Television Without Pity » Big Love » The Ceremony: this is how the season ends
Margene asks him, 'Where is she?' Bill tells her, 'Upstairs.' Margene has enough time to mouth, 'Help her!' before heading up to Barb. The 'her' is actually Nicki, who is having a full-blown meltdown at the thought of the local law enforcement coming in and jailing everyone for polygamy. And damn, my hat's off to Margene for being proactive and making sure Nicki would be taken care of before she heads up to Barb.
Margene knocks. Inside, Barb is sitting on her bed, head bowed. She chokes out, 'I can't.' Margene pleads, 'Barb, please.' 'I can't!' Barb insists. Margene opens the door anyway. A more collected Nicki is behind her.
Margene sits on the bed; Nicki drags a chair over and sits, facing Barb. I love this detail.
Barb finally raises her head, and she looks at Nicki. Barb says, 'I got what I deserved.' Nicki is nearly in tears as she whispers, 'Oh, boss lady...'
Nicki and Barb should take Margene on a road trip to Portland, and subsidize her new life there, and then they should set up house together and live in a non-lesbian, yet extremely emotionally complicated fashion.
Nicki's one expression of empathy and love absolutely undoes Barb. She begins sobbing. It's not the ladylike soap opera sobbing; it's deep, gut-wrenching, she-may-pull-a-muscle sobbing. Margene wraps her arms around Barb and is burying her head in her shoulder, trying to rock her like a baby.