Post by rhort on Aug 3, 2012 2:25:16 GMT -5
The opening scene here essentially carries on the theme of the end of the last episode, with Gary and Yvonne returning from their holiday in Switzerland. The level of banter between the couple is evident right from the start, however, we see that Yvonne is not above trying to put more than a little undue pressure upon Gary, as she asks him to keep a secret from Ron. From the viewer’s perspective, we see straight away that this puts Gary in an extremely awkward position, as Ron is his confidante, and attempting to keep something like this from him could jeopardise their relationship, and leave Gary in an extremely compromising situation, should Ron decide to take revenge in the most obvious way.
The scene itself is mostly Yvonne having a go at Gary, but he keeps his composure nicely, and strikes back with the ‘Loud Northern Tart’ line, which sets this episode off excellently for me. As Gary interjects forlornly about the lack of sex on the holiday, he then immediately follows up with a demonstration of how little he supports Yvonne with her issues about depression brought on by her unemployment, both of which give us yet more insight into the deteriorating condition of their marriage.
Back to the 40s, and we see here that Phoebe has moved further towards the situation where her life revolves entirely around Gary. This has been a growing issue for some time, but now we are shown how intertwined their lives have become as one of the main plot elements for this episode emerges, with the confrontation with Mrs Bloss, which is fairly obviously only going to brew up trouble for later if Gary fails to do anything about it.
As with so many occasions, when Gary faces a dilemma, he immediately runs to Ron, however, on this occasion, we see something of a turnaround, with Ron’s apparent depression on the issues he’s facing in his own life. Whereas in the past, we might expect a reaction from Gary that ignores Ron’s problems focussing only on his own, we actually see Gary do something, albeit inadvertently, to cheer Ron up. The gift that Gary presents Ron with is, however, more than just a random bauble, and creates two elements of the plot that are significant later, the first of which becomes immediately apparent, as Gary explains that he will be able to spend New Year’s Eve with both Phoebe and Yvonne, due to the daylight saving time difference. I’ve always enjoyed the manner in which this was woven into the plot, rather than just having Gary come out with it.
Back to the East End, and we see a Reg scene where, whilst using him for comic relief as usual, uses him for more than just comic relief, as he subtly points Gary towards a solution for his issue with Mrs Bloss, and so we’re off back to the 90s as Gary puts the pieces together.
The brief scene at Gary’s house with Yvonne and Stella is then quite instrumental in showing us a counterpoint to Gary and Yvonne’s relationship, as we are given an indication as to the state of play between Ron and the aggressive Stella, who seems to have very little good to say about Ron, whilst regarding Gary in an almost saint-like manner. I always thought this was shown to make us ponder the state of Gary and Yvonne’s marriage, in the grand scheme of things, along the lines of ‘well it could be worse’. Personally, I’ve always regarded Ron and Stella to be a completely mismatched couple, and never seem to have the spark that Gary and Yvonne occasionally share, and that makes me wonder why they would have ever got together in the first place.
The climax of the main plot of this episode is then realised in Gary’s encounter with Mrs Bloss, which doesn’t go quite according to plan, but then works itself out, after a fashion. For me, this represents something of a departure from things in the past, which usually seem to go Gary’s way (especially when it’s a main plot element), but here we see he achieves his objective, just in a slightly unexpected manner, which is something I like.
Back to the 90s, and we see Gary using an old style ATM, with the keypad quite high up, which have now been discontinued for purposes of PIN security and inclusion for disabled people; something which dates this episode. As Gary arrives at the party, we find things in full swing, not least of all Stella’s condescension of Ron, and her beautification of Gary, leading to her labelling Gary as ‘dependable’, which of course is contrary to what the viewer knows about him, and I’ve always seen as a little ironic, given the manner in which Gary’s dependability, or at least the illusion he creates of it, is almost always down to Ron’s input somewhere along the line. As Ron finalises things, we are brought back to the watch, only to find that Ron isn’t quite so pleased with it as he had been when Gary first gave it to him.
Naturally, I’d give this episode a 100% rating for it’s direction alone. Something sets this episode apart from the others that have been so far and it’s the quality of directing that seems to be the basis of that; whatever is was they did differently here, encore!
The scene itself is mostly Yvonne having a go at Gary, but he keeps his composure nicely, and strikes back with the ‘Loud Northern Tart’ line, which sets this episode off excellently for me. As Gary interjects forlornly about the lack of sex on the holiday, he then immediately follows up with a demonstration of how little he supports Yvonne with her issues about depression brought on by her unemployment, both of which give us yet more insight into the deteriorating condition of their marriage.
Back to the 40s, and we see here that Phoebe has moved further towards the situation where her life revolves entirely around Gary. This has been a growing issue for some time, but now we are shown how intertwined their lives have become as one of the main plot elements for this episode emerges, with the confrontation with Mrs Bloss, which is fairly obviously only going to brew up trouble for later if Gary fails to do anything about it.
As with so many occasions, when Gary faces a dilemma, he immediately runs to Ron, however, on this occasion, we see something of a turnaround, with Ron’s apparent depression on the issues he’s facing in his own life. Whereas in the past, we might expect a reaction from Gary that ignores Ron’s problems focussing only on his own, we actually see Gary do something, albeit inadvertently, to cheer Ron up. The gift that Gary presents Ron with is, however, more than just a random bauble, and creates two elements of the plot that are significant later, the first of which becomes immediately apparent, as Gary explains that he will be able to spend New Year’s Eve with both Phoebe and Yvonne, due to the daylight saving time difference. I’ve always enjoyed the manner in which this was woven into the plot, rather than just having Gary come out with it.
Back to the East End, and we see a Reg scene where, whilst using him for comic relief as usual, uses him for more than just comic relief, as he subtly points Gary towards a solution for his issue with Mrs Bloss, and so we’re off back to the 90s as Gary puts the pieces together.
The brief scene at Gary’s house with Yvonne and Stella is then quite instrumental in showing us a counterpoint to Gary and Yvonne’s relationship, as we are given an indication as to the state of play between Ron and the aggressive Stella, who seems to have very little good to say about Ron, whilst regarding Gary in an almost saint-like manner. I always thought this was shown to make us ponder the state of Gary and Yvonne’s marriage, in the grand scheme of things, along the lines of ‘well it could be worse’. Personally, I’ve always regarded Ron and Stella to be a completely mismatched couple, and never seem to have the spark that Gary and Yvonne occasionally share, and that makes me wonder why they would have ever got together in the first place.
The climax of the main plot of this episode is then realised in Gary’s encounter with Mrs Bloss, which doesn’t go quite according to plan, but then works itself out, after a fashion. For me, this represents something of a departure from things in the past, which usually seem to go Gary’s way (especially when it’s a main plot element), but here we see he achieves his objective, just in a slightly unexpected manner, which is something I like.
Back to the 90s, and we see Gary using an old style ATM, with the keypad quite high up, which have now been discontinued for purposes of PIN security and inclusion for disabled people; something which dates this episode. As Gary arrives at the party, we find things in full swing, not least of all Stella’s condescension of Ron, and her beautification of Gary, leading to her labelling Gary as ‘dependable’, which of course is contrary to what the viewer knows about him, and I’ve always seen as a little ironic, given the manner in which Gary’s dependability, or at least the illusion he creates of it, is almost always down to Ron’s input somewhere along the line. As Ron finalises things, we are brought back to the watch, only to find that Ron isn’t quite so pleased with it as he had been when Gary first gave it to him.
Naturally, I’d give this episode a 100% rating for it’s direction alone. Something sets this episode apart from the others that have been so far and it’s the quality of directing that seems to be the basis of that; whatever is was they did differently here, encore!
