The Big Love Flip

In the writer's room, we're always trying to flip convention - of a marriage or a family or story. And so in this episode, the 'Big Love' flip is taking the story of a man who may be having a kind of affair and flipping it so one of his wives doesn't find it a threat. She actually finds it a kind of interesting prospect. And, in fact, in a way, falls in love with that potential mistress in her own way.

So in this scene, instead of a husband hiding the fact that he is doing this and having to confront his wife, he ends up having to tell her, "You are my wife. You can't see the woman I'm dating."

Margene Saves the Scene

This scene serves a purpose: it sort of makes it okay for Bill to proceed. It undercuts what could have been almost a character assassination for Bill, by taking the ugliness out of what he's doing. It's not just him - he and Margene are both pursuing this woman, in a way.

Comedy Chops

Big Love explores the usual marital themes, but there is always an element of comedy, something subversive that creeps in. I think that's what people really like about it. You could have what is sort of an over-familiar, kind of boring story, but you can laugh at it in a way, without losing the emotional impact of the characters.

There were a lot of laughs at the table read of this episode, which happens pretty often. But I thought it was pretty obvious we had a good, light, funny episode.

This scene shows the really good comedic chops of both Bill and Jennifer. I don't think the show is known for that much. But the comedic stuff is really hard to do, and this scene shows that both of them can do it, in a real subtle way.

This episode also has a very sensual core storyline that took up the majority of the space, and I think people really respond to that.

Is Bill Just Horny?

There is always a flip within the characters, too. There were a lot of discussions in the writers' room, like, "As soon as he takes that ring off, does everybody just think he is an a**hole?" And that is a big challenge here. Bill, in this story, ultimately has to realize that he is using the pretense of the Principle and polygamy and the rules of his religion to protect himself against what is more lust than anything else.

His sympathy with the audience comes from the fact that he wrestles with that, and finally, doesn't allow himself to just have an empty physical affair with this woman. He really tries to see everything from the point of view of "how is this going to help my family?" Not just in the pragmatic sense, but in a celestial kind of sense. I think that makes him a true patriarch, you know? And it makes him very complex and real. It gives his character a dimension that no other character has on TV.

The Rules

In this episode, the characters state the rules, and then they sort of find a way around them.

Like when Don says, "You could still see her, as long as you don't..." But if he doesn't touch Ana or kiss her or have sex with her or whatever, how would he know if he was attracted? And the answer is: he won't. He might not know right away if it's a sexual calling. So he'll continue to see her and find out what if it is. I think, those rules, stated in a plain way, are kinda fun.

Bill's Feminine Side

I respond to Bill, not just in the sense that I'm in a marriage and I have a child now. He's a very dignified character - or at least he thinks he's a dignified character. I think that's a struggle, being strong and firm but at the same time flexible. He has to be very masculine in one way, but he also has to have a fairly healthy feminine side, you know? He never demands. He tries to strike that balance and to be very much selfless. And I think that's very relatable.

There are always these little common things when you are in a relationship: guilt, anticipation, questioning. At some point, something happens - it could be a fight or the introduction of some damaging element. And you really have to assess what's going on. You have to look at the relationship harder. I think that's probably universal. Everyone in the writers' room has been there, and so have most of the people watching the show.