We have hated Peggy a lot throughout the previous episodes, but Episode 5 of High Desert is when she redeems herself for us. It is the first time we have seen someone’s immaturity and trouble-making skills receive an explanation that makes proper sense. Additionally, we found concrete proof that the case she had been chasing, that of Dona’s supposed murder, was not just her grasping at straws all along. Here is a in-depth recap of High Desert Episode 5.
Spoilers Alert
Does Peggy Find The Silver?
Annoying people either need to be pushy or just have good luck. That is how they get away with their awful personalities. Peggy has the former, and sadly, that means that we are going to see plenty of her. In continuation of Episode 4, Peggy and Denny set out to retrieve the silver that he had hidden in a guest house. They find it, and from the looks of it, it is unserious money, as it is all coins. It would have been nice to be wrong because Peggy jumped the gun and told her brother, Stewart, that she would be giving him the money in advance. But that is not possible since the silver coins have a high nickel content. Peggy and Denny just got a fifth of the money they had been after. As devastating as this is for Peggy, it means that the last time Denny went to jail, it was for such a pittance. Either way, Peggy is hell-bent on having a life and a future, and she gives her share of the money to her boss, Bruce Harvey. Whoever named him was a huge Batman fan.
Peggy wants Bruce to have the money so that he can keep his business afloat for a while, while Peggy looks for Guru Bob’s wife or proves her murder. This just goes to show how much she depends on this man, who is not only bad with technology but can only think within the confines of a box. We bet Peggy knows this, but it is her last-ditch attempt at keeping a job she enjoys until she makes enough money to secure her house. Peggy’s commitment to making her life interesting instead of easy is laudable. We get another glimpse of how Peggy thinks during her interaction with Carol’s daughter. Peggy tells her that life is boring and hard, and it is up to her to be interesting and magical. It is Peggy’s way of saying how she only has herself to rely on for her sustenance, for good company, and even for her own entertainment. Could this really be the answer to Peggy’s personality? You know how you look at some people and just think, “Why?”. There is no other opinion about them except “why.” We feel that every time we look at a manic pixie or a man who calls himself an alpha. We have had that feeling about Peggy for a while now, but this interaction with Carol’s daughter softened us a bit. We believe that Peggy needs a therapist. She cannot keep taking drugs and getting into troublesome situations just to escape the “dreary dullness” of life.
For now, Peggy has a case given to her by her boss, but since she wants to focus on Guru Bob, she asks Carol to tail the woman suspected of being an adultress, which is the work she should be doing. Then, she goes to meet Bob with Denny, who is disguised as the representative who is going to buy the painting from him. Peggy and Denny’s real motive is to get a confession from Bob that his wife is dead. Assuming they can’t make him talk himself into admitting to the murder, they still want some clue or a slip of the tongue that would help them corner him. That is why Denny places a recording device on his dog’s collar.
Does Peggy Find Evidence Against Guru Bob?
In a way, it makes sense that Peggy is so invested in art in general. Art is escapism from daily life, and there is nothing that Peggy loves more than that. Though it hasn’t been clarified yet, we believe that she must have a degree or some level of education in art history. Either way, she and Denny set off to meet Bob, and things get uncomfortable right off the bat. Denny can sense that there is some tension between Bob and Peggy. Honestly, while we understand the angle of the story, it feels a little forced since those two have absolutely no chemistry. As much as Denny is unlikeable and Carol is against him, with Peggy herself not wanting to do anything with him, she looks better with Denny than she does with Bob. Their rapport has a flow whereas when she talks with Bob, there is too much conflict, and that is not because they are working against each other. It is there because these two characters just don’t go well together.
When Peggy and Denny sit down to talk with Bob after bringing out that the art piece is a fake that was painted by Bob’s ex-wife, Dona, they want to know more. Denny’s explanation is that the art world makes decisions arbitrarily without any rhyme or reason, and if it turns out that the painter of the fake is dead, it will raise the value of the piece. That’s when Guru finally recounts his past to these two. When he was still working with his news channel, he witnessed the suicide of a man he had just asked to smile more.
Bob had been consumed with the guilt and trauma of it, and he had turned to hallucinogens. Dona, who had been less than understanding about his situation, finally left him. Before Bob could say more, Denny interrupted him to pitch the idea for his new Chi Gong studio that he wanted to open. Peggy is furious with Denny because he prevented her from getting the evidence she wanted from Bob. But we suppose that Denny is just not very bright, and he acted out of jealousy, seeing the attraction between his soon-to-be ex-wife and the man who has probably not yet realized that he likes her. Luckily, at the end of episode 5 of High Desert, Denny’s dog makes up for her owner’s mistake and vomits a finger out of her system. That gives Peggy a much-needed clue as to the location of Dona’s body.
Final Thoughts
Bruce Harvey did not take Peggy’s money because it was not enough to cover all his debt, and he did not want to needlessly waste it. However, he was very touched by the gesture, and we believe that he has started trusting Peggy now. As for her, she is like a dog with a bone when it comes to Dona’s case, and we have to see what she will unearth, literally, in the next episode.
