone on the phone to say the plan is back on.

What is Siobhan planning? What will Gemma do now that Bridget has spilled the beans about her identity? Why do you think Bridget told? Sound off in the comments?