Line #90 Series/Ringer


1	%%
2	%%
3	%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1651066610079274300
4	%%Previous thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1641753425097053400
5	%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
6	%%
7
8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ringer_3_8.jpg]]
9	%%
10	->''this is the story of two Sisters... who share the same Face.''
11	--> Opening caption on every episode other than the pilot. (And yes, "Sisters" and "Face" are capitalised and "this" isn't.)
12
13	Creator/SarahMichelleGellar is back on the small screen!
14
15	This series aired during the 2011-2012 season, and features a twisting FilmNoir story in which pretty much everyone has something to hide. Gellar plays Bridget Kelly, a prostitute who witnesses a mob hit and is the case's only lead. Terrified of being murdered before she can testify, she escapes police custody and meets up with her identical twin sister Siobhan (also Gellar, naturally). They take a boat trip, and Bridget wakes up from a nap to discover Siobhan has vanished. She has no idea what's going on, but knows an opportunity when she sees it and takes over her sister's identity when she returns to shore, helped by the fact that Siobhan never told anyone she had a twin sister.
16
17	Bridget soon discovers that Siobhan had some pretty big skeletons in her own closet, being stuck in a loveless marriage and having an affair with the husband of her best friend, just for starters. She's forced to muddle her way through a life she knows nothing about, always in fear that her own past will catch up to her, with the only person she can lean on being her drug sponsor Malcolm, the only person who knows who she really is.
18
19	The series never saw big success and was cancelled in May of 2012.
20
21	This series is notable as it is a co-production between Creator/{{Disney}}'s Creator/{{ABC}} Studios, Creator/WarnerBrosTelevision and Creator/{{CBS}} Studios.
22	----
23
24	!! This series contains examples of:
25
26	* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler: Henry's killing of Tyler.]]
27	* AffectionateNickname: Andrew calls Siobhan "Shiv."
28	** Also a MeaningfulName, given that a shiv is an improvised knife common to prisons, and Siobhan exhibits ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.
29	* AndThisIsFor: When Gemma [[spoiler: finds out about Henry and Siobhan.]]
30	--> '''Gemma:''' That's for [[spoiler: sleeping with my husband,]] you whore!
31	** She gets another one when [[spoiler: Charlie shoots her but non-fatally]] and she later gets the drop on him. Very shortly afterwards, [[spoiler: Charlie tries again and succeeds -- not long before Siobhan kills ''him.'']]
32	--> '''Gemma:''' [[spoiler: [[TitleDrop That's what you get for trying to kill me.]]]]
33	* BatmanGambit: Siobhan getting Bridget to take her place relied on her knowing what Bridget would do after her "suicide."
34	* BecomingTheMask: Bridget doesn't take long to decide to try her best to fix Siobhan's relationships with her friends and family, and is startled to realize that she's actually falling in love with Andrew.
35	* BedTrick: Bridget's romance with Andrew qualifies as this.
36	* {{Blackmail}}: [[spoiler: Gemma]] attempts to blackmail Bridget into [[spoiler: sleeping with Henry in order to get leverage against him in a divorce,]] but Bridget refuses to go through with it.
37	** [[spoiler: Catherine]] later does this to [[spoiler: Mr. Carpenter.]]
38	* BittersweetEnding: Bridget is free from [[spoiler: Bodaway Macawi after shooting him]] and can finally move on with her life, but [[spoiler: Andrew and Juliet want nothing to do with her after finding out about her impersonation of Siobhan. Her good friend, Malcolm, might be dead (but it's never confirmed).]] Siobhan's now has two beautiful twin girls, but is left with nothing [[spoiler: after Henry takes all her money as punishment for her constant manipulation.]]
39	* BribeBackfire: [[spoiler: Siobhan's attempt to pay off the only witness, a hotel maid, to Henry going to Tyler's room just before he was killed ends with the witness going right back to the police. Implicating Henry and herself further.]]
40	* BuffySpeak: Occasionally, from Bridget. It's quite appropriate, considering [[Creator/SarahMichelleGellar who plays her.]]
41	* CainAndAbel: Albeit with the Abel (Bridget) currently being oblivious to the fact that the Cain (Siobhan) is a Cain.
42	* CallBack: [[spoiler: In the pilot Bridget shoots and kills a man who wants to kill her thinking she's Siobhan; in "I'm the Good Twin" (which turned out to be the GrandFinale) Bridget shoots and kills Bodaway, who wants to kill '''her'''.]]
43	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Instead of sending her to rehab or bribing someone to get Juliet into private school, Andrew sends her to public school.
44	* DeadMansChest: Bridget's self defense victim is stuffed into a red chest.
45	* DisposableSexWorker and ShoutOut: all in one episode (1x10) as Buffy alumnus Amber Benson plays an exotic dancer/informant who is snuffed.
46	* DeathBySecretIdentity: [[spoiler: Gemma]] learns that Bridget is pretending to be Siobhan, and seemingly gets murdered. [[spoiler: She's KilledOffForReal later on.]]
47	* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler: Catherine.]]
48	* DevilInPlainSight: Olivia and Catherine.
49	* DiabolusExMachina: As the result of an unspecified incident, the NYPD somehow seizes the contents of the locker Bridget stashed her old possessions into, granting Agent Machado a break into the connection between her and Siobhan.
50	* EmergencyImpersonation with a TwinSwitch.
51	* EvilBrit: Andrew's partner Olivia. Zigzagged with Andrew himself.
52	* EvilTwin: Siobhan.
53	* FirstEpisodeTwist: Siobhan is still alive, and has people trying to kill her, too.
54	* GambitPileup: There's Siobhan's plan, Olivia's plan, Catherine's plan, Bodaway's plan, and the plan of whoever put a hit on Siobhan / Bridget, assuming it's not one of the aforementioned.
55	* GoldDigger: Siobhan.
56	* HeyWait: A police officer stops Siobhan in a diner in Episode 1 and she freezes at the forceful tone of his voice, but it turns out he was just telling her she forgot her wallet.
57	* HollywoodLaw: Following an unspecified scuffle at the train station, the NYPD not only seizes the contents of Bridget's locker, but turns it over to Agent Machado, despite the fact that Bridget's possessions may have been unrelated to the case.
58	* HollywoodThin: {{Invoked\|Trope}}, Bridget is repeatedly told that she is unhealthy because of how thin she is.
59	* HowWeGotHere: 9 days ago.
60	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: No one in Siobhan's immediate circle knows that she is dead. Bridget is running for her life. After Siobhan fakes suicide, Bridget realizes that she can't only save herself, but has to cover up for Siobhan.
61	* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Creator/SarahMichelleGellar's ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' co-star Creator/AmberBenson guest-starred in "That's What You Get for Trying to Kill Me".
62	* IdenticalTwinIDTag: Siobhan has a burn scar on her wrist.
63	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming / TitleDrop: Like several other shows (''Series/{{Damages}},'' ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen,'' ''Series/{{Deadwood}},'') excluding the pilot, every episode is named after a line of dialogue ("She's Ruining Everything," "If You Ever Want a French Lesson...," "A Whole New Kind of Bitch", "That's What You Get For Trying To Kill Me," and so on).
64	** Although in the episode "It's Easy to Cry When This Much Cash is Involved", the actual spoken dialogue [[spoiler: (delivered by Juliet's friend Tessa after the two of them and their teacher Mr. Carpenter have succeeded in getting a huge cash settlement from Andrew -- who, like everyone (including Bridget), is convinced that a) Carpenter raped Juliet, b) that Tessa lied about Carpenter raping her as well, and c) that Carpenter wants to sue as a result)]] is "Well, it's easy to cry when there's this much cash involved."
65	*** And "P.S. You're an Idiot" is [[spoiler: [[OddNameOut never actually spoken;]] it's written in a note from Juliet's mother (and TheChessmaster behind this scheme) Catherine to Mr. Carpenter when she takes his share of the money and blackmails him into leaving Juliet alone.]]
66	* ItsAllMyFault: Bridget.
67	* KickTheDog: Double whammy in one episode for Siobhan. In a flashback, [[spoiler: Siobhan seriously ([[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation or maybe not?]]) suggests taking out Gemma and Andrew so that she and Henry can be together. In that same episode, it's revealed at the end that Gemma's disappearance was ordered by Siobhan.]]
68	* MamaBear: Bridget towards Juliet.
69	* [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitch]]: Siobhan. Also Catherine.
70	* MistakenForPregnant: Bridget receives a phone call from Siobhan's doctor saying that she (Siobhan) is pregnant. Andrew overhears Bridget saying: "I'm pregnant" and makes the obvious (and wrong) conclusion.
71	* TheMole: [[spoiler: As of Episode 7 in Season One: Bridget's new sponsor Charlie.]]
72	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Henry deciding to [[spoiler: follow Bridget and Andrew to the train station, getting his wife killed for his efforts.]]
73	* OhCrap: See MistakenForPregnant above. Bridget: "Siobhan, what did you do?" Pretending to be her sister just got harder.
74	** Bridget gets another when [[spoiler: she's in the hospital and the doctors want to "check on the baby as a precaution" after a concussion.]]
75	* OutOfCharacterAlert: {{Subverted\|Trope}}. Andrew figures out that Siobhan is really Bridget when she invites him to a Chinese restaurant that he knows Siobhan hates, but it turns out it's AllJustADream.
76	** Also subverted when Bridget takes a bite of a meat hors d'oeuvres, and everyone notices because Siobhan hasn't eaten meat in years. Bridget says the baby that she's not pregnant with made her crave it. She thinks quick.
77	* PretendingToBeOnesOwnRelative: After her identical twin sister Siobhan Martin appears to commit suicide, Bridget Kelly takes her place and tries to make Siobhan's family and friends believe that she's Siobhan.
78	* RevengeBeforeReason: Bodaway Macawi is a major organized crime boss with lots of henchmen, so why did he go to New York City [[spoiler: to confront Bridget (thinking that Bridget created the identity of Siobhan Martin, instead of impersonating her sister) by himself?]]
79	* RichBitch: Siobhan while married to Andrew, judging by everything Bridget (as Siobhan) and we the audience have seen since the pilot.
80	* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: Gemma.]]
81	* ShoutOut: [[Creator/IoanGruffudd Andrew]] has a surprise for Bridget / Siobhan in Series/{{Horatio\|Hornblower}} Street.
82	** When Olivia visits Henry and asks for an invitation in he replies by asking if she's a vampire. ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' set the rules so that a vampire has to ask for an invitation into someone's home.
83	** When wanting to go with her real mother Juliet says she is glad to be getting away from ''those two vampires''.
84	** And in "Let's Kill Bridget" Creator/SarahMichelleGellar's character is given a satchel of blood to look like she had been killed. Vampires in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' would raid blood donations or buysteal animal blood.
85	** Of course, Bridget isn't the only character who has experience with vampires... [[Series/{{Moonlight}} Mr. Carpenter was one.]]
86	* SpoiledBrat: Juliet.
87	* StalkerWithACrush: Juliet seems to be this toward Mr. Carpenter.
88	* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler: Sean's death]] caused Bridget to turn to drugs and eventually addiction and prostitution. It might also explain Siobhan's calculating and manipulative nature. It definitely serves as Siobhan's FreudianExcuse for setting up Bridget to die.
89	* SurvivalMantra: "Mistakes aren't tragedies. But please, higher power, help me learn from them."
90	* TakeAThirdOption: After Gemma is seemingly murdered, it seems either Bridget or Henry will have to take the fall, as each suspects the other. Bridget gets around it by [[spoiler: planting her own fingerprints on the evidence, which gets the police looking for her true identity while she's safely ensconced as Siobhan.]]
91	* ThatOneCase: Catching the guy who's trying to kill Bridget seems to be this for Agent Machado. (He's been at it for ten years.)
92	** In "You're Way Too Pretty to Go to Jail", we find out why it's so personal for him: [[spoiler: The stripper that Bodaway killed was Machado's (pregnant) lover as well as informant.]]
93	* UnwantedAssistance: Henry felt this way to Siobhan in "If You're Just an Evil Bitch, Then Get Over It".
94	* ViewersAreGoldfish: The show can get pretty gratuitous with using flashbacks to remind of things that happened as little as ten minutes ago.
95	* WhamEpisode: OhCrap The season finale has: [[spoiler: Bodaway Macawi trying to kill Siobhan (thinking she's Bridget) and Bridget killing Bodaway, Andrew finding out that Henry and Siobhan were having an affair, Andrew confronting "Siobhan" only for her to finally reveal that she is really Bridget, and then getting rejected by both Andrew and Juliet.]] On top of that,[[spoiler: Henry steals Siobhan's money and kicks her out, leaving her broke and homeless.]]
96	* WhamLine: [[spoiler: "The Ponzi Scheme wasn't Olivia's idea; it was mine."]]
97	* WhatTheHellHero: An in-universe example when Machado gets "Siobhan" to meet Malcolm in an attempt to find Bridget. "Siobhan" calls Machado out on using an obviously suffering addict to find his witness instead of getting him help.
98	* WholePlotReference: [[spoiler: The rape accusation shares the superficial plot of Film/WildThings.]]
99	* WickedStepmother: Siobhan did not seem to get along with her stepdaughter Juliet. Bridget can relate to her much better and treats her with kindness.
100	* WomanScorned: Gemma.
101	** [[spoiler: Catherine in SPADES.]]

Context Series / Ringer