‘House of Lies’ season 3, episode 4 review: Is the Marty / Jeannie dynamic getting old?

Tonight’s episode of “House of Lies” aired despite competition from the Super Bowl, but it still tried to present plenty of big-game theatrics. You had Marty and Jeannie finally working together again after some time apart the first three episodes, and you also had Roscoe making some big moves, and Clyde having a major meltdown that came with losing his Porsche.

In the end, though, most of this episode felt like a super letdown after a couple of pretty solid episodes to start off the season. For one, the Marty / Jeannie relationship is becoming more and more of a disappointment. We know already that the two have a love / hate relationship, but couldn’t it evolve? Marty acts like he has learned nothing, and he still wants to relegate Jeannie to the sidekick role. At the same time, Jeannie is making no effort at all to show compassion or feeling, and is more interested in asserting her power and putting him in his place.

There is creating a “will they or won’t they?” dynamic, and then there is driving it into the ground. This is a relationship that could really benefit from the two being together, mostly because there are so many stories that could be told. Getting these two together wouldn’t stop the conflict; as a matter of fact, it would only enhance it.

When it comes to the rest of the episode, Doug produced a couple of funny moments, but Clyde was a complete letdown. He’s just not making a whole lot of sense anymore, and the episode ended with Marty helping him out at the prison. It was very abrupt, and also a sad way to close an episode that needed more than one or two big laughs. Grade: C.

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Photo: Showtime