High Desert – Season 1 Episode 4 “Get Judy off the Bed” Recap & Review

Get Judy off the Bed

In a flashback from 1986, we learn that Rosalyn’s husband abandoned his family. He ran off with another woman. Only Peggy was a grown-up with her mother. Her other siblings were young and she displayed the full extent of her anger by breaking a skateboard on her father’s car’s bonnet and snatching the set of pearls from his lover’s neck. That explains why Rosalyn and Peggy were so close. They looked after the family like two adults and had a similar journey as a couple does taking care of their family.

In the present day, Peggy beseeches Denny to leave her house and sign the papers. He is not willing to give in, having been given an early release due to a legal technicality in the evidence. He has a new lease on life and wants to make the most of it. Despite her protests, Peggy agrees to go for coffee with him that night. Denny praises her for being independent and finding a new line of work. Peggy, of course, exaggerates her situation and how important she is to Bruce.

He professes his wish to start an evolved version of a qigong centre in the area. Peggy sees right through him and asks where he hid “the silver.” It has been in the laundry room of the Alejandro Road House all along, Denny says, making Peggy angry (since she could have paid her mortgage) and causing her to act out. She goes back to her addiction problem and takes pills that she stole from Bob’s house at night.

The next morning at work, she presses Bruce to help her with finding Donatella for the reward. But Bruce focuses on the clients he already has. If he doesn’t act soon enough, they will no longer be able to afford the office. Peggy tries to postpone her drug test at the pain management centre. Mary, one of the staff at the centre, warns her that incomplete weeks will pile up and she will not be able to finish the treatment.

She finds a young kid in the bathroom and takes him to fix Bruce’s computer. Turns out that Bruce’s ex-partner kept a fake book of accounts. This further worsens his financial situation as he might even lose the house. Carol has explosive news about Bob’s family. They are actually the Gattchi family, who were previously the mafia. Peggy posits that Bob murdered Donatella in Mexico. She decides to go to the spa that the Gattchis own to ask them about the reward for Donatella. Also, Peggy thinks her buggy (the new car) is “bugged.”

At the spa, Peggy meets Dona’s brother, Nick. The spa is a dingy operation with possible offerings related to “carnal pleasures” as well. Nick is suspicious of Peggy as she introduces herself as Sylvia Plath (not the dead one) and lies about her motive. She goes under the garb of a sibling suffering from the disappearance of their loved one. She proposes to Nick that they can get up to $1 million in a class-action suit. Of course, she knows a famous lawyer who could win their case. With all of this, she also confirms the reward is still in place. Nick also dismisses claims from Peggy that Bob could have murdered Dona.

Nick insists Peggy gets a free tan and that is when she notices an oil painting. It has striking similarities to a Magritte painting. Nick also alluded to Dona’s art school education before and this leads Peggy to believe that Dona was in cahoots with Bob. She used to make fakes of famous paintings and Bob used to sell them. She also suspects that Dona’s pet parrot, Lionel Richie, “knows more than he sings.” It is confirmed that Donatella left voluntarily and did not go missing. But the question is, why did she leave her beloved parrot?

Peggy compels Dianne to come for the rehearsals with Ginger. She feels her siblings never got to process Roslyn’s death and are too uptight to take the initiative. So, she calls in Dianne to open up about Roslyn’s passing to Ginger. Dianne starts off without realizing what it would turn into. As she keeps opening up about how Roslyn turned emotionally unavailable once her husband left, Dianne is reduced to tears. It is a profound moment in the episode until Ginger starts talking back. Bruce digs deeper into his actual accounts and realizes he might have to declare bankruptcy.

Peggy has hired Ginger to pose as an art dealer in front of Bob. Her elaborate play will also involve Denny, who agrees to play his part as Peggy promises to help him get the silver back. Denny has brought a rescue dog, Judy, to the house. As the episode ends, Peggy asks him to “get Judy off the bed” as they prepare to have sex. Does that mean they will be back?

The Episode Review

Patricia Arquette is quite delightful as Peggy. She is strong-headed, resourceful, and yet, in sync with her emotions and feelings. The character is turning out to be quite an adventure for the actress and for the viewers. She is pivotal in the scheme of things as everything follows through her, even in episode 4. High Desert is yet to branch out into subplots. That should ideally happen to make sure the storytelling isn’t undercooked.

Her scheming to get the reward for Donatella and deceive Bob has had mixed results so far. It takes the attention off the more interesting emotional element of Roslyn’s death, while also giving a tangible energy to move the narrative forward. Arquette’s likeability has dictated High Desert’s appeal till now.

It is never a good thing to rely on just one component but if that is someone like Arquette, resisting the temptation is admittedly tough. The next episode has been set up perfectly for the actual execution of the plan.