Episode 2: The Return of the Grievous Angel

So, this episode kicks off with the bread and butter of P.I. life. Or what I imagine is the bread and butter of P.I. life. Serving seemingly unfindable people with court papers to make their child support payments. It's especially satisfying because the guy is clearly a huge dick and his employees all hate him (evidenced by the way those two guys in the hall immediately pick up boxes to look busy as the boss runs by and how they immediately point which way he went when Mal asks) but mostly it's satisfying because of the chase scene - with the best bit being when Jake takes that dive when he falls over the walker - that ends with Jake and Dick Guy trying to strangle each other on the way down the conveyor belt. And then there's Mal's deft serving, which deserves some attention: taking the papers from Jake and dropping them on Dick Guy's chest with Consider yourself served. 

Two other favourite Mal moments:
1. When he and Jake are walking back to the GTO and we clearly see 'Dick 4 Hire' on the side and Mal points and lets out a single short laugh.
2. The Panties Exchange 
    M: If she was leaving town you'd think she'd have packed her panties.

    J: Ugh, I hate it when you say that world.

    M: What, panties? Doctors say it. It's clinical.

    J: It's not clinical. When you say it's disgusting.

    M: Panties.

    Then they see Bill watching them and Jake goes over to talk to him and spots Des. Commence chase         scene 2, albeit a lot shorter and involving fewer roofs than 1, but arguably just as much pain for young Des. Jake manhandles him to the car, where Mal says:

    M: I like your work, by the way. It's very tasteful.

    J: Don't encourage him.

    M: You've gotta support the arts.

    J: It is not art.

    D: It is art, man.

    J: Shut up.

    M (getting into the car): Panties.

    I love this exchange. Cracks me up. Also, the child-like goading of father to son totally plays into the episode theme, which I have theories about and will get to shortly. 

The Jake/Nikki story definitely makes some strides this episode. Most of them are kind of weird. Weird in a how did these people EVER manage to get married kind of way. Like Nikki's pillow fetish - fetish in the sense that she has too many, like, a ridiculous amount of pillows, not that they make her hot (I think, but in the words of Judi Dench 'you don't know Newfoundlanders') - and the way Jake takes out his rage on the unsuspecting foam. Or the way Nikki tries to distract him from sex by trying to make him go eat dinner and her insistence that he hasn't turned off the hall light. I love when he's like 'What, is this some new self-help thing you're on' when she cuts short the make out session because she wants to 'figure things out' and she quickly moves the book she was reading to out of Jake's sight and grasp and says 'No.' in a way that totally means yes. And then there's the scene at the end with crazy drunk Nikki at the bar who is being all sensible and adult (mostly and up to a point) until they get back to her place and Jake says they should probably stop sleeping together (which, let's be honest, he only does because he wants to be a better man with the hot Constable) and she fakes calling the cops. Then he leaves, which pretty much puts the cap on the soap-y Nikki and Jake show and completely fits with the theme arc of the episode, the theory about which is still forthcoming. Also, I'm pretty sure that the only time Jake gets punched in this entire episode is when Nikki clocks him with the phone. 

Episode High Points:

ROSE (after unlocking the handcuffs Jake put her and Des in with a hairpin): What? Do you have Stockholm Syndrome?

DES: Can you teach me how to unlock these cuffs like that?

Jake's blatant checking out of Leslie right after she tells him not to leave town since he's the only link to a dead girl stuffed in her car in St. John's. And he does it again after she finds them at Victor Vermin's house and he says 'You've got my number' and Mal has to pull him away with a well timed 'Come boy.'

The chase between Jake and Bill that ends with Bill landing in a giant vat of ice and fish. 

When Jake and Leslie are talking about Jake's problem that his client skipped town on him and Leslie says 'Why don't you hire a PI?' I also love when he opens the car door for Leslie and she gets in and he shuts it and drops the bounced check in its' plastic packaging on her lap and gives her very ADULT advice, like buckle up and safe driving.  

JAKE: Hi. So, when do I get my apology?

LESLIE: Sorry?

JAKE: Thanks, that was quick, I didn't think it'd be that fast.

L: No, I mean 'sorry I don't know what you're talking about.'

J: Whoa, c'mon, Constable. You accused me of murder.

Des getting hired as their 'hot young secretary,' which delights Mal and Rose, possibly because of how much it pisses off Jake. 

So, the framing in this episode is so specific - Jake and Malachi side by side flat to the camera with a third person behind or in front of them (happens almost every time they have a scene with Victor Vermin and again with Des in the garage ostensibly cleaning Jake's car but mostly he's just complaining and drinking Doyle juice - and just to clarify, that's juice owned by the Doyles, not made from Doyles because ew) that I think they must be doing an homage to some P.I. cop show or film. But I don't know the genre well enough to tell you what they're homaging. Any thoughts? 

This episode seems to have a thematic line of growing up and/or the consequences of youthful action. Everyone in his world treats Jake like a teenager or a 'seven year old boy,' and most of all Jake himself. Unless he's with Leslie. Hmmm. The way Mal stops him from knocking on Victor Vermin's door and Jake's childish revenge of taking over and screwing up the interview with the aforementioned. The wild abandon Nikki and Jake bring to their closet sex life; they're so in the moment and uncaring of long term consequences, like the fact that Jake has a peace bond against him from Nikki and he's filing one against her,   that they seem like teenagers and we can see how they once decided marriage was totally the right thing for them. Even Tinny takes a shot at Jake's man-boy state: Bit pathetic, doncha think? A grown man living in his Daddy's house. This line goes through the whole episode - from the opening with Dick Guy spending his child support payments on shiny new trucks from the East to the Rose and Tinny scene by the sink where Rose calls Tinny a little girl and insists she does the dishes. Even in the way Victor Vermin's past comes back to haunt him hardcore - from getting extorted by Emma/Lisa to Bill trying to kill him to his son killing Emma/Lisa and destroying his family. There just seems to be a consistent through line going on, n'est pas? 

Okay, here's something I don't get. They get Victor Vermin and his strange and poorly acted son arrested and then Mal's like 'now that we've cleared our names...' and Jake fills in the blank with 'pint?' And then we cut to the bar where Mal and Rose and Des are well into their drinks and then Jake comes in looking tired and a little beaten and out of sorts. So, why didn't he go with Mal? What happened between leaving the house of Victor Vermin and him arriving at the bar? What took him so long to get there?  Plus, they left Victor Vermin's house in late afternoon, Jake was supposed to meet Nikki at 7:30 and he's two and a half hours late. So, what'd he do? It's like there was originally another scene in there and it got edited away. 

Also, Victor Vermin's son. I can't decide if he's really really good at acting like the stoner skater boi rich kid or if he's a really really mediocre to bad actor. I'm leaning toward that one though. 

Season One, Episode One: Fathers and Sons

Season One, Episode One

Fathers and Sons

This is an important episode. It's the first one and being the first one, it's important. This is the moment where you either gain an audience or lose it entirely. Sure, some people might give you a second chance if your first episode falls a little short of awesome, but there is so much television out there, for all tastes and obsessions, that you really get one honest shot. Ergo, first episodes are important. (I put the 'ergo' in there to give this blog academic balls.) But here we are, going into a fourth season and we're still all watching. And none of us are even a little bit from Newfoundland, so it's not like it's playing on our homesick heartstrings, the sight of brightly painted row houses and tall masts. So, that's a win for you, Allan, that us privileged Ontarioians still hunker down around the idiot box once a week to see you get punched out and clumsy your way into the heart of your attractive lady cop.

First scene – you remember that one, right? Jake chasing Des through the charming and slightly mean streets and across roofs of Saint John's while Malachi follows in the pick-up shouting insults, advice, fatherly concern, and exposition through Jake's radio? There's a lot to establish here, who is important,what is he doing, why do we care? I'm pretty sensitive to bad exposition; it gets under my skin like the itch of an unfortunate trip to the bathroom in a patch of poison ivy; but while I'm aware of it in this episode in a few places, it doesn't bug me.

Malachi: For God sake, Jake, we're private investigators, not militia men!

Leslie: Is he going to be a problem?

Cop: Nah. He was a cop back in the day, but the uniform didn't fit, I don't think.

Generally, though, the pertinent information comes out in not at all annoying or out of character dribbles that stem from the rest of the action/conversation.

I also love how the Des/Jake relationship gets set up, even though we're not sure yet is Des is more than just a one off character. But Des' whole: Don't hit me! Don't hit me! And the number of times Jake smacks him around and handcuffs him and takes his frustrations out of the poor kid. It's like foreshadowing for their complex big brother/little brother thing that we know and love.

I love the way Tinny totally plays both her Uncle Jake and her Pappy with her whole 'women's troubles' excuse for not going to school. I equally love the way Rose sees right through her – which is one hell of clue to who Rose might be. Or was.

Rose (when Mal is all shocked that she reads lips): I got my own mystery.

The cross phone/split screen conversation between Walter and Jake and Jake and Nikki.

Jake: She's completely crazy, Walter, how did you ever let me marry her in the first place?

Nikki: Still me.

Classic, but it makes me laugh. Also, the fact that Walter is in a strip club at, like, ten a.m.

Great moment, where Mal proves he can speak street when he's trying to get info out of that whigger, insurance fraud DJ/bank teller Tom.

Tom: Wanna pimp yer home entertainment system?

Mal: I don't require any speakers, thank you.

When Jake encounters Leslie for the first time in the hospital, the shots get all frosted. You know the look, that blurry, soft around the edges, classic movie-musical thing, total Shirley Jones/Gordon MacRae in the moonlight of a studio sound stage. It's entirely indicative of their seething attraction; that's why that technique exists. Subtle, but effective.

It seems to me that Jake is way more bumbling/stuttering in this episode (and kind of the season) than in later ones. He's a smart guy so maybe it's a PI technique to get more information out of people, like Columbo. Or maybe it's that he's found it makes him cute and charming in his personal life, perfect for snaring girls like Nikki who are practically insane. Or both. But, to support the latter argument, Jake doesn't do the stuttering thing with Leslie. Could this be the woman to whom he shows his true face?

I love, in the lawyer/divorce settlement scene when Nikki throws the jubejubes at Jake. Total crime of passion, which only makes it funnier.

Awesome moment: Jake's silent shoulder roll through the window into Laura Dawe's bathroom.

Also, serious points for the subtle development of the drug subplot – with the picture of the guy who dies working out at Big Gym, then the locker key, then Leslie and her lackeys showing up to bust them.

I love the final framing – Des spray painting Jake's car, Leslie beautifying up to knock on Jake's door, and the lamp falling and breaking behind Leslie in the window obviously from whatever Nikki and Jake are getting up to on the inside while Leslie is checking her breath.

This opening episode is totally about variations of love. Jake and Mal, Jake and Nikki, Jake and Leslie, although they're just on the brink of affection. Mal and Rose, Jake and Benny, Benny and his Dad, Benny and Theresa and their baby (love the misdirection line from Benny btw: I am thinking of my family), not to mention the Jake/Mal/Tinny familial love thing. What we do for it and what it makes us do. It's interesting. It's like Allan and co have set up the whole show as a heartwarming family drama with a PI angle. Like Heartland, but with guns and, you know, decent writing.

Doyle Returneth!

So, I'm sure you've heard by now that The Republic of Doyle will be back for a fourth season! Very excited! The longer it runs, the higher my chances of one day being on it. I'd like to be the red herring - I think that would work for me. ANYWAY! To commemorate this little bit of awesome - the return of Doyle - and proof the powers that be at the CBC aren't entirely cracked, I'll be bringing us up to date on every episode. That's right. Between now and January 2013, look for Reports on all episodes, starting with Fathers and Sons, way back in Season One. Rejoice friends! Doyle Returneth!

Under Pressure

We begin today's Doyle Report - the final report of the season - with a moment of silence. Events transpired during this week's episode that should give us pause, make us think, and cause us to mourn the loss of a very dear friend who has been with us since the beginning.


The GTO.

From the first moment Jake fishtailed his way around a corner in an illegal high speed chase, I don't think I'm off the mark in saying we all fell, if only a little bit, in love. The GTO saw us through, helped us, and our fearless and prone to being punched hero to seek out truth and justice and a good lay, not to mention the occasional pint or dram.


The GTO was there through divorce proceedings, when Jake thought he might be a father, through jealousy and injury and the rescue of a renegade chip truck. The GTO stood bravely by the curb while Jake wooed and loved Leslie and was what literally carried us and Jake through our grief when she ripped his heart out - although he did deserve that quite a lot for getting her demoted and forcing her to wear those awful traffic cop pants.


It was a cruel blow - a very cruel blow, I venture - to see Jake's beloved car blown up by a desperate, panicked, ex-bomb squad villain bitch. Even if it did bring us the wonder of Jake getting in touch with his inner Stanely Kowalski with his cries of My Car! MY CAR!! As the GTO burned in the early winter Newfoundland night.


Now, to business.


It's nice to see Christian is still an idiot, albeit and idiot whose heart is in the right place. That gold bar he just handed over to George without so much as wondering how might be a bad if Jake and Mal didn't have every brick. He did know about all the details of their troubles at that point, so he has no excuse. Geez, Christian. You may do yoga now, but maybe you should do some brain yoga and keep your family from digging themselves deeper holes than they dig themselves.


It was nice to see Kathleen exhibiting some not 'me-centric' behaviour toward Tinny in this final episode of the season. It was actually quite a touching little scene between them, especially when Kathleen warned her daughter she might not like the answer to the question: Who is my father?


Which brings me to the answer. Tinny's Dad is Paul Gross in the form of Jake's old partner, which I really, really didn't see coming. Partially because he showed up for the first and seemingly last time in that season finale last year which I have decided to pretend didn't happen. (All the tied up ends were untied and negated at the beginning of this season, plus it was just kinda clunky with all the out of character choices being made; but you've heard all my complaints about it before, so moving forward). But now, I want to re-watch it to see if there was any indication that he was Kathleen's baby daddy and, even though he kidnapped Des and Tinny because he wanted money or information or keys or whatever it was, if that was part of the why he took her.


I've got to say, this season finale, written by our own beloved Allan Hawco, was WAY better than the last one. It was more or less cohesive and he didn't drop any serious balls - though he did sort of glaze over the gold issue and why it was no longer one. I'm still not sure what happened with that. Because it was a training exercise for the feds, was it not real gold? Just to be clear, I don't rag on Allan Hawco's writing because I think he's a bad writer. I'm not saying I could do better; I don't think I could. I'm just saying he seems a little young on that side of craft. I mean, what do I know? I'm just an upstart crow and I'm probably seriously wide of the mark. After all, which one of us has his own show? Since I don't have the parts to get the pronoun 'his,' I hope you guessed Allan Hawco. I'm just saying he could grow into being a writer, maybe work a little slower, plan a little more, give his screenwriter self a chance to get facial hair. Oh, CBC, please let him grow up!


Absolutest favourite moments:
Des taking advantage of the fact Jake's car got rammed into a telephone pole by one of their kidnapped and escaped federal agents with: Oh, man, and they even took the bumper off!


Des checking his phone while Leslie is confronting all of them about the whereabouts of Jake and Mal, seeing it's a text from Jake that says EMERGENCY! and absenting himself from the room with: I have to go. This is too much for me. My dad's in jail.


Jake slipping the whatever he slipped between the seat the detonater on the bomb in Sophie's car and Mal telling him he's done his part and to get out of there because the rest is up to him. Then Jake says: Yeah, I guess you're right. See ya! Then faking a leave before settling back in, putting his arms on his father and saying If you think I'm going to let you do this alone, you're crazier than I already know you are. We do this together.


And now, let us turn out thoughts to Des. Dear, sweet, quirky, neurotic Des Courtney. Beloved of Tinny, even if she won't believe it. Adopted son of Mal and Rose. Little brother, mentee, and pet punching bag of Jake. He is loved, in spite of all of him, and he will continue to be loved, regardless of the outcome of recent events.


Even from that first episode, where Jake threw him off a roof, where he got all lusty for Tinny, where he graffitted Jake's car with Dick 4 Hire as Jake was in Nikki's house for some illicit nookie, we could see his kindness and his heart and how he was built to give so much to those around him.


When I got home the night this finale aired, my rant to my father went something like this: They killed Des! He got shot! Jakewastryingtogetagunawayfromsomeonewhichhediddobutthenashot wentoffandDesgothitinthestomachandtherewassomuchbloodandtheydohave15minutestofixastomachwoundbutJakesaid'EventhoughyouannoymeIwouldneverletyoudiealone'andDeswaslyingthereandJakewasholdinghimandtherewerecopsallaroundsoDeswasn'talonesohe'sgoingtodie!


But, although I made good points above - and I'm beginning to think Tinny's comment you are so dead to Des after the GTO got stolen might have been foreshadowing - there is reason to take heart. TV characters have survived worse. Benton Fraser got shot pretty much in the spine. Kestler from The Border took a bullet almost in his heart AND survived that, even while a hostage in Afghanistan. Buffy died twice and still went on to save the world again and again. Des' eyes were still open. Not the vacant, dead open eyes you see, but the desperately blinking open eyes of a fighter. The eyes of someone struggling to go on breathing. So I choose to take heart and hope to see Des in recovery next January.


But, if that's not how this turns out.... Well, just as Jake said as they lay under a table together disarming a bomb with the help of an online tutorial on Des' signature laptop, I would never let you die alone, Des. We will not let you die alone. If the cruel powers that be - also known as screenwriters/producers - have deigned it necessary that you should die, know that you will not die alone. A nation is with you.


So, let us raise a glass of whiskey or beer or even Screech (if you don't mind your innards being polished like a Leslie's uniform boots) to our dear friends who may or may not be gone forever: Des Courtney and the GTO!

Con, Steal, Love

Today, we start off this post with possibly the best line to come out of Canadian television since Wanda said “Prepositions are fun” on Corner Gas.
DES: Jake, you're treating me like a human being, it's really weirding me out!
And let's not forget the signature flappy-Des arms that happened when he said it.

Also, did anyone else notice that Des' shirts were more mature in this episode? Less failed-preppy sweater vests, more borderline cool baseball shirts. Perhaps coming face to face with his Dad has made our boy feel more grown up? Time will tell...

Oh! And let's not forget when Jake off-handedly referred to Des with such casualness as: My weird assistant Des. LOVE!

Finn sure has come a long way from hawking video players in exchange for sketchy information under the cover of shipyards, hasn't he?

Let's discuss Annabelle's constant seduction thing. She turns on the sultry voice and the Disney eyes-of-honesty and takes a few tentative steps toward the man she's manipulating in that moment, with the tilty head and they believe her and would lick poop from her fingertips. It even works on Jake, who sees her do this, like, eight times. Men (or rather, man, since only one is reading this) weigh in. Is it that easy?

And another thing: Mal was so obviously set up. The gun in the glove-box, her asking him to hand it to her while wearing gloves herself. Those Doyles, they're intrinsically a trusting lot, which is, of course, why we love them. That and their chiseled features and fashion sense. But it's more than that. Sometimes, they come off as oblivious and stupid almost and it's always in an out of character kind of way. They only act seriously dumb when the season is about to come to an end. So, what's with that?

In my opinion, this episode had way to many plotlines happening. There was the Jake and Annabelle and the violin plotline and there was the Kathleen/Evil Graham Abbey plotline and there was the Evil Graham Abbey/Tinny plotline and there was the Mal/jail/set up for murder plotline. For a one hour-ish episode, that's a lot of really big plotlines and I'm not sure they all got enough attention for any single one of them to be satisfying. It's strange, though. It's like the writers are good at moments, at lines, at the immediate. But when it comes to arc and cohesion and a clear, concise plot line, they kinda suck. No, not suck, but they do fall a bit short. Like they get to the end of the season and go: Shit, yo, we have to tie up ALL THESE THINGS. Better get on that in these last three episodes, and let's make the final one epic, shall we?

And to conclude: a recipe for hash. Why? Because Rose ignored Mal when he said he already ate and I think it's funny.

Rose's Leftover Sunday Dinner Hash

Vegetable oil
1 pepper, chopped (the colour of your choice. I think green taste like soap, but if that's your fav, go for it)
1 onion, chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled, cooked, and sliced
1 cup diced leftover roast (beef, pork, what-have-you, but I wouldn't recommend fish)
Garlic, salt, and pepper to taste
¼ cup grated cheese (my favourite is sharp old cheddar, but anything gratable will do)

Saute the pepper and onions together in the oil. Add the potatoes. Add the roast. Season to taste. Add the cheese and make it all melty. Eat it. Say yum.

Live Wire - Episode 11

Des and his dad are so adorably exactly like each other, clearly Des is an excellent example of nature over nurture. Ergo, some fantabulous lines and scenes between these two.

I loved Des' very human, very natural vulnerability when he's waiting to see his dad at the top of the episode. So sweet and a somewhat new side of Des. I mean, he's always neurotic, but this was different. And lovely. And Rose's word of comfort to him, when he says 'What if he's disappointed in how I turned out' was awesome.
ROSE: Oh my god, he just got out of prison, I don't think he's going to judge.

DES (musing about why Jody attempted a break in): Maybe it's like a nervous tick. Except with explosions.

JODY: I'm such a clutz. Sometimes I fall off my chair, for no reason.
DES: Yeah? Me too!

JODY (in a brilliant display of dyslexia or was it a Freudian slip?): Freedom is more important than family Jake.
JAKE: What?
JODY: No, no. Family is more is important than freedom.

However, my favourite has to be this:
(Des and his Dad sitting in the interrogation room, their last moments before Jody goes back to jail or is it gaol in Newfoundland?)
DES: Well, I'm all grown up now, so you won't be missing any milestones.

And I think we're all wondering why Jake always calls to the person he wants to talk to and/or apprehend from an uncrossable distance. Well, the distance is crossable, but it would take more time than he has from the moment he calls out. I hope you're still with me, since I'm not sure I'm even still with me.... I know, it's a plot device – or maybe a drama device – so that we can all get to see Jake run fast through the colourful back alleys of St. John's, Newfoundland in that dashing leather coat and his jeans (does he own any other pants? Probably not, since he lives in his office. And not in a workaholic kind of way), but it doesn't make him look any smarter. Actually, it makes him more deserving the periodic smacks upside the head that Malachy delivers with such casual and hilarious aplomb.

I'm running a little hot and cold toward Leslie this season. Not her fault, I just don't love what they've done with her. Like, this episode, she was just so by the book, hard-ass cop, with no nuance, opposed to last episode where she was human. It's like not all the writers know what to do with her. Or none of them know what to do with her if she isn't hot for Jake. But I hope they figure her out at some point.

Love Rose's moment with Tinny when she says to the teen: Come on, you're not kidding anyone. We all care about Des and we know you care about him most of all. And in other great Tinny moments, the look she gives Kathleen when Kathleen opts to fix her own past problem involving the little blue book instead of banding together with the family to help Des with his kidnapping trouble, SO GOOD! Like, I disown you and I hate you and you so aren't my mother and go f*ck yourself all mashed into three second long cut. Nice.

Which brings me to Graham Abbey. Holy turn around in character for him Batman! Usually he's brooding and mean, which redeems him, or brooding and a lover, or brooding and funny, or just a lover or just funny or just brooding, but I've never seen him mean. Even when he was Chauvelin's right hand man – unquestionably a villain – in The Scarlet Pimpernel, he was funny. Especially when he was vomitting on the crossing from France to England. But I digress and possibly my I'm a fan of Graham Abbey colours are showing a little too brightly. He was SO MEAN! Is so mean, since I don't think we're done with him. However, I'm seeing parallels between the Rose/HUSBAND story with this Kathleen/Graham Abbey story. Anyone else? Funny, too, how Graham Abbey played HUSBAND'S son on The Border. Oooooh! It's like the Twilight Zone. Without monsters.

One Angry Jake

First off, very clever, Team Doyle, very clever, the making of Jake as Juror Number 8 - a sweet little nod to Twelve Angry Jurors. So nicely played. On that note, have you noticed how the writing has gotten so much deeper/nuanced this season? I guess that's what happens when you've been around for a few seasons start running out of obvious plotlines. But I say, it's to the benefit of us all.

Once again, some seriously brilliant moments from Des. He's so ridiculous and loveable and larger than life and this episode was no exception. Here, to recap, are some of my favourites.

DES (after Jake calls him from the courthouse where he is sequestered as a juror on a murder trial): You're speaking to me in code. I have dreamed of this day.

DES (after Jake rips tape off his face): Ow! Oh my god! Ow! That seriously hurt...actually, that's probably really good for exfoliation. Can you do it again?
Related to the above moment, when Des is STILL taped to the pillar in the PI offices and Jake, Malachy and Rose are having a conversation about the case around him, and how Des is flailing his arms around, trying to get free. But the absolute best is how he grabs the phone and flops it toward Jake like a beached marine mammal.

Des attempting to disguise his voice while he and Rose are questioning Randall and his voice keeps cracking and breaking and doing all manner of weird, which spurs this dialogue.
RANDALL: What the hell is wrong with his voice?
ROSE: I'd say it's puberty, but I don't think he's reached it yet.

Oh, and seriously super cute moment when Tinny is being all depressed on the couch wearing those amazing plaid pants that would not be out of place in Monarch of the Glen or even on Lachlan of our beloved Hamish, and she asks Des to hug her. His comfort takes the form of this:
DES: There, there. *world's most awkward pat*

Now, I think we're all wondering, what on earth is Kathleen into? It's something seriously large, since she's been all secretive and jumpy since she walked into our world. Or rather, Jake's world. And the whole thing with hiding the envelope of...whatever under a couch cushion. Seriously Kathleen? It's a house where PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS live. They INVESTIGATE for a living. Do you really think they won't find it? Also, I'm sure someone in the troupe housecleans from time to time and that can sometimes involve lifting couch cushions. At least, it does if you're my mum. Also, the walking around the house with a knife, talking about buying a one way plane ticket, and asking Malachy if she can leave Tinny behind 'because she'll be safer' all does not suggest someone perfectly at ease and NOT into something large. There's a whisper from Rose that she thinks there's more to the middle Doyle child than meets the eye and Jake's practically screaming it. Only Malachy seems blinkered – to all his children, though he's starting to see Jake's intrinsically good side a little clearer. I think Kathleen and whatever she's into is leading us to the season finale, just the way Christian did.
Also, Kathleen, breaking up with Walter in the terrible, just-not-talking-to-him-anymore kind of way is a terrible thing to do. Shame, shame on you Kathleen Doyle! Walter may be a dicknose but he's sweet in his own shameless, excessive drinking, easily corruptible, stripper loving way.

And now, for the best part of the episode:

JAKE: Well, they're not exact likenesses.

Mirror, Mirror

This episode was unique in that it took a new filmic turn, in the sense that it employed different film styles to keep the separate versions of the story straight. I don't know anything about film, really, but I was seriously impressed by the whole Film Noir-esque thing going on for Gordan Pinsent's version of events, next to the slightly overexposed, almost superhero/Marvel comics thing for Jake's version, beside Malachi's as the most normal looking one so that the audience could tell or surmise that he's the one telling the truth. So, seriously, go Team Doyle.

As always, Des has the bestest moments. The return of Des' thing for String Theory and how he thinks it will impress Tinny. Also, serious love for the moment Gordan Pinsent asked him about his Tinny troubles and Des says 'She just doesn't get my interest in particle physics.' The Des/Tinny attraction and them lying about it thing continues – golden moment when Des says 'did you know I'm single,' and Tinny replies by insulting his collection of sweaters and sweater vests – but it's getting harder to tell with Tinny, since to the careful observer of her obsessive texting, one could be led to believe she is now seeing someone.

The new plotline of Walter and Kathryn dating. While not entirely unexpected, since they bonded over Jake's not-daughter last episode, I really thought it'd be a single hookup or something like the Jake/Nikki illicit, hidden hookups that were on the go for a while. But it would seem not. However, we win because Jake gave Walter a black eye – well, it was really bruised and pink – when he slammed a door on his face.

Oh, and then there's a bit of cultural commentary when they address the French/English in Canada thing. Guy (French cop there to help arrest Gordan Pinsent) asks Jake: Is it inconvenient for you not being able to speak either official language? And then Jake is relaying to Leslie a conversation that happened in French and it goes like this: “Stylo!” “Livre!” “Crayon, oui!” To which Leslie says: why were they talking about pens and books? Jake says: Well, I had to stop French in grade nine, but my French teacher was seriously hot.

The last action of Jake before passing out after being drugged by Natalie was groping her breast on the way to the floor.

The ending of this episode is going on my list of most heartbreakingly beautiful television moments. If you recall, earlier we were told that Jake couldn't speak French. So, Leslie is sitting in the bar, looking lovely, and dressed for dinner with her sister and she says, in French, "you are my man." to Jake. After she leaves, Jakes looks longingly at her seat and says 'And you're the one for me.'

But, as the credits rolled, we were still left with the question: did they ever go golfing?