'Big Love' first look: Lois Henrickson has seen better days

Lois Henrickson (Grace Zabriskie) is one of our favorite characters in the sprawling family tree that is "Big Love," so you could imagine our disappointment when she was a no-show in the Season 5 premiere.

But that problem is quickly corrected during the Jan. 23 episode, "A Seat at the Table," and HBO has given Zap2it an exclusive sneak peek.

Bill (Bill Paxton) heads off to the compound, where he finds that his mother may have finally gone off the deep end. She's living in squalor, with a tree in her living room and no heat. Is it really the fault of her husband/nemesis Frank (Bruce Dern), Alby's (Matt Ross) negligence as prophet or her own undoing?

At least the exotic birds are gone.  

It will be an uphill battle topping the Lois arc from Season 4, which epically concluded with her taking Hollis Green's arm off with a machete.