'Reaper' recap: Money makes you stupid
Dec 5, 2007, 11:35 AM | by Gary Susman
Categories: Mini TV Watch
This week's episode of Reaper really put the "Duh" in demonic. For some reason, all the characters (except Satan himself, of course) started acting stupid. Think taking the $10 million or so in cash that the Devil placed in your path might be a bad idea? Duh! Think the fact that things keep dying around Cady (like goldfish, or daisies) means she really is the spawn of Satan? (Or at least cursed?) Duh! Did Gladys reject the vessel because Sam and his pals tried to turn it in after capturing only one of this week's two escaped souls? Duh! And Josie and Andi are finally noticing that the guys are up to something fishy? Hmm, what clued you in? Their frequent absences from the Work Bench? Their constant sniffing around the courthouse for criminal case info? Sock's buying Josie replacements for all the things he destroyed when he accidentally set fire to her apartment, even her cupcake pajamas? And you suppose this means Sam and the boys are up to something suspicious? Gee, ya think?
Ah, well. As usual, the secretive soul-capturing business took a backseat to the more interesting side activity. Most notably, there was Sock and Ben's effort to determine whether Cady (whom Sock cleverly nicknamed "Beelzebabe") was really the Devil's daughter. But after she gamely allowed Sock and Ben to see her naked in the hot tub (nope, no sign of a "666" mark anywhere on her body), they were convinced she's a normal gal and just fine for Sam (who, apparently, finally got lucky for the first time so far in the series). Actually, Cady told Sam she doesn't know who her dad is — he could be a member of Huey Lewis and the News, or he could be "Jerry" (a.k.a. mom Mimi's secretly satanic ex-boyfriend, with whom Cady had a tense confrontation near the end of this episode), or he could be someone else. (Gee, guess Mimi really got around.) Sam assured her she was too decent to be Jerry's daughter, and that he'd stake his life on it. Cue withering daisies. Think Sam instantly wished he could take back what he'd just said? Duh!
At least their due diligence on Sam's behalf proved the bonds of friendship among Sam, Sock, and Ben. I enjoyed Sock's comparing the three of them to Top Gun's Iceman, Maverick, and Goose, especially when Ben objected to being cast as the one who dies protecting his buddies. Sorry, Ben, but if the flight suit fits, buddy — you're always the one who gets hurt on the soul-capturing missions, and this week, in which the one of the two bank-robbing baddies tried to bisect you by pulling you halfway through a concrete wall, then held you hostage for 45 minutes, was no exception. (Also, as Quentin Tarantino noted in his profane monologue about the Top Gun trio, there's something a little bit homoerotic about these three, as is apparent from the way Sock and Ben are checking up on Sam and Cady in this photo). The important thing is, Ben and his pals were there for each other, despite succumbing a little bit to the temptation of the stolen cash. (Ben bought a track suit, and Sock bought a giant belt buckle — oh, and all that other stuff in his fruitless attempt to win Josie back.) C'mon, you guys are movie buffs, yet you've never seen The Treasure of the Sierra Madre or A Simple Plan? A huge cache of ill-gotten loot always ruins a friendship, but only Sam seemed to know that. Giving it all to the poor donut guy probably wasn't the best idea (as the Devil said, he'd probably blow it all on gambling and be homeless within a year; Sam should have given it to a reputable charity, gotten a nice tax break), but after what the robbers put him through, that guy deserved some kind of consolation prize.
Questions: What is Sam going to do about Cady? What is Andi going to do about her? Did you enjoy seeing Ted again (and didn't you almost feel sorry for him, for once, after the guys almost knocked the poor gambling addict off the wagon by getting him to take them to the high-stakes poker game?) And which would be scarier: having Satan for a dad, or a member of Huey Lewis and the News?
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