Cinemax’s Femme Fatales: 105 – The White Flower

This week’s episode kicked off with a bank robbery. Or more accurately, the hours  immediately following a bank robbery. Two men, Jimmy and O’Brien, occupy a hotel room with a stack of cash on the table. Jimmy (William Gregory Lee – Justifed, Dark Angel) is awakened from a post cop-killing nap to find his partner counting the massive amounts of they’ve recently acquired.

This is when we learn that they didn’t rob the bank for themselves, but that they in fact have an employer.  They are instructed to ‘sit tight’ at the hotel until they receive further word. This is when there’s a knock at the door. It would seem that Jimmy got his old pal a present for saving his life outside the bank – a blonde present named Cynthia. What a swell guy. O’Brien is reluctant at first, but predictably folds…

Opening credits roll, and as we’ve anxiously waited for, Lilith appears:

“Money. It has been said it’s the root of all evil. Well tonight, in this seedy motel room, two men are about to find out that is the Devil’s honest truth. That when the fickle finger of fate points in your direction, the most innocuous omen may be the harbinger of doom. And it may come in the most enticing package, with a heart that beats with pure deceit. So tonight, I bequeath to you, the white flower.

After the episode kicks back in Jimmy reveals that his ‘bad dream’ was about some white flowers. Before that can be expanded on, the door opens again – Enter Barbara.

Barbara is meant to be Jimmy’s partner for the evening. So O’Brien and Cynthia head off to the bedroom for ‘Fun with Handcuffs’ type of activities, while Jimmy tells Barbara about the events of the day…

While discussing the robbery, a knock comes at the door. There sure is a lot of traffic at this hideout… Anyhow, it’s our Lilith Cameo! She is delivering flowers, WHITE FLOWERS! Jimmy freezes in terror, but as it turns out though, she has the wrong room.

Jimmy attempts to contact their boss Mr. Ryan (Stephen Macht – The Monster Squad), but is told to call back later since Mr. Ryan is busy watching a couple naked chicks make out. While waiting to call back Mr. Ryan, Barbara decides to bribe Jimmy with sex to tell his deepest secret and explain his fear of flowers…

Jimmy reluctantly tells the story of his fear. As a kid he was dared to break into the house of a local fortune-teller, and steal her life savings. You know, good clean fun! Well the old woman wakes up and scares the shit out of the young Jimmy, and she tells him that the last thing he will see before he dies is a white flower. So now he lives his life in fear of a plant. After this hot-ass story, they bang.

In the bedroom, O’Brien’s life predictably ends with a smile on his face, as Cynthia executes him after their romp in the sheets. This is when it becomes clear that Jimmy has set up his fellow bank robber, and plans to take Barbara and make off with the loot.

When she exits the bedroom, Jimmy is on the phone with Mr. Ryan, explaining how they didn’t get the money, and that O’Brien got clipped by the cops. Apparently Mr. Ryan isn’t big on fact checking, because Jimmy thinks this will be an adequate explanation.

Jimmy offers her 10% of the take, but she gets greedy and decides she wants it all. This is when Barbara takes charge and shoots her in the head. It seems though that Barbara has plans of her own as well. Jimmy appears to have been drugged, and it would appear that Barbara will take all the money herself.

Only problem here is – No White Flowers…until the gun fires.

I’d give it a 2.5/5 on the extremely critical Bear scale.