Woman-On-Woman Violence

Though any finished version of Jane's documentary on Valerie's work on Seeing Red would probably never show Jane herself, the raw footage we see actually gives us quite a lot of her -- or, specifically, of her relationship with Valerie. Most of the time, their interactions suggest the dynamic of stepmother and stepchild: Valerie, the stepmother, tries to stay positive and upbeat until the sullen stepdaughter, Jane, pushes her so far that she has to push back, like two episodes ago, when Valerie (briefly) put her foot down about how Jane should light her. But this penultimate episode of the season shows us a side of Jane we haven't seen much this season: the ruthless pro.

Last week's episode showed us definitively that there's more to Mark's moving out to a house in the Palisades than his irritation at having his house taken over by the Seeing Red production: he and Valerie have separated, and the situation is pretty precarious. This week's episode takes place several months later: the show's been released, Valerie's been nominated for an Emmy, but, though Mark and Valerie are working on things in therapy, Mark still hasn't come home. And when Valerie calls Mark and, in a friendly chat, suggests a "sneak date" against their therapist's advice, she does it in private, or what passes for "private" in Valerie's life: she calls him under the hidden camera in the bedroom, and makes her way to the restaurant without the crew in tow, which is why she's shocked to arrive and see Jane and company waiting for her there.

Guarded at first, Valerie puts on a tight smile to ask Jane what she's doing there. Jane, direct as usual, states, "I need this scene with you and Mark." Valerie keeps on her warm façade as she politely refuses, but as she turns to go, Jane takes a couple of steps with her, insisting: "I need this scene!" Valerie drops out of Prayer Hands mode, sharply replying, "Jane. Mark and I have a lot of issues, around...you. Okay? I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you're forcing my hand with this sneak attack! So goodnight." We already know how hard it is for Valerie to speak truthfully -- especially on camera -- so it's as clear to the viewer as it is to Jane how seriously we all should be taking Valerie's refusal. But Jane doesn't lie: when she says she needs a scene, it's because she needs it. As Valerie walks toward the restaurant, Jane runs after her.

"Wear a mic," Jane implores. "We'll shoot through the windows, he'll never see us." Valerie is aghast, reminding Jane that this isn't Punk'd: "I'm trying to fix my marriage." Jane, her voice getting whinier in her desperation, says she knows: "That's why I'm here -- to get the Mark and Valerie love story! People are going to want to know how you two got back together!" Valerie says she'll just tell Jane the story, but Jane gets emphatic: "It's not as good as hearing it." Valerie knows Jane's right, even as she tries to conceal how much headway Jane is making with her.

"We are so, so close to having something so special about you. Please don't back away now."

Oh, Jane. You devil.

Jane has spent so much time shadowing Valerie that, just like a canny stepchild, Jane knows exactly how to manipulate her: flatter her vanity; overstate the importance of their project; throw in a vote of confidence by talking about Mark and Valerie's reconciliation as if it's a fait accompli. Present herself to Valerie as a friend.

And because Valerie believes Jane is her friend, and doesn't yet know that Jane's documentary will be called The Assassination Of Valerie Cherish, she won't think ahead to the kinds of things Mark might say when he thinks they're alone, like bringing up her abortion, which finally forces Valerie to panic and give up the subterfuge. This basically proves all the claims we can imagine Mark making against her in their therapy sessions, although when he storms out and he and Valerie continue their fight in the parking lot, he doesn't come off so great either, minimizing her efforts to be a good wife to him and stepmother to his daughter, and -- even worse -- acting like her Emmy nomination is no big deal. (Valerie's deciding to conclude by handing him his Emmy ticket and soulfully begging, "Please come, please come" followed by "I don't know how to explain your absence" doesn't really make her the winner of this particular skirmish, though.)

Jane said she needed this scene, and she does, because as much as Seeing Red is The Comeback for Valerie and Paulie G., the documentary is potentially The Comeback for Jane. It might not be as edifying as her project on Taiwanese boat women, but it could be Jane's Queen Of Versailles. And if Jane has to put a grenade on Valerie and wait for the inevitable pull of the pin, she'll do it. And then the next day, they'll be back together handling an internet press junket like Jane didn't just cause a huge fight between Valerie and Mark, and like Valerie wasn't so weak that she let her do it, because Valerie is so used to being an underdog that she hasn't yet figured out that her new status and legitimacy mean Jane needs Valerie more than Valerie needs Jane.