As for Bill’s other wives, Nicki—as embodied by the amazing Sevigny—has evolved into the unlikely, cockeyed center of the show, as many have noted. She humanizes the Juniper Creek set and is the most fiercely devoted FLDS on the show—she is a true believer and is glorious, terrifying, and dangerous, as are all such extremists. Her hair, clothing, and cadences are perfection. (Where is her Emmy?) Goodwin’s party-girl Margene is also evolving into a woman of substance who still loves a good time … which includes oral sex.
The supporting female cast is uniformly excellent, from Melora Walter’s homicidal yet sympathetic Wanda, wife of Bill’s troubled brother Joey; to Amanda Seyfried’s Sarah Henrickson, who is quietly rejecting the Principle, but is not yet ready to reject her family; to the sociopath who yearns to be an American Idol, otherwise known as Rhonda (Daveigh Chase), Roman’s on-the-lam child bride. (On a show full of crazies, Rhonda might just be the scariest.) But kudos must be given to the show’s creators for providing a venue for the magnificent Grace Zabriskie and the sublime Mary Kay Place. In an industry inhospitable to veteran female performers, Big Love has offered shelter and dynamic roles to these two gifted actors. Zabriskie plays Lois Henrickson, acid-tongued matriarch of the Henrickson clan and daughter of the Juniper Creek prophet deposed by Roman, who awaits her return to power and glory on Earth. In the meantime, she keeps busy overseeing with glee the near demise of her husband Frank (played to sleazy perfection by Bruce Dern) and committing the unstable Wanda to a mental hospital while setting Joey up with a second wife. Lois is dogged and practical; you do not want to provoke her. Nor would it be wise to invoke the wrath of Mary Kay Place’s Adaleen, wife and first lieutenant of Roman and mother of Nicki. Adaleen projects a deeply maternal vibe but beware: she has disowned her daughter and covered up a Henrickson plot to poison her own son, Alby. She played an instrumental role in Roman’s rise from lowly clerk to prophet. And he had best treat Adaleen with the respect that is her due—she helped make him and she can and will break him, if she needs to.
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