TVSquad

(S01E07) Well-played, Linc Stark. Well-played. Linc may save his soul after all by getting out of the business before corrupting another member of the Yost family. And, finally, Luke Perry's Moon Over My Hammy. It's what the 90210 fans have been waiting for all this time and didn't even know it. (Or, maybe, they were waiting for a teen idol face-off between Luke and Saved by the Bell's Mark-Paul Gosselaar.)

This episode wasn't as eventful as the last one, but we did get a few otherworldly clues. Meyer Dickstein drew what most John from Cincinnati forum members have decided is a variation of the Monad symbol or, you know, a stick person in the cement. (By the way, HBO's official site for John from Cincinnati is a treasure trove for Milch junkies thanks to writer Steve Hawk's "Inside the Episode" blog. Last week he transcribed John's entire "mud is big, fire is big" speech for readers.)

We also know that technology plays a major role in John's father's plans. Without the 1s and 0s, it doesn't mean "dick." And, my God, miracle of miracles - Cissy sorta smiled when she saw Butchie and Kai drive off to find Shaunie.

This episode actually had a number of surprising, compassionate moments. Cissy smiled. Shaunie stroked Butchie's hair instead of hitting him upside the head. (Butchie hit Shaun upside the head earlier in the episode.) Bill embraced Shaunie and even climbed those treacherous stairs. Barry found his true candy-striper calling. Freddie tried to make a run to the hospital with Palaka in tow. Cissy even tried to warn the Doc about his upcoming ass-ramming care of the hospital. And, who wants to bet Deadwood's Trixie gives Meyer the blowjob to rock his world in an upcoming episode? (I'm a bit obsessed with that prediction coming true for poor Dickstein. I feel for the guy.)

John's father seems to be communicating with him through radio signals at the "circularly disposed antenna array" or "elephant cage." (See, I read the forums.) John appeared again in multiple places at once - this time in a wet suit looking beatific as usual. He didn't seem too enthused about being with his father today. Very Christ-like, but what does our J.C. do that isn't J.C.-like? We've got resurrections, redemptions, healings and other bible time references. Whether we're talking about a Judeo-Christian God or the more elusive Monad concept, well, I guess that's entirely up to us to decide. That's the beauty of abstraction, it's all open to interpretation.

If Shaun does, however, disappear next week, we could be going in a solidly biblical direction. After the resurrection came the ascension - not a death really, but it's not going to settle well with the Yosts, and judging from the previews, not with Bill or Freddie either.

If you're a big fan of the show, I want to point you towards an interview David Milch did with Salon.com about Deadwood. You have to watch an ad for a free "day pass" to the site, but it's worth it to read Milch's theories on God, Christ, God's body and our spiritual commonality. It offers some important John from Cincinnati-relevant insights, and should lay to rest any "he's an alien" theories still floating around out there.

Also, in my obsession with the music from John from Cincinnati, I've put together a playlist of John-related songs over at FineTune. (It's internet radio so I had to put a number of songs on the list that haven't been on the show. I'll be replacing those with songs from the show as the episodes continue.) I also threw together what I could find on Seeqpod into a shorter playlist that only plays songs that have been on the show. Anyway, I share my illness with you, dear reader for we are all part of one great big wave.