So to me this isn't that great of an episode but I thought that what did make it a very good and above average one was the performance of Elizabeth MacLellen as Jennifer, a bar waitress who seems to live in a a fantasy world regarding her relationship with Danny, a guy who's a terrible pool player and a general all-round deadbeat, and who she's told by everyone isn't good enough for her and will never be honest enough to marry her, but with the satanic aid of a cursed snooker cue, she stubbornly and murderously holds onto her pitiful dream and ignores them all, for love is blind... I like this one but I gotta say that I find the antique in the story to be a very boring and lame concept. I don't know anything about the fascinating world of pool playing but it sure doesn't seem like something a person would kill over even for a guaranteed winning game! That is not a good hook, but it worked for the plot.. I think we're meant to suspect Danny as the killer at first, but they soon reveal who it is very early on as an unsuspecting victim is impaled and dramatically lifted off the ground in a pretty brutal and well done effect, they maybe could have kept the mystery going a bit longer but it does give the villain more development than usual and makes her almost sympathetic as you see how she's putting all her hopes on such a creep and is clearly sliding fast into insanity in her ruthless quest for a dream wedding, whether due to the dark influence of the antique or not is never made clear. An any case though I thought the actress played unhinged very well and she had the right kind of crazy eyes for the job! She looked really cool and scary at the end when she emerged into the pool hall with her bloodied wedding dress to butcher her not-totally underserving former beau right in front of everybody, the way her eyes were lit in the scene made her look nicely ghoulish and weird! Also of note is that this was the first appearance of Johnny, who some fans of the show really hated but I thought that he ultimately was a breath of fresh air and worked out well for the series. It was smart how they introduced him gradually but he's a very different guy here compared to the solid part of the team that he becomes, acting very rash and immature and kind of annoying, and while Mickey is supposed to be annoyed by him at this point it doesn't really ring true to me, maybe it was something that "Robey" put out but Mickey clearly had the hots for Johnny from the get go! It sounds very odd when the very much adult Johnny is referred to as kid, it kind of makes you wonder if Johnny was meant to be a teen at some point because he sure acts like one here! This is a bit of a so-so misadventure but this campy yarn about a psycho bride who wigs out and starts killing in order to get her big day is like most of the episodes fun for what it is and is well worth a watch if you're a fan of this hidden gem of a show! 🎱 💀 x
