In the first episode of Season 5 of Drop Dead Diva, Jane (Brooke Elliot) rushes to the hospital to find her fiance, Owen (Lex Medlin), who had a heart attack at their wedding when he caught her kissing Grayson (Jackson Hurst).
The series left off last season with Kim (Kate Levering) telling her boss, Parker (Josh Stamberg, who, it has been rumored, may not be returning this season), that she was pregnant with his baby. Also in the last episode of the season was Owen’s heart attack, while at the same time the soul of Jane–who has been in heaven watching as Deb’s soul, who has been returned to Earth in Jane’s body, radically changed Jane’s life on Earth–hits the return button and is sent back to Earth in a recently vacant body.
You originally think that Jane’s soul was sent back into Owen’s body, and since he is missing for the first half of the episode, it isn’t hard to continue to assume so.
The show had a little fun with this, making Owen show up in Deb/Jane’s apartment, handing Deb/Jane her skirt, hand on hip, saying he is Jane’s soul and that she wants to ruin her life for taking over her body–when Deb/Jane wakes up and realizes it was a dream. Owen ends up not being dead, just really angry and betrayed. It was almost too bad that Jane’s soul didn’t return in Owen’s body because it would have been a really unique and interesting plot twist, in the otherwise predictable plots of this show.
For example, this episode has two law suits, both of which the lawyers from Harrison-Parker fight for cases that couldn’t be more morally in their favor, have to do some fancy loop-hole-ing and only come up with a solution at the last second with the help of some unknowing bystander who inspired the answer to their problems.
These types of plots happen often in this show and become less interesting because while it’s inspiring for the lawyers to fight for an 8 year-old-boy dying from cancer against a greedy rich businessman, it would be way more interesting if there was more of a moral dilemma once in a while. Lawyers are hired to defend the sleazy businessmen, too, despite whether they agree with it or not. Maybe we’ll have some of those plots to look forward to in the upcoming season.
Deb/Jane ends up getting a new guardian angel, now making her third since she returned from Heaven. Her first, Fred (Ben Feldman), was adorable and helpful. Her second, Luke (Carter MacIntyre), annoying and indifferent, and her third, Paul (former underwear model, Justin Deeley) seems totally empty headed and super hot. It will be interesting to see what he adds to the show, since Luke was a big disappointment after losing cute-as-a-button Fred. With the way he acts like a little kid in an adult body, it seems as though he might need Jane’s help more than she needs his.
Grayson wants to talk to Deb/Jane about their kiss and work through their feelings, and while the Deb part of her will always love Grayson, the new combination person she has become loves and fits with Owen. I don’t know if there are a lot of people out there rooting for her to be with Grayson, but to me, she needs to move on and be with someone who is right for who she has become, not who she used to be.
And speaking of who she used to be, just at the end of the episode, after Deb/Jane is congratulating herself for another lawsuit won and life saved, there’s a knock on the door. And in a perfectly done turn of events (only after the Owen thing, which I was rooting for, despite thinking Jane and Owen make a great couple), who’s on the other side? A size 0 model-esque girl with Jane’s original soul, demanding her life back.
Well played, Lifetime. Well played, indeed.
What did you think of Drop Dead Diva’s season premiere? Let me know in the comments!