High Desert – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Pain Management

Denny and Peggy’s perfect suburban life is disrupted when the DEA raids their house. The raid happens on Thanksgiving as the entire family scampers to get rid of the weed stashed in the house.

Several years later, Peggy is living her life playing a fictional barmaid in an exhibitionist show, Pioneertown, in the town of Yucca Valley, California. She has a sister, Dianne, and a brother, Stewart. They visit Peggy after their mother’s, Roslyn, tragic death. The siblings tell her that they will have to sell the house as they cannot keep up with the mortgage anymore.

Peggy has not been able to process the death of her mother, with whom she was living. She suffered from a methadone addiction and is currently in recovery at a pain management centre. Peggy is looking for a job since her siblings will no longer support her. Her friend Carol gets panicky and calls Peggy saying that a Federal agent is following her. Peggy comes to the bar where she is hiding and steals the man’s wallet. He turns out to be a plumber and Carol breathes a sigh of relief.

Both women are struggling with their respective children. Ethan, Peggy’s kid, who was seen at the start of the episode, is now living as a State’s ward. Cooper, Carol’s daughter, keeps acting out against her for leaving her father.

Peggy catches a glimpse of Bruce Harvey, the PI  Jeannie told her about earlier, on television. He features in one of the kitschy advertisements, played by the likes of Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul. And he had ripped Jeannie off $300. Peggy thinks to herself, “I could do this” and pays Bruce a visit.

She threatens him with legal action if he doesn’t return Jeannie’s money. Bruce’s trade has fallen on hard times. She makes coffee for him and he is impressed. Peggy offers to partner up if she brings business to his firm. He agrees but there is nothing definite. Her siblings are sceptical when Peggy tells them. Their reaction makes Peggy a little defensive and annoyed. She feels they don’t see her progress in her battle with addiction.

Also, when she had money, before the raid, no one got on her back. They also don’t recognize that Rosalyn is gone and aren’t properly dealing with mourning. Vexed by her real-life problems, she once against tries to disappear in her addictive high by doing drugs. Tammy, one of her co-workers whom Peggy insulted earlier in the episode for having a fake ring, leaves a video message. She shows that the ring is genuine. But Peggy spots something more interesting – a missing Picasso painting with a $1 million reward. Bruce isn’t convinced but Peggy shows her worth by fending off Geasley, Bruce’s landlord, who comes to collect the overdue rent.

Bruce is impressed and hires her as an intern. She will get 10% of the business she brings in. But Peggy must work her way toward becoming a licensed PI by going to classes. Peggy is heartbroken when she sees Dianne and Stewart avoiding her calls sitting right outside their hotel. In her distress, she takes some drugs she had put in her purse. That is her “pain management.” She then goes to meet Denny in prison. She hands him divorce papers and says she needs to start over. But Denny does not acquiesce to the divorce. Peggy gets Peewee, Denny’s inmate, to serve the papers to him.

Jeannie calls Peggy in a panic, saying the safe was robbed and Owen blames Peggy for it. It seems like Denny had signed the papers but when Peggy notices he signed them “Frank Sinatara,” she gets pissed and angrily heads towards the workplace, asking Jeannie to hold the cops there.

The Episode Review

In Episode 1, High Desert instantly appeals with its rugged charm and Arquette’s fierce central performance. The AppleTV+ show has found a new vein of drama to explore, set in the high desert region. It has a unique place in American culture and lifestyle, some of which stood out in the episode. The jarring time jump has given way to more serious and grounded themes, although it seems unlikely the show will abandon its unconventional humour.

The exciting combination of the above worked well in the opening episode. We are still some way from deep diving into our characters’ pasts and identities but the show already seems part familiar and part refreshing. The stellar cast seems capable enough to carry the weight of expectations on their shoulders. The High Desert curtain-raiser has high value and seems set to be another important offering from Apple.