‘Monarch’ Season 1, Episode 6 Recap: ‘The Night of…’

We made it, we finally reached the point where our two Monarch the deadlines meet. All of the blood and father-daughter murders and evidence-destroying rituals take place on the same night as the Country Music Legacy Awards show, and that’s exactly where the Roman family is heading in this episode.

Again it seems Monarch ignores the internal logic: not only do we learn that the nominations for the CML awards are announced two days before the ceremony, which is insane, but also that I guess at some point Gigi and Albie released that duet of “Always on My Mind” that they once performed on the back of a truck in the middle of an empty parking lot. I was going to let things slide when it was briefly noted in a previous episode that the “video” of Gigi and Albie singing this song “went viral” even though there was no one, not a single person, recording this performance because there are other pressing incongruities Monarch left his audience to fend for themselves and I’m tired, but now this song is somehow nominated for single of the year? In what world?

Hey, at least the show pointed out that Nicky’s single “God Knows” did well on Spotify before telling us that it was also nominated for Single of the Year. Yes, that’s right: if you’re following, that means Gigi (and Albie, but he doesn’t seem to care) and Nicky are going head-to-head for that award. Oh and I should note that this week Gigi is back to hating her sister for ‘stealing’ that single ‘right under her’. As Gigi huffs and puffs about the injustices done to her, no one, not even Nicky, steps in to remind her that “God Knows” wasn’t her song to begin with and that she was actually trying to use for herself before Nicky arrives. ! Why is no one talking about it!? Gigi is so self-righteous about the whole situation when she has very little ground to stand on. I think the most annoying part of this story is that everything could have been fixed if it all started with Gigi being upfront about using Dottie’s song. If she had told Luke and Nicky she wanted it for herself and they had agreed so what Nicky stole the song, it would all make a lot more sense. As it stands, Gigi looks like a kid.

The one-sided feud between the sisters only escalates when Luke informs Gigi and Nicky that they will be performing a duet at the awards show. Finally someone sees the point of making the sisters a duo! You are stronger together, ladies! In rehearsals, neither seemed happy with the song choice or having to spend time together, but I’ll say this for the Roman girls – they put on a great performance on the night of the show. Their cover of Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood’s “Somethin’ Bad” is the climax to an otherwise infuriating episode.

So what about the big awards ceremony? Aside from Ace ditching Nicky so he can bring Ana as his date and Nicky showing up in the same dress as Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, there isn’t much drama until the price. of the single of the year is announced. Nicky is crowned Top Roman. She tries to use her time on the mic to mend fences with Gigi with a pretty heartfelt speech about her sister’s inspiration, but Gigi doesn’t hear her — she gets up and walks out before the speech really begins.

Later that night, Kayla tries to reason with his wife and makes her see that this rivalry is silly – Gigi and Nicky are best friends and are best when they know each other in their lives. Gigi doesn’t want to hear it: she’s stomping around to “get some news out of that bitch” and I’m sorry but I still don’t buy Gigi like a badass. All this is not very convincing.

It turns out there’s a lot going on at Nicky’s house, even before Gigi’s imminent arrival. This week, Nicky is pretty hot on Jamie Burke. They’ve spent time together and are clearly very much in love with each other (poor Wade!), although after the awards show Nicky tells Jamie she doesn’t think she’s ready to go. in a real relationship for now (again, poor Wade!). It’s okay with Jamie – Nicky is worth the wait, he tells her, as they finish a cozy little session on his couch.

With Jamie finishing up early at night, that means Nicky is downstairs alone when the door knocks. We don’t see who she is looking at, but she seems surprised. Next thing we know, we jump in later that night and Nicky is covered in blood and calls Albie for help, setting off the chain of events we followed in the flash before.

We now know that Gigi was heading to Nicky’s house, but there’s another player involved in this whole mess: Catt. We get the big reveal everyone’s been guessing since the pilot: Albie’s friend, who also happens to be Tripp the district attorney (or Uncle Tripp, as the Roman kids call him), is researching and informs Albie that everything Nellie told him is true. “Dottie started the barn fire and Rosa died inside. But Tripp also has some new information: Earlier that summer, Rosa had given birth to a baby girl, Albie’s name is on the birth certificate, and that baby girl survived the fire. Albie hasn’t figured out that Catt is that little girl, but Monarch confirms this with a not-so-subtle photo of burn scars on Catt’s back and a photo of Rosa in her locket. Hopefully Albie finds out soon.

Meanwhile, when Catt learns that Ana once again lied to her to date Ace, didn’t Ana really think her mom would see her AT A TV AWARD SHOW? – she rocks. She blames the Romans for Ana’s sudden change in attitude and particularly lashes out at Nicky. If only the show had given us, say, a scene where these two women interacted, Catt’s statement that she’s going to “fix this woman once and for all” would actually be menacing. Anyway, we now know that Gigi and Catt head for Nicky just before Nicky finds herself covered in blood, dealing with the fallout of whatever happens with the sharp end of her Single of the Year trophy. .

• What was with that random scene from Earl? It’s actually very touching – a teary-eyed Earl admits he fears being abandoned by the Romans, whom he loves dearly, now that Dottie is gone and Nicky assures him he’s part of the family – but there’s absolutely no setup for Earl feeling that way! He was just at the fake Christmas dinner! I think he is more than welcome there. This is another example of a scene that would have a much more emotional impact with a little development leading up to it.

• Listen, I understand Monarch is reusing established songs as character originals, and I’m mostly willing to suspend my disbelief, but making Garth Brooks’ iconic “Friends in Low Places” a new Albie Roman joint? It’s a bridge too far, my babies.

• Oh, so Ace, who we were Again said to crippling anxiety, is he just a complete pro at walking the red carpet? If you say so, Monarch.

• I’m so angry that Monarch already gets rid of Clive and in such an unceremonial way. All this with the pill bottle and Nicky being blackmailed into leaving town once Nicky informs him that the DA plans to drop the charges and that his evidence against her means nothing? May man find another way to torment the Romans! Let Clive be the scheming agent of chaos this show needs with Dottie gone! Monarch begs for a real villain, and he let one fly to London for no good reason.

• Uncle Tripp here may have told Nicky and Luke he was going to clear these potential accusations against Nicky, but Tripp is played by DW Moffett, and I’m sorry but I will never trust Joe McCoy after the havoc that caused on my beloved Coach Taylor! Maybe Tripp will rise to be the villain we need? Crossed fingers.

• So I guess Kayla told Gigi she’s officially pregnant. I also guess Gigi “How many times does IVF work on the first try?” answer means she didn’t even go to a single doctor’s appointment? Everyone on this show is an idiot.

• “It’s a fair honor to be drunk” is hilarious and I steal it. Is Faith Prince the MVP of Monarch?