Monday, June 22, 2009

'In Plain' Trouble

Photo: USA Network

About 50 minutes into this week's episode of In Plain Sight, I started to think, "Hmm... this must be a 2-parter because there's no way they're wrapping all of this up in 10 minutes." But, it turns out, I was very wrong. Not 2 minutes later, Mary was waltzing into the "private meeting" and turning the FBI's case completely upside down. In a flash Brandi, was walking out of jail and sleeping next to her mom back in her warm, safe bed. I have to say, it was all a bit rushed and too tidy for my liking. I was completely enthralled with the story and caught up in the stress and pressure that was weighing down on Mary, so I think I was expecting a less convenient and not quite as easy conclusion. Otherwise, I loved this episode. From the moment the FBI knocked down the door and hauled Brandi off in her PJs to Mary and co. finding that bug and Mary insisting that Lauren was not her half sister but an undercover FBI agent to the very end when Brandi almost signed that crap deal and Mary burst in just in time had me on the edge of my seat. Definitely, a stellar story this week.

Last week, I was going on and on about how much I love the dynamic between Mary and Eleanor and how they make me LOL constantly. This week -- not so much. Mary was so awful to her and Eleanor just seemed so hurt. I was so bummed. I really hope they can go back to being frienemies soon. I know that Mary was distraught over her sister and the possibility that Lauren really is her half-sister (and not an undercover FBI agent), but she was downright nasty to Eleanor and it was making me cringe. It seems that Marshall's talk got through to her because she calmed down after it. At the end, we saw Mary meeting with her father's old partner-in-crime and he revealed that her father had been caught, but a couple of suits came by his jail cell and he walked out with them. Could Mary's father be in WITSEC? Under her nose this entire time? Is this why he hasn't been able to write? The plot thickens.

In Plain Sight airs Sunday nights on USA Network. If you missed this week's episode, check it out for free at Hulu.com

3 comments:

John said...

I agree the ending was rushed. I often see this is sci fi shows were things look hopeless and then after spouting some techno-babble they solve the problem that was unsolvable for 50 minutes in five minutes.

As you know I have long held the theory that Eleanor was an FBI spy (and still wonder if she is), but Mary’s treatment of her was horrible. Unfortunately, it is merely an extension of Mary’s attitude towards lots of people and situations. She really needs to work on her people skills.

Two questions-

(1) Why did Marshal go to the widow’s house to ask about the FBI agent? I understand why he went to Boston – the FBI agent cancelled on an important case and there was no reason given. I even wondered if he might be crooked and was pursuing Brandi to distract attention from himself. But was here any reason to suspect the FBI agent was having an affair with the wife of the dead agent? If he didn’t suspect that, then checking in with someone in the local bureau would make more sense. I am surprised the FBI itself wasn’t suspicious of the agent’s behavior. He drops out on a big case at the last minute w/o an explanation and two agents get killed. I would wonder if he tipped someone off.

(2) Have we seen Mary’s father’s accomplice before? Or heard of him? He seemed to come out of the blue to me.

TVFan said...

Hey John,

Here are my best answers to your (very good) questions:

1) It would have made more sense to me to have Marshall go to the local bureau rather than the widow's house. He had no reason (that we know of anyway) to suspect that they were having an affair. I guess the show just skipped a few steps in the interest of saving time. I found it odd as well, but forgot about it after everything else happened. Like you, my first thought would be that the FBI agent was crooked and tipped someone off.

2) I can't remember the accomplice coming up before, but I could have missed it. We know this is the first time that Mary has been to the prison to see him because he said something about he wondered when she'd come by to ask the very questions she was asking. I think she had stayed away in the past because she didn't want the answers. Her whole world was built on this concept that her father stopped writing her because he couldn't not that he had moved on. She didn't want to know differently, so she didn't talk to the accomplice just like she never used the vast resources at her fingertips (literally) to look for her father.

John said...

I know she has vast resources, but I hope she uses Richard Schiff instead. They could justify it by not wanting the FBI or U.S. Marshall's to know about it.

Of course, R.S. has a new series next year (and he seems they main reason to watch it), so he probably won't be available.

One other question - Was Mary sincere about wanting to work with the FBI agent? She sounded like it, but I can't figure out why she would want anything to do with him. Not only was he a threat to Brandi (and by extension to her), he was doing all this for personal, rather than professional reasons. If he were honestly driven by a sense of justice (even misplaced) you might sympathize, but he wasn’t.

And he could still be crooked and used an affair with the dead agent’s wife as cover.