The Happiest Girl (Big Love)
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Episode 10
- Doug Stockstill
- Jennifer Schuur
- Jeanette Collins
- Mimi Friedman
- Mark V. Olsen
- Will Scheffer
| "The Happiest Girl" | |
|---|---|
| Big Love episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 10 |
| Directed by | Tom Vaughan |
| Story by |
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| Teleplay by |
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| Cinematography by | M. David Mullen |
| Editing by | Byron Smith |
| Original release date | August 13, 2007 |
| Running time | 47 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
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"The Happiest Girl" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American drama television series Big Love. It is the 22nd overall episode of the series and was written by supervising producers Jeanette Collins and Mimi Friedman and series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer from a story by Doug Stockstill and Jennifer Schuur, and directed by Tom Vaughan. It originally aired on HBO on August 13, 2007.
The series is set in Salt Lake City and follows Bill Henrickson, a fundamentalist Mormon. He practices polygamy, having Barbara, Nicki and Margie as his wives. The series charts the family's life in and out of the public sphere in their suburb, as well as their associations with a fundamentalist compound in the area. In the episode, Bill takes Margie for a business trip in Nevada, while Nicki tries to throw a party for Joey and Kathy.
The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances and character development, although the Juniper Creek subplot received a mixed response.
As Adaleen (Mary Kay Place) and Alby (Matt Ross) investigate the money robbery at the UEB office, they are informed that Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) is improving and they decide to take him home. Bill (Bill Paxton) is leaving for a Weber Gaming convention in Nevada, and offers Barbara (Jeanne Tripplehorn) to accompany him but she declines. When Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) also expresses disinterest, Margie (Ginnifer Goodwin) decides to go with Bill.
Frank (Bruce Dern) visits Lois (Grace Zabriskie) to show his new car, only to be served with the divorce papers and Lois' entitlement to half his earnings. Convinced that Bill is involved, he decides to spy on him for Alby. In Nevada, Bill and Margie publicly endorse their married status, and Bill even decides to get themselves the honeymoon suite. They run into Dick (Matt McCoy) and Meredith Paulson (Robin Riker), old friends of Bill. Margie feels insulted when Bill introduces her as his secretary. Bill asks Barbara for help and she reluctantly visits, believing that she is vouching for him with the Paulsons. Finding that Margie is sad that she never go to fully experience her honeymoon, Barbara decides to kick Bill out of the suite. Nicki is scheduling a party commemorate Joey (Shawn Doyle) and Kathy (Mireille Enos) on their wedding, but Alby refuses to let her enter Juniper Creek and host it in the compound, forcing her to move it to her house.
Rhonda (Daveigh Chase) tries to force Sarah (Amanda Seyfried) and Heather (Tina Majorino) to attend her support group, but they do not want to deal with her anymore. When Heather's mother scolds them for not supporting her, Sarah reluctanly agrees to visit her. In Nevada, Bill and Barbara dine with the Paulsons, but Margie ruins the evening by introducing herself as Bill's mistress. This prompts Bill to finally reveal he has three wives, winning over his partners. This delights Margie, who suggests being Bill's "wife" for Weber Gaming. At Joey's party, Alby shows up and accuses Nicki of stealing Roman's money. When Nicki claims they are now involved in gambling, Alby leaves after realizing it was Weber Gaming. At home, a bed-ridden Roman sees Rhonda singing on television.
Production
Development
The episode was written by supervising producers Jeanette Collins and Mimi Friedman and series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer from a story by Jennifer Schuur and Doug Stockstill, and directed by Tom Vaughan. This was Collins' fourth writing credit, Friedman's fourth writing credit, Olsen's 12th writing credit, Scheffer's 12th writing credit, Schuur's second writing credit, Stockstill's second writing credit, and Vaughan's first directing credit.[1]