TVSquad

It feels like forever since Bill Hendrickson announced that he and his family would form their own religion and live apart from Juniper Creek and LDS and the rest of the state of Utah. And we also know that Roman Grant is dead, and unless Big Love is going in the direction of resurrecting the prophet like he's the real deal, that means Alby will be taking over for his father. Then there's all the business with the casinos, Nicki's teenaged daughter and her weird former husband, not to mention Margene's new business, Sarah getting married to Scott...

HBO's Big Love has a way of stirring up controversy, although on a scale of 1-10, 10 being big time controversy, this Big Love trademark infringement case with the University of Utah is about a 2.

Seriously, what's the big deal? Here's the story in a nutshell: there was a three-second shot of the University of Utah logo on UU (yeah, that's what they call themselves) letterhead which the school claims was used without permission.

Last week's episode of Big Love received more hype than any other show this season for one simple reason. The Church of Latter-Day-Saints (LDS) was protesting – in advance – the HBO drama depicting a secret church ritual. The church felt that the producers had gone too far by showing a sacred ceremony that was not meant to be revealed to those who are not members of the faith. While I respect their desire to protect their traditions, I think they should have waited till the show aired, because now that I've seen it, my attitude is simply this, "No big deal."

(S03E01) Big Love returned to HBO last night, the first new episode since 2007. To say that the show returned with a vengeance is an understatement. Big Love is one of the best dramas on TV. Imagine I, Claudius in the mountains of Utah, with a complicated series of plot that are mostly about marriage. Polygamy, that is. One husband; many wives.

Picking up some time after the last episode, the Hendricksons are intact and solid as a rock, despite past problems. Margene's had a baby girl and is happy as can be, Nicki is working at a job in the courthouse to repay her credit card debt, Barb is keeping it all together as the first wife.

(S02E12) Things certainly didn't end up the way I thought they would in the season finale. And now I can't wait to see Season 3! I hate having to wait for so long for new seasons. I don't want to say too much before the jump, though. I'll just say that I thought I had a lot of things pegged a certain way, and one of the great things about this show is that it shows us that people in all of their wonderful complexity. None of these characters can be easily pigeon-holed.

(S02E10) I'm going to go out on a limb here and argue that Bill has essentially not changed since the beginning of the show. Oh, sure, he is still acting and behaving-- but I don't think there is anything inherently different about the way he is behaving. He is still ambitious, still thinks he is right, and he is a salesman: He thinks he can talk his way into or out of any situation. However, I bet that was cold comfort at the end of tonight's episode, considering who he ended up in bed with...

(S02E09) Things are certainly heating up on Big Love. I don't know for certain what big finale we are gearing up for. I used to think that it was Bill taking over as head of the U.E.B. (United Effort Brotherhood). I thought last season was leading Bill toward being the prophet. But now I'm not so sure. Now, more and more, I think things are careening toward Bill losing everything. I don't think he'll lose the store (though, that would make Margie's concerns foreshadowing), but I think he is going to lose Barb. And that, in Bill's world, would be everything.

(S02E08) [Spoiler Warning!] Please don't read the extended version of this review if you have not yet watched this episode. What a great episode. There were so many threads in this episode, it was great to see how fast and furious old and new facts were being hurled out through the dialogue. Oh, poor Benny. How humiliating. I think it's bad enough for any teenager to have his parents find out that he's having sex-- but it has to be especially bad when those parents think not only is he too young, but what he is doing is also a pretty serious sin.

I love looking at episode titles, and of course, obviously this title comes from The Lord's Prayer (which is pretty funny, because Joseph Smith instructs his followers to pray in a different way, and not to use this prayer), indicating that the Lord's will will be done. And that probably means not Bill's will.

(S02E07) Sorry about my absence last week. I was actually in Utah, visiting family who do not have HBO. Things were complicated and I also did not really have an Internet connection before this afternoon, so I couldn't do a review. I have seen last week's episode "The Dating Game," though. I liked Ana, and I thought her friendship with Margene was very sweet. I admired Bill, though, for realizing that maybe it was just lust on his part and ending the relationship. I also admire him for not sleeping with Ana, though can making out with her without two of his wives knowing he is seeing someone really be part of an eternal principle? Just curious about this protocol.

(S02E05) The Wild Thyme Cafe & Bakery.

That's where this installment of Big Love started. With Bill Henrickson's right-hand man and confidant telling him not to keep his frustrations about his personal life all bottled up inside.

Then, as if on cue, a waitress named Ana, in a frilly pink and black uniform descended upon Bill's table and offered a sympathetic ear to listen to his troubles. And she also offered him a sweet piece of pie.

Maybe it was the pie. Maybe it was her uniform. Or her accent. Or maybe, perhaps, Bill was just feeling a bit randy and wanted a distraction. But it was clear that, despite all of the current troubles with which the Henrickson family is coping with its three wives, Bill is in the market for a fourth wife.

(S02E4) Imagine a giant, sticky spider web. No matter where you get stuck -- whether it's over in the upper-left-hand corner, or along the edges on the right -- you're still essentially, trapped in that same large web.

The many disparate storylines that flowed through the fresh episode of Big Love reminded me, for some reason, of a spider web, with the Henrickson family playing the role of the web. No matter what was happening, it all led back to the Henricksons and their three homes sitting in a tidy row.

Thinking of everything sticking to the Henricksons in one way or another helped me get through this very busy episode which was chock-full of stories that went all over the place.

(S02E03) I was reading Meredith's post from last week's episode, along with the comments. Boy y'all must have really loved this episode! Lots of time spent on the compound this week, with Nikki and Bill there for a big family reunion. I was thinking about this because even though the compound parts of the plot line are also not my favorite, it's not because the compound creeps me out. I just prefer the dynamics of the three households. There isn't anything particularly familiar about the compound to me either, though I love the scenery they show of Utah. That is the scenery of my childhood memories.

(S02E2) Poor Barb.

While reeling from cancer treatment years ago, she agreed to let her husband Bill plunge the pair into polygamy, even though she really wasn't keen on the notion.

Then she was publicly humiliated when her family's polygamy became quasi-public and she was disqualified from a state Mother of the Year contest. Ashamed, she withdrew from the world in order to figure out where she fit in her own life. Although she toyed with the idea of leaving the polygamist Henrickson clan, she finally agreed to continue playing "boss wife" because she truly loves Bill, and her sister wives.

Ever watch HBO's Big Love and feel a tad bit envious of the wives? Ever find yourself wishing there was another wife kicking around the house with whom you could talk, whose refrigerator you could raid and with whom you could watch repeats of the Sopranos and curse the series' ending?

Well, a Michigan woman does. In fact, Michele Gazzolo said in a Chicago Tribune essay that she covets the fictional Big Love wives' coziness and says she and her neighbors refer to one another as "sister wives," even though they don't share a hubby. "We found ourselves confessing that plural marriage didn't look so terrible, even in a drama filled with suffering and intrigue," Gazzolo wrote.

(S02E01) I am so happy that Big Love is back! Oh, I have missed them all. Sometimes when Bill is talking on the phone and he tells Barb that she has been humbled, it just brings back my entire Mormon youth. And it also makes me wish she would reach through the phone and slap him. But before I get to that, let me just do a couple of housekeeping announcements: First, I am going to be sharing custody if this review slot with the lovely and talented Meredith O'Brien. So, next week, look for her by-line.