What the HELL?

That's the question that went through my head as I watched the latest episode of Big Love. That shock and confusion was directed squarely at the character of Alby Grant and the swirl of mysteries that seemed to surround him in this episode.

Alby's always been a creepy one (see: threatening Teenie, grabbing Ben by the throat), but this episode took him to a whole new level of creepiness. Is Alby a misunderstood soul... or a cold-blooded killer waiting to strike? You decide.

Clue #1: Papa Roman sends Alby off on a "holy mission" and says that he'll be gone for two days. But before that, he made it clear that Alby was to stay away from the Henrickson family. So the mission then had nothing to do with Bill?

Clue #2: Alby breaks into Home Plus and is rifling through Bill's office when he's caught. But if he's supposed to stay away from Bill, is breaking into his office the best approach? Something tells me that Alby's break-in was his own idea and not part of Roman's plan. So then: what was he looking for?

Clue #3: Alby has a bag in the back of his car containing a large knife, duct tape, and rope. My first inclination is that he's plotting to kidnap someone. If so, who? And is it related to Roman's mission... or totally unrelated?

Clue #4: Alby picks up a male hustler at a grocery store and takes him back to his motel, where Alby remarks that the back window is open before making himself a sandwich. Is Alby planning to have sex with the hustler? Or kill him? When the hustler makes a move, Alby begins to knock his (own) head against the wall, in some sort of fit. But when the hustler leaves, Alby's fine, as though nothing had happened. Was he faking? Is he secretly gay? Or completely psychotic?

While the scenes for next week's episode didn't even feature Alby, I am still wracking my brains to decipher quite what happened there. Any theories?