Post by cko on Mar 27, 2009 15:07:29 GMT -5
It's done! And randomnation, I snuck in ahead of you! I'm thanking satanicmeatball and cristin for their ideas, and stinger for the encouragement. And blue for setting an impossibly high standard that I knew I couldn't reach, so didn't bother to try. Here we go.
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Opening: We’re entering a dimly-lit warehouse. “Nina! Are you home, baby?” Ben. Aww, he calls her “baby.” And he’s carrying flowers. A glob of something that looks like blood falls on his arm. Then, out of the shadows, a large figure comes flying in on a nice, low trajectory. Pulls up to stand in front of him—a smallish demon. It steps in his direction, says “Oops!” in a gurgly voice, and shakes itself into…Nina! In a cute sundress.
You can tell from Ben’s expression, he is very enamoured. But – “What’s that?” gesturing at her hands, which are covered in blood. “I just went for some take-out” she laughs, grabbing a rag and wiping up. She’s flirtatious, and they seem comfortable with each other despite the grim surroundings. Especially when she courteously moves him out of the way of any more overhead blood drippage.
Ben says he wants her to meet his friends, but they must use his prepared meet-cute story (“We met at a Mall…there was Instant Chemistry. Boom!”) at least until Sam and Sock get used to her. “Then we’ll tell them you’re a demon from Hell and all that.” Touchingly, and understandably, Nina is hurt, then angry. Ben denies that he’s ashamed of her, just that the guys might have a problem with her trying to kill Sam. Nina defends herself, saying that she wasn’t doing it for fun. “I was rebelling against Satan! And Sam is his right hand!” Ooh, good point. First mention this episode of the major theme of doing good/doing bad. But Ben persists, pleads, and she relents, sweetly. They kiss, and Ben comments that she “tastes like pennies!” “That’s just blood, silly!” she says, and goes to wash up. Ben is pondering this aspect of Dating A Demon when another example drops from the ceiling. All we can see are the hooves sticking up.
Title sequence. Apparently this has lyrics! Check Item #5.
Close-up of Ted’s Manager Of The Year photo being taken down from the wall, as a woman who looks quite a bit like Andi and sounds like a corporate Human Resources person leads a meeting with the Work Bench staff. Everyone looks bored, except Andi who looks nervous. As HR Lady goes to introduce Ted’s replacement, Andi mutters “Surprise” to Sam, just before her name is announced. Sam looks shocked, but Sock is amazed. “No way, Sam, you’re banging our new manager!” Andi gives her welcome speech, nicely mixing flattery, nervousness, and bribery. She pulls a name out of a jar for the winner of a gift certificate, and the name is….Les Nessman! She looks nonplussed, but Sock is elated. He looks around for “Les,” and when he doesn’t appear, Sock accepts the prize on his behalf. Of course anyone familiar with sitcoms from the 1970s knows that Les Nessman only exists on the airwaves of WKRP in Cincinnati. Great show, BTW.
Andi’s expression reveals her New Manager Face: she’s puzzled, suspicious, but covering it up with a bright smile. Don't get too used it.
Some time passes, shown by people pushing shopping carts in the sunny Work Bench parking lot. It’s nice they filmed this season in good weather. Sam enters Andi’s new office, which she is just setting up. He seems at ease and charming, giving her a mug that says #1 Grandma which was all they had left in the Bench’s Mug Department apparently. Andi apologizes for the surprise; Sam says he’s not upset by that or her being his boss. “Nothing’s going to change between us, right?” They quick-kiss, but then belie that whole no-change thing when Andi stops Sam on his way out to ask him about “Les Nessman” and Sam stumbles over an obvious untruth. Then caps that by saying, “I gotta get back to work. Good talk, okay?” with the double pointing fingers. Andi gives her Manager Face (puzzled, suspicious) but no smile this time.
(I do like Andi having to be apologetic; it makes a nice turnabout from their previous conflict. Not that concealing your new promotion for a few days is like disappearing for a month with no word when you’re being chased by rebel demons, but still.)
Scene of Sam and Sock setting up those cheesy plastic folding chairs, audience-style, who knows why. From a display sign in the background, perhaps Sarah Palin is giving a laptop demo later on. Ben comes in, eagerly asking if they want to go for a drink to meet someone. He has that happy look of a young man in love. When the guys start to grill him, he rolls out the meet-cute-at-the-Mall story. Sock delivers the funniest line that I really don’t get. (“You bought a couple of pairs of pants? Since when do you need more than one pair of pants? What are you, Jude Law?”) Despite Ben’s utter inability to lie, they don’t question his story further. Instead, Sock gets him to come make grasshoppers for a cocktail break, leaving Sam setting up chairs. Which you just know is actually setting up for—
--getting blipped to another location. It looks like a church basement, with sober (!)-looking people sitting quietly while one woman talks of a traumatic childhood experience. The Devil sits in front of them, listening intently and with seeming sincerity. He launches into his supportive facilitator’s speech: “That’s what it’s all about, people, staying strong. That’s why we’re all here…we’re weak.” The glint in his eyes on “weak” is scary, and Sam flashes his “oh no what now” expression. “Tonight, you go to a bar, and I want you to order your favorite poison. Then I want you to walk away. That’s power, people, power over your addiction. Now let’s go do it, huh? Yes!” The 12-steppers get up to go, looking puzzled but not suspicious. The Devil pep-talks them on the way out. Sam shakes his head in disgust. The Devil turns to him like a song-and-dance man. Sam tells him he is a terrible person. “That’s my job, man. Tempting the weak, culling the herd? You know the drill.” He presents Sam with the vessel box.
(I’m really liking how the vessel box has become a ritualized moment between the Devil and Sam this season. It’s shaping up to be a key element in their connection, almost like a gift being given. It seems to have more meaning than the more random method(s) last year, when often the box would just appear after the Devil disappeared.)
The vessel is a pair of boxing gloves. The Soul is a boxer, Michael “Red” Sabatino, a boxer in the ‘50s who threw a fight for money. Got caught, drummed out of the sport. Now he’s trying to win “the championship that he never won.” Sam mopes that he knows nothing about boxing; the Devil assures him that it will just take one punch on the chin. He then shoos Sam out of the room, saying he has to set up for the Sexaholics Anonymous meeting. "It gets a little messy." Sam leaves him blowing up an inflatable doll. Ugh.
Nighttime, the Brick. The gang is sitting around two pushed-together tables, Nina is chowing down on a burger. “I’ve never had cooked cow before, it’s so good!” Ben tries to cover up by claiming she usually llkes her burgers rare. Sam asks where she’s from; Nina exchanges a glance with Ben. “I’m from The Kansas.” Ben rushes to cover up again. Yeah, not at all fishy. Andi refers to the mall story. It’s all quite stilted, but quite realistic. Sock tries to make things more interesting by asking Nina “What do you think is your biggest character flaw?” and mentions Casady. Nina asks Ben who that is, and Ben, with Sock’s help, explains that Casady left him while he was in prison, where he was because “my ex-wife double-crossed me and took my money, and left me holding the bag for our sham green-card marriage.” Ha! It sounds so simple when you put it that way. “Wow,” says Nina. “You are a horrible judge of character when it comes to women.”
(True. And also, I guess Casady is not returning to the show, then. Too bad. Tough season for Kandyse McClure, what with this and Battlestar Galactica and all.)
Back to the meet-and-greet. Sam tries to lighten the mood by offering up the rest of his burger. Nina snatches up a pretty large knife and lunges toward Sam, plunging the knife into the half-eaten burger, while Ben yells “Nina, no!” Sam rears back, startled (and it looks like Bret is starting to crack up). Ben, grinning uneasily: “Why’d you do that?” Nina, taking a bite and gesturing with the half-burger: “I wanted to get his meat before those guys got it.” Sock looks approving. “I like a girl who eats like a trucker.” Ben quickly eats a french fry. It’s always awkward introducing a new girlfriend to the crew.
New scene, still nighttime. The Prius is parking at a curb, busy-ish street. Sam and Sock get out, Sam putting on the boxing gloves. They enter a brick building with a sign above the door that says “Jimmy Ray’s Boxing.” Typical boxing gym as seen in countless movies. Dude in black boxing trunks working on the speed bag. He looks tough, and determined. Sam tells him he was sent by the Devil. Um, is that wise? Dude challenges him to a few rounds. Sam looks bizarrely amused and way over-confident. This mistake is compounded by him tripping over the ropes as he’s climbing through, kicking over a bucket. He jumps up pretty quick, though. Dude is dancing around and looks like he knows what he’s doing. Sam less so, though Bret is cute when he’s looking determined in a tight t-shirt. Dude says he’s Red Sabatino who racked up a 33 - 1 record. He proceeds to pummel Sam quite efficiently, talking about his boxing feats the whole time. Shouldn’t Sam have practiced a little bit before taking on this Soul? Sock isn’t helping by trying to coach and groan from the sidelines. Red finally finishes Sam off with a one-two-three. Sam looks up blearily from his face-down position on the mat. Sock tells him, “At least you won the moral victory.” Oh, we’ll see about this.
The Bench, next day. Sock is entering Andi’s office. She looks pretty comfortable behind that desk with its nice fresh flowers and picture of her and Sam. She confronts him about Les Nessman, saying she knows that “you are him.” Surprisingly, Sock is no better at lying than Ben, and Andi is besting him with irrefutable evidence. Her investigation turned up a description of Les Nessman: “Loud and husky.” Speaking of husky, Andi’s voice is quite sexy today. Sock realizes he is busted, and they share a good laugh. Andi calls him an “evil genius.” They’re both enjoying the caper, until Andi tells him she needs Les Nessman’s letter of resignation. Sock, ridiculously, seems to want to fight it, but Andi stands pleasantly firm.
Ben stands outside the store; he’s on “receipts and welcome” duty. Nina comes up, and he greets her with a kiss. She’s brought him a gift: a geode, though the first time I saw this, I thought it was a really ugly sand candle like you get at craft fairs. She explains that it’s hot in his hands because “it’s from home….It might have a little bit of hellfire left in it.” Neato gift. “But don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Just don't ever sleep next to it, it'll give you nightmares. And don't ever make wishes upon it, or get it next to a nuclear reactor. And then just use a regular damp cloth to clean it.” She is cutely eager to find out if the guys liked her. Ben wants to have a talk, and solicitously guides her to a bench. “I just want to be crystal-clear on the issue. You’re not dating me to kill Sam, right?” It’s always good to get these assumptions cleared up at the start of a relationship. Nina hastens to reassure him.
Inside the store, Sock is throwing baseballs into a shopping cart. His strategy is that Sam needs to avoid getting hit by Red just long enough to be able to land that one punch. He grabs an athletic cup. Next scene, long shot of Sam standing in the warehouse, cup in place, bleating “A pitching machine?” Music plays, balls fly, Sam dodges, at first effectively, later less so. Okay he might be a dork when getting fired at by a pitching machine, but he looks ever so cute in a tight heather-maroon t-shirt. He ends up huddled on the floor, yelling “Ow!”
Sam tries to talk tough, but seems mostly resigned. “I’m here to fight.” He climbs into the ring, successfully this time, and Sock takes the corner. Per his advice, Sam starts dancing around, sure to wear himself out fast. He starts trash-talking, and actually looks pretty tough doing it. However, Red, who has been wearing the incredulous expression that Sam didn’t use earlier, moves in and bips him on the chin multiple times, then body-shots him (ow, ribs). To the sound of Sam’s grunts of pain, as he takes a fairly major beating, Sock rushes into the shadows, grabs a folding chair. Jumps in the ring and crashes Red on the back. Sam makes a dash for freedom, but hooks both feet on the ropes, and flips over head first, knocking himself out in the process. Red and Sock stand together, surveying the feat. And feet.
Triscuits commercial. Munching on the cheap. My brother: “Don’t 'snackrifice'? They're really targeting young women. That doesn't really seem like the right audience.” Me: "I know." (And then later we have the ad for Hannah Montana, and the one that exhorts us to “Have a Happy Period!”)
At the Brick. The three of them sitting around a table. They’re hanging out with the soul! I’m happy, because I like the dude. But it’s a twist. It’ll be fun if they make some of the escaped souls into real characters.
Sock helps Sam drink his beer, since Sam is inexplicably wearing the boxing gloves still. Sock is gushing over Red’s boxing abilities; Red nicely gives Sam some props for being able to take a punch. He starts telling his story. Great scene, by the way. Atmospheric, moody, and the guys play nicely off of Erik Palladino’s authenticity and gravity. “Disgraced myself, disgraced the game. Took a bribe and that’s all she wrote.” Why? Someone came to him and offered him money to throw the fight, more than the prize money. “I got greedy. Turns out to be the biggest mistake I ever made…Fixing to change that, though.” He makes Sam a proposition: let him finish his quest to win the championship, and he’ll go to Hell. “Willingly. I’d be happy to.” It’ll only take two years. Two years! Sam demurs (I’ve always wanted to use that word!) and Red quickly figures that Good Old Sam isn’t really the decisionmaker in the game. Suggests Sam avoid another beating by taking this proposition to his Boss. Sam looks pained (literally) and agrees.
Daytime at the Bench. Speaking of bosses, Andi walks up to Sock who is doing something nasty with a bucket at the soda machine. She’s ticked off. She got a call from Corporate regarding accusations from one Les Nessman, that she is sexually harassing him. “Apparently I keep asking him to ‘do me’ in the Tool Corral.” I know this isn’t a key point, but the Tool Corral? Here Sock becomes (?) totally annoying. I’m usually amused by him but now he crosses the line. He claims that this was a clever ploy to keep Les on staff because now Andi can’t and doesn’t have to fire him. I can’t tell if he’s pretending he’s doing this for the both of them, or dementedly thinks that it’s true. Or the whole storyline is just wrong.
Outside, Sam is pushing a long string of carts while Ben walks alongside. Apparently Ben has mentioned that Sam could update his “look” a bit. While I agree with this overall assessment, it’s rather ironic because frankly Sam has never looked better than at this moment. I'm also curious where this is coming from. Is it a random comment from Ben, or somehow related to Nina? Sam rejects Ben’s suggestion about growing a soul patch, which he calls a douche-tag, adding, “A tiny beard isn’t going to help me, Ben.” He does consider sideburns, though. I’m taking all of this as a shout-out to our continual complaints last season about Sam’s hair and his come-and-go facial hair. They see Nina driving toward them; as they realize she isn’t slowing down, their smiles turn to terror and Ben pulls Sam out of the way as the car crashes into the line of shopping carts.
She stops the car and jumps out, running over to Ben and Sam in their familiar position of lying on the pavement and getting up, moaning. She’s sincerely apologizing, but Ben bursts into anger, blowing the gaff in the process. “You almost killed Sam, that is not okay! We talked about this!” Sam is wondering why that would not be an accident. Nina confesses, “Because I’m a demon!” She goes on to say that she feels better for having said it, because now they can all move forward. And again, a scenario that mght be familiar to some of us from our own (past) relationships. It takes awhile Sam to grasp who she is “You mean the demon who tried to kill me??” He grabs Ben, off of Nina’s sheepish look, and hustles him into the store, ordering Sock to lock the door. Sock does, no questions asked. The three of them gather for a meeting/fight. It’s great! Sock: “I knew you weren’t buying more pants, man.” Sam: “If you ever thought of us as friends, you have to break up with Nina.” He stalks off, with Sock flanking him. It’s like Ben is getting kicked out of the band. Hilariously in the background, you can see people patiently milling around outside, waiting for the store to re-open.
Commercial: Wait, what the hell was that? One Tree Hill done as Second Life?
Break room. Andi stalks in to confront Sam, demanding to know if he knew that Sock was Les Nessman. Bad day, Sam. He can’t lie, especially since it’s clear she knows. Andi has totally abandoned her former New Manager Face and switched to full-on I’m Gorgeous When I’m Angry mode. Nice. Sam deals quite well with her, and she all but admits the role is hard for her. Adorably, he offers to beat Sock up for her. “Because I’m getting less awful at fighting.” He then gives her some good advice.
Back at the 12-step meeting. The Devil is in fine pep-talk mode to his audience of – one. Apparently this is the only guy that made it past the Devil’s temptation-task. The Devil congratulates him, tells him he is cured, hands him a fifth of booze, and sends him on his way. Evil. The Devil chortles to himself. “I lo-ove helpin’ people.”
Sam enters, looking like someone about to ask for a favor. While the Devil loads a cracker with cheese spread and pops it his mouth, Sam makes Red’s case. The Devil demurs. “Sammy, punishing souls is like raising children. They need consistency. And you can't reward bad behavior. They step out of line, you just have to give them a timeout, in the Closet of Abysmal Agony.” And later: “Souls don’t get second chances to achieve life goals! That’s not how we roll in H-town, baby!” As Sam defends Red by minimizing his transgression, the Devil shifts from Rat Pack to Mad Cat (tm satanicmeatball). “Yeah, he threw a fight for 47 thousand bucks, and didn’t think twice about it.” Oh, too much information. Realization dawns on Sam’s face.
Nice restaurant, tinkly piano, something flambé in the background. Ben looks great in a suit. Remember he used to wear the tie last season? He looks extremely ill at ease, of course. Sigh. Typical dump scene. Complete with the Dumper gathering cutlery and hiding it in his…sock, just in case. Nina walks in and Ben stands. You can tell he’s happy to see her, despite his nervousness and gut-wrenching fear. She sits down and sweetly starts to apologize. Ben lays the groundwork for the big news by reminding her that they are in a public place. She figures out that he is breaking up with her. Ben plunges right in, saying he has no choice. Then…”Are you growling at me?” She says no, but her eyes glow yellow. “You’re crying! A-and… your tears are made of acid.”
Got to say that Rick is so perfectly balancing Ben’s fear for his own safety, his affection for Nina, his basic good-guyness, and the average awkwardness such a moment entails. Beautifully done.
Ben says with great emotion that his friends are everything to him. She asks him how he sees her, and he can’t answer. She gets up to leave, bending to give him a gentle, woeful kiss. She says something heartfelt but completely unintelligible (to me) and caps it with “I like you a lot. Take care of yourself, Ben.” Classy. Ben looks really sad, and in a nice touch of symbolism, the flambé flame flares behind him.
Bench, daytime. Sam and Sock are striding through the aisles. Sock says that Ben (“Benjamin”) came in late last night, looking rough. “He just sat on the couch all night and watched Dan in Real Life.”
(Haha! I have to admit, even though I hate relationship movies, that one wasn’t too bad. But it is perfect for moping. Steve Carell as likeable lovelorn everyguy, it’s not exactly upbeat. But, back to Reaper!)
Sam feels bad but defends his position. With the slightest of expressions, Sock conveys an opinion on this. They round into the break room, where many mild-looking people in pastel sweaters are seated at the tables. Other workers crowd in, sitting among the sweaters, one of whom tries to introduce himself to Sock. Sock demurs. Cut to Andi, walking in sad-faced with her hands clasped in front of her. Hooray! She’s up to something! She says the sweater people are grief counselors, because “Les Nessman was involved in an accident…and he’s gone. Dead.” Sam’s digging it. Sock cries out in pain. Andi matches his fervor with her own, almost wailing “I know how much you all loved him!” Sock blubberingly proclaims that Les must have died a hero’s death. Andi says no, he died on the toilet.
(My sister-in-law is loving Andi’s prank. She’s laughing like crazy! It is an awesome scene. I’m not sure if Sock is crying just to be funny, because he’s upset at losing the extra cash, or he’s genuinely grieving over the loss of his fictional character. You know what? It doesn’t matter. And, Go Andi!)
Night, outside the gym. Inside, Sam meets Red, jumping rope in the ring. Red reads his expression (lot of that in this show!) and gets the picture. Sam meets him in the ring and tells him to run. Which really isn’t in his own best interest, is it? Red demurs. “I can’t do that, Chief.” Sam: “Who cares about some boxing title? You got out of Hell! Isn’t that more important than a game?” Red says no, and goes into his version of “I Coulda Been A Contender.” Cool trope, and Erik P. sells it big time. He’s mature, honorable. And…shirtless, which helps. Sam exhorts him to find some other way to show he’s a good person, like the Peace Corps or Habitat for Humanity. But: “Fighting’s the only thing I’m good at, Sam.”
Offscreen, a familiar voice breaks the mood. “I hear a lot of talking, but I don’t see a lot of fighting.” The two look into the shadows. In a nice nod to continuity, Red murmurs, “I know him.” Sam gives him a quick update. The Devil lays down the law: fight, and the loser either dies or goes back to Hell. Red flashes a look at Sam. Boxing gloves appear on their hands. Sam wants to stand up to the Devil, but Red hauls off and punches him. Sam tries to stop him/defend himself, but eventually starts punching. Making a better showing than previously, actually. Red gets him in a clinch and tells him to ”make it look good.” Sam: “Whaaa?” Red: "I laid down once for the wrong reasons. I’m gonna lay down for the right ones.” Sam tries to demur, but Red pulls back in slo-mo, meets Sam’s eyes, and drops his guard. Sam throws a right uppercut and connects; Red explodes into glowy light and gets sucked into the glove. The Devil says something snarky, and Sam, furious, pulls off the gloves, throws them toward the Devil, and stalks out. The Devil: “Oh don’t be like that! Savor the victory! Eye of the Tiger, Sammy! Eye of the Tiger!” It's not a boxing theme without a Rocky reference.
This time I feel just as mad as Sam. You got your way, Devil. Now shut up.
Another sunny day outside the Bench. Inside, Sam and Sock look through mini-blinds into the break room. Pastel-sweatered people are leaning over Ben. “Think he’s been talking to these grief counselors for like an hour,” Sock says, turning toward Sam. “He’s pretty broken up about Nina.” Hmm, another meaningful look. The show’s full of them! One of the counselors comes out asking for provisions. Sam tells Sock he’s going to do something, and Sock gestures affirmatively. Sam calls Ben outside to talk. Next, the three are sitting in the Food Court. Sam asks Ben for his honest opinion about whether Nina was trying to kill him. Ben says he’s thought about it, and he believes Nina. Sam, awash in the glow of Red’s sacrifice, says that he’s seen good in some unlikely places, so he trusts Ben to be right about Nina. They hug, and the guys send Ben off to “go get your demon.” Sock tells Sam, “That was sweet of you” and they share a mutual hope that Ben doesn’t get eaten.
The warehouse. Ben is calling for Nina, in a reprise of the initial scene, which after writing this recap seems like eons ago. A demon swoops down and grabs Ben, holding him upside-down by his cool board sneakers. Ben grimaces through his fear into an apology. “You’re my girl. My sweet, beautiful, crazy-ass girl.” It flies him down and lays him on the ground, crouching over him. Ben, looking like his only fear is of losing her, asks for another chance. The demon shakes its head and morphs into Nina. Wearing another cute dress and fishnet stockings. “You’re forgiven,” she says gently, and bends down for a kiss. Woo hoo!
The Brick. Andi and Sam, holding hands, walk in to the unusually quiet bar, with only the sound of “Danny Boy” sung in a fake Irish accent. They look around, puzzled, and see a sign: “Farewell Les Nessman. We hardly knew ye.” Andi shakes her head becomingly. “Unbelievable.” Sock is moving among the patrons, muttering “alms for Lester, alms for Lester” and passing a hat. “Are you guys kicking in?” He goads Andi into throwing in $10, with Sam looking exasperated but amused. Sock roams off, sniffing the hat full o’money.
Sam spies the Devil at the bar, sends Andi to find a table, and walks over. The Devil goes to put their drinks on his tab, but Sam demurs. The Devil expresses concern, but Sam is having none of it. The Devil leans in, saying, “You know, Sammy, you could make it a lot easier on yourself if you just remember the First Rule: I’m always going to win.” Sam's smile has an air of triumph. “Red threw the fight. He let me win…because he wanted to go back to Hell knowing he did something good…He sacrificed himself to save me. He got his wish. So in a way,” he gestures, “you did something good.” The Devil looks less than happy. Sam’s happy smile turns into almost a smirk. “Weird, huh?” Slight shift to something more gloating, more aggressive. The Devil’s almost-pout turns to out-and-out petulance. As Sam gets up and moves away, the music swells, the Devil fumes, and the episode ends.
Closing thoughts:
There are so many amazing scenes and amazing themes, about confrontation, honor, reformation, and redemption. Who determines what is good, and what is evil? Can you be evil, and become good? Can something good come out of something evil? But let’s keep it simple. Ignore all of the above, and just go with the 10-word recap of this episode, courtesy Cristin:
--Boxer owns Sam.
--Andi owns Sock.
--Sam owns the Devil.
That's it.
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Opening: We’re entering a dimly-lit warehouse. “Nina! Are you home, baby?” Ben. Aww, he calls her “baby.” And he’s carrying flowers. A glob of something that looks like blood falls on his arm. Then, out of the shadows, a large figure comes flying in on a nice, low trajectory. Pulls up to stand in front of him—a smallish demon. It steps in his direction, says “Oops!” in a gurgly voice, and shakes itself into…Nina! In a cute sundress.
You can tell from Ben’s expression, he is very enamoured. But – “What’s that?” gesturing at her hands, which are covered in blood. “I just went for some take-out” she laughs, grabbing a rag and wiping up. She’s flirtatious, and they seem comfortable with each other despite the grim surroundings. Especially when she courteously moves him out of the way of any more overhead blood drippage.
Ben says he wants her to meet his friends, but they must use his prepared meet-cute story (“We met at a Mall…there was Instant Chemistry. Boom!”) at least until Sam and Sock get used to her. “Then we’ll tell them you’re a demon from Hell and all that.” Touchingly, and understandably, Nina is hurt, then angry. Ben denies that he’s ashamed of her, just that the guys might have a problem with her trying to kill Sam. Nina defends herself, saying that she wasn’t doing it for fun. “I was rebelling against Satan! And Sam is his right hand!” Ooh, good point. First mention this episode of the major theme of doing good/doing bad. But Ben persists, pleads, and she relents, sweetly. They kiss, and Ben comments that she “tastes like pennies!” “That’s just blood, silly!” she says, and goes to wash up. Ben is pondering this aspect of Dating A Demon when another example drops from the ceiling. All we can see are the hooves sticking up.
Title sequence. Apparently this has lyrics! Check Item #5.
Close-up of Ted’s Manager Of The Year photo being taken down from the wall, as a woman who looks quite a bit like Andi and sounds like a corporate Human Resources person leads a meeting with the Work Bench staff. Everyone looks bored, except Andi who looks nervous. As HR Lady goes to introduce Ted’s replacement, Andi mutters “Surprise” to Sam, just before her name is announced. Sam looks shocked, but Sock is amazed. “No way, Sam, you’re banging our new manager!” Andi gives her welcome speech, nicely mixing flattery, nervousness, and bribery. She pulls a name out of a jar for the winner of a gift certificate, and the name is….Les Nessman! She looks nonplussed, but Sock is elated. He looks around for “Les,” and when he doesn’t appear, Sock accepts the prize on his behalf. Of course anyone familiar with sitcoms from the 1970s knows that Les Nessman only exists on the airwaves of WKRP in Cincinnati. Great show, BTW.
Andi’s expression reveals her New Manager Face: she’s puzzled, suspicious, but covering it up with a bright smile. Don't get too used it.
Some time passes, shown by people pushing shopping carts in the sunny Work Bench parking lot. It’s nice they filmed this season in good weather. Sam enters Andi’s new office, which she is just setting up. He seems at ease and charming, giving her a mug that says #1 Grandma which was all they had left in the Bench’s Mug Department apparently. Andi apologizes for the surprise; Sam says he’s not upset by that or her being his boss. “Nothing’s going to change between us, right?” They quick-kiss, but then belie that whole no-change thing when Andi stops Sam on his way out to ask him about “Les Nessman” and Sam stumbles over an obvious untruth. Then caps that by saying, “I gotta get back to work. Good talk, okay?” with the double pointing fingers. Andi gives her Manager Face (puzzled, suspicious) but no smile this time.
(I do like Andi having to be apologetic; it makes a nice turnabout from their previous conflict. Not that concealing your new promotion for a few days is like disappearing for a month with no word when you’re being chased by rebel demons, but still.)
Scene of Sam and Sock setting up those cheesy plastic folding chairs, audience-style, who knows why. From a display sign in the background, perhaps Sarah Palin is giving a laptop demo later on. Ben comes in, eagerly asking if they want to go for a drink to meet someone. He has that happy look of a young man in love. When the guys start to grill him, he rolls out the meet-cute-at-the-Mall story. Sock delivers the funniest line that I really don’t get. (“You bought a couple of pairs of pants? Since when do you need more than one pair of pants? What are you, Jude Law?”) Despite Ben’s utter inability to lie, they don’t question his story further. Instead, Sock gets him to come make grasshoppers for a cocktail break, leaving Sam setting up chairs. Which you just know is actually setting up for—
--getting blipped to another location. It looks like a church basement, with sober (!)-looking people sitting quietly while one woman talks of a traumatic childhood experience. The Devil sits in front of them, listening intently and with seeming sincerity. He launches into his supportive facilitator’s speech: “That’s what it’s all about, people, staying strong. That’s why we’re all here…we’re weak.” The glint in his eyes on “weak” is scary, and Sam flashes his “oh no what now” expression. “Tonight, you go to a bar, and I want you to order your favorite poison. Then I want you to walk away. That’s power, people, power over your addiction. Now let’s go do it, huh? Yes!” The 12-steppers get up to go, looking puzzled but not suspicious. The Devil pep-talks them on the way out. Sam shakes his head in disgust. The Devil turns to him like a song-and-dance man. Sam tells him he is a terrible person. “That’s my job, man. Tempting the weak, culling the herd? You know the drill.” He presents Sam with the vessel box.
(I’m really liking how the vessel box has become a ritualized moment between the Devil and Sam this season. It’s shaping up to be a key element in their connection, almost like a gift being given. It seems to have more meaning than the more random method(s) last year, when often the box would just appear after the Devil disappeared.)
The vessel is a pair of boxing gloves. The Soul is a boxer, Michael “Red” Sabatino, a boxer in the ‘50s who threw a fight for money. Got caught, drummed out of the sport. Now he’s trying to win “the championship that he never won.” Sam mopes that he knows nothing about boxing; the Devil assures him that it will just take one punch on the chin. He then shoos Sam out of the room, saying he has to set up for the Sexaholics Anonymous meeting. "It gets a little messy." Sam leaves him blowing up an inflatable doll. Ugh.
Nighttime, the Brick. The gang is sitting around two pushed-together tables, Nina is chowing down on a burger. “I’ve never had cooked cow before, it’s so good!” Ben tries to cover up by claiming she usually llkes her burgers rare. Sam asks where she’s from; Nina exchanges a glance with Ben. “I’m from The Kansas.” Ben rushes to cover up again. Yeah, not at all fishy. Andi refers to the mall story. It’s all quite stilted, but quite realistic. Sock tries to make things more interesting by asking Nina “What do you think is your biggest character flaw?” and mentions Casady. Nina asks Ben who that is, and Ben, with Sock’s help, explains that Casady left him while he was in prison, where he was because “my ex-wife double-crossed me and took my money, and left me holding the bag for our sham green-card marriage.” Ha! It sounds so simple when you put it that way. “Wow,” says Nina. “You are a horrible judge of character when it comes to women.”
(True. And also, I guess Casady is not returning to the show, then. Too bad. Tough season for Kandyse McClure, what with this and Battlestar Galactica and all.)
Back to the meet-and-greet. Sam tries to lighten the mood by offering up the rest of his burger. Nina snatches up a pretty large knife and lunges toward Sam, plunging the knife into the half-eaten burger, while Ben yells “Nina, no!” Sam rears back, startled (and it looks like Bret is starting to crack up). Ben, grinning uneasily: “Why’d you do that?” Nina, taking a bite and gesturing with the half-burger: “I wanted to get his meat before those guys got it.” Sock looks approving. “I like a girl who eats like a trucker.” Ben quickly eats a french fry. It’s always awkward introducing a new girlfriend to the crew.
New scene, still nighttime. The Prius is parking at a curb, busy-ish street. Sam and Sock get out, Sam putting on the boxing gloves. They enter a brick building with a sign above the door that says “Jimmy Ray’s Boxing.” Typical boxing gym as seen in countless movies. Dude in black boxing trunks working on the speed bag. He looks tough, and determined. Sam tells him he was sent by the Devil. Um, is that wise? Dude challenges him to a few rounds. Sam looks bizarrely amused and way over-confident. This mistake is compounded by him tripping over the ropes as he’s climbing through, kicking over a bucket. He jumps up pretty quick, though. Dude is dancing around and looks like he knows what he’s doing. Sam less so, though Bret is cute when he’s looking determined in a tight t-shirt. Dude says he’s Red Sabatino who racked up a 33 - 1 record. He proceeds to pummel Sam quite efficiently, talking about his boxing feats the whole time. Shouldn’t Sam have practiced a little bit before taking on this Soul? Sock isn’t helping by trying to coach and groan from the sidelines. Red finally finishes Sam off with a one-two-three. Sam looks up blearily from his face-down position on the mat. Sock tells him, “At least you won the moral victory.” Oh, we’ll see about this.
The Bench, next day. Sock is entering Andi’s office. She looks pretty comfortable behind that desk with its nice fresh flowers and picture of her and Sam. She confronts him about Les Nessman, saying she knows that “you are him.” Surprisingly, Sock is no better at lying than Ben, and Andi is besting him with irrefutable evidence. Her investigation turned up a description of Les Nessman: “Loud and husky.” Speaking of husky, Andi’s voice is quite sexy today. Sock realizes he is busted, and they share a good laugh. Andi calls him an “evil genius.” They’re both enjoying the caper, until Andi tells him she needs Les Nessman’s letter of resignation. Sock, ridiculously, seems to want to fight it, but Andi stands pleasantly firm.
Ben stands outside the store; he’s on “receipts and welcome” duty. Nina comes up, and he greets her with a kiss. She’s brought him a gift: a geode, though the first time I saw this, I thought it was a really ugly sand candle like you get at craft fairs. She explains that it’s hot in his hands because “it’s from home….It might have a little bit of hellfire left in it.” Neato gift. “But don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Just don't ever sleep next to it, it'll give you nightmares. And don't ever make wishes upon it, or get it next to a nuclear reactor. And then just use a regular damp cloth to clean it.” She is cutely eager to find out if the guys liked her. Ben wants to have a talk, and solicitously guides her to a bench. “I just want to be crystal-clear on the issue. You’re not dating me to kill Sam, right?” It’s always good to get these assumptions cleared up at the start of a relationship. Nina hastens to reassure him.
Nina: Noooo. Besides, I don't need a knife to kill Sam.It's sweet, he looks slightly nervous but still adoring. She then says something many of us have heard—or said—with a new significant other. “What happened with between me and Sam in the past is just that—it’s in the past.” She cheerily adds something that perhaps fewer of us have said: “Besides, after hanging out with him I think he's a really good guy, I don't even want to destroy him anymore!” Ben seems relieved.
Ben: What's that mean?
Nina: I just use these guys. [wiggles her fingers] I like to get up in there and feel the heart beating before I squish it with my hands.
Ben: You see, that doesn't make me feel better.
Inside the store, Sock is throwing baseballs into a shopping cart. His strategy is that Sam needs to avoid getting hit by Red just long enough to be able to land that one punch. He grabs an athletic cup. Next scene, long shot of Sam standing in the warehouse, cup in place, bleating “A pitching machine?” Music plays, balls fly, Sam dodges, at first effectively, later less so. Okay he might be a dork when getting fired at by a pitching machine, but he looks ever so cute in a tight heather-maroon t-shirt. He ends up huddled on the floor, yelling “Ow!”
Now this reminds me of one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on television. Roseanne. The little kid, DJ, has been getting beaten up at school. At one point they steal his shoes and pants. Dan goes to try to talk with him, maybe get him to learn to defend himself. DJ claims his best move is to roll into a little ball. Dan tries to tell him, but DJ gets upset, at one point yelling, “You don’t know what it’s like getting hit with your own pants!” In frustration, Dan moves toward him, and DJ drops to the floor in a ball. Dan looks disgusted and walks out. DJ yells, “See! It works!” (I’d link to a source but I couldn’t find one. If anyone else knows which episode this was, tell! By the way it doesn't seem to be "Home-Ec.")Back on the street near the gym, Sock pep-talks Sam, whose walk is confident but voice less so. Sock gets him to punch his open hands as hard as he can—“Come on, give me a load of Sammy!” Ohhhkay. Not much of a load, apparently. “You have the punching power of a drunken baby!” Callback to Ben’s beer truck leprechaun? Sock keeps up the insults, finally moving in with a couple quick slaps to the face. All this shows that the trick is to get into the opponent’s head.
Sock: “Boxing requires focus. You know what it's like? It's like having sex. All right, everything's going good, right? You're getting your groove on, chugging along.” Oooh! Nice moves! “In comes the talking, the hints, the tips, the criticizing. The next thing you know, you've lost that concentration, you're locked in the bathroom yelling at your own lap!”Sam, instead of being incredulous, has that expression of dawning realization, perhaps remembering similar experiences. “That could work!” Next we see them inside the gym, closing in behind Red, who is working the heavy bag. Red shows a little respect that Sam even showed up again.
Sam tries to talk tough, but seems mostly resigned. “I’m here to fight.” He climbs into the ring, successfully this time, and Sock takes the corner. Per his advice, Sam starts dancing around, sure to wear himself out fast. He starts trash-talking, and actually looks pretty tough doing it. However, Red, who has been wearing the incredulous expression that Sam didn’t use earlier, moves in and bips him on the chin multiple times, then body-shots him (ow, ribs). To the sound of Sam’s grunts of pain, as he takes a fairly major beating, Sock rushes into the shadows, grabs a folding chair. Jumps in the ring and crashes Red on the back. Sam makes a dash for freedom, but hooks both feet on the ropes, and flips over head first, knocking himself out in the process. Red and Sock stand together, surveying the feat. And feet.
Triscuits commercial. Munching on the cheap. My brother: “Don’t 'snackrifice'? They're really targeting young women. That doesn't really seem like the right audience.” Me: "I know." (And then later we have the ad for Hannah Montana, and the one that exhorts us to “Have a Happy Period!”)
At the Brick. The three of them sitting around a table. They’re hanging out with the soul! I’m happy, because I like the dude. But it’s a twist. It’ll be fun if they make some of the escaped souls into real characters.
Sock helps Sam drink his beer, since Sam is inexplicably wearing the boxing gloves still. Sock is gushing over Red’s boxing abilities; Red nicely gives Sam some props for being able to take a punch. He starts telling his story. Great scene, by the way. Atmospheric, moody, and the guys play nicely off of Erik Palladino’s authenticity and gravity. “Disgraced myself, disgraced the game. Took a bribe and that’s all she wrote.” Why? Someone came to him and offered him money to throw the fight, more than the prize money. “I got greedy. Turns out to be the biggest mistake I ever made…Fixing to change that, though.” He makes Sam a proposition: let him finish his quest to win the championship, and he’ll go to Hell. “Willingly. I’d be happy to.” It’ll only take two years. Two years! Sam demurs (I’ve always wanted to use that word!) and Red quickly figures that Good Old Sam isn’t really the decisionmaker in the game. Suggests Sam avoid another beating by taking this proposition to his Boss. Sam looks pained (literally) and agrees.
Daytime at the Bench. Speaking of bosses, Andi walks up to Sock who is doing something nasty with a bucket at the soda machine. She’s ticked off. She got a call from Corporate regarding accusations from one Les Nessman, that she is sexually harassing him. “Apparently I keep asking him to ‘do me’ in the Tool Corral.” I know this isn’t a key point, but the Tool Corral? Here Sock becomes (?) totally annoying. I’m usually amused by him but now he crosses the line. He claims that this was a clever ploy to keep Les on staff because now Andi can’t and doesn’t have to fire him. I can’t tell if he’s pretending he’s doing this for the both of them, or dementedly thinks that it’s true. Or the whole storyline is just wrong.
Outside, Sam is pushing a long string of carts while Ben walks alongside. Apparently Ben has mentioned that Sam could update his “look” a bit. While I agree with this overall assessment, it’s rather ironic because frankly Sam has never looked better than at this moment. I'm also curious where this is coming from. Is it a random comment from Ben, or somehow related to Nina? Sam rejects Ben’s suggestion about growing a soul patch, which he calls a douche-tag, adding, “A tiny beard isn’t going to help me, Ben.” He does consider sideburns, though. I’m taking all of this as a shout-out to our continual complaints last season about Sam’s hair and his come-and-go facial hair. They see Nina driving toward them; as they realize she isn’t slowing down, their smiles turn to terror and Ben pulls Sam out of the way as the car crashes into the line of shopping carts.
She stops the car and jumps out, running over to Ben and Sam in their familiar position of lying on the pavement and getting up, moaning. She’s sincerely apologizing, but Ben bursts into anger, blowing the gaff in the process. “You almost killed Sam, that is not okay! We talked about this!” Sam is wondering why that would not be an accident. Nina confesses, “Because I’m a demon!” She goes on to say that she feels better for having said it, because now they can all move forward. And again, a scenario that mght be familiar to some of us from our own (past) relationships. It takes awhile Sam to grasp who she is “You mean the demon who tried to kill me??” He grabs Ben, off of Nina’s sheepish look, and hustles him into the store, ordering Sock to lock the door. Sock does, no questions asked. The three of them gather for a meeting/fight. It’s great! Sock: “I knew you weren’t buying more pants, man.” Sam: “If you ever thought of us as friends, you have to break up with Nina.” He stalks off, with Sock flanking him. It’s like Ben is getting kicked out of the band. Hilariously in the background, you can see people patiently milling around outside, waiting for the store to re-open.
Commercial: Wait, what the hell was that? One Tree Hill done as Second Life?
Break room. Andi stalks in to confront Sam, demanding to know if he knew that Sock was Les Nessman. Bad day, Sam. He can’t lie, especially since it’s clear she knows. Andi has totally abandoned her former New Manager Face and switched to full-on I’m Gorgeous When I’m Angry mode. Nice. Sam deals quite well with her, and she all but admits the role is hard for her. Adorably, he offers to beat Sock up for her. “Because I’m getting less awful at fighting.” He then gives her some good advice.
Andi: I'll talk to him. I have to be the adult.In the midst of this, Ben walks up and in a man-to-man moment with Sam, says that he's going to break up with Nina. Andi asks if she can help, and Ben asks to borrow the company pepper spray and box-cutter. Aw.
Sam: Ahh, that's, no, that's definitely a terrible idea.
Andi: Why?
Sam: Because you can't deal with Sock as an adult. You have to sink to his level. You have to sink below his level.
Andi: Uh, I'm not sure that's even possible.
Back at the 12-step meeting. The Devil is in fine pep-talk mode to his audience of – one. Apparently this is the only guy that made it past the Devil’s temptation-task. The Devil congratulates him, tells him he is cured, hands him a fifth of booze, and sends him on his way. Evil. The Devil chortles to himself. “I lo-ove helpin’ people.”
Sam enters, looking like someone about to ask for a favor. While the Devil loads a cracker with cheese spread and pops it his mouth, Sam makes Red’s case. The Devil demurs. “Sammy, punishing souls is like raising children. They need consistency. And you can't reward bad behavior. They step out of line, you just have to give them a timeout, in the Closet of Abysmal Agony.” And later: “Souls don’t get second chances to achieve life goals! That’s not how we roll in H-town, baby!” As Sam defends Red by minimizing his transgression, the Devil shifts from Rat Pack to Mad Cat (tm satanicmeatball). “Yeah, he threw a fight for 47 thousand bucks, and didn’t think twice about it.” Oh, too much information. Realization dawns on Sam’s face.
Sam: It was you! You bribed Red to throw that fight! You destroyed his life!He hands the remains of his cracker to Sam and heads out. Sam looks incredibly pissed. Actually the Devil looks none too happy either. The Devil stops for a last word, warning Sam that he has to make sure the Vegas fight doesn’t happen. Amazing scene. Fantastic acting by both Bret and Ray. Really well-written. And themes? Plenty to pick apart. But no time for that! Back to the charming romantic comedy, I Dated a Demon!
Devil: Red destroyed his own life. I simply provided him a choice, Sam. To do the right thing? Or the easy thing. And he chose--to prove to the world, that he’s just a bum who’s willing to trade his integrity for a few easy bucks.
Sam: Yeah, but THAT’S NOT FAIR! It was a moment of weakness. If it hadn’t been for you, he would never have thrown that fight.
Devil: Oh come on, Sammy, come on. “Moment of weakness”? There’s no such thing. Human lives are defined by weakness. Red would have been a bad apple with or without my help. I just expedited the paperwork, that’s all.
Nice restaurant, tinkly piano, something flambé in the background. Ben looks great in a suit. Remember he used to wear the tie last season? He looks extremely ill at ease, of course. Sigh. Typical dump scene. Complete with the Dumper gathering cutlery and hiding it in his…sock, just in case. Nina walks in and Ben stands. You can tell he’s happy to see her, despite his nervousness and gut-wrenching fear. She sits down and sweetly starts to apologize. Ben lays the groundwork for the big news by reminding her that they are in a public place. She figures out that he is breaking up with her. Ben plunges right in, saying he has no choice. Then…”Are you growling at me?” She says no, but her eyes glow yellow. “You’re crying! A-and… your tears are made of acid.”
Got to say that Rick is so perfectly balancing Ben’s fear for his own safety, his affection for Nina, his basic good-guyness, and the average awkwardness such a moment entails. Beautifully done.
Ben says with great emotion that his friends are everything to him. She asks him how he sees her, and he can’t answer. She gets up to leave, bending to give him a gentle, woeful kiss. She says something heartfelt but completely unintelligible (to me) and caps it with “I like you a lot. Take care of yourself, Ben.” Classy. Ben looks really sad, and in a nice touch of symbolism, the flambé flame flares behind him.
Bench, daytime. Sam and Sock are striding through the aisles. Sock says that Ben (“Benjamin”) came in late last night, looking rough. “He just sat on the couch all night and watched Dan in Real Life.”
(Haha! I have to admit, even though I hate relationship movies, that one wasn’t too bad. But it is perfect for moping. Steve Carell as likeable lovelorn everyguy, it’s not exactly upbeat. But, back to Reaper!)
Sam feels bad but defends his position. With the slightest of expressions, Sock conveys an opinion on this. They round into the break room, where many mild-looking people in pastel sweaters are seated at the tables. Other workers crowd in, sitting among the sweaters, one of whom tries to introduce himself to Sock. Sock demurs. Cut to Andi, walking in sad-faced with her hands clasped in front of her. Hooray! She’s up to something! She says the sweater people are grief counselors, because “Les Nessman was involved in an accident…and he’s gone. Dead.” Sam’s digging it. Sock cries out in pain. Andi matches his fervor with her own, almost wailing “I know how much you all loved him!” Sock blubberingly proclaims that Les must have died a hero’s death. Andi says no, he died on the toilet.
(My sister-in-law is loving Andi’s prank. She’s laughing like crazy! It is an awesome scene. I’m not sure if Sock is crying just to be funny, because he’s upset at losing the extra cash, or he’s genuinely grieving over the loss of his fictional character. You know what? It doesn’t matter. And, Go Andi!)
Night, outside the gym. Inside, Sam meets Red, jumping rope in the ring. Red reads his expression (lot of that in this show!) and gets the picture. Sam meets him in the ring and tells him to run. Which really isn’t in his own best interest, is it? Red demurs. “I can’t do that, Chief.” Sam: “Who cares about some boxing title? You got out of Hell! Isn’t that more important than a game?” Red says no, and goes into his version of “I Coulda Been A Contender.” Cool trope, and Erik P. sells it big time. He’s mature, honorable. And…shirtless, which helps. Sam exhorts him to find some other way to show he’s a good person, like the Peace Corps or Habitat for Humanity. But: “Fighting’s the only thing I’m good at, Sam.”
Offscreen, a familiar voice breaks the mood. “I hear a lot of talking, but I don’t see a lot of fighting.” The two look into the shadows. In a nice nod to continuity, Red murmurs, “I know him.” Sam gives him a quick update. The Devil lays down the law: fight, and the loser either dies or goes back to Hell. Red flashes a look at Sam. Boxing gloves appear on their hands. Sam wants to stand up to the Devil, but Red hauls off and punches him. Sam tries to stop him/defend himself, but eventually starts punching. Making a better showing than previously, actually. Red gets him in a clinch and tells him to ”make it look good.” Sam: “Whaaa?” Red: "I laid down once for the wrong reasons. I’m gonna lay down for the right ones.” Sam tries to demur, but Red pulls back in slo-mo, meets Sam’s eyes, and drops his guard. Sam throws a right uppercut and connects; Red explodes into glowy light and gets sucked into the glove. The Devil says something snarky, and Sam, furious, pulls off the gloves, throws them toward the Devil, and stalks out. The Devil: “Oh don’t be like that! Savor the victory! Eye of the Tiger, Sammy! Eye of the Tiger!” It's not a boxing theme without a Rocky reference.
This time I feel just as mad as Sam. You got your way, Devil. Now shut up.
Another sunny day outside the Bench. Inside, Sam and Sock look through mini-blinds into the break room. Pastel-sweatered people are leaning over Ben. “Think he’s been talking to these grief counselors for like an hour,” Sock says, turning toward Sam. “He’s pretty broken up about Nina.” Hmm, another meaningful look. The show’s full of them! One of the counselors comes out asking for provisions. Sam tells Sock he’s going to do something, and Sock gestures affirmatively. Sam calls Ben outside to talk. Next, the three are sitting in the Food Court. Sam asks Ben for his honest opinion about whether Nina was trying to kill him. Ben says he’s thought about it, and he believes Nina. Sam, awash in the glow of Red’s sacrifice, says that he’s seen good in some unlikely places, so he trusts Ben to be right about Nina. They hug, and the guys send Ben off to “go get your demon.” Sock tells Sam, “That was sweet of you” and they share a mutual hope that Ben doesn’t get eaten.
The warehouse. Ben is calling for Nina, in a reprise of the initial scene, which after writing this recap seems like eons ago. A demon swoops down and grabs Ben, holding him upside-down by his cool board sneakers. Ben grimaces through his fear into an apology. “You’re my girl. My sweet, beautiful, crazy-ass girl.” It flies him down and lays him on the ground, crouching over him. Ben, looking like his only fear is of losing her, asks for another chance. The demon shakes its head and morphs into Nina. Wearing another cute dress and fishnet stockings. “You’re forgiven,” she says gently, and bends down for a kiss. Woo hoo!
The Brick. Andi and Sam, holding hands, walk in to the unusually quiet bar, with only the sound of “Danny Boy” sung in a fake Irish accent. They look around, puzzled, and see a sign: “Farewell Les Nessman. We hardly knew ye.” Andi shakes her head becomingly. “Unbelievable.” Sock is moving among the patrons, muttering “alms for Lester, alms for Lester” and passing a hat. “Are you guys kicking in?” He goads Andi into throwing in $10, with Sam looking exasperated but amused. Sock roams off, sniffing the hat full o’money.
Sam spies the Devil at the bar, sends Andi to find a table, and walks over. The Devil goes to put their drinks on his tab, but Sam demurs. The Devil expresses concern, but Sam is having none of it. The Devil leans in, saying, “You know, Sammy, you could make it a lot easier on yourself if you just remember the First Rule: I’m always going to win.” Sam's smile has an air of triumph. “Red threw the fight. He let me win…because he wanted to go back to Hell knowing he did something good…He sacrificed himself to save me. He got his wish. So in a way,” he gestures, “you did something good.” The Devil looks less than happy. Sam’s happy smile turns into almost a smirk. “Weird, huh?” Slight shift to something more gloating, more aggressive. The Devil’s almost-pout turns to out-and-out petulance. As Sam gets up and moves away, the music swells, the Devil fumes, and the episode ends.
Closing thoughts:
There are so many amazing scenes and amazing themes, about confrontation, honor, reformation, and redemption. Who determines what is good, and what is evil? Can you be evil, and become good? Can something good come out of something evil? But let’s keep it simple. Ignore all of the above, and just go with the 10-word recap of this episode, courtesy Cristin:
--Boxer owns Sam.
--Andi owns Sock.
--Sam owns the Devil.
That's it.
