Graceland “Bag Man” 

 If this ship is going down, I’m going down with it! Call me crazy but even after last night, I still don’t believe Briggs is a bad guy. I mean, if a drug cartel caught you, tortured you, shot you up and got you hooked on heroin, you’d want revenge too, right?! While I haven’t decided if Briggs has gone rogue or if he’s just deep deep DEEP under cover, either way he’s got his eye on the Caza cartel and it looks like he’s finally getting close.

I agree lying to his team, choking Mike and stealing drugs may not be the best way of going about it, but you can’t deny that he’s getting results and as far as we can tell both the Caza and Jangles are just around the corner. Furthermore, if Briggs really were a bad guy, I don’t think his feelings and concern for his team would be nearly as genuine. He has repeatedly protected and saved them (let’s be honest, he could’ve done MUCH worse to Mike) and I believe that keeping them in the dark is for their own good…which Briggs more or less confirmed himself last week.

I realize all signs point to Briggs being on the dark side, but what I saw from Briggs before we knew his secret (and even last night when he complemented Mike in the end) seemed too authentic and genuine to be an act. And if we’ve learned anything from this show, it’s that sometimes you have to color outside the lines to get results…and Briggs may be way way way outside the lines, but I’m not ready to doubt that he’ll get results. As soon as his broken ribs heal.

In addition to Briggs, I also have to talk about Jakes. Up to this point, I’ve been a Jakes fan, but I have to say that last night, his display of “unwaivering optimism” (his words, not mine) definitely didn’t win him any brownie points. Granted, there is a point to his cynicism and what he told Johnny about the people in the house being  coworkers, not therapists, not family and not people you can always count on (obviously setting the scene for the revelation of Brigg’s big secrets)….of course, Jakes said it much better than I did:

“Don’t get this place twisted, Johnny. This ain’t your family, SON!”

That being said, I do appreciate how his argument presents a nice counterpoint to Paige’s idealist viewpoint that Graceland is the place where you don’t have to keep secrets or tell lies. Granted, we know that Jakes is more on target in this situation, but I still can’t help but feel like Paige’s optimistic perspective is necessary to keep the house functioning…if you can’t trust these people, then what? Unfortunately, trust is becoming less and less commonplace in the house. With both Charlie and Johnny having become suspicious of Briggs (how intense was that scene in the closet?!), it’s only a matter of time before everything comes to a head. And I for one, am more than ready for it.

Graceland airs Thursdays at 10/9c on USA Network.