The Spencer Sisters Season 1 Episode 4 Review: The Restauranteur’s Ruin

We finally got an Antonio and Zane centric episode. I’ve been begging to know more about them since the series began.

Learning more about Antonio and the cafe’s history helped to understand his dynamic with Zane, Victoria, and Darby.

Antonio seemed so well-liked, but someone was out to ruin his reputation on The Spencer Sisters Season 1 Episode 4.

Everything is viral these days, so the “Jeckell and Hyde” video reached thousands of people, even though it wasn’t Antonio. He never yelled and threatened his employees like that.

This could kill me. We’ve only been in business for eight months. How could anyone even think this?

Antonio

Antonio was terrified since his cafe was so new, especially since a reviewer from Alder Bluffs was due any day. This could damage his career.

Victoria: Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. I’ll help you figure this out.Darby: Absolutely. We will help you figure this out.Antonio: Thank you both. I didn’t know who else to turn to.

Problems arose when Antonio wanted to keep this issue a secret from Zane because all three were horrible liars. While Zane might protect those he loves, he’s also suspicious because of his cop background.

He didn’t expect to see his husband riding off with Darby in the middle of the day without him. Darby had difficulty believing anyone would want to hurt Antonio, especially since even their first suspect ended up liking Antonio.

Darby: Who else would have done this? Do you have a rival or a jealous ex? Did you have a major falling out with someone that I don’t know about for some weird reason?Antonio: Wait. I know someone who might hate me enough to do this.

While Antonio was the executive chef at his old job at Camargue, things were different. He encouraged more female chefs to apply, but the other chef, Randy, hated it, and things became toxic.

Antonio and Darby learned from Jake that Randy never forgave Antonio for becoming the executive chef. Jake almost seemed too eager to sell out his former colleague.

I didn’t think Randy was a tech-savvy guy, but I remember him saying he was going to make Antonio pay.

Jake

We get it. The restaurant business is a rat race. Literally, Randy was a jerk, taunting that Antonio was finally getting his karma, but he denied doing it.

However, Victoria saw rats running around Randy’s diner, and the next day, white rats were found in Antonio’s cafe. Was that a coincidence?

Darby knew it was a crime the second she saw a loose screen and tried to convince the exterminator to keep in touch. It was hilarious that he thought she was flirting with him.

They had more significant problems because Zane discovered the rat infestation, and he was angry that his husband and best friends kept everything from him.

Zane: You really thought I wouldn’t learn about the deep fake? And now I’m guessing the same person is trying to ruin your credibility with rat infestation?Antonio: I think so. I’m sorry.Zane: Why would you hide this? I’m not going to start with you two.

Zane had every right to be angry. The three people closest to him thought he couldn’t handle something, and the only one who ran after him to apologize was Darby.

In some ways, Antonio was right. Zane’s overprotectiveness made things worse. When he spotted Hannah by an HVAC truck, he assumed the worst.

He confronted her and didn’t let her get a word in. Hannah had worked for Antonio for a long time and was loyal to him. The poor girl had recently put down her cat, not bought rats.

Zane opened his mouth and inserted his foot.

This episode helped explore Zane and Antonio’s flaws and how they affected their relationship.

While Zane was overprotective of his loved ones, Antonio valued responsibility almost to a fault. He used all of their credit to expand the new patio and now feared they could lose everything.

No one wants to admit defeat, but Zane had a valid point that they had a toddler to consider, too, so they should consider asking his family for a loan.

That only angered Antonio and put him in the devil’s crosshairs — Jake.

Jake appeared to want to help, but he really wanted Antonio to fail at his new cafe so he would return to Camargue as the head chef.

He felt like Antonio deserted him just as they had built a good team. Luckily, Darby figured out that only a talented chef could have done those moves in that fake viral video.

I couldn’t believe that Jake was so jealous he would have actually attacked Antonio. That wok came in handy.

But it proved that they needed Zane since none had the authority to arrest the suspect.

Victoria only helped a bit with Antonio’s case since Sarita kept throwing other writers at her, trying to make her Bryn Martel novels more relevant to younger readers.

I felt sorry for Victoria since her novels used to be a success, and they still trended with middle-aged and older readers, but everyone cared about millennials.

Some of the advice was valid. Her novels could be less predictable, but I’m unsure about changing Bryn to a college-aged female this late in the game.

It’s hard to tell if Sarita wanted Victoria to meet with Sheldon to get his advice or get her power back.

No one appreciates hearing they are doing their craft wrong, but Victoria could brush off the young writers easier than an arrogant thriller novelist.

Romantic suspense novels, with flawed characters, sex, and surprising endings, are fun to read. They’re one of my favorite genres, so Sheldon was correct that she had to jazz up her writing, but he could have been politer about it.

It made her feel like a has-been, and even Darby felt sorry for her mother.

Darby: Why didn’t you tell this guy to take a hike? You were happy to tell the millennials to get lost.Victoria: Because I’m stuck. My last two books were flops, and I’m afraid the ride is over. I’m not relevant anymore.

While Darby hated how much time her mom’s novels took away from her, she also realized how dedicated Victoria was. Watching Darby tell off Sheldon and Victoria kick him out was so entertaining. She was finally ready to write again.

“The Restauranteur’s Ruin” was the type of episode the series needed. It was entertaining and allowed insight into other characters’ histories.

We must invest in the other characters, like Zane and Antonio, for The Spencer Sisters to succeed.

It was also refreshing to see Darby take the lead on the case and not see the Spencers snark at each other the entire episode.

Hopefully, as the season progresses, we’ll learn more about other supporting characters and see Darby, Zane, and Victoria team up again.

Now that you’ve heard my thoughts, what do you think of The Spencer Sisters now that we’re a few episodes in?

Were you happy to learn more about Antonio and Zane? Who else would you like to see featured more?

We love feedback, so comment below.

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Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.