Pilot

Obviously the central mystery in Ringer is shaping up to be "Why did Siobhan disappear and what did she think would happen to Bridget?" We could go a couple different ways on this.

Siobhan using Bridget as a mark but not necessarily having bad intentions towards her.

It could be that Siobhan decided to fake her death in such a way that her sister would be the witness and Siobhan would be free to disappear. Or collect insurance money - maybe Andrew's in on it and not sure why Bridget didn't do what she was expected to in the first place. But then, all we have towards that theory is his whispered phone call that he "wants out" and the assumption that the husband would inherit.

In that case, the implication that Bridget is messing things up comes from Bridget not reporting Siobhan dead and trying to take her place. Maybe she and Henry were planning to take the money and run and he was over-playing his needy because he thought he could nudge Bridget into giving up the ruse. So that leaves Gemma on the hook for the killer in the loft, having somehow twigged to the fact that Siobhan and Henry were having an affair. (Maybe.)

But this is a short-term solution series arc-wise. Once the truth is out, is there anywhere to go?

Siobhan wanted to fake her death and decided to set Bridget up for it along the way.

The one unarguable element is that Siobhan decided to leave town and leave her life behind. It's unlikely that all these people are in on the deal, so some of them would probably be sincerely concerned that she disappeared. Did Siobhan hope that Bridget would be blamed for what happened? She went through a certain amount of trouble to leave the rings in the pill bottle right where Bridget would likely pick it up and get her fingerprints all over it.

This is Siobhan wanting revenge on her sister, but not thinking the plot through very clearly. Maybe she thought Bridget would make a run for it, try to pawn the jewelry or something, and get caught in a situation where no one is going to believe what happened. It's less "Bridget messed up the plan" and more "not a very good plan to start with." This is like Law and Order: Criminal Intent sort of plan.

In this case, we're left not knowing who wants Siobhan dead. It also raises the possibility that Siobhan didn't know that someone was trying to kill her and wanted to disappear for other reasons - like the pregnancy. Or maybe the announcement of the pregnancy sparked the killer to make a move? More possibilities here.

Siobhan as indifferent to her sister's fate.

So the first two options assume that Siobhan is declared missing or dead right off the bat. But maybe Siobhan figured that Bridget was in the generic sort of trouble that Bridget is always in and planned for her taking Siobhan's place and drawing the heat off of Siobhan accidentally on purpose. She made a very plain statement that no one in her life knew she had a twin sister, dangling all sorts of possibilities out there for Bridget.

But then Bridget not dying doesn't exactly wreck that plan. And we're back to asking whether Siobhan knew she was a target or not. Maybe the assassination wraps back to the murder trial? The sponsor or the cop told the mobster that Bridget was masquerading as Siobhan and that's why Siobhan's name was on the photo instead of Bridget's. Though why the killer had a neatly labelled photo is strange to begin with. If you're a professional killer for hire - having successfully lured your victim to a deserted building - are you really the sort that needs to carry around your hit list in your jacket pocket?

Siobhan deliberately wanted to kill her sister in such a way that everyone would think Siobhan died.

This is Siobhan setting up the situation where Bridget takes her place and then hiring the guy to kill Bridget as Siobhan. This is Siobhan not just wanting to disappear, but needing to give everyone a body to mourn and seal the deal on it. This is Siobhan wanting her sister dead, for reasons unknown but likely related to the photo of the little boy that Bridget was sobbing over. Or being a complete psychopath and not caring at all that someone was going to die and that someone was her twin.

But of course, this plot hinges on Bridget making the choice she did to impersonate her sister, which was never the obvious choice unless Siobhan knew how much trouble Bridget was really in. I mean, it was probably safe to assume Bridget was in some kind of trouble, but stealing her sister's life is going a bit far.

What Do I Think?

I'm leaning towards the middle - indifference. Maybe Siobhan didn't care either way what happened, but figured that Bridget's presence would muddy the waters. I don't think she wanted her sister dead - perhaps just wanted her in trouble or jail. I'm going to guess that Siobhan has her own scheme going and will be surprised to learn about the attempt on "her" life.

To be ultimately satisfying, however, what I'm going to want is for the reasoning behind Siobhan's decision to leave town and target Bridget to be juicier than just hiding a pregnancy or some financial scam.

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Pilot (Series Premiere)

The CW seems to be making a move into these sort of plot-heavy genre shows. They start with the same base and then just vary the details towards a particular type of story. The Vampire Diaries could be seen as an outgrowth of Gossip Girl. It's break-neck pace and beautiful people given a twist with the addition of vampires. Nikita moved the formula into the spy world and now Ringer is playing around with "noir."

They seem to be using noir the same way I do: heavy on the mystery and mood lighting. (As a genre, noir - I believe - is usually based in Los Angeles to achieve a certain element that sets it apart from the New Yorks of the world. But I could be wrong.) The basic plot is that Bridget turns to her sister for help and discovers that Siobhan can't be trusted. Now she has to decide which of the bevy of people surrounding her she can trust.

There's the AA sponsor Bridget was flirting with. I hate to be blunt, but he's a black man on a CW show - poor guy's days are numbered. Also, he seems sincerely concerned for Bridget which is another indication that he'll eventually be killed off in some plot-mandated fashion so that she wlil cry.

The cop who was supposed to protect Bridget is Nestor Carbonell, doing his best slouchy pushy hard-boiled detective. He is a little Humphrey Bogart around the edges. But that doesn't mean he can be trusted; could just as easily be working with the mobster she was supposed to testify against.

Siobhan's husband Andrew, played by Ioan Gruffudd is at least honest in his resentment and rudeness towards her. Andrew also has teenage daughter issues, so it would be a bit much if he was also neck-deep in whatever scheme is surrounding Bridget.

But Siobhan's lover Henry seems to be over-playing the needy card. (And needs a new hairstyle. It's like combed over and then... flattened? Yet somehow pouffy at the same time? It's very Republican presidential candidate.) I don't trust him. I was glad to see that Bridget chose to distance herself from him. And if it turns out to be a red herring, well, the hair means that I still won't like him.

Finally, Siobhan's best friend (and Henry's jealous wife) Gemma seems nice enough - which means that she's probably evil. It was Gemma who called Bridget to the loft where the bad guy was waiting - but it was a man's voice on the phone talking to Siobhan in Paris. So does that mean Gemma is in on the big plan or did she just try to have "Siobhan" killed for sleeping with Henry while not realizing that she was playing into her plans?

And now I'm going to have to figure out how to lay out the different versions of Siobhan and/or Bridget. That'll be fun.

Anyways.

It's tough to judge by pilots. There is a big point in the show's favor, which is Sarah Michelle Gellar and the rest of the stellar cast. And the mystery element should hold my attention longer than - say - 90210, which is mostly pretty people with pretty problems.

On the other hand, Bridget deciding that the thing to do when she suspects she's being stalked by a strange man is to leave the party full of witnesses and wander off into a conveniently empty room? Not a good sign. Don't. Be. Stupid. Show.

I gave Nikita six or seven episodes to sort itself out and Ringer will likely get more than that just based on the cast. But I have to admit that this isn't my exactly my cup of tea - no supernatural creatures and almost non-existent humor. It's a bit of an up-hill battle here.

On the other hand, while I knew Siobhan wasn't dead, I sort of assumed it would be a while before we saw her again and that the writers would try to make it some Big Twist like we hadn't seen it coming since the beginning. So her popping up so soon is a promising sign. For one thing, if Siobhan's as much of a manipulative bitch as all the other characters are saying, it'll be a great chance for Sarah Michelle Gellar to cut loose.

We'll see.

What did you think of Ringer? Tweet me @thinkwatchthink