The Riches: Anything Hugh Can Do I Can Do Better

(S01E11) Remember when Third Rock From the Sun had been on for a few seasons, and the Solomons had assimilated so fully into earth society that the show became no longer interesting to watch? I sometimes wonder if that's what's going to happen to The Riches; The Malloys become so ingrained in the fabric of Eden Falls that they become too "normal" for viewers to care about.

You can see evidence of that happening in this episode. DiDi is really becoming more buffer-like every day; she's studying, she has a boyfriend, and she wants to break away from the Traveler lifestyle she's known her whole life. Dahlia alternately wants to do whatever is necessary to stay in Eden Falls and whatever she can to separate herself from it. And Wayne has to play the game, even though he hates himself for it. But what might prevent this show from sliding into the abyss of boredom is that all of it is built on a lie, and how long the Malloys can maintain that lie is the engine that keeps this show going.

After all, the next legal case could be the one where Wayne's reading comprehension and bullshitting skills fail him. We know Aubrey's on to him; when does she finally stop protecting her boss and give him up? Dale is breathing down their necks, now essentially forcing his way into neighbor Hartley Underwood's life and home (that's what happens when you marry an ancient invalid; guys like Dale, who used to start fires in high school, start looking like former quarterbacks to you). And who knows what the Cherien's mom might say to someone who's in the right place at the wrong time? The house of cards can come crashing down at any time, and this is what makes the show interesting to watch.

The other plots that are sandwiched in between these moments are usually good, just not as compelling to watch. The housing discrimination case that Wayne had to deal with, for instance, was just a strawman; the real plot was how Wayne has decided to take control of Panco while Hugh goes on his meth bender, and how he has to compromise his values and sense of self to make it in the buffer world. It was actually a nice little plot twist that after all that studying and arguing with Dahlia about compromising himself for the case, he didn't even get a chance to argue it in court. I thought Wayne was going to launch into a huge speech where he not only changes his own mind and supports the gay couple who are being discriminated against, but convince the judge to ignore the loophole in the law and rule in the couple's favor. But apparently, the only person who gets to do scenes like that is James Spader on Boston Legal; it was nice that they had Wayne "win" the case but not feel at all good about it.

I wonder if DiDi is setting herself up for a fall with the way she's integrated herself into buffer society. Cael is right; where are all these new friends of hers going to be when the lies and secrets are revealed? It seems to me that DiDi is taking advantage of the situation, otherwise she'd probably be married to Ken the moron and be carrying their first kid by now.

By the way, when did DiDi straighten her hair? It's only a day after Wayne almost ODed on Dahlia's meth, so it was strange to see her with that different hairstyle. I'm guessing it's a symbol of her integration, as it makes her look less like her mother than she did before.

The only one in the family who seems to understand is Wayne. Dahlia doesn't know how to talk to her anymore, desperately diving into Nina's self-help books for some tips. I'm surprised DiDi would lie to Dahlia about her sleeping with Erick, even extending the lie to that funnily awkward conversation with Wayne. "We did it once; I used protection; I'm not sure how I feel about it," is what she said in response to her dad's stammering. But she didn't sleep with Erick; she knows that she still needs her parents' blessing first. Now I wonder if she's going to actually get it or go off on her own.

At least one person's life has changed a little. Nina and Jim have come to an understanding; Jim has a "friend" over to cook with, and Nina gets to smoke a lot of weed and sculpt phallic-looking lighthouses. When is that situation going to explode all over the Malloys? Nina is going to either stumble on something or get so bored that she's going to go digging. From the looks of things, that's coming soon.

So, is Grandma a permanent part of the family? Sam seems to like her. I will say this again; we need to see more of Sam. He seemed like such a promising character in the pilot, a clever and intelligent boy who desperately wants to be a girl. But we've only gotten to see glimpses of what's going on in his head, like when he was adeptly applying makeup to Grandma, telling her that accentuating your best features makes a person feel good about herself... or himself, as it were. We really haven't seen much of Cael lately either; we're seeing him cheat a clerk out of $20 using a change switcheroo, and we're seeing him object to his sister's assimilation, but we haven't seen him do much else since he accidentally blew the family's cover to Dale. Maybe we'll learn more about the two Malloy boys next season.

Was this the best episode of the year? No... I'm going to give it a 5. As usual, it was well-written and acted, but the twists and turns were a little bit too convenient, and the story didn't move along enough, to make it a great episode. The final scene, where Wayne and Dahlia cleanse themselves in the pool, was a nice closer, though, showing that even Wayne might be wondering if he regrets stealing the American Dream for his family. It looks like the poop is going to hit the fan next week. Looking forward to it.