As the pilot, a sort of disjointed episode with no clear aim. The acting is more than good, the story isn't. Will it continue down that path?!
2 Reviews
[7.2] Nothing's burning
cjonesas21 September 2021
Dorothy Atkinson Makes the Episode
Gislef13 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, everyone else does their job, but it's pretty straightforward. Watching Atkinson as Alfred's mother, Mary, steal scene after scene is what makes the show for me.
As I noted in my review of the season 2 premiere, the mother/son dynamic is fairly unusual. We get to see it in full force here. First as Alfred tries to guilt Mary into pulling up her socks by saying that's what his father would tell her to do. And then you have Mary's response, " And I'd tell him where to shove his bloody socks."
Although the bit about the bears in America, which is why she doesn't want to go there, is cute.
Then we have the bit with the kidnappers. You almost get the impression the production staff is going to do "Ransom of Red Chief", as she bullies them and asks questions like "Who are you?"
Then Alfred show up, and he and Mary have a shouted argument when she tells him not to pay the money for her ransom, because she wants him to save the money for her grandchildren. Who Alfred will never give her unless he settles down. And on, and on. There's a shot of a kidnapper rolling his eyes, with just adds to the weird humor. I also like her (and Dave Boy) harassing Aziz, when he and his men showed up at the kidnapping due to a misunderstanding.
Kudos also to Jack Bannon, who plays Alfred's exasperation and momma's boy attitude pitch perfect. He plays Alfred as a guy who can deal with anything... except of his mother.
We also get the return of Crowley (Jonjo O'Neill), who I find a fascinating presence. Whether it's convincing Thomas to kiss him, or his seduction of Archbishop Potter by having him imagine the degradation of Satan, and then offering to show him those imaginings. I found Crowley unsettling and odd in season one: it's good to see he hasn't changed for season 2.
The rest of the episode is okay. The whole subplot with Alfred and Sharon seems like a waste of time: she seems beneath him compared to Esme from last season. The Alfred/Sharon romance is even more clichéd than the Alfred/Esme one. Nobody else has much to do, particularly Martha who shows up for one scene at the beginning but that's it.
We also get to see Paloma Faith as Bet, acting... psycho with her pet? lover? former prisoner? Katie.
Overall, the episode is okay except for the parts with Atkinson, where it soars into LOL comedic genius.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
As I noted in my review of the season 2 premiere, the mother/son dynamic is fairly unusual. We get to see it in full force here. First as Alfred tries to guilt Mary into pulling up her socks by saying that's what his father would tell her to do. And then you have Mary's response, " And I'd tell him where to shove his bloody socks."
Although the bit about the bears in America, which is why she doesn't want to go there, is cute.
Then we have the bit with the kidnappers. You almost get the impression the production staff is going to do "Ransom of Red Chief", as she bullies them and asks questions like "Who are you?"
Then Alfred show up, and he and Mary have a shouted argument when she tells him not to pay the money for her ransom, because she wants him to save the money for her grandchildren. Who Alfred will never give her unless he settles down. And on, and on. There's a shot of a kidnapper rolling his eyes, with just adds to the weird humor. I also like her (and Dave Boy) harassing Aziz, when he and his men showed up at the kidnapping due to a misunderstanding.
Kudos also to Jack Bannon, who plays Alfred's exasperation and momma's boy attitude pitch perfect. He plays Alfred as a guy who can deal with anything... except of his mother.
We also get the return of Crowley (Jonjo O'Neill), who I find a fascinating presence. Whether it's convincing Thomas to kiss him, or his seduction of Archbishop Potter by having him imagine the degradation of Satan, and then offering to show him those imaginings. I found Crowley unsettling and odd in season one: it's good to see he hasn't changed for season 2.
The rest of the episode is okay. The whole subplot with Alfred and Sharon seems like a waste of time: she seems beneath him compared to Esme from last season. The Alfred/Sharon romance is even more clichéd than the Alfred/Esme one. Nobody else has much to do, particularly Martha who shows up for one scene at the beginning but that's it.
We also get to see Paloma Faith as Bet, acting... psycho with her pet? lover? former prisoner? Katie.
Overall, the episode is okay except for the parts with Atkinson, where it soars into LOL comedic genius.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
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