Everyone who loves "Big Love," HBO's soapy drama about a polygamist family living in Utah, probably also hates it.
They love it for the plethora of established characters expertly played by acting veterans such as Chloe Sevigny and Jeanne Tripplehorn. They love it for the millions of intersecting storylines that the writers juggle simultaneously in a miraculous balancing act.
But they hate it because of the anguish in first wife Barb Henrickson's eye whenever she waxes nostalgic about the old days of her marriage -- back when it was just she and Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton). They hate it because of the glow second wife Nicki Grant (Sevigny) seems to emit when she finally falls in love with someone who is not her polygamist husband.
This reviewer has never rooted harder for characters to achieve their passions and their life ambitions, than with the characters in this show. And yet, those ambitions would take a wrecking ball to the Henrickson family and run counterintuitive to the long-term health of the show. Thus the love-hate relationship exists.
The fourth season of "Big Love" instantly stands out from the other three with its new opening credits and theme. Engineers' "Home" replaces the original theme song, The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows." A new high-concept video package accompanies "Home" with close-up shots of Bill and his three wives striking dramatic poses.
This might sound sacrilegious to "Big Love" and Beach Boys fans alike, but the changes were excellent. One of the main themes of "Big Love" is the eternal struggle to reconcile a normal, American Dream-style life while also adhering to one's faith and principles. "Home" is an obvious and appropriate soundtrack to this battle. And the video montage of Bill and his wives dancing aimlessly (the first three seasons' opening-credit sequence) is no longer appropriate because this family has not just fallen into its life -- at least, not anymore. Everything is an "us-versus-them" war with the Henricksons lately, and the new video, that of Bill and his wives looking despondent and falling, reaching for something they can't quite seem to grasp, is a brilliant illustration.
As always, there are some game-changing surprises in store for the Henrickson clan, as well as the surrounding community. Each season seems like the writers throw a few grenades onto the show's landscape, and never quite let everybody get back to the status quo before launching a few more projectiles.
First and foremost, in the season four premiere, Roman Grant, the prophet of the fictional fundamentalist Mormon compound Juniper Creek, has died. This leads to Alby Grant (Matt Ross), son and heir to the Juniper Creek throne, staring trancelike with sweat pouring off his face, saying, "My destiny has been fulfilled, and God shall punish anyone who blocks my glory."
It's uncanny how this show can balance being a Star Wars-esque morality play with heroes versus villains, while at the same time incorporating modern social issues -- with the same character, no less! In the same episode, Alby has an anonymous homosexual encounter with the trustee of the compound's assets. To faithful viewers of the show, Alby's homosexuality is no surprise, but his conviction seems to suggest that Alby has finally made a real connection with someone, despite his toxic surroundings. It's this kind of slow buildup and keen complexity of character that keeps viewers coming back for more.
Meanwhile, Nicki is reconnecting with her daughter Cara Lynn. After spending years apart, something as simple as a mother helping her daughter get dressed for school is relentlessly heartwarming. Anyone who doesn't tear up at Sevigny proudly announcing to her daughter -- who has been denied traditional schooling due to the misogyny of the compound -- that she tested into high school early is soulless. But Nicki's ex, J.J., walks back into her life to complicate matters. He's relegated to weekend visitation for now, but it's hard to tell where Cara Lynn's allegiances lie, and another powder keg in the Henrickson household is created.
Throw in the tumultuous grand opening of the Henricksons' gaming casino and the testy relationship between Bill and his partners, and it's hard to believe the season's first episode was titled "Free at Last." The family is as tethered as it ever was, and to watch the Henricksons try to wriggle out of this spider web of entanglements will be as intriguing as ever.

Five stars.