Bored To Death season 1 episode 6 review: The Case Of The Beautiful Blackmailer
Bored To Death doesn't get much better than this episode, reckons Stu. And here's why...
6. The Case Of The Beautiful Blackmailer
“This is all very insane and illegal, isn’t it?” – George
This week’s episode of Bored To Death, is definitely one of the most madcap of the series. Not only that, but having seen all of series one and series two, I can safely say that this is my favourite episode.
Having three such strong and funny lead characters, it’s strange that they waited three quarters of the way through the first series to have them all on screen at once. In fact, it took up until this episode for Jonathan to even tell George that he had a second job as a private detective. George, far from the usual shocked response, likes the idea of the whole thing and decides to tag along with Jonathan and Ray.
The case this week comes from a married man who had an affair and is now being blackmailed. Jonathan is being paid to recover the tape from the blackmailer. However, Jonathan’s poorly planned method quickly falls apart and he ends up sleeping with the blackmailer and being stripped of $500, with the threat of his rendezvous ending up on the Internet if he doesn’t continue to pay up.
Whilst this is all happening, George and Ray are too busy in the car getting stoned to notice anything, and they end up going to the blackmailer’s home for a standoff.
The episode is absolutely hysterical. There are so many great laugh out loud moments and George really is the star of the show. Towards the end of the episode, the three characters are sitting on a wall after being handcuffed by the police and George quips, “This is the best night that I’ve had in years.”
With each episode, Jonathan’s cases have become more and more serious, especially when you take into account how pedestrian some of the early ones could have sounded (remember the one when he had to recover the stolen skateboard?), and fortunately, this is a trend that will keep up.
By amping up the excitement of each of Jonathan’s cases, and also by keeping the show’s humour and noirish motifs, Bored To Death just keeps on giving, and that’s why it ‘s one of funniest and most clever shows on TV at the moment.
This episode is a serious turning point in the series, finally uniting all three characters, and the chemistry given off when all three are on screen is palpable. The show can only get better from here.
Read our review of episode 5, The Case Of The Lonely White Dove, here.
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