Pa and Ma face off against the cartel sisters in Mexico, as James faces increasing pressure from Wesley back in Half Acre.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Epix's Perpetual Grace, LTD.
"Fiveever" was written by Steven Conrad and directed by James Whitaker
This hour flashes back in order to tell the story of what happened in Texas between Paul and the young girl who turned up dead. He had always insisted that he was innocent of the crime. It was just a big misunderstanding that now complicates the plan he and James have concocted to scam his parents. In reality though, it may show a pattern for Paul's life. This isn't the first time he has tried to take money from his parents and their church. He always seems to find a way to get close to their finances just in order to take advantage of them. He is just as cunning and manipulative as Pa and Ma. He walks around as an enigma. Uncle Dave posits that no one knows quite how to classify him either. Paul is just a man who is smart and dumb at the same time. He is insanely gifted at magic. It's impressive to see him do the vanishing and reappearing trick over and over again. It comes in handy when New Leaf shows up wanting to exact vengeance for the death of his parents. There is true sorrow and grief in this world. James and Paul are simply pretending that Ma and Pa are dead in order to get off with all of their money. New Leaf is actually dealing with the traumatic loss of his parents who died just minutes apart from each other. That is romantic but it also highlights his fury. He can commiserate with the Special Boys over how beautiful the Texas ranger is. And yet, he's not quick to join in on the plan that James and Paul have for using New Leaf's dead parents in order to fool the world into believing that they are burying Ma and Pa. James and Paul really didn't think through all the potential complications of this plan though. Sure, they couldn't have foreseen everything that could have gone wrong in this scheme. But now, it's clear that they are truly making things up as they go along not quite sure just how dangerous and traumatizing any specific action will be. James sees himself as Glenn's protector. He wants to shield him from the police investigation that is creeping in closer. And yet, he is the person who continually puts Glenn in harm's way. It doesn't matter that Wesley fails to see anything suspicious in the barn. He knows that something isn't lining up in James' story. He too is getting very angry and short. He doesn't want to be dragged around by this crazy story any longer. He may still be in the dark about James' true identity. But he knows this guy isn't acting like someone who has to plan his parents' funeral. James and Paul struggle when it comes to convincing the world that their emotions are genuine. And yet, Paul still succeeded in getting people to believe him that this young girl's death truly was an accident. In reality though, he locked her up in a tiny home because he couldn't run the risk of her telling her father about his plan to get away with money from the church. He had no plans of replacing it either. That would be so destructive to the family. Sure, Pa and Ma are messed up and manipulative in their own ways. They have their own concerns that they continually need to worry about. No progress is made with them facing off with the Mexican cartel. However, the world continues to reveal itself as a twisted and complicated place in which no one should trust anything. Everyone tries to pass along some wisdom to Glenn. And yet, he is just a pawn in this crazy scheme. One that has roped in a ton of people. It's enough to fill a barn at this point. But time moves very slowly in this world. Not a whole lot of progress has actually been made. That puts the priority on the emotional journeys of these characters this season. Right now, everything is coming towards a head. One that will create a very powerful and explosive ending. It's just clear that these relationships are bound to explode in some life-changing ways that may ensure that the community of Half Acre isn't the same as it was before Pa and Ma came to town and brought all of their baggage.
