If the Blood Ties writers wanted to make me hide behind the couch, using bugs was certainly an excellent way to do it. Every time there was even a hint that the bugs might show up, I had to cover my face and peek between my fingers. Embarrassing behavior for a reviewer, perhaps, but it was that or run screaming into the night.

Fortunately, the rest of the episode was better than the bugs. Okay, "Bugged" won't be winning any awards, but it was good fun, with lots of snappy dialogue and a decent plot. However, there was one major problem with the episode: emotionally, it was out of order.

This episode was all about the four characters’ trust issues, and between the Henry/Mike arguing and Vicki's inability to trust Coreen, it felt like it should have appeared not long after "Heart of Fire. "Bugged" felt especially strange appearing a week after "5:55," in which Vicki supposedly learned the importance of trust.

If you look at it as a stand-alone episode, however, "Bugged" was enjoyable, with two interesting stories intertwined. (Of course, it was obvious they would tie together somehow, but I have to admit I didn't predict exactly how.)

I'm glad we got to learn a little bit about Coreen's life, but I was disappointed that she didn't show more ironic self-awareness about her friend Lexia. I thought Coreen was able to laugh about her lifestyle now, but I guess I was wrong. (Or maybe it's another symptom of the episode being emotionally out of order?)

I adored watching Coreen and Vicki try to work together and how worried Vicki is about Coreen. "I'm sure we'll read that in the book of famous last words." (Now that's ironic self-awareness. See how it's done?)

But if you've been reading my reviews so far, you can probably guess that my favorite part was Henry coming to Mike for help. I could easily spend the rest of my review quoting my favorite lines from those scenes, but I'll restrain myself and just note that I nearly fell off the couch laughing when Mike said to Henry, "I swear if I ever try to kill you again, I won't use any method you tell me."

I loved watching them snark, but still work together to prevent more deaths...especially Vicki's. Mind you, I think we've established that she doesn't like being protected, and the scene where she confronts them was pure gold, as was the delivery of "I figured it out all by myself. I can do that. I'm a detective."

All of Vicki's reactions to Henry were perfect, in fact, both the writing and acting. She's human, so she had a moment of sadness when he "broke up" with her, before her detective instincts kicked in and she noted that Mike and Henry are the world's worst liars when it comes to her.

(More comedy gold, there. The scene when they're at the photography studio? I wanted to pat both Mike and Henry on the heads, because they were so gosh darn cute. And such terrible liars.)

I was also thrilled to get several scenes with Dr. Mohadevan, who is easily one of my favorite recurring characters ever. And when she said "The thing I'm not supposed to tell you is that this may have something to do with Henry Fitzroy," I actually cheered. The gang treats her like she's an idiot, and it's nice to see her remind them that she has a mind of her own.

I have hopes that someday we'll get a Dr. Mohadevan episode and learn more about her, because she intrigues me. However, if she ever licked the back of a cane toad...I don't want to know about it, okay?

(Ew!) This episode was setup for the upcoming confrontation with Christina, which it did moderately well. I do wish that it hadn't felt so emotionally out of step with the previous episodes, though, because what comes next is going to be all about trust.

But the characters are in place and everyone is going to try and protect everyone else, which should make for an interesting mess once Christina wades into the mix.

The take-home message this week is kind of a toss-up, although I might vote for the obvious "This is your brain. This is your brain on bug venom. Yuck!"

Or maybe it's just that Vicki, Mike, Henry, and Coreen are stronger working together than they are working separately. Here's hoping they learn that lesson soon.