Convinced that the only explanation for Claire's non-interest in him is that she's a mole, Dean tells Stewart that she is sharing secrets with a rival firm. Although Stewart dismisses the accusation, Dean is set on proving his brother wrong. Meanwhile, Debbie and Stewart try to get to the bottom of who tampered with their DVR.
The Grinder has proven itself to be a very consistent comedy in its first three episodes. It's very amusing but it's sitting comfortably in the B-range. There are great parts in every episode so far as well as some very problematic moments. It's been able to maintain its tone very well in these three episodes. "The Curious Disappearance of Mr. Donovan" once again sets out to tell a family and legal story. They tie together in a way that makes it easy for one to impact the emotional states of the characters. But it's still perhaps a tad too complicated in order to make for the most emotionally rewarding story.Dean wants to believe that Claire is a mole working against the firm. He sees all of these signs that she may not be on their side following her leaving her former firm. The two firms are going up against each other on another case. One where the details keep getting leaked to the other side. Dean has been immersed in a world that needs to satisfy a dramatic craving every single week. The reveal of a mole working against the firm is an easy story to sustain a plot. That's why he's so quick to latch onto the idea when things don't exactly feel right. It's a preposterous suggestion to Stewart and Claire. They live in the real world not the world of a TV show. They are just doing their best for their client. They aren't caught up in the whole mystery of who the mole is. They just want to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
And yet, Dean is proven to be right about the mole. Someone at the firm is leaking secrets to the other side. Dean could never be completely wrong about such a thing - at least not this early in the show. It wouldn't have been that interesting to see Dean try to prove there's a mole and then have to accept that one doesn't exist. That easily could have been the plot of this episode. But the show doesn't do that because it's having way to much with Dean's delusions about himself and his life. He believes things so strongly that at times he doesn't see the line between himself the actor vs. the character he played for eight seasons. It's an identity crisis the show sometimes addresses but it isn't the main focus here. He believes he can never be wrong with any situation. He just lies and lies until he believes it's the truth. He's very skilled at it too. His emotions are off from the rest of society. He doesn't care about Claire possibly losing her job or her law license. He just sees it as a game of the minds between him and Stewart. He is able to manipulate events to his favor. Everyone likes him so it's easy to do. It doesn't leave a lot of room for some true soul searching though.
All of this harkens back to a time in Dean and Stewart's past when Stewart was blamed for something that Dean did. Both brothers believe they are in the right. Dean Sr. just wants to believe Dean. That has been made abundantly clear over these first few episodes. He's much more accepting of the way Dean sees things than the practical concerns that Stewart always brings up. Stewart is often the odd man out in this scenario. He has Claire on his side at work and Debbie at home. But it's still a lot of conflict between the family. Dean does come to the realization that he was the one who broke the window when they were teenagers. He gets that off his chest. That does make him feel better. But it still happens at the expense of Stewart because it was 20 years ago. Plus, Stewart can't even say that he was right about the mole because there really was one. It just wasn't Claire. It was Todd who does a really bad job at keeping secrets.
All of this lying also comes into play with the at home dynamic. Stewart and Debbie wanted to watch Ray Donovan but realized someone had deleted the episode from their DVR. First of all, it's pretty strange that the show is comfortable letting this entire family watch that show. A Showtime drama like that isn't something children this age should be watching. It's weird that the entire family gathers around the TV in the end to watch it too. It's just not that type of show. It's understandable why they all watch The Grinder. But Ray Donovan just makes no sense. The story is all about lying. It's not about actually watching the show. It had to be that way in order to tie into the rest of the episode. But it was just awkwardly executed. Is Ray Donovan really a buzz show at the moment that it needed to be name checked like it is here? There are plenty of other more recent and relevant shows that called have been cited if the show was looking for something other than Dean's show to watch. It was just way too strange to really work at all.
Some more thoughts:
- "The Curious Disappearance of Mr. Donovan" was written by and directed by .
- Stewart telling Todd not to let Dean know that he knows that he knows was an amusing sequence that dragged on a little too long. It was fun in concept but could have used some comedic tightening.
- Apparently, Dean Sr. has his own house but he's always at Stewart and Debbie's. That's just strange. Why can't he just live there as well? Why does an explanation have to be given in every episode about why he is there?
- One more thing about the Ray Donovan inclusion. This family lives in Idaho. Ray Donovan isn't a show that your typical family from that part of the country would watch. Again, it was featured in order to make Stewart and Debbie feel current and edgy.
- Todd has definitely been given more screen time with each succeeding episode. That's strange considering he's not a regular cast member - nor is he the funniest thing about the show. I'd rather have more time with Claire or Debbie than more Todd.
- Dean: "After what the DVR did to the traditional ratings model, I don't touch the damn things."
- Dean: "Thanks for coming out into the hall." Stewart: "Do you not sleep?"
- Dean: "No, it's worse. I was wrong."
