‘Monarch’ recap: Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats

CHICAGO - Welcome back to "Monarch" recaps! In this week’s episode, "Show Them Who You Are, Baby," secret affairs come to light and Nicky turns the tables on her cheating husband at the Queens of Country concert. Miss a week? You can read our recaps and watch On Demand, on FOXNow or on Hulu. This television station is owned by the FOX Corporation.

Come on, you’re gonna have a whole episode about cheating and not have a member of the Roman family perform Carrie Underwood’s "Before He Cheats"?!? Maybe the "Monarch" writers felt that choice was too obvious. Or maybe they’re just saving Underwood’s 2005 country hit for later in the season. Because if there’s one thing to know about this series, it’s that there are no shortage of cheaters who deserve to have someone dig a key into the side of their pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive.

For now, however, we’ll have to count on Miranda Lambert’s "Kerosene" (another great 2005 revenge anthem) to get us through it. Because even though this episode starts by setting up a classic Nicky (Anna Friel) vs. Gigi (Beth Ditto) rivalry at the big Queens of Country concert, the real drama is all in the romance department. Forget "Game of Thrones" (sorry Earl!), this is "Desperate Housewives" territory.

The Cheaters

MONARCH: Meagan Holder in "Monarch"

While Gigi kicks off this episode with a fun, if slightly random, performance of Lizzo’s "Juice," it’s a quartet of cheaters who are out here getting loose when it comes to commitment. Though Nicky’s husband Clive (Adam Croasdell) promises he’s reformed his ways, it turns out he’s been carrying on an affair with one of his former co-stars for the past six months. Albie (Trace Adkins), meanwhile, is left reeling when he finds out how much his decades-ago affair hurt his late wife.

Worst of all are Kayla (Meagan Holder) and Luke (Joshua Sasse), who are basically having a full-blown relationship behind Gigi’s back. It’s painful to watch Gigi continually celebrate her perfect marriage when we know what’s actually going on with her wife behind closed doors. And while we’re usually onboard with Nicky’s philosophy that you should blame the cheater, not the third party, in this case we’re not giving Luke a free pass either. As Gigi’s brother, his betrayal is every bit as bad as Kayla’s.

WATCH FREE ON TUBI: Jennie Garth in "Bad Influence" — get the app

Nicky is also in a tough spot when it comes to figuring out if and how to tell Gigi that she saw Kayla and Luke kissing in the previous episode. Things only get more complicated once she figures out that Kayla is pregnant with Luke’s baby (!!!!). Still, we’re not sure Nicky’s "I’ll handle it" demeanor with Kayla is the right move here. When Gigi inevitably discovers the affair, she’s going to feel like her wife, her brother and her sister all betrayed her. And that’s certainly not going to deescalate the "Queen of Country" rivalry the world keeps trying to force on Nicky and Gigi.

The Queens

Speaking of which, this episode has no shortage of potential queens, including Nicky’s teenage daughter Tatum (Ava Grace) who pops up just long enough to casually deliver the sickest burn of the series yet: "Too bad the Grammys don’t have an award for Helicopter Parenting. You’d finally get one." Ouch!

But she’s far from the only queen in town. Though Susan Sarandon only appears in a quick flashback montage, Dottie’s presence still looms large. It turns out that back in her day, she sang circle around both Reba and Dolly at the Queens of Country concert. And though Dottie spent her final few minutes with Albie in the series premiere making peace over his affair, she also pulls the ultimate beyond-the-grave power move. You know, the one where you hide a flashdrive containing an angsty ballad inside the heel of a cowboy boot you leave your husband in your will.

WATCH FREE ON TUBI: Susan Saradon in "Bull Durham" — get the app

It’s a move that determined stage mom Catt Phoenix (Martha Higareda) would surely respect. She spends this episode trying to get her daughter Ana (Emma Milani) a contract with Monarch, even going so far as to arrange an impromptu performance at The Titled Wheel bar to try to impress Albie. In the end, however, it seems like it’s actually a smitten Ace (Iñigo Pascual) who gets Ana the deal. Maybe love isn’t dead after all.

Still, there’s no question that the real queen of this episode is Nicky, who decides to stop trying to live up to her mom’s legacy and start charting her own path instead. She goes full Lady Gaga performance artist as she walks the Queens of Country red carpet with Clive’s mistress Imogen (Devan Katherine) in a show of female solidarity against cheating men. "This is the funeral of my marriage," Nicky tells the press before delivering a fiery, sultry performance of "Kerosene." Tanya Tucker, eat your heart out!

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Nicky’s stunt is enough to catch the eye of talent manager McKenzie Gates (Rochelle Ayte) — not to mention handsome up-and-coming singer Wade Stellings (Callum Kerr). Looks like things are finally looking up for Nicky. At least for now.

Speculation corner: An angry mom and a missing body

In a heartbreaking flashback, Gigi recalls a moment in her childhood when her mom caught her wearing her blue cowboy boots and yelled, "You are nothing like me. Nothing! Don’t you ever touch these boots again, you hear me?" While Gigi remembers it as a traumatizing moment of maternal condemnation, we’re guessing young Dottie’s anger over those boots has more to do with the fact that she was wearing them when she set that barn fire all those years ago. (Kudos to Eva Amurri as young Dottie for nailing Susan Sarandon’s cadence, by the way.)

WATCH FREE ON TUBI: Susan Sarandon in "Mothers and Daughters" — get the app

Meanwhile, things get even wilder in the three-months-later flash-forward: After temporarily getting the police off their backs, Albie and Nicky decide to move their dead body only to find that someone else moved it first! Who could this grave robber be? And, more importantly, who’s the dead body? Right now, our money’s on the medical examiner who tells Luke that Dottie died of an oxycodone overdose. ("Likely ... poisoning" will go down in history as a truly iconic text.)

Best musical performance: A father/daughter duet

WATCH FREE ON TUBI: "Country Legends: Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner & Friends" — get the app

Other than Gigi’s joyful performance of Lizzo’s "Juice" and Nicky’s all-out take on Miranda Lambert’s "Kerosene," this episode is mostly filled with song snippets we wish we’d heard more of — like Nicky’s take on Faith Hill’s "Breathe," Kat’s Spanish-language cover of "The Brambles" and Tanya Tucker’s performance of her hit "Delta Dawn," not to mention Dottie’s heartbroken anthem "God Knows" (and Gigi’s acoustic version).

Ultimately, however, simplicity wins out again this week, and we’re giving this one to Albie and Gigi’s gorgeous cover of the Elvis Presley/Willie Nelson classic "Always On My Mind." Trace Adkins and Beth Ditto sound fabulous together.

WATCH FREE ON TUBI: "Willie Nelson: Highs and Lows" — get the app

"Monarch" airs Tuesdays on FOX. Recaps run weekly.

For more country music queens: "The Dolly Parton Story: From Rags to Rhinestones," streaming free on Tubi

The Dolly Parton Story: From Rags to Rhinestones (2020): This one-hour documentary traces Dolly Parton’s journey from a childhood sharing a bed with several of her 12 siblings (and wearing a certain coat of many colors) to country music fame and mainstream superstardom. Rated TV-PG. 54 minutes. Documentary. Dir: Finlay Bald. Featuring: Dolly Parton, April Watts.

"The Dolly Parton Story: From Rags to Rhinestones" is streaming free on Tubi — get the app

About the writer: Caroline Siede is a film and TV critic in Chicago, where the cold never bothers her anyway. A member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, she spent four years lovingly analyzing the romantic comedy genre one film at a time in her column When Romance Met Comedy for The A.V. Club. She also co-hosts the movie podcast, Role Calling, and shares her pop culture opinions on Twitter (@carolinesiede).

How to watch "Monarch"

"Monarch" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on FOX. If you’d prefer to stream, you can boot-scoot on over to FOXNow or watch via Hulu.

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