Ep 9. La Ronde

Hank is in trouble, again. He wakes up in the middle of the night next to his ex-girlfriend's underage daughter. The last thing he remembers is downing a whole bottle of booze while ranting about life, love, and his ex-girlfriend Karen. This is the ninth episode of Californication's second season, La Ronde.

Hank's ex-girlfriend Mia, a teenage girl when they first met, has returned after publishing a novel about their affair. She has seduced him again, and even though he knows he should stay away from her, he can't help but feel drawn to her. Meanwhile, Karen is about to marry her boyfriend Bill, and Hank knows that he has no place in her life anymore.

Hank's agent Charlie Runkle is also in a pickle. His wife Marcy has left him after discovering that he has a fetish for spanking. To add insult to injury, she has started dating a porn star named Dani California. Charlie is determined to win Marcy back, and he enlists Hank's help to do so.

Things get even more complicated when Hank's one-night stand with a bartender named Jackie causes a rift between her and her girlfriend Jill. Jill retaliates by sleeping with Mia, and when Hank finds out, he is horrified.

La Ronde, like its namesake play by Arthur Schnitzler, is a round-robin of sexual encounters and infidelities. Each character is linked to the others in a chain of desire and deceit that inevitably leads to heartbreak. Hank, a self-destructive writer who can't resist temptation, is the lynchpin of the story, but it's the women around him who steal the show.

Mia, played with sultry confidence by Madeline Zima, is the ultimate femme fatale. She knows she can toy with Hank's emotions, and she revels in the power she holds over him. Karen, on the other hand, is the heart of the show. Natascha McElhone gives a nuanced performance as a woman torn between her love for Hank and her need for stability.

Marcy, played by Pamela Adlon, is the comic relief. Her foul-mouthed tirades and deadpan delivery add a much-needed dose of levity to the proceedings. Her relationship with Charlie is one of the most dysfunctional on TV, and yet somehow, they manage to make it work.

La Ronde is a standout episode in a standout series. Californication is a bold, unflinching look at sex, love, and relationships, and it's not afraid to push boundaries. It's a show that celebrates the messiness of life, and it does so with intelligence and wit. Watch this episode and you'll see what makes Californication such a special show.