'Big Love' make big premier
 
By: Matt Jamieson
Lifestyle
The Journal - Webster University, St. Louis, MO
 
HBO's "Big Love" has returned for a fourth season that is turning the series and its plot on its head. From a new title sequence to a drastic change in plot and characters, the balance has shifted in favor of the story. It's helped the series transform with a new vision while keeping true to the ideas that started this gem.

The series continues to chronicle the lives of the Henrickson family, a group of polygamists led by patriarch Bill (Bill Paxton), a local businessman, who wants to keep his families safe from public scrutiny. Bill's life is also complicated with the threats from his father-in-law Roman Grant, the self-proclaimed 'prophet' and leader of the Mormon Church at the fictitious Juniper Creek compound.

However after three years of blackmail from Roman, Bill is branching out by forming his own church and launching a casino. He also plans to run for the Utah state senate to help positively 'out' his polygamist family into mainstream society.

Meanwhile, his second wife, Nicki (Chloë Sevigny), who is Roman's daughter, tries to bring herself back into the family's good graces. Nicki also introduces her previously unseen teenage daughter, Cara Lynn, into the Henricksons' lives, protecting the girl from her father.

Bill's other wives, Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) try to support Bill and continue to state their own independence.

Also complicating matters in the new season are the murder of Roman and an FBI raid on Juniper Creek. Roman's death leads to the question of who will be the successor benefitting from his vast wealth.

After just one episode, the series has completely changed. It's a lot to take in after three seasons of the same type of storytelling of blackmail, hiding the family, varied moments of family life and more.

While darkly comedic at times, the season premiere has set a new tone - much more dark and serious, showing a shift in the story and the values of the Henrickson family. Paxton continues to impress as his character Bill is as confident and strong as ever.

Despite having to compete with two other phenomenal actresses, Sevigny continues to make Nicki stand out among the wives. Since the series debut, she has turned a hateful and selfish character into one trying to find her place within the Henricksons' lives and her own family at Juniper Creek.

Also among the great performances is Matt Ross' portrayal of Nicki's mentally unstable brother, Alby Grant, a closeted homosexual who is next in line for Roman's title of prophet.

After being in the shadows for three seasons, Ross has been given room to breathe and to let the demented psyche of this character shine as Alby tries to satisfy his need for both spiritual and sexual pleasures.

"Big Love" has always had fantastic writing as evidenced by the writers' ability to juggle multiple storylines and not have any of them come off clichéd or weak. Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, who was raised Mormon, produces and writes for the show.

Everyone gets great stories, and the great performances come from the wonderful writing staff.

The only detracting factor is little amount of time being spent on Amanda Seyfried's character Sarah.

The third season focused on Sarah rebelling against her parents' lifestyle, followed by a pregnancy scare and a surprise marriage proposal from her on-again/off-again boyfriend.

Very little was seen of Sarah in the fourth season premiere, and word on the street is that this will be Seyfried's final season on the show. If this means less screen time for Sarah, the audience will suffer.

Sarah serves as a substitute for the audience. She answers the questions about polygamy and the Mormon lifestyle anyone watching may have and mixes it in with her own views.

Seyfried's smaller role aside, "Big Love" is better than ever. Much of the witty dialogue is gone, but the stories continue to get bigger and better as the Henricksons' values shift from secrecy to wealth accumulation.

From the look of things, there will also be open war between Alby and Bill as both go toe-to-toe in their religions, with Bill trying to recruit more members and Alby taking his place as the leader of Juniper Creek.

Season four is off to a great start, and the big love is sure to spread through the rest of the surprisingly short eight-episode season.

"Big Love" airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on HBO.
 
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Originally published January 21, 2010
 
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