The Righteous Gemstones (1×04) Wicked Lips Review

Critics w/o CredentialsSeptember 9, 201985/100n/a6 min
Director
Jody Hill
Writers
John Carcieri, Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride
Rating
TV-MA
Running Time
44 minutes
Airs
Sundays 10pm
Channel
HBO, HBO Canada
Overall Score
Rating Summary
Wicked Lips offered consistent laughs, despite some character development setbacks, while thrusting Jessie's storyline to a very uncomfortable place.

For our review of the last episode of The Righteous Gemstones, click here.

Synopsis: Gideon learns more about the Gemstone enterprise, while Jesse and his friends are thrown for a loop when Chad’s wife finds disturbing emails. (HBO)

At the midway point of the season, The Righteous Gemstones continues to build momentum towards what looks to be an exciting conclusion to the collision course of Gideon and his family. Just when Jesse believes all of the drama of his extortion is behind him, Chad’s wife, Mandy, discovers emails between him and Jessie (and others) about their time in Atlanta with “ladies of the night” which sends her and the other wives into a downward spiral of disbelief – that is before Jesse and Amber attempt to talk her down by explaining that their lewd emails were referencing the 2006 coming-of-age drama starring T.I.

Oddly enough, it works (for now), freeing Jessie to continue his search for who the blackmailers are. His best chance is realized after recognizing Scotty’s van and tailing it until it crashes forcing Scotty and Gideon to escape into the woods. Jessie’s unrelenting pursuit of who is threatening his livelihood causes the structured lie he has managed to build with Amber to begin to show cracks leaving Amber to wonder if her blind trust that is placed in her husband is correct. Sadly, it leaves the audience to wait another week to see just how Jessie attempts to wiggle out of this situation but we all can see that a reckoning is coming, more importantly, it should give Jessie pause that Amber is so skilled with firearms because that will ultimately come into play later on.

Meanwhile, problems arise from the Gemstones’ largest donors, the Nancys, who have felt that their daughter, Dot, has gone astray from the church due to her new boyfriend who is trouble. In an attempt to keep them at ease, Eli dispatches Kelvin to reach out to this particular youth and bring her back into the fold. Kelvin, with help from his trusty sidekick Keith and an incredible trampoline routine at Skyzone, force Dot to run away to Club Sinister, Keith’s old stomping grounds rife with Satan worshippers and Cybergoth dancers. Kelvin’s repeated attempts at reaching Dot fail until a police raid forces everyone in the club to scatter leaving Dot on her own and giving Kelvin the chance to make the impact he wanted.

Wicked Lips offered consistent laughs while thrusting Jessie’s storyline to a very uncomfortable place leaving him to explain to his family much of what he’s previously been able to swat away. Gideon is able to gather further information by infiltrating the inner workings of the Gemstones money machine while still planning on getting to his family where it hurts most – their money. This season has been a fun ride with wacky characters that looks to continue its strong surge well into the later episodes. The only setback I believe that Wicked Lips suffered from was a lack of Baby Billy Freeman, but something tells me more of his is soon to come.

GEMSTONE MOMENT: Kelvin/Keith’s vehicle – Gemstone SCU: Spiritual Collections Unit (this Thursday on NBC)


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