Much to my surprise, Miz & Mrs. has become a show that I look forward to watching every week. Season One was unexpectedly charming and didn't fill me with the same eye-rolling nauseation that most reality-tv brings on. Last week's sophomore season debut continued delivering the proverbial goods, and I was excited to see Mike and Maryse start their journey from Texas back to L.A. Unfortunately, Miz Little Lies represents a rare misfire and the weakest episode of the series to date.
We begin on a house-hunting mission as the "It Couple" searches for a rental property, saying goodbye to Chateau MarMiz. For a segment that featured mansion shopping, this was a painfully dull six minutes. I'm not expecting MTV Cribs, but when one of the places you're looking at is $35,000/month, I'd like to see more than a single bedroom. If you're going to run an episode that feels overly staged - which we will talk about more - than at least bring George (Mike's Dad) and Marjo (Maryse's Mom) along so we can laugh at their reactions to the price. Aside from The Miz thinking that $40,000 x 12 = $4 million, this was a waste of time.
After settling on a place, Mike goes to RAW and meets with John Cone (Sr. Manager, Talent Relations) to ask for a couple of days off so that he can assist with the move. However, when Mike learns of a golfing engagement at Pebble Beach, he decides to hire a moving company and lie to Maryse about his working whereabouts. Naturally, the plan blows up in his face when he decides to tell his dad, who immediately tips off Maryse when he calls to ask her what channel he can watch the event. In addition to The Miz coming off poorly, nothing about this story felt real. For instance, there is a speech followed by a screened phone call that would never time out the way it did. I understand wanting to advance the story, but this was overproduced and reminded me that what I'm watching is not nearly as real as I'd sometimes like to believe.
While Miz was away, Maryse was home learning about the cut-throat nature of early childhood education after a "chance" encounter with a neighbour sent her scrambling to enroll Monroe in Pre-School. Again, much like Miz's golf trip, this also felt very contrived. The best part of Maryse preparing bribe-baskets and hiring Chinese tutors was Marjo laughing at her every step of the way, knowing full well that her plan was no good. Marjo has been criminally underutilized thus far, and it's legitimately hindering my enjoyment of the show. Nevertheless, watching this episode, knowing full well it would end with a generous donation being made - which it did - I couldn't help but wonder if more time should have been spent on Maryse's revenge plot. Granted, putting Barb's (Mike's Mom) antique doll collection in the home gym doesn't exactly scream must-see-tv, either.
Miz Little Lies fails because it sorely lacks any sense of verisimilitude. One of the reasons I enjoy Miz & Mrs. so much is because it has always felt genuine. This week, the show felt incredibly fake. I could excuse that if the episode was funny or heartfelt, but it couldn't even do that. Even in the end scene, Mike and Maryse come off glib and it made me question how much I actually like them. Maybe I'm overreacting? Perhaps. All I know is that I did not enjoy this week's installment. Nowhere to go from here but up, right?
