Because
Titmuss isn’t in enough of a quandary over the whole “shall I take a cement
mixer to my old stomping grounds?” thing, episode 2 drops a few more issues on his
head. First, he’s moved back to the
country with his new wife (Jenny, a widow – their courtship was sweetly
awkward,) and she’s expressed an interest in joining the local group of
anti-development protestors. The press
is all too quick to catch whiffs of the story, and Jenny doesn’t exactly
appreciate the putting down of Titmuss’s foot.
Meanwhile,
Titmuss is far from amused by Cracken, his own would-be Brutus. Cracken has all sorts of schemes that he
plots, either in his office or out rabbit-hunting, with Mr.-Burns-ian
delight. But Titmuss has been at the
political game a lot longer, and he’s put up with entitled Oxbridge types
before. There’s one episode left in the
miniseries – I imagine that, by the time the dust settles, Cracken will realize
he’s not quite ready to play with the big boys.
We see
a direct clash between the two this episode, something beyond condescending
remarks about Titmuss’s less refined tastes and brusque manner. Cracken is self-assured enough to show his
hand, and Titmuss in turn shows him what he’s made of. It’s fun to see Cracken on the ropes,
twisting in the wind a bit before he goes underground to plan his next move.
Also,
here’s an interesting side-story. Each
episode spends some time on the villagers, their protest movement, and the
everyday goings-on of their lives.
Today, there’s a scene in which a mother has sent her adult daughter to
marriage counseling. Why? She has no interest in having sex with her
“intended.” Granted, for her, it’s a
personal issue (she grew up on a rabbit farm, knows full well where the phrase
“at it like rabbits” came from, and is now sick of the idea,) but I was still
intrigued. The counseling session ends
with her having to decide between once-a-week sex or once-a-week therapy. Darn prescriptive attitudes.
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