by Stephen Fenton
When a loved one dies, there’s a flurry of activity; all manner of tasks to be done and arrangements to be made. It’s those first few days after the funeral that are the hardest, when reality starts to kick in, and you realize you to make sense of this new normal. And that’s where we find Tig and family in the second episode of One Mississippi.
“How was your stay at the hospital? Were you satisfied? Or did things not go so well?...Because you died.”
episode 1 if you missed it
Season 1, Ep.2. “Effects”
Directed by: Nicole Holofcener
Written by: Kate Robin
Streaming on Amazon Prime
In the aptly titled, “Effects,” Tig, Bill, and Remy are adjusting to their extended proximity; their presence only further emphasizing Caroline’s absence. Tig is spending most of her time on the toilet in her ongoing battle with C. Diff. While foraging for toilet paper in Bill’s perfectly organized pantry, Tig accidentally pulls down a whole shelf of meticulously placed household goods. Bill appears instantly, ready to fend off any intruder with his handy stun-gun/flashlight. Tig notices she’s holding an ice pack, and asks Bill if he put ice on her mother’s head. The late-night encounter grows more awkward and strained as Tig searches for any information to shed light on her mother’s accident.
In episode two, the universe of the show is expanding, offering deeper glimpses into the characters’ lives. Sorting through old clothes and keepsakes, Remy teases Tig about Brooke, who lashes back at his never having been in a serious relationship. It’s the type of back-and-forth you expect from siblings (or a half-hearted attempt to establish some type of normalcy), until Tig looks down at a picture of herself as a child with an older man, and cracks a dark and ominous joke about him molesting her. When Bill notices a spot of blood on the chair Caroline sat in the night she died. He demands Tig get rid of it immediately, but she refuses. The argument prompts her to ask more questions about the accident. Caroline tripped over a power cord, walking between a lamp and a chair - something she did all the time, that he warned against. Tig wonders what made that night different.
Tig drags the chair out of the house with the little strength left in her. She splays out on the front lawn, exhausted. A woman runs up to her in a panic, sure that Tig has collapsed. Tig knows her, Bugsy (Stacey Greenwell), who considered herself one of Caroline’s closest friends. She talks about how they told each other all their secrets - which sparks Tig’s interest. Bugsy is an interesting character. There’s no explicit information about her role or relationship to the family. Bugsy stands out as the only African-American person around, which seems statistically unlikely for in a Mississippi town. Her nurturing of Tig steers right into mammy/magical negro tropes, which feel awfully outdated and off-brand for an otherwise richly layered character study. And it doesn’t look like Bugsy will become a more fully fleshed out character since the show’s IMDB page lists her for only one episode. And side note - that same page reveals not a single person of color has a recurring role on the show. Extremely disappointing.
As a gesture of goodwill, Bill finds a local c.diff specialist and convinces Tig to see him. As the doctor speaks about Tig’s options, he explains there’s really only one thing he would recommend: fecal transfer. Tig is in disbelief, her mind spins wildly to a Dr. Frankenstein type laboratory, but when she looks to Bill for sympathy, he looks serenely satisfied.
After she cavalierly rejects the doctor’s suggestion, Bill lays into Tig for not taking her health seriously and treating everything like a joke. His reprimand triggers a memory of Bill chastising her mother for climbing an unstable ladder. Seeing Caroline bobble on the ladder made young Tig just as nervous as Bill. Tig spends her evening attacking the blood stain on the chair. Her simmering anger finally boils over, but it’s not Bill she’s mad at. She confesses to Bill that she doesn’t blame him for Caroline’s death, she’s starting to see her mother in a new light, including her often less-than-responsible life choices.
Episode Grade: B (Although the show’s universe is expanding, its world view is limited)
Episode MVP: John Rothman whose Bill becomes more complex and richly realized as the season advances
Funniest Moment: Tig and Bill, in the car after the doctor’s appointment
Tig: I am not inserting somebody else’s feces into my anus. I don’t care how fun that sounds.
Bill: You can ingest it as pill. Did you hear him say that?
Tig: Oh, so I can just eat stool. Now we’re talking.
Next Up: As Tig tries to make peace with her new body, she discovers her mother’s darkest secret