An odd episode of two parallel tales, seemingly based around the principle "How to write two completely shallow characters and still have them come off more sympathetic than the nice girl."Donna and Natasha are, in a sense, two sides of the same coin, both living in their own little bubble, but Donna is personable while Natasha isn't. The scene where they meet and Natasha's attempts to brush aside her own broken dreams cause her to break Donna's is deeper than it probably deserves to be.But if the writers want us to sympathise with Natasha, they need to stop making her such a cow.
Michael and Nick play the roles of father figures well and probably come out of the episode with more credit than anyone.As for the others...Donna's friends seem to spend the episode spouting nonsense about her drawings in an unhelpful attempt to make her feel good, which is oddly played for laughs.But the real wooden spoon is saved for Andrew and especially Summer, who continue to string Natasha along to make themselves feel good in a way that's actually downright cruel.
Michael and Nick play the roles of father figures well and probably come out of the episode with more credit than anyone.As for the others...Donna's friends seem to spend the episode spouting nonsense about her drawings in an unhelpful attempt to make her feel good, which is oddly played for laughs.But the real wooden spoon is saved for Andrew and especially Summer, who continue to string Natasha along to make themselves feel good in a way that's actually downright cruel.