GCB recap – 1×09: ‘Adam and Eve’s Rib’

This week saw the women put their differences aside for the greater good…well their greater good. It was men against women, Adams against Eves in the annual interfaith BBQ cook-off. But while the ladies were playing nice we got two shockers, 1) Ripp (David James Elliott) is looking for a mystery woman and 2) Heather (Marisol Nichols) is starting to get interesting (!!!).

Not to mention two hot men of Ugly Betty fame join in on the fun.

Let’s bitch this one out.Feminism isn’t necessarily a word I would use when discussing GCB but last night Amanda (Leslie Bibb) decided to bring out her inner Annie Oakley and rally the women to show the men that anything they can do, she can do better. Sisters are definitely doing it for themselves! Of course this didn’t happen easily: the women needed to be shown the way by their thoughtless or absent husbands. It was great to see the ladies come together and work as a team. As much as I enjoy a great catfight, the women have great chemistry and the show is much more interesting when it shows how the ladies can be both nice – and mean – to each other. At the same time, it gives the show greater freedom for expanded storylines and more options for character pairings. Speaking I want to see some more Sharon (Jennifer Aspen) and Gigi (Annie Potts) because those two are hilarious!

It was also nice to see the show work against some of the, shall we say, “traditional values” it has been dealing with in terms of marriage. Especially in Carlene’s (Kristin Chenoweth) case. While her total devotion to her husband is sweet, I will admit that some of her statements in the past regarding her position versus her husband’s in the household left me a little cold. This isn’t to say that she needs to break free from her husbands shackles and have a complete feminist awakening since , as a character, I find her more interesting this way. All the same it was nice to see her test the strength of those shackles. Overall last night was definitely her night; Chenoweth was so hilarious and she had the best lines of the night (see below).

Speaking of Ripp, we were all left wondering who the mystery lady is that he is looking for. And why Luke (Eric Winter) is down in Mexico looking for her? This is coming around a bit late considering that there’s only one episode left for their first season! As a viewer, we should now be asking ourselves what new mystery are they going to tease us with? Does it have to do with Carlene? Or maybe Amanda? Is it their 10th grade math teacher coming back to tell them they actually failed and need to go back to high school? Only next week’s season finale will tell…hopefully.

While the episode left us with this mysterious cliffhanger, the real shocker of the night for me was the revelation that Heather could be interesting. Just when I was ready to write her off, she comes along and makes me care for her. It was nice to see her have some real chemistry with a man. As much as I enjoy Tom Everett Scott, those two had about as much chemistry as oil and water (zing!). Of course it doesn’t hurt that Danny (Kevin Alejandro, from Ugly Betty) oozes male sex appeal. I would definitely need some holy water to cool me off if he was looking at me the way he was looking at Heather. Aside from the chemistry, it was fun to see Heather falter with this courtship when she learned that he was not a surgeon, but a butcher. All I know is he could handle my meat anytime! (Too much? Too obvious?)

As for Cricket (Miriam Shor), well she was having her own fun flirting up a storm with the deliciously good looking Mason Massey (Grant Bowler, also from Ugly Betty). This could be the start of an interesting storyline. In the search for the best semen in town – horse semen that is (perverts) – she contacts Massey about his prized stallion. I really enjoyed how Cricket, ever devoted wife to Blake (Mark Deklin), tried to resist the obvious chemistry they had. Of course it does seem a little obvious that this will most likely play out with a pregnancy and a Maury Povich style ‘who’s the baby daddy’ storyline. Still, this was a fun side story.

Best lines of the night:

• Carlene: “Heather darlin’, you let me know when your marital status changes, and I’ll be happy to give you the finger.”
• Carlene: “Amanda, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’re burning charcoal here, not bras.”
• Carlene: “God bless those Native Americans, and thanks God we made up for all those terrible things we’ve done to them.”
• Amanda: (speaking about tasks that are specified in the bible as male or female) “Last time I checked BBQ isn’t specified”
  Carlene: “Neither is the Jersey Shore, but we can presume what the Almighty thinks about that!”
• Amanda: “Daddy and I used to do absolutely everything together, but he wouldn’t let me breakthrough the charcoal ceiling.”

What did you think of this second to last episode of GCB? Do you think Cricket will succumb to temptation with Mason? Do you care more about Heather now? And is Carlene the funniest character on the show? Hit the comments below.

GCB airs Sundays at 10pm EST on ABC