This was
one of Jodie Whittaker’s very first onscreen credits, a guest appearance on a
long-running British medical soap. This
show has appeared on many a U.K. actor’s filmography, so it’s not much of a
surprise that Whittaker cropped up here as well. It’s often tricky dropping into a show for
one random episode for the sake of a particular actor, and I think that’s especially
true with soaps.
A few
different plots going on here. The most
relevant one deals with a patient, young recently-single mother Louise, along
with her own mother Gwen. Gwen worries
about Louise’s mental/emotional well-being after the abrupt departure of her
baby daddy, but Gwen also has her own issues to worry about (medical as well as
personal) and doesn’t get much chance in the wake of Louise’s needs. Meanwhile, one of the main doctors is
battling with a bigwig at another clinic over a doctor he’d sent over to help
share the load, one he feels wasn’t given the support he needed at the other
clinic.
If that
last part sounds shockingly vague, that’s because the episode didn’t hold my
attention well enough to learn any of the regulars’ names. A decent part of that, I’m sure, is just the nature
of jumping into a random soap in the middle.
Very serialized storytelling, so there are ongoing plots I don’t know
anything about, and while the cast isn’t huge, it’s big enough that I kept
track of the doctors and nurses mainly by appearance and making half-assed
inferences of the relationships between them.
As for
the episode itself, it’s fine but didn’t really grab me. I can’t tell if Whittaker’s plot is the most
interesting part of it or if it’s just that her presence kept me paying
attention better. Either way, she plays
Louise Clancy, the young mother.
Basically, although she does have a very legitimate medical issue –
depression, which she’s resistant to address with the doctors – her bigger part
within the episode is bringing her familial drama into the clinic. She’s been living with her mom since her baby
daddy skipped out on her, and Gwen’s doing everything she can to be supportive,
but Louise doesn’t feel that support.
She feels like Gwen is judging her, ganging up on her with the doctors,
and when she starts to worry that Gwen is hiding a medical problem from her,
all her fears and frustrations are pushed into overdrive.
It’s kind
of an interesting character, if not a very sympathetic one. Louise obviously has a lot going on in her
life, with a number of pressing responsibilities weighing her down and some
prominent grievances occupying her thoughts.
It makes sense that she’s an utter mess, that she’s wrung out from exhaustion
and wants to lash out. The fact that her
mom, who’s been trying to make concessions with her own happiness to focus on
Louise, is the target of much of that lashing out is where the unsympathetic
part comes in, but again, I find it understandable. Even though Gwen is just trying to help in any
way she can, Louise can’t feel that.
She’s depressed and anxious and feeling paranoid, and that makes her
feel crazy and judged. Whittaker is very
believable as a struggling mother pushed to her limit.
Accent Watch
Northern.
Recommend?
In General – Naw. Not enough to hold my interest, and like I
said, there’s not much point to jumping in at the middle.
Jodie
Whittaker
– Maybe. Whittaker does a good job in
this early role, and at only 30 minutes, it’s not a huge time investment.
Warnings
Sexual
references and thematic elements.
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