#Claws Season 4 Episode 5 Review: Chapter Five: Comeuppance

It wasn’t the law that caught up to Jenn and Bryce but, instead, Social Services on Claws Season 4 Episode 5.

Although it was only thanks to a rare selfless act by Uncle Daddy that the couple didn’t end up in jail after taking their custody situation into their own hands.

With Jenn and Bryce on opposite sides of the Palmetto oxy war, something had to give.

There were a couple of apparent possible storylines. Either they split, or one or both of the recovering addicts backslide.

But having Social Services swoop in and take away Brienne and Baylor from them was unexpected. No aspersions had ever been cast on Jenn and Bryce’s parenting, even if they maybe should have been.

One thing that didn’t get addressed was who relieved the babysitter, so the girls were home alone.

On Claws Season 4 Episode 4, Jenn had called Uncle Daddy’s warehouse to have Bryce come home to watch their daughters. Communications got jumbled somewhere but was that intentional?

Unfortunately, that brought Jenn and Bryce into Social Services’ sites, with Brienne and Baylor pulled from the family home as a result.

There’s something wrong with a system that would favor a criminal such as Clay as a fit guardian simply because he was related to the girls, even though he’s raised two convicted criminals himself (granted, Bryce is one of those two).

There was no doubt that Uncle Daddy loved his “grandbabies.” But also “bidness” came first, as the bored girls wandered off as Clay and Quiet Ann were negotiating with Cherry, their dealers’ representative.

Brienne and Baylor’s possible going into foster care brought back bad memories for Desna, as she recalled the experiences of herself and Dean in the group home of the late, unlamented Coombs.

Desna made the mistake of following the girls to their group home and then telling Jenn about where that was.

Jenn did precisely the wrong thing, visiting then abducting Brienne and Baylor. While her fantasy about escaping to Mexico was hilarious, Jenn and Bryce did the right thing by turning them to the police.

Uncle Daddy temporarily saved them from the consequences of their actions by claiming the kidnapping as his own. But Jenn and Bryce weren’t handling their situation well, her turning to oxy and him opting for violence as their outlets.

At least Ann found E.J. to take custody of the girls while their parents get their acts together. The one bright spot was that the chasm between Ann and Desna and her crew seemed to be narrowing somewhat.

Labor issues were the other main storyline of this episode.

Ann made a dumb move for an intelligent woman assuming Cherry was making demands for an increased cut of the profits because her romantic advances were spurned by Ann. She wouldn’t have felt that way if any other dealers had come to her with the same demands.

It only made sense that selling oxy in gang territory would come with some inherent danger, and the dealers should be compensated accordingly.

It was good that Uncle Daddy and Ann went out into the field with Cherry to assess her concerns. Fortunately, only Clay got shot, in his ass, of course, and Cherry lived on so that she and Ann could finally get closer.

Although that wasn’t saying much, Desna did a much better job handling her dealer problems.

Her dealers were naturally nervous after Bambi was found murdered and Desna did a masterful job of reassuring them.

It was also smart to turn the smoothie dealer in the park that had been hassling Sheray into, in essence, a subcontractor, improving his product by buying his pills from Sheray.

Desna did realize that her crew wasn’t built to handle the violence that was part of her new line of work. That was why she took up Tony on his offer to increase his involvement in her work, making him her muscle and explaining her sordid past to him.

Desna also gained a new member of her oxy crew, although she doesn’t yet know that. Georgia pieced together some of what was going on around her while Virginia’s big mouth filled in any gaps.

Is Georgia merely the Virginia lite that she appears to be? Or is she something more? Arlene’s death wasn’t enough to dissuade law enforcement from investigating Desna or Uncle Daddy, was it?

The only one connected to the crew who isn’t aware of what’s going on is Baron von Rykle, and he has to be getting curious, doesn’t he? Especially the way Polly gave him the bum’s rush after he gave her that expensive thank-you gift.

Even more curious is how the baron appears to be becoming more than just a mark to Polly. What can she possibly expect to happen when she’s dating a terminally ill rich man with a suspicious daughter?

It’s a shame that there was so much going on that there was little time for Dean. His budding relationship with the older Eve is one of the most promising storylines for this season.

To revisit Desna’s new enterprise, watch Claws online.

Why should Jenn and Bryce have been surprised?

Who is handling their sales force better, Desna or Uncle Daddy and Ann?

Is Georgia up to something?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.