"Love Octagon"
Well, let's not beat around the bush regarding the big news - Earl and Billie got married. It was great to see Earl in such suave and decisive form in his first post-coma order of business. But as with every enjoyable
Earl episode, the real fun is in the journey, not the destination. Let's revisit the main stops along the way.
All of the main characters were out in full force tonight with the Crab Shack serving as the base of operations. At the outset, we learned that Joy, Darnell, and the kids have taken up residence at the bar since Earl tipped over their trailer. But even though the children are using the pool table as a bunk bed and getting homework tips from local derelicts, fixing that problem isn't on Earl's radar for the time being. Since Randy's humorously stream-of-consciousness notes he had kept aren't of much use, Earl decides to enlist the help of Frank (
Michael Rapaport) to find Billie.
I really enjoyed seeing
Mike O'Malley's Stuart character exerting major influence on tonight's plot. After feeling guilt over hitting Billie (
Alyssa Milano) with his car, falling in love with her while visiting her in the hospital, and then making her believe she had killed Earl so she would stay with him, he became Earl's big obstacle. But there's always room to make Earl's life more difficult, and Frank fit that bill after helping Earl locate Billie and then deciding he wanted her back.
I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Kenny James (
Gregg Binkley) is probably my favorite recurring character on the show - and he definitely kept the laughs coming tonight. Forever loyal to Earl since the series' first episode, he came to bat for his friend again tonight (but with the ulterior motive of trying to seduce Stuart). His overtness and ability to be aggressively passive-aggressive always help his scenes rank amongst the best of any episode he's in, especially when coupled with great lines like "We can grow old together, move to Boca Raton, and be surrounded by Jack Russell terriers."
As if all of the entertaining facets of tonight's installment weren't enough, we were also finally treated to a substantial subplot involving Catalina. After announcing she was turning to lesbianism out of disgust towards men, she ended up "falling for" and trying to seduce Billie.
Nadine Velazquez played this scene with a wonderfully brash naïveté while Milano acted out Billie's rebuff to Catalina's advances with a subtleness that showcased what a good comedic actor she is. Of course, the big payoff here was that Catalina and Paco finally crossed paths, ending her lesbian delusions. It will be exciting to see where that goes.
Getting back to Earl, after competing with three other people, he finally laid out his feelings for Billie and won her over. I was pretty relieved that there was no twist at the end and things were allowed to work out for him. Well, it was definitely a little surprising that they ended up getting married in the last minute of the show, but maybe not as Earl pointed out his habit of marrying women he hardly knows. Here's hoping she ends up being the "one" and sticks around for a while.
Time for some more one-liners and scene-stealers:
" Joy on the intelligence of her children: "I'm starting to realize there's no point in saving up for college."
" Randy letting the bird fly out the window, acting like no one noticed, and saying "I'm going to go for a run."
" Earl explains his progress on finding Billie to Darnell, who responds with an annoyed, "Very interesting, Earl. How's the crane rental coming?"
" "Even though most of those words were written by
Bret Michaels in the '80s, they're coming straight from the heart."
" Randy on Billie: "Karma wants her to be our girlfriend."
" After making a last-ditch effort to win over Billie, Frank loses interest. "Who am I kidding? I don't even believe that. Best of luck to you."
" By way of Kenny's computer, Earl and Randy discover what a D.I.L.F. is.
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