Review: Republic of Doyle, ep. 11

Naturally, after spending all season reviewing Republic of Doyle, and with the season finale next week, I'm not going to be around to see it. I'll be in Florida. I appreciate that's not exactly a hardship and I'll take being in Florida and missing Doyle as opposed to being in the Arctic and catching Doyle. Still, kind of annoying.

And yes, I know I can catch it online once I get back. I may even review it. However, if I have to depending on the CBC's deeply buggy media player, then I don't know if that's going to happen. I could buy it on iTunes, but we'll see. That's a big chunk of my monthly internet cap being nuked just to watch one TV show.

Anyway, this week on ROD we have Jake being smacked around. Well, only a couple of times physically. Most of it is spent dealing with being at a wedding...not the easiest thing in the world to do when you're just divorced, your ex-wife is sitting behind you in church with her divorce lawyer as her date, you have a history with the bride dating back to an incident in Bannerman Park back in '95 and, oh yes, your brother is back and being a massive dick.

This appears to be the week where everyone shits on Jake. Mal is giving him shit, Christian is being such a smug bastard that it's a wonder that Jake managed to make it all the way until the end of he episode before taking a swing at him.

Oh yes, and the groom has gone missing. And since this is ROD, it means it's nothing so simple as a groom getting cold feet. It's also a bad father-son relationship, kidnapping and a horse named Swiss Franc. Oh yes, and a scene involving Des shirtless and tweaking his nipples. Personally, I could have done without that, but judging by the squealing of glee over on Twitter, Des has his fans and they were all over that action.

My problem with this week's episode is that this is a rare clunker for the mystery of the week. Because unless I missed something, the whole mystery turns on a guy willing to commit not only kidnapping, but probably murder so he can get a horse for his daughter. Last time I was home and drove around the bay, I must have passed by a dozen or more horses. Grab the trailer, drive on out in the middle of the night, grab yourself a horse and you're all set. Granted, not descended from a line of champions, but hey, I doubt your daughter cares much.

Also, the daughter seems pretty all right, considering daddy ran over a man pointing a rifle at her demanding his son back.

So no, just dumb. I like the idea of them getting involved with a case that's more than just a runaway groom. However, they ventured into the land of "You've got to be fucking kidding me". Although it's always good to see more of Walter.

The show's redeeming points comes with the character interaction. It's nice to see Jake and Mal working on a case again. Also good to see that Sgt. Bennett is no one's fool. She could spot something odd about Christian and dealt with it before getting in too deep. She is, after all, a detective.

However, the focus is on Christian who went from being a smarmy, much more successful pain in the ass older brother to a total fuck up by the end of the episode. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think I like the idea of Jake having a successful big brother to rub things in from time to time. That would be interesting as well. Instead, Jake is the good son, but one Mal seems unable to appreciate. That's interesting and hopefully a topic for further exploration.

However, the writers did handle the gradual unwinding of Christian in a pretty good manner.

So yeah, I like the character bits, just not the story they plunked the characters in this week. I'm also not sure about Jake solving mysteries via his dreams. That just felt...odd. I'm not saying it was bad kind of odd, just a weird story device that I'm not entirely sure was necessary. Although, hey, always nice to see Gerry Rogers. And for that matter Aiden Flynn as the divorce lawyer. Plus they gave Sean Panting more than three lines this week, which was nice.

Not so much with the zingers this week, but still a few good ones worth mentioning.

"I loves a good weddin’.... So, this must be like returning to the scene of the crime for you." - Mal

"Would you like a clue?" "No, I'm good, thanks." - The bride (whose name is escaping me) and Jake.

"I’m pretty sure she’s one of our first cousins." "Not by marriage." - Jake and Christian

"You want a drink? I find it takes the edge right off the commitment." - Jake

"Good butcher. Decent liar." - Mal

"I was on the bad list?" "Yeah, you were after stealing wine from the church and before running over the neighbour's cat." - Jake and Walter, for the win.

"You lost your ring finger to pay for the wedding? Total Gift of the Magi." - Des, being an idiot.

No one spoil next week's show for me. I'll catch it after I get back.

Last Five
1. Who are you? - The Who
2. O girlfriend - Weezer
3. Mister Wrong - Lloyd Cole
4. Golden age of radio (live) - Josh Ritter
5. Chocolate Jesus (live) - Tom Waits*