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Okay, my head's on straight now. And I have tea. Let's do this.
It's a real credit to Taron Egerton's performance that I am desperate to know what Asbo's motives are while at the same time part of me would really love to have seen him fall out of that tree onto his head. The damage that he's done, and the deliberacy with which LK is drawing out just WTF is going on with him and Gog and the rest of the estate. And watching poor Kev still clinging to hope that someone might give him a break and talk. (Oof, the desperation in Jamie's face in a couple of those knocking-on-doors moments...*sniffle*) And yet somehow he manages to give Kev a raggedy, slightly fucked-up but still effective channel he needs to unload some of that pent-up rage and, as a result, clear his head and realize what he wants, and what he needs and what Trish needs. That cocksure attiude he's been gradually rebuilding (again, Bamber = KILLING IT); Wee Dennis genuinely helps him move on a little bit. WHAT. This showwwww...
Alan Ford was pretty brilliant in that rescue scene. The best bit of which wasn't the explosions or the tension, but that while Kev and Asbo are breaking their backs trying to save him he is just yakkin' his head off. That was one of those "gotta wonder if this is based on a real story LK was told by a real firefighter" moments.
Just 2 eps in, but still impressed with the way that LK manages to take tropes that seem played out and find something interesting in them. "Shagging the best friend" is a top tier cliche that it's really difficult to stick the landing on anymore. And in all honesty, I'm still working it out but something about the sequence that led up to it felt more slapdash than it should have. (In the same way as the clusterfrak on the estate did last week, a sort of general chaos turned up to 11; interesting that happened again in about the same place in the script.) Still, the aftermath is quite surprising in that Trish feels guilty, yet has a sort of serene matter-of-factness to her which Jodie plays so well. "Well, shit... that happened. That's been threatening to happen, so I'm not gonna act shocked it did. But now let me show you why it can't happen again." And then she hits him with Kev's note. (That's where I choked up again this week, BTW.)
Mal... is an interesting one. Big props to Rhashan for bringing such genuine charisma to the table that helps us understand why Kev or Trish would even put up with some of that shit. Because he probably is a lot of fun to be around a lot of the time, when he isn't being a completely selfish twonk. And I have NO idea if this is where LK is going with this, but it's a thought I had: am sure it's not uncommon for many first responders to gradually experience a level of general emotional detachment. Because of how they compartmentalize all the horrible shit they see every day. If Mal already has it in his personality to be fairly cavalier and quicker to tell a joke than confront his feelings, over time he may have developed such a thick skin that he's forgotten how to trade in actual emotions. As a result, he's sort of stuck with what I think aren't invalid feelings for Trish; obviously they get on and can talk and have a laugh, he's infatuated with her and likely hoping this will continue. But there's no "there" there; they don't share the kind of connection she has with Kev. For all the OMFG ANGST ALL CAPS that those two are going through, they are pretty madly in love and the show brought that home again. That very last scene quickly goes from "no but really, oh shit, WHAT IS TRISH HIDING" to something that's still poignant but also really joyful and rather sexy, and you forget about all the unanswered questions because god damn, kids, MAKE THIS WORK!
(cont)
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I got the "you're over the character limit" warning again - waaaaheyyy! So, Kev's amusing Titanic anecdote was a nifty cover story he concocted, right? Because, when might that have happened exactly? Seems like he actually made that discovery on the stairs with Trish (UNF, by the way) and then it's a case of wanting to make sure Mal is aware of that particular bit of information (after the "mine still works" dig earlier), but that was a special moment and he doesn't really want to kiss and tell, either. (Whatever the case, "The ship sinks" might be my favorite Deadpan!Bamber line reading EVER.) Quick word about the nudity, or rather reactions to the nudity. Most of the ones I've seen online have been of your basic "Well, oh my!" variety, but I've seen a few now where they were clearly made uncomfortable not just by the depiction of Kev's injuries but by the amount of male nudity in general. TBH there are a lot of shows now where male nudity is more commonplace but compared to female obviously it's still rare. By contrast this show has so far upended that ratio, I wonder if that's part of what they're reacting to. Anyway... just an observation. ;) No but really... what IS Trish hiding? I'll hit the bench for a bit and let someone else throw out the pitch on that one. p.s. Pippa said it best her own self on the Twittermachines: Ziggy don't play. p.p.s. DRUNKEN OTIS REDDING TOMFOOLERY no really cut it out you two, I can't. <3<3<3  Edited at 2014-03-01 05:05 pm (UTC)
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Again, going back to my editing/rushing through material comment, the Titanic reference confused me a bit. I understand your take on it, and you very well could be right, but I wasn't sure if they were talking the next morning or more time had passed. And if they are such good mates and, well, guys, why not just tell him he was with Trish and felt something? He didn't have to go into detail about how he discovered he had recovered some sensation. Or maybe the Titanic thing did happen and he decided to share that because it just happened and was a nice surprise? And why am I thinking so much about this???
In regards to the male frontal nudity, I've seen some of what you are talking about. There is no question that female nudity is shown much more than male nudity on TV and in film, though we are gradually seeing more of the full monty. ;) But in one of the articles I read, the writer was also talking about how on another UK show it was a big deal that two men kissed, which left me going, "Huh?" That's definitely something that is becoming more and more common in the US (on TV and in film), to the point I can't recall the last time it made the entertainment news here. So I was wondering if the nudity would make as many 'headlines' here as the UK?
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Hmmmm....hard to tell where this is going isn't it? It's a bit like watching a car crash in slow motion. Lots of questionable motivations and no clear answers.
For all his damage, Kev seems by far and away the most straight up character. He's not hiding anything anymore. The others, not so much.
Thought Jodie Whittaker was excellent. Despite what she's done, she still manages to make Trish a very sympathetic character. She's fucked up, but then haven't we all? Her relationship with Kev still seems very believable to me.
Mal, on the other hand, I have no sympathy for at all. He has very few redeeming qualities that I can see. I particularly disliked the way he manhandled Trish and basically refused to take no for an answer. Very well played by Taron Egarton though.
No idea what's going on with Asbo, he seems to be the most damaged of the lot of them.
Loved the scene with Ziggy at the end. She didn't really feature this week, so I kinda forgot she was around until that final scene.
Wonder that happened to the psychiatrist this week?
Btw re the nudity, it seems entirely appropriate to me. Like that way that Kev's injuries were treated in a very matter of fact manner this week. He's just another body and everyone just has to get used to it.
Thought the acting was brilliant throughout, though I think there's a bit of a danger that LK's writing will fall into some of the cliches she's obviously trying to subvert. That said, still think this is really compulsive viewing and, it goes without saying, JB is excellent.
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Previously on...
