‘House of Lies’ finale review: Did Marty land the client … and Jeannie?

While we found the start of “House of Lies” season 2 to be a little bit plodding, we have to admit: the show did end with quite a bang. As a matter of fact, we’re convinced that Sunday night’s new episode may be the greatest half-hour of television that Don Cheadle and company have put out there to date. There were twists and turns, some genuinely funny moments, and also a message that Marty Cohn may be brilliant at closing a deal, but there’s a difference between doing this for business and doing this with a relationship.

Case in point? The reveal at the end of the episode that while he did manage to score an enormous client in Pincus that will bring him fame and enough fortune to launch his own independent firm, he may not have anyone to work for him. Doug has decided to stay put, after all, and Jeannie? Well, let’s just say that she is off to destinations unknown. She confessed her feelings to him this week, and instead of getting a full answer back, Marty chided her instead for bringing this up at a very inopportune time.

This episode was Cheadle’s finest work, as you really saw some rare vulnerability out of his character in the moment after Jeannie started to walk away. You could almost read it in his face that he does love her on a certain level, but doesn’t know how to express it. Then, you saw it again when he left her a phone message in the closing minutes, as he turned something very sweet until something rather nasty. (How is that going to convince Jeannie to come back?)

We’ve buried the lead somewhat when it comes to Doug’s wedding to Sarah, only because it was more of a plot device than anything to throw Marty off. We do have to say that Jenny Slate was hilarious this week, as was Doug deciding to go through with the wedding, even though the proposal was staged, just so he didn’t have to pay for a ring.

What did you think about this finale? Be sure to share what you think below, and you can read some more “House of Lies”-related news by visiting the story over at the link here.

Photo: Showtime