Perpetual Grace, LTD season one recap and review

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Perpetual Grace, LTD-Courtesy of Epix /

Perpetual Grace, LTD focused on character study. But, the story was as original and beautiful as the writing and acting. We’ve got the recap and review.

Plot twists and turns are a big component to pop culture right now. They have been since shows like Law & Order began to feature them in the 1990s. The Sixth Sense made them almost a requirement. By the mid 2010’s, shows like Scandal featured merry bushels of twists at every commercial break. In all of the time I’ve spent watching television, I can’t remember a show that used plot twists the way Perpetual Grace, LTD did.

Instead of trying to invoke a reaction out of its audience, the show would routinely use twists to invoke reactions from its cast of characters. Often times, the reactions would heighten the twists and propel the story forward. It was a pleasure to watch. Steve Conrad and Bruce Terris created a character driven story that I won’t soon forget.

The Paul Allen Brown Caper

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The basic plot of the story was simple, but we had incomplete information until the finale. Acclaimed scurrier and devout magician Paul Allen Brown (Damon Herriman) had been on the lamb since his young protege, Theresa Williams (Camryn Jones), was found dead. Paul Allen and his car salesperson girlfriend Valerie Spoonts (Dana DeLorenzo) were planning to steal money from the church where Theresa’s father was a deacon.

Theresa overhears these plans and confides in Paul Allen that she has to tell her father because it’s the right thing to do. Paul Allen decides to kidnap Theresa on a fake trip to a Star Search audition and leave her handcuffed in a shack by the river while he steals the money and disappears. The shack is loaded with meals, candy, and activities. But, little Theresa was determined to complete a Houdini handcuff escape in water. Except, Paul Allen didn’t use magician cuffs on Theresa. He used real handcuffs. After Paul Allen leaves to steal the church’s money, Theresa escapes only so she can try the trick in the nearby river. Tragically, she drowns.

Paul Allen decides to steal more money which he needs to disappear with Valerie by robbing his parent’s church. Pastor Byron Brown/Pa (Sir Ben Kingsley) and Lillian Brown/Ma (Jacki Weaver) are the head of Our Lady of Perpetual Grace. The official business name is Perpetual Grace, LTD. Business is key to the Browns. They own most of the retail, entertainment, and restaurant enterprises in Half Acre, New Mexico. They are all closed except for a bar & restaurant combo. Paul Allen had already leveraged a lot of money out of his parents on a misguided stock deal that essentially bankrupted the town.

Read. Perpetual Grace, LTD series premiere recap: Eleven. light

So, the Browns will have to die so that Paul Allen can inherit their remaining money and real estate. But Paul Allen doesn’t want to risk getting caught by the authorities. And, he doesn’t want to actually kill his parents. Paul Allen and Valerie decide they will need a hapless drifter to play Paul Allen. They’ll also need a morally flexible member of law enforcement to help kidnap the Browns and declare them dead.

Valerie decides to head to sheriff’s convention to find a sheriff. While Paul Allen and Valerie are discussing this in the back of one of the showroom cars at her dealership, James (Jimmi Simpson) crashes his car through the plate glass showroom window. He was trying to trade the car in for money. He had been a fireman. But, he recently experienced the thermodynamics of running while fighting a fire. He focused on a bird in a cage and saved it by dropping his line and leaving the fire. A rookie firefighter replaced him and died in the blaze. He left behind 11 daughters.

James will pose as a drug addict, befriend the Browns, and betray them. The Fetlife enthusiast Sheriff Hector (Luis Guzman), who has been seduced by Valerie, will detain them. Fake death certificates will be filed. Once the money is Paul Allen’s, he will have his newly penniless parents released. The caper turns into a magnificent disaster. Along the way we meet pawn shop prince Glenn Pirdoo (Dash Williams), Lens Crafter franchisee New Leaf (Chris Conrad), dogged Wesley Walker, Texas Ranger (Terry O’Quinn), and pedophile turned tool booth attendant Uncle Dave (Kurtwood Smith).

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