I’m never going to get over the fact that this character is literally named Carrington and Sarah Paulson agreed to play her. All’s Fair is such a confused show that it leaves me wondering why the heck it exists. I mean, if the Rotten Tomatoes results are any indication, I might be one of the 3 people watching this show, but that’s specifically because of work (no hate, Glee is one of my favorite shows ever), but I think it’s time for Ryan to take a seat on the bench, at least for a little while, before starting up again. Also, why the heck is Carrington washing Chase’s hair? Please help me, Lord, and give me strength every Tuesday. Also, it’s insane to me that after everything that happened in the last episode, we’re suddenly switching plots like nothing really matters. I know, each episode is a different character’s story, but this is too haphazard. To add to that, the cases take even less time each episode, sometimes being so sidelined that I forget they exist. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into episode 5 of All’s Fair.
Spoiler Alert
Does the Team Manage to Get Juliana Out of Her Prenup?
It’s been a running theme so far that the cases are basically so much as set dressing; it’s like they’re there just so the show can fulfill Miss Kardashian’s legal dreams. In episode 5, we get a wafer-thin case brought to them by a woman named Juliana, who met her husband at 18 and now wants to get out of a prenuptial agreement 40 years later. The thing is, it’s not her husband they have to enter into arbitration against; it’s her daughter, Bethany. She was appointed his guardian after her father experienced cognitive decline due to early-onset dementia. Though Juliana says she still loves her husband, she wants to break free and actually live her own life, and though her daughter says that’s something she can do if she wants without divorcing him, Juliana knows she would feel tied down if she were still married.
This starts a discussion among the women at Grant, Ronson, and Green about how most prenups are heavily biased against women and how it shouldn’t be too hard to argue in court that the prenup Juliana had signed left her with almost nothing to show for 4 decades of devotion. When it’s Liberty voicing these opinions, the others tell her to be careful the judge doesn’t find out she’s in danger of getting a prenup soon herself, or else she’d look like a hypocrite. She dismisses their concerns and says she’s not planning on getting a prenup, because both she and her partner are going to go into this headfirst, no hesitation.
Once that little discussion is wrapped up, the actual arbitration starts. And before you know it, it’s over. No, really, the entire scene lasts for less than one and a half minutes, when it was built up as if it would be a big confrontation where it would take the lawyers all their persuasive powers to get their client what she wants. Liberty is the only one of them who speaks at all, and all she says, after offering Bethany her condolences, is that it would be easier to arbitrate this out of court than have a judge decide what the right call is. Juliana hugs her daughter; all of a sudden, she understands what her mother needs, and the case is closed. It makes you wonder if Juliana still had to pay them afterwards; she basically did all the work herself. Earlier in the episode, we’d seen Liberty getting handed a prenup by Reggie, her fiancé, and she kind of has some doubts in that moment. But now, after maneuvering this prenup successfully, she’s decided she’s okay with having a prenup; she’s just made some minor tweaks to make it fair. She’s still in love with Reggie after all.
Why Is Carrington Crazy?
In episode 5, we finally get to peek into the window of Carr’s house and try to understand why she is the way she is. Whatever excuse you give me, I don’t think this behavior is normal in any way, but I guess that’s the point. The most normal thing about this woman is that she’s got a daughter, Ami, whom she actually loves and cares about. But so much so that she’s even gone as far as telling her about how she used to cut herself (yikes, but also I guess it makes sense). Anyway, Carrington notices that her daughter, Ami, doesn’t have friends in school when she drops her off on her birthday, and the kid doesn’t even bother taking the cupcakes she got her inside. This makes Carr realize she needs to transfer schools for some reason, and for that, the kid needs to write an essay.
But before that, Carr is so caught up by the fact that her daughter’s being ignored at school, she ends up crying during a very important meeting, and she doesn’t even care. The client, played by Jennifer Morrison of “Once Upon A Time,” seems to be just as ruthless as her, though, so I’m hoping we’ll get to see more of her. But for now, this leads to Alberta Dome, from the opposite side, showing up to Carr and handing her a business card in case she ever needs it. Well, what do you know? She needs it pretty soon because the girl gets drunk with Chase, Allura’s ex and her very own client, and nearly does the nasty with him, all because she’s worried about her daughter? Something’s not adding up here. On the other hand, though, Chase is in for a massive surprise when Milan finally tells him she’s pregnant with his baby, but it’s all hers. Also, how has it already been long enough for her to show, and what does this mean for Allura’s bun in the oven? I’m quite confused here.
Anyway, Carr ends up in jail after she gets stopped and breathalyzed by a cop, leaving her to call Alberta in to bail her out. Alberta’s really nice to Carr, complimenting her, to the point that she gets suspicious and asks what’s up. Turns out, Alberta has a bone to pick with Allura, who keeps messing with her credibility with her clients, so she wants to team up with Carr and take her down. This excites her so much that she ends up calling Alberta her soulmate before she hurries home to Ami to spend what’s left of her birthday with her. Later, she visits Ami’s biological father with a bottle of non-alcoholic wine, and it seems he expects an apology from her for how she treated him and his ex-husband, but all he gets is an invitation to Ami’s birthday party in Disneyland. There’s clearly a lot left unresolved here, but neither one of them has it in them to clear the air, even though Carr says she’s trying her best to be good.
On the parenting front, Carr tries to make things better for Ami, now that she knows she’s not having a good time at school with the other kids there. Her answer? Benedict Hall, a school where gifted kids like her, who are “better” than everyone else, will have room to grow. The only trouble is, it’s very competitive, so Ami’s going to have to write one hell of an essay to get in; that’s quite a lot of pressure to put on a newly minted 12-year-old. One thing leads to another, and with Carr’s encouragement, Ami decides to write about Carr’s self-harm tendencies and how they’ve made her wonder what’ll happen to her as an only child if her mother ever “unalives” herself. Heavy stuff, but Carr seems to like it; it looks like this mother-daughter pair can somehow make it.
How Does Dina Cope With Doug’s Worsening Health?
Dina has been a devoted wife and a career woman, all at the same time, and there’s a nod to that in the section where the team is talking about prenuptials. Dina’s the only one who’s slightly critical of Juliana’s decision to divorce her husband; she emphasizes the “in sickness or in health” part of the wedding vows and says she shouldn’t have gotten married if she didn’t intend to honor that sentiment. Doug’s been battling cancer for a while now, so Dina knows what she’s talking about. We see her dutifully hand her husband his medication and tend to him on his sickbed, no matter the toll it has on her.
Unfortunately, that sickbed seems set to turn into a deathbed, going by what Doug tells her. As we know, his doctor had told him weeks ago that he needed to get his affairs in order and start saying his goodbyes, but he’s held back from saying goodbye to the one person who’d been by his side through all the pain and suffering. He just couldn’t find the courage to tell Dina, and when he does, she can’t accept it. She starts talking about other trials they could try to get him into or other doctors they can find, but he’s firm and makes sure there’s no room for her to go into denial. He just tells her to be strong; that’s truly all she can do right now.
In the ending of All’s Fair episode 5, Dina heads to the kitchen, seemingly to make herself a cup of tea, but she flies into a rage, sweeping everything off the counter and smashing every jar she can get her hands on. The episode ends with her screaming into her hands, with the whistle of the kettle being the only thing we can hear. Accepting the loss of a partner who’s been with her for so long is not going to be easy, and right now Dina’s at the stage where she has to vent out her rage at the unfairness of it all, of him being taken away from her. Will she be able to hold herself together? I guess the next episode will focus on her, no?
