Graceland Review: Catching Ghosts

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"Goodbye High?"

Certainly not. In fact, the best of Graceland is ahead, especially if this week's episode was a preview of coming attractions.

What's got me so excited about this episode? All of the subtle twists and turns the installment took to the point you almost didn't know which way was up by the time hour ended.

Briggs' Secret

Let's start with the fallout from the Briggs bombshell. My jaw dropped to the floor at the end of "Hair of the Dog" when Mike tracked him down the NA meeting. And leave it to Briggs to have a long and complicated story for Mike to justify his appearance there. Lucky for us, it isn't exactly clean cut as to why Briggs became an addict. While he may be blameless for the fact he was tortured by Jangles, it was certainly his fault he was in Mexico to be caught and tortured in the first place. 

One thing I wonder, though, is how it was Briggs was even discovered to be captured like that. There's definitely something much bigger going on, and something tells me that in the end we are going to find out and the answer will have some serious fallout of its own.

Speaking of fallout, I am loving how much we're starting to get into Briggs and finding out who he really is. He seems to have a knack for treading the line between what's wrong and what's right and creating large tracts of gray area in between, of which he is the only person to navigate it effectively. It's what makes him such a great character.

Take that attempted meet at the end. Briggs clearly turned his mic off so he wouldn't be heard by his colleagues. Yes, that's another secret under his belt and plausible deniability for the housemates. But do you believe that Briggs is actually Odin... or is it possible that Briggs realized he wasn't going to show and called in a audible, a move he is infamous for making?

If there's one thing Jeff Eastin excels at, it's the misdirect. And if I know anything about his shows, White Collar as proof, it's that it's very easy for the right thing to look wrong and the wrong thing to look right. I think we're seeing that happen again with Briggs. Standby for more reveals in the future that will keep you guessing whether or not Briggs is a hero or a villain.

The only thing is, I'm not sure if we'll get that chance. I'm not sure that Mike made the best news in telling his handler about Briggs' heroin addiction. I know, with all the stuff happening in the house, it seems like secrets are the last thing Mike should be involved in keeping. But I really think that Mike is trusting the wrong guy on this one. If anything, I think Mike's handler is looking for any reason to toss Briggs to the curb.

Another interesting thing I noticed was how extremely jealous Briggs became after Charlie decided to come clean and tell the house about her indiscretion. It may be causing her fellow housemates to keep a closer eye on her to make sure she stays clean and it also allowed her to release a burden that was clearly weighing on her. 

This caused Briggs to really react negatively to her, introducing the concept of secrets being a burden, as if we really needed the reminder. Coming from Briggs' mouth and then putting it into context really changed the game for me in how I perceived Briggs. I really do see him as someone who's trying to do good, even though it appears as if he's in the wrong. Though I suppose even then my mind could be changed with the proper evidence.

In another surprising turn of events, we also got to learn a little more about DJ and his backstory, which apparently includes a son. I really appreciated how Jakes stood as an object lesson for what it means to put the job and Graceland in front of other things and the people that are important to you.

Even so, I think Mike spoke a little prematurely when he told Abby his work on the west coast might be wrapping up soon. He may be trying to get the girl, but I think Graceland has other plans.

What did you think of tonight's episode? Is Briggs a hero or a villain?

Goodbye High Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 2.0 / 5.0 (438 Votes)

C. Charles is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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Graceland Season 1 Episode 7 Quotes

All that matters is that I kept something from the house.

Charlie

You won't be living here forever.

Jakes