So the season finale in the way too short and wildly overstuffed fourth season of Big Love concluded on Sunday — facing stiff competition from the Oscars — and we saw, once again, Bill Henrickson selfishly betray the people who he professes to love in order to pursue elected office.
And as Bill raced around trying to put out one scandalous fire after another so they wouldn’t sink his chances on Election Day, he officially transformed into an unlikable character.
It’s been depressing to watch Bill — a character who once seemed like a benevolent-yet-harried family and businessman who was trying to live his unorthodox/illegal lifestyle under the radar — turn into a deluded narcissist with absolutely no grasp of reality and desperately lacking empathy for those closest to him.
By the time the finale, “End of Days,” concluded, Bill had coerced his three wives to stand in the scalding glare of the public spotlight in front of a bank of cameras and declare that they were in a polygamist marriage together. Bill didn’t care that Barb and Margene vigorously objected to doing this, that they didn’t want to jeopardize the security of their family by going public because he, the man who was vain enough to start his own Church of Bill, no longer seemed to listen to anyone or care about anyone else’s feelings. He believes he’s on some kind of holy mission to shed light on his religion and he’s gonna take that journey, no matter the cost. Once in office, he believes, he’ll be able to change the way people think about polygamy.
During this season, here’s how Bill has let down those around him in the name of this insane mission:
He sent his 18-year-old son away after learning that Margene had kissed Ben.
He didn’t tell Nicki that Joey killed Roman and was indifferent to Nicki’s emotional angst about being unable to get pregnant while at the same time, learning that her mother, who’d be involuntarily married off to Nicki’s ex-husband, was now pregnant.
When Bill discovered that he’d fathered a love child with Ana, he tried to buy her off. (Paging John Edwards.) Margene tried to help by marrying Ana’s fiance in order to keep him (and Ana and the baby) in the country, but soon began to rethink the union only to have Bill order her to remain married.
Bill threw his best friend to the wolves, outing Don Embry as the only polygamist working for Home Plus, after a reporter caught wind that there was a polygamist working there. He fired Don and caused the Embry family to suffer public ostracism.
He summarily axed two of his business partners at the casino without talking with them or consulting Barb, who was running the place for him.
Bill went ahead with a political campaign none of the wives wanted and which prompted his eldest daughter to flee to Portland. After news that a Kansas polygamist sect had committed serial incest had worsened the climate for all things polygamy, Bill remained undeterred about going public.
Even when Barb — so desperate to prevent Bill from winning and going public — handed over to a reporter the paternity test proving that Bill had fathered an out-of-wedlock child, Bill killed the story and made a clearly pained Barb, his “first love,” stand in front of the world to announce that she’d allowed her husband to marry other women.
I, frankly, can’t wait for the recall effort to begin and hope that in the next season Barb will leave Bill, disturbed Nicki will get psycho Bill all to herself and that Margene will somehow find happiness (though not with Ana and Goren, ick) seeing as though her TV career is likely kaput thanks to Bill. But hey, maybe she’ll land a reality show.
Do you think Bill was unlikable this season?
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Mar 10, 2010 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
Great post..I totally agree with you on all points. At the beginning I would watch and chuckle at Bill and think ..how can he keep this all together. Now I watch and call Bill terrible names and hope that Barb and Margene kick his ass!! Nikki can have him! They go well together.