'Ringer' Season 1, Episode 8 Recap – ‘Maybe We Can Get a Dog Instead?’

This week's “Ringer” episode was all about redemption and second chances. That is, when it wasn’t about lying, business schemes and sexy student entrapments. But this wouldn’t be “Ringer” if every uplifting silver lining wasn’t followed by a dark cloud of heroin addiction.

Compared to some of the more recent episodes, the pacing on this week’s outing felt off. The first half of the episode focused on the repercussions of Bridget’s faked pregnancy coming to light. It was only when Agent Machado poked his pretty, pretty eyes into Bridget’s business that the danger and excitement was momentarily ratcheted up a notch.

 If anything, this episode felt like the calm before the storm. It dealt with the character’s emotional issues, which was satisfying for growing attachment to Bridget and Andrew. Compared to episodes with bodies in antique trunks and murder cover-ups, however, it fell a little flat. “Ringer” is most enjoyable when it sticks to the things its good at, which is pure soap opera theatrics. There wasn’t even any swooning this episode!

When Bridget goes in for the ultrasound on the baby, post-southern belle faint from last episode, it’s quickly discovered she isn’t pregnant. Frankly, I wonder why it took her to long to “miscarry” the fake baby in the first place. Was she planning on wearing lots of blousy clothes until her third trimester? This is Bridget, so that is entirely possible.

The loss of the baby forces Andrew to think about their relationship and how far they’ve come. He thinks that the reason their relationship has been going so well recently is due to the baby. When his nosy partner asks if they’ll try again, he latches onto the idea. Because nothing fixes a failing marriage faster than a baby! That’s how every martial success story ends.

While Andrew is registering for tiny English baby teacups, Bridget is having a heart to heart with Juliet. I’ve said it before, but I really love the way Zoey Deutch plays Juliet. The relationship and understanding that’s grown up between Bridget and Juliet is a really fun dynamic, especially considering the bitch-portrait place they started.

However, when Andrew hears that Siobhan doesn’t want to try again for another baby but wants things to return to how they were, he starts giving her the cold shoulder. And the British cold shoulder is especially cold because their summers are like 60 degrees.

Bridget has other troubles though. Chief among them is Malcolm, back in town and looking twitchy like a cross between an Abercrombie model and an extra on “Breaking Bad”. That’s because he’s using again, a fact she discovers after Agent Machado wires her up for a meeting with Malcolm. After the meeting she runs back to confront him about his drug use. If Agent Machado had just thought to follow her, this whole case would have been cracked wide open.

Meanwhile, Juliet doesn’t understand how Mr. Carpenter hasn’t gotten the hot teacher-hot student hookup memo. It’s like he hasn’t even watched “Pretty Little Liars” or anything. By the laws of television soap operas, they should practically be common law married by now. Instead, Professor Logan Echolls just transfers her out of his class after she hits on him. But Juliet doesn’t give up! Mostly because she’s broke and I’m guessing has nothing better to do. Instead, she shows up to his “Good Samaritan” club meeting. I’m not sure what that club is about, but it’s about to become about inappropriate school relationships.

 Things aren’t going so swimmingly for Siobhan in Paris either. She misses Henry, who is only really in this episode to glower sexily, as is his habit. She’s also got to find herself another sugar daddy when her current boyfriend Tyler gets called to dinner with the boss. Once there he sees Bridget and assumes that he’s been sleeping with the boss’ wife the whole time. Thankfully for Siobhan, Tyler doesn’t say anything too incriminating to Bridget like “Yo, didn’t I sleep with you yesterday?” instead just speaking in generalities. Bridget just shrugs to herself, accepting that her sister has slept with half of Manhattan at this point.

Not all is lost for Siobhan’s evil, seemingly complicated and currently unknowable plan though. At the episode’s end Malcolm finally comes to Bridget seeking help. Andrew is super understanding about putting up a drug addict in his house, down the hall from his formerly drug addicted teenage daughter. Bridget decides to send Malcolm to the only person she could trust with his sobriety: Charlie. Remember Charlie? Bridget’s sponsor, Siobhan’s spy and Gemma-murderer extraordinaire? Charlie is very busy these days.

Next week it looks like things are getting closer to unraveling for Bridget, but that’s basically the trailer every week. Still if this week was the emotional calm before the storm, I’m looking forward to the storm hitting next week. It’s been too long since someone was murdered, shoved in a trunk or forcibly injected with heroin. Don’t go soft on us now “Ringer”.