Eat your heart out, M. Night Shyamalan.
After a few blah weeks, I know many of you were hoping that John Landis, director of American Werewolf In London (as well as comedies like The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, and um, Beverly Hills Cop III), would give this series a much-needed shot in the arm. To that end, “In Sickness And In Health” certainly didn’t disappoint: It was a very entertaining hour of television. Entertainingly silly, that is.
In all honesty, I’ll guiltily admit to having a lot of affection for this episode, because it fits so squarely into the tradition of anthology series like The Twilight Zone, which often ended in big, clanging twists. (Given that Landis directed the infamous Vic Morrow segment of The Twilight Zone: The Movie, he obviously has some affection for it, too.) But man oh man was this twist ever was a clanger, both for being telegraphed (why keep mentioning the brother if he didn’t figure into the plot in some way?) and for being totally nonsensical (I’ll get to those questions in a bit). And the fact that it was nonsensical actually helped cover up the fact that it was telegraphed, because we never could have guessed what was really going on based on the evidence on the screen. Landis and screenwriter Victor Salva (who himself directed Powder and Jeepers Creepers) cheat the viewer so shamelessly that I couldn’t help but laugh.
Here’s the irresistible premise: Blushing bride Samantha (Maggie Lawson), in the moments before marrying a mysterious guy named Carlos (James Roday), receives a note that a woman in a red headscarf had given to the priest. The note reads, “The person you are marrying is a serial killer.” Naturally, the note freaks her out a bit, especially since the general buzz around the wedding is that bride and groom have jumped into matrimony too quickly. Samantha doesn’t even know what happened to Carlos’ parents, who just up and disappeared without a trace when he was a teenager—not that there’s any reason to be concerned about that. So Samantha goes through with the ceremony anyway, but the reception turns out to be a bit rocky, with Carlos suddenly transforming from dashing charmer to a short-tempered, scene-causing, and possibly murderous mate.
Between Carlos’ mysterioso glowers and his tendency to act erratically without cause, I couldn’t help but think of that sequence in the classic “Cape Feare” episode of The Simpsons when Homer keeps bursting into nerve-frazzled Bart’s room with various scary implements in hand. (“Bart, do you want to see my new chainsaw and hockey mask?!”) Considering what we find out in the final minute, Carlos’ behavior seems absurdly temperamental, from screaming at Samantha (“start acting like you’re now my wife and you’re happy about it!”) and her bridesmaids (“you two jealous bitches couldn’t mind your own business!) to hiding away in the darkened church and trapping her into the confessional booth.
Then there are other questions that the big twist raises: Who was knocking so hard on Samantha’s door after the ceremony? Why does she look so frightened if she’s the one who’s in control? (That may be a necessary cheat, but still.) Why does she leave the answering machine message for her cross-dressing, Norman Bates-wannabe brother? And what leverage does she have to gain by pretending like she’s terrified of her new husband? (Again a cheat, but maybe not a necessary one.)