~ BIG LOVE on HBO ~ Season 5 ~ Winter 2011

[minniecarousel]

I'm satisfied. Bill's demise was a fitting end. I sure wouldn't have wanted for him to go to trial. The women all found their roles. I was getting tired of Bill's attitude. I will miss the show on Sunday nights, though.

 

[shortbun]

Darned HBO doesn't have the show available on demand yet. I was watching basketball.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Okay, so I'm procrastinating doing some work. . .

Here's my take on the loose ends that weren't resolved:

Anna's baby is with Anna. Barb pays for Skype for everyone. Margene and Anna chat and Margene squeals at all that the baby is doing. They plan to have the kid over summers when he gets older.

Margene is keeping up her blog and now has a readership number in the hundreds of thousands. It's upped the donations to the rescue organization she sails with and provides her with a nice little side salary.

On that note, thank God Bill had paid up his life insurance! Barb and Don are doing okay as co-pastors of Salt Lake City's fastest growing church, but the insurance sure will make it easier as the kids start going to college.

Nikki has finally found her calling, but unfortunately, it isn't a paying gig. As the head of SafetyNet, her fundraiser "Compounds and Cocktails" Gala (they served non-alcoholic, decaf drinks) was the hit of the SLC social season last year. Renovations are proceeding on two buildings that will serve as shelters - one for women leaving abusive polygamous situations (The Lois Hendrickson House)and one for lost boys (The Bill Hendrickson Center). You almost have to feel sorry for Nancy Dutton, who serves on SafetyNet's board, but she must have buried her own emotions, as she's the one who suggested the naming of both centers.

Joey's the big hidden success. He spent time in New Mexico and after some long discussions with some monks at a Benedictine monastary, wrote a memoir of his life that spent 15 weeks on the NY Times bestseller list. It's now been optioned for an HBO movie.

Back to work for me!

 

[shortbun]

I love it Snarlingcoyote!! But, who was the hatless woman in the back of the room when Bill had his vision? Was that supposed to be Lois as a young woman or was that Joseph Smith's wife from the previous vision. I couldn't remember the actress exactly.

 

[livie1205]

so did both of his parents kill themselves? I am ok with the end (his fate), he just treated Barb so awful this season! She should have left when he wanted a so called paper divorce....I did not watch all the seasons, just some here and there but that middle wife so such a witch, they was NOTHING good about her.I do not really think they wrapped up the shoe well.

 

[GDUL]

When Ben was sitting at the table with Heather talking to Sarah, he had his left hand on the table with the back of his hand towards the camera and he had on a gold band. My DH noticed it too. I don't know, but just mentioning Teeny in an offhanded way was useless as far as I was concerned. Anna's baby was definitely a story line that went absolutely nowhere.

I think that I saw a wedding ring on Heather's hand too.

 

[Disney Ella]

I was so tired of Bill's constant self-righteous speeches that I was glad to see him go. It seemed like he wasn't able to have a regular conversation with anyone anymore without it turning into a major speech about something. Bill saw himself as a martyr, but he brought all of his troubles on himself and then dragged other people into the mess, like Don.

I wonder who exactly is coming to the church that Barb now heads. The fundamentalist people from the compound would never accept a woman as the head of a church.

I'm glad that the women got their freedom in the end, but I would rather Bill had lived and Barb announced that she was through with him and maybe taken Margene with her. Bill deserved Nikki.

I would have liked to have seen Wanda and Joey again and found out what happened to Juniper Creek with Alby in jail.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I love it Snarlingcoyote!! But, who was the hatless woman in the back of the room when Bill had his vision? Was that supposed to be Lois as a young woman or was that Joseph Smith's wife from the previous vision. I couldn't remember the actress exactly.

At the beginning of the season, Bill had a vision in the statehouse of Emma Smith, Joseph Smith's wife, although she looked just like Lois. (LOL!) This was a continuation of that vision. Emma Smith was never what you might call a wilting flower, from what little I know of Mormon history.

After Smith died, Brigham Young took the reins of the church. Emma thought the next leader of the church should be Smith's son, her son, and eventually left the church. (Can a Mormon help a girl out here?) She and Joseph Smith III (Joseph Smith was a Jr.) founded the Reformed Latter Day Saints. This church still believes in polygamy today, and is quite different in many respects from the mainstream LDS.

The RLDS has ordained gay men, I think, and women and they're about as liberal as mormons get.

The RLDS used to be lead by a direct ancestor of Joseph Smith until the 1980's when there were some shakeups in leadership. I've always wondered if those politics weren't somehow used as inspiration in the whole Lois Hendrickson/her father was leader/Bill Hendrickson has a claim to the UEB storyline, so having Lois as Emma kinda' worked for me.

Anywho, I'll look it up tonight, but I have to go to work now!

 

[HonnyDipp]

I loved that the show ended focusing on the women. It was good to see Sara and did I see a wedding band on Ben's finger? This season was by far the best season of the series.

 

[Nik's Mom]

What an ending! I loved the way they tied things up, even though I cried at the end. I was glad that Bill redeemed himself in the end. And I think they did a great job resolving story lines for the series.

My 2 unanswered questions from the series were 1. What happens to Ana and her baby and 2. What happens to Joey and Wanda.

I hope they release a boxed set of the series. I have season 1 on itunes and I feel like watching it from the beginning.

I'm curious to see what the actors do after the show. I know the actress who plays Sarah is in that Red Riding Hood movie. Margene was in A Single Man last year.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I loved that the show ended focusing on the women. It was good to see Sara and did I see a wedding band on Ben's finger? This season was by far the best season of the series.

Yes, it did look like a wedding band. Glad Ben ended up with Sarah's friend. I always liked her character. I would have been pissed if he ended up marrying Rhonda!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Yes, it did look like a wedding band. Glad Ben ended up with Sarah's friend. I always liked her character. I would have been pissed if he ended up marrying Rhonda!

Bad enough that Ben slept with her that one time, but marriage? Ughhhhh!!!! I need brain bleach.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

SO sad to see this series end. I really enjoyed it.

Question about Bill's parents. I realize Lois died but was the injection next to the bed did anyone notice if it was filled again for his father to die or was the plunger down?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

SO sad to see this series end. I really enjoyed it.

Question about Bill's parents. I realize Lois died but was the injection next to the bed did anyone notice if it was filled again for his father to die or was the plunger down?

From memory, plunger down.

 

[Nik's Mom]

SO sad to see this series end. I really enjoyed it.

Question about Bill's parents. I realize Lois died but was the injection next to the bed did anyone notice if it was filled again for his father to die or was the plunger down?

I guess it is up for interpretation, but by the number of bottles on the night stand, I feel like Bill's dad died too.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Here's an interesting article that discusses the ending with the show's creators.
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/21/134661696/big-loves-creators-deconstruct-the-shows-finale

 

[ElizabethB]

Just a little history help for snarling coyote -- who did a very good job!! Actually, Emma Smith always swore to her dying day that Joseph Smith was not a polygamist and that she was his only wife (not true according to the historical record, but her claim nonetheless). She also swore that her son, Joseph Smith III, was to be the next prophet. Not Brigham Young. She blamed Brigham Young for the polygamy idea and also claimed that he stole her son's rightful heritage.

She and other disillusioned Mormons who did not follow Brigham Young stayed behind and formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now know as the Community of Christ. Because of Emma's intense opposition to polygamy, the Reorganized Church never practiced it. The church became more liberal and traditionally Christian over time than the mainstream LDS church. The reorgnized church eventually granted women the priesthood, which the mainstream LDS church has never done, and took other actions planting it squarely in the liberal category, as opposed to the mainstream LDS church, which is squarely in the conservative (some might say ultra-conservative) category.

I was not aware that the reorganized church had ordained gay men, but it seems consistent with their liberal and Christ-centered religious philosophy.

I'm not sure why the final episode showed Emma Smith smiling approvingly on Bill's church, given her stance toward polygamy. It might have had more to do with her disdain for Brigham Young and therefore the mainstream church he essentially founded. I don't know. I found that rather confusing, as I did many of the things that happened in the last two seasons. To me, the series "jumped the shark" in the penultimate season and, after that, I kind of lost interest. I thought the finale was rather unsatisfying, but I don't know what I would have done differently.

 

[bdcp]

SO sad to see this series end. I really enjoyed it.

Question about Bill's parents. I realize Lois died but was the injection next to the bed did anyone notice if it was filled again for his father to die or was the plunger down?

According to an interview with the creators/writers, while Lois died, Frank did not and they realized it could be interpreted that he did.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

A loose end nobody has brought up yet, and I have to wonder: What became of Cara Lynn? She wasn't there at the final scene. Did she go back to a compound life, or was she going to stay with Nicki?






I did go back and watch the ending again, I noticed that Heather and Ben both had rings so I assume they are now married.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Just a little history help for snarling coyote -- who did a very good job!! Actually, Emma Smith always swore to her dying day that Joseph Smith was not a polygamist and that she was his only wife (not true according to the historical record, but her claim nonetheless). She also swore that her son, Joseph Smith III, was to be the next prophet. Not Brigham Young. She blamed Brigham Young for the polygamy idea and also claimed that he stole her son's rightful heritage.

She and other disillusioned Mormons who did not follow Brigham Young stayed behind and formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now know as the Community of Christ. Because of Emma's intense opposition to polygamy, the Reorganized Church never practiced it. The church became more liberal and traditionally Christian over time than the mainstream LDS church. The reorgnized church eventually granted women the priesthood, which the mainstream LDS church has never done, and took other actions planting it squarely in the liberal category, as opposed to the mainstream LDS church, which is squarely in the conservative (some might say ultra-conservative) category.

I was not aware that the reorganized church had ordained gay men, but it seems consistent with their liberal and Christ-centered religious philosophy.

I'm not sure why the final episode showed Emma Smith smiling approvingly on Bill's church, given her stance toward polygamy. It might have had more to do with her disdain for Brigham Young and therefore the mainstream church he essentially founded. I don't know. I found that rather confusing, as I did many of the things that happened in the last two seasons. To me, the series "jumped the shark" in the penultimate season and, after that, I kind of lost interest. I thought the finale was rather unsatisfying, but I don't know what I would have done differently.

Yeah! Someone who knows way more than my precious little . And I just realized I said Emma supported polygamy when I meant to say she didn't support polygamy. . .whoops. It was early, I was lacking in caffeglobin. Thank you for setting me straight! I took one seminar on Mormonism years and years ago, so I know I'm rusty on the details.

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