"Bad Earl"
I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Of course, we all missed
Earl during the holiday season, but we couldn't miss the holiday season during
Earl's much-anticipated return - we rejoined the gang just as they were getting ready to celebrate Christmas.
But first they celebrated Earl's release from prison in true style, complete with eggnog (make that "martini with an egg in it"). The festivities were lost on Earl though, as he quickly began reassessing his relationship with karma once he got his list back. Losing faith, he dragged his feet during his next outing as a do-gooder. Unable to understand why he'd recently been dealt such a rotten hand, he was one step away from going back to his old ways.
Enter Ralph. We haven't seen him in a while and his return was glorious. As usual,
Giovanni Ribisi churned out a stellar performance. Part of the reason he's so enjoyable to watch in this role is that you can plainly see how much fun he's having - and he had some great material tonight. In this most recent escapade, he's avoiding the authorities by living with a senile old woman who believes he's her deceased husband, Stan Johansen. Seeing his scoundrel friend living the high life is too much for Earl and he paints karma completely out of the picture. Soon he's in all sorts of trouble; a tap on Catalina's behind earns him a smack on the face and, with the help of Randy, Ralph and a few strippers, he drunkenly tips over Joy and Darnell's trailer.
There are many moments while watching
Earl when I feel that Darnell (
Eddie Steeples) makes the show his. Often, just when you think a scene is simply "all right," Steeples takes control and makes it rise above - and when a scene is extraordinarily good he can sends it into the stratosphere. This happened a few times tonight. For instance, the tipping-the-trailer scene was funny enough, but the look on Darnell's face while saying "What's up, you know, in regards to our home being turned on its side and whatnot?" is what made it a big highlight of the episode for me. Plus, his earlier riffing on what an adult
Linus van Pelt must be like tagged a hilarious end onto a generally run-of-the-mill scene at the Crab Shack.
"It's called an invention," Randy explains as the whole crew tries to convince Earl to quit being a jerk and go back to karma. Running out, he eventually ends up where the series started - getting hit by a car. Unlike the first time, he's run-down by karma so he can receive his reward in the form of Billie (
Alyssa Milano), who momentarily gets plowed by a car herself. If anything can get Earl back on track, it's this. Seeing how it plays out will definitely make Thursday nights my top priority again. Welcome back, Earl!
Ah, word limits. This episode had enough highlights to last me well into another blog. Let's see how many we can fit in:
" For all the times I said I'd never see
Jason Lee in heart-shaped pasties, I stand corrected.
" More wisdom from Catalina's youth: "Men are only interested in one thing - raping your mother."
" After Earl steals the Stan Johansen disguise he makes Randy sleep in the truck on Christmas Eve. "I'm just like Jesus' baby," he sighs.
" Two favorite Ralph lines: "What good eyes you have, grandma" and "Stan's going on dialysis, sugar; don't wait up."
" During the "invention," everyone convinces the old woman they're her family, Joy being "my sister who died in 1973."
" Randy has had a candy corn stuck in his ear since childhood which occasionally attracts ants.
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