Honestly, I didn’t believe it for the longest time. Tripp is a master at manipulation and cold-hearted calculations. He’s used his children to further his own agenda and even whored out his daughter to Elder for the purpose of spying on the rival mogul. But Simon has proven himself capable of so much worse, and he seems to have no scruples whatsoever.
It’s not just that he was trying to marry Karen for the sole purpose of getting a controlling share of Darling Enterprises, but that he was so bold and cavalier about his intentions to Nick. I know a lot of that was bravado and cockiness, but this wasn’t the Simon Elder we first met toward the latter half of last season.
That guy was a philanthropist. A man with a seeming good heart. Sure, he was probably just as cut-throat then as we’ve discovered him to be, but he played it a lot closer to the vest, and he was a better character for it. Now he seems almost reckless. The Darlings work so hard on PR and damage control and Elder seems almost completely out of control at times. His rampage at the television tonight a perfect example of this. Where did the cool and collected Simon Elder go? Or is this what happens when a control freak loses control?
I wanted Simon Elder to be a better person than Tripp Darling because I wanted to believe that on a show about how absolute money corrupts absolutely we might have a character who didn’t allow that to happen. The Darlings are old money, they can’t help themselves. But the way he played Karen, all the while telling Nick exactly what he was doing, was disheartening.
I was almost hoping he’d go ahead with the wedding because a part of him had really fallen in love with Karen. That he was really capable of true human emotions. That it wasn’t all greed and drive. But it is. And for that, Tripp, for all his faults, is a better character for his human emotions and love for his family, such as it is. And Simon Elder is just a caricature of a billionaire.
Clacked by Jason Hughes 
on Dec 04, 2008 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
I think Karen is a loser who has used men for all the wrong reasons, but even I wouldn’t wish this ass to be her man.
I had to laugh when Simon said “no one talks to me like that, not in my house; not anywhere” and then they panned out and he looked about 3 feet tall in front of Trip. He’s not even a formidable bad guy. Guess the season finale was going to be his death or something (Simon’s, that is). But, now we’ll just have to do with finding out who killed Nicke’s dad, and I don’t even really care at this point. Other stories easily ate through that one.
Oh well – I’ll miss the candy quality of this show. Could alternate between sweet and sour, soft and hard. Bummer.
Wasn’t Simon Elder’s motive in S1 that Tripp destroyed his family?