348:). When neither Adaleen nor Nicki open up about J.J.'s whereabouts, Cara Lynn decides to go to Juniper Creek to find out the truth. With Gary's help, they reach the clinic, and Cara Lynn is devastated to find the dilapidated state. When she confronts Adaleen over the truth, Adaleen finally admits about his experiments and his death.
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wrote, "Predictably enough, this episode plays like a launching pad for the rest of season, stuffing the plot with convenient revelations that can play out for the rest of series. On every HBO drama I watch, the third or fourth episode of the year always feels like it was written by Johnny
Appleseed,
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On
Christmas morning, the Henricksons volunteer at a shelter. During this, Cara Lynn confronts Nicki over her discovery, and Nicki breaks down over the tragic events. Alby tries to take Lura and his family back to Juniper Creek, until Bill attacks him and orders him to leave. That night, Bill and his
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this season were a pretty grim affair, as the repercussions of problems and bad decisions from last season walloped the
Henricksons repeatedly. “Certain Poor Shepherds” was — well, pretty grim as well, as the family was walloped by some new problems and the repercussions of another bad decision from
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gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "“Certain Poor
Shepherds” definitely has a chaotic first half, where it seems like the show has temporarily taken leave of its sanity, but once the second half rolls around, the dominoes fall in such a satisfying fashion that it's easy enough to forget all of
469:
wrote, "The spirit of
Christmas did not stop at the Henrickson's house(s) this season. Instead, a cloud of doom hangs over the family. In this episode alone, viewers are treated to dementia, maternal drunkenness, statutory rape, abortion, and murder. Bill appears unable to lead his flock, which may
409:
In its original
American broadcast, "Certain Poor Shepherds" was seen by an estimated 1.03 million household viewers with a 0.4/1 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.4 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 1 percent of all of those watching television at the
281:
as his wives. The series charts the family's life in and out of the public sphere in their suburb, as well as their associations with a fundamentalist compound in the area. In the episode, Bill tries to host a heartwarming
Christmas with his family, but revelations and conflicts prevent it.
363:) for her driver's licence, and this draws mixed reactions from them. During Christmas' Eve dinner, Bill once again asks for her licence and she finally reveals to the family that she lied to everyone about her age; she and Bill actually married when she was sixteen, shocking them as the
487:
gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Although there were many shocking situations that went down on this week's episode, "Certain Poor
Shepards," nothing was more surprising than finding out that Margene was only 16 when she married Bill, Barb, and Nikki."
444:
in its final seasons, which is that I'm fed up of the writers continually adding new problems to solve without having dealt with any of the pre-existing ones. Particularly since the never-ending plot engine keeps getting in the way of the character moments."
355:) is diagnosed with dementia, and also discovers that the Blackfoot Magic Casino has been remodeled without his permission under new leadership. Bill also surprises his wives by giving them permissions to carry guns, which is why he was constantly asking
289:, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.03 million household viewers and gained a 0.4/1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the revelations and character development.
548:
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wrote, "As if there wasn't enough sugar hitting the fan this season, the
Christmas episode, titled “Certain Poor Shepherds,” dropped so many bombs that the whole landscape has started to resemble a battle zone."
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wrote, "I thought there were some strong performances from
Ginnifer Goodwin and Jeanne Tripplehorn, and I liked the Alby/Lura subplot, but mostly I feel about the show the way some people started to feel about
410:
time of the broadcast watched it. This was a slight decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by an estimated 1.12 million household viewers with a 0.5/1 in the 18–49 demographics.
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family find that Barbara has been drinking, lamenting her situation. Adaleen returns to Juniper Creek, having thrown away her pregnancy medication, and is welcomed back by Alby.
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tossing handfuls of storylines into the ground and leaving us to watch them grow."
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the misgivings and just go with some of the more implausible stuff."
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The episode was written by Jami O'Brien, and directed by
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Bill faces pressure when a doctor tells him that Lois (
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758:"Big Love Review: "Certain Poor Shepherds""
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16:3rd episode of the 5th season of Big Love
365:age of consent in the state is eighteen.
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1417:American Christmas television episodes
783:Blankenship, Mark (February 2, 2011).
697:Gallagher, Aileen (January 31, 2011).
669:Poniewozik, James (January 31, 2011).
609:St. James, Emily (January 30, 2011).
7:
641:Sepinwall, Alan (January 30, 2011).
578:Seidman, Robert (January 25, 2011).
184:
455:wrote, "The first two episodes of
324:Fed up with Alby's methods, Lura (
309:) lies to skip classes with Greg (
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1407:2011 American television episodes
729:Lee, Allyssa (January 31, 2011).
547:Gorman, Bill (February 1, 2011).
42:
1:
789:Wife Watch!: Season 5, Ep. 3"
671:"Big Love Watch: On Thin Ice"
526:Writers Guild of America West
317:) is surprised when Heather (
1307:When Men and Mountains Meet
731:"'Big Love': Coming of age"
615:: "Certain Poor Shepherds""
1433:
91:January 30, 2011
246:. It originally aired on
219:
185:
117:
30:
1272:The Special Relationship
833:"Certain Poor Shepherds"
824:"Certain Poor Shepherds"
1001:The Writing on the Wall
144:Cody Klop as Gary Embry
1258:Certain Poor Shepherds
1036:Good Guys and Bad Guys
703:Recap: Blue Christmas"
287:Nielsen Media Research
230:Certain Poor Shepherds
24:Certain Poor Shepherds
1191:The Mighty and Strong
1015:Rock and a Hard Place
263:fundamentalist Mormon
253:The series is set in
250:on January 30, 2011.
88:Original release date
1286:Til Death Do Us Part
969:Where There's a Will
955:A Barbecue for Betty
801:on December 14, 2011
463:Aileen Gallagher of
1251:A Seat at the Table
1117:For Better or Worse
590:on January 29, 2011
559:on February 2, 2011
197:A Seat at the Table
174:as Austin Buttercup
1333:Barbara Henrickson
1293:The Noose Tightens
1198:Sins of the Father
1184:Strange Bedfellows
764:. January 30, 2011
474:." Allyssa Lee of
373:Jeanne Tripplehorn
311:Christian Campbell
236:television series
181:Episode chronology
127:Christian Campbell
1412:Big Love episodes
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1057:The Happiest Girl
1050:Circle the Wagons
934:Roberta's Funeral
736:Los Angeles Times
584:TV by the Numbers
553:TV by the Numbers
477:Los Angeles Times
226:
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154:Audrey Wasilewski
150:as Heather Tuttle
112:Guest appearances
72:Cinematography by
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1380:Big Love: Hymnal
1348:Sarah Henrickson
1177:The Greater Good
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521:– WGA Directory"
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490:Mark Blankenship
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414:Critical reviews
367:Bill, Nicki and
361:Ginnifer Goodwin
221:List of episodes
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1170:Free at Last
1071:Oh, Pioneers
1043:Kingdom Come
1022:Vision Thing
976:The Ceremony
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803:. Retrieved
799:the original
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129:as Greg Ivey
103:Running time
67:Jami O'Brien
31:
23:
1358:Roman Grant
1226:End of Days
1138:Rough Edges
1089:Block Party
1029:Dating Game
962:The Baptism
906:Viagra Blue
388:Development
334:Bill Paxton
172:Hank Cheyne
160:Kate McNeil
75:Rob Sweeney
54:Directed by
1401:Categories
1353:Alby Grant
1321:Characters
1103:Prom Queen
762:TV Fanatic
503:References
485:TV Fanatic
383:Production
326:Anne Dudek
166:Kate Norby
133:Anne Dudek
106:59 minutes
95:2011-01-30
80:Editing by
64:Written by
1152:Sacrament
400:Reception
303:Matt Ross
269:, having
49:Episode 3
1300:Exorcism
1265:The Oath
1236:Season 5
1162:Season 4
1110:On Trial
1081:Season 3
986:Season 2
941:Eviction
891:Season 1
883:Episodes
874:Big Love
794:HuffPost
787:Big Love
701:Big Love
613:Big Love
519:Big Love
495:HuffPost
472:Big Love
457:Big Love
267:polygamy
239:Big Love
209:The Oath
192:Previous
168:as Glory
41:Episode
33:Big Love
1008:Reunion
920:Eclipse
805:May 21,
768:May 21,
742:May 21,
714:May 21,
708:Vulture
682:May 21,
654:May 21,
626:May 21,
594:May 21,
563:May 21,
532:May 21,
466:Vulture
405:Viewers
369:Barbara
271:Barbara
205: →
190:←
93: (
36:episode
1386:Awards
1244:Winter
1096:Empire
948:Easter
927:Affair
648:HitFix
434:HitFix
357:Margie
279:Margie
1372:Other
899:Pilot
342:Nicki
275:Nicki
234:drama
837:IMDb
807:2024
770:2024
744:2024
716:2024
684:2024
676:TIME
656:2024
628:2024
596:2024
565:2024
534:2024
452:TIME
441:Lost
330:Bill
299:Alby
293:Plot
277:and
261:, a
203:Next
835:at
828:HBO
826:at
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449:of
431:of
248:HBO
43:no.
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