TV-Reviewed

Nick George’s life since he became the family lawyer to the Darlings has really turned upside down. Since being at the house, he’s learned that he has a half-brother, Jeremy has kissed his wife, and that one of the Darlings has possibly killed his father. If you thought that Nick’s life couldn’t get any more out of control, watch this episode and you’ll see that it gets worse.

The Darlings are all over the news with Letitia getting arrested for Tripp’s death and Ellen burning in one of the Darling’s mansions. Due to the nature of Letitia’s case, of course Nick is going to want to steer clear of it, but for some reason, he decides to continue with being the family lawyer and continuing with his duties. The lawyer that Nick hired was a good one, but Tripp wants Nick to take the case because it would get a better verdict from the jury if the victim’s son defends the person standing trial. It’s a good tactic to use, but it’s a weird situation to put anyone in.

When it’s found out that the lawyer’s papers didn’t go through, I think we all knew that it was either Tripp or Brian, on behalf of Tripp, who stopped the papers from coming in. Tripp’s manipulation techniques are always sharp and sometimes he seems like such the nice guy, but in reality he has almost everyone, but his wife under his control and sometimes it doesn’t even seem like he knows it.

With Letitia gone, the board of directors also wants Tripp to select a new successor and of course Tripp leaves it up to Nick to make the decision. Karen and Brian were really the only two people who we could see Nick picking, because Jeremy would never want or could run a whole company and Patrick is too busy being senator to really care much for running the company. Both of the other children wanted it too, while at first thought Karen running the company is scary, with her credentials it seemed like she could actually handle it, if the job was given to her. Brian wants it too and he seems like the best candidate due to the loyalty he has shown.

Zoe McLellan stars as Lisa George

Karen and Simon’s relationship is still there and it seems that things have turned and Simon is up to something, but we’re not sure exactly why he sabotaged Karen’s chance of getting the company. However, I’m sure it’ll come up sooner or later.

Patrick has to come up with a eulogy for Ellen’s funeral and he can’t find the right words to say. One can’t blame him considering his wife shot him and almost tried to kill him. Nick gives him the best advice by telling him to talk about Carmelita. The eulogy that Patrick gives is a good one and it was funny listening to him talk, knowing that he was thinking of Carmelita the whole time.

The addition of Lucy Liu has been interesting as we find out Nola’s the one who’s going to be prosecuting Letitia. Mix that in with the fact that she slept with Jeremy who doesn’t want to let her go; things are a bit mixed up. Nola is a pitbull who hasn’t lost a case and thinks that by having Jeremy around it’s going to ruin things. It doesn’t really make sense about why she would sleep with Jeremy knowing she’s prosecuting his mother and her explanation about wanting to challenge herself seems really stupid.

Nick and Brian end up in jail after causing a scene at the funeral which involved some policemen and in one of their few heart-to-heart talks, Nick tells Brian that he thinks he should be the successor for the company and Brian convinces Nick to take Letitia’s case, because they both know that it was Tripp who did it.

When it comes time to name the successor, Tripp names Nick instead. We’re not sure what Tripp’s deal is. He keeps dropping bombshell after bombshell on Nick. We’re not sure if he loves Nick and wants him to become like himself or if he’s feeling guilty for possibly murdering his dad, we don’t know what Tripp is planning or how he’s able to manipulate everyone so badly and it’s a bit frustrating not knowing what Tripp’s ultimate goal is.

Nick has become frustrating also, because he seems to be letting himself slide more and more into the Darling family. His marriage is coming apart and he accepts being the successor so easily. He told Lisa to trust him which makes me think that maybe this is some kind of plan, but if it’s not then Tripp is just manipulating every part of his life. For now though it’s just odd that Nick is letting himself slip so far down. Lets hope that this is part of a plan.

Also, I have to say that I miss Juliet. Her storylines weren’t very serious, but they added a bit of humor to the show. Jeremy was the same way, but for some reason nothing about him lately has been humorous. That’s what this season and this episode is missing: the laughter that we had in the first season. There were tons of things to laugh about last season and it just seems like the writers have replaced that with serious storylines. What set Dirty Sexy Money apart from other soap opera’s was the jokes and how outlandish the Darling family was; that seems to be lost here.

This episode continued all the storylines and seems like every episode there’s some big thing happening. The acting is still superb and while the stories are convoluted, they still hold an interest. I have to say that the lack of comedy on the show is making the show a bit more dull and if the writers don’t inject more of that comedy we loved so much in the first season, Dirty Sexy Money could fade into the abyss, like every other soap opera out there.

Rating: 7.0