Just when things start looking up, the power gets cut off, your daughter becomes a stripper, and a crime you didn't commit prevents you from finding a job anywhere. This is the life Cheryl West imagined she would ever have, but ever since her husband Wolf got thrown in jail, she has had a very hard time keeping herself and her family out of trouble.
The West's are faced with some hard decisions after their power is cut off, and Cheryl is unable to find a job. So the kids get together and decide that the only way to make the money to put food on the table is to do things that are either illegal or at the worst get them in hot water with their Mother.
Cal is bust working off his debt with Mr. Hong, but is surprised to learn that his boss has a kind-side, when Mr. Hong presents him with a pre-owned laptop as a gift for his hard work. As nice as the gift is Cal still wants to make money for his family and goes to see Wolf about trying to get a gig with one of his crime buddies.
Heather is still serving cocktails at the Sparkle Club, but is barely making ends meet so she approaches her "manager" who tells her that being a dancer is great for those who want to make a lot of money, so a reluctant Heather takes the stage.
Always the movie-buff and in need of cash, Hope inquires about a job at Palm Canyon Video, the video rental store that Tad works at, only to learn that the boss is a bit of a flake and is planning on shutting the store down. But all is not lost, when Hope gets a peek at Cal's new Laptop and she spots a movie on the computer that has yet to be released in the United States, so she inquires about the film and learns of Mr. Hong's connections to DVD piracy.
Cheryl is left feeling like a failure after she unsuccessfully tries to get a job, but a call from a would be employer sheds light on her problem, it seems that her record still shows that she was arrested for the robbery of Big Foods. So a furious Cheryl confront Sgt. Mack about getting her record expunged.
Meanwhile, back at Mr. Hong's Cal gets intimate with Mrs. Hong inside his bosses limousine but things turn ugly when the Cal gets out of the car and it goes rolling into a nearby lake. Luckily for him Mrs. Hong is very convincing and gets Cal off the hook, but Mr. Hong explains to Cal that he has one more job for him and if he screws it up he is done. Luckily for Cal, Sparky calls him up and tells him that the job he is to do for him just happens to be the same night as the job he has to do for Mr. Hong. Forced to come up with a solution himself he tries to think of how it would be possible to be two places at once, and then it comes to him. Cal calls his twin-brother Logan, and begs him to go pick up Mr. Hong's package and after some serious sweet talking he decides to help his idiot brother.
Hope is busy starting her own Pirated DVD business, with the help of Mr. Hong, but her plan hits a snag when Tad refuses to help her sell illegal material. As Hope sits inside the Palm Canyon Video, Cal and Sparky pull up outside. It seems that the owner is less than happy with the business and wants it to accidentally burn down. As Sparky enters the store, Cal realizes the the building is the store Hope works for and that she is inside of it, but as he darts into the store he finds hope with the Fire Extinguisher and Sparky knocked out cold.
Logan successfully retrieves the package for Hong, and after entering the kitchen finds his daughter who finds him very intriguing, and Logan (who is posing as Cal) finds himself making out with the bosses daughter in the swimming pool.
After Heather's stripping debut she is smitten to learn that she has a secret admirer, but Cheryl is suspicious of what her daughter is up to. After some investigating she learns that the admirer is Officer Potts (Sgt. Mack's partner) who has been stalking Heather ever since the cops raided their home. Cheryl threatens to press charges, but a concerned Sgt. Mack suspends Potts, and expunges the arrest off Cheryl's record to make up for his man's behavior.
Cheryl returns home and the kids present her with the money to turn the power back on. Cheryl explains that she is elated that she has such wonderful children who put their family first. The West's sit down at the table and enjoy a nice family dinner and things seem to be better, for now.
Tonight Scoundrels hit its stride! The writers have been tinkering with the formula and they definitely found it, this was by far the best episode. They have managed to nicely work David James Elliot into the plot without taking away from the story, and all the different character plots were evenly laid out and smartly written. If the rest of the show can play out like this episode then a lot more people will be taking notice of this show .
What did you think of tonight's episode?
