A mixed-bag episode, especially where the Jodie Whittaker stuff is concerned. On the whole, I feel like this miniseries hovers just outside the edge of being really good – there are moments in pretty much every episode where it shines and everything is kicked up a notch, but that’s brought down by illogical plot beats or overwrought drama, leaving us with an average ranging from “all right” to “pretty good.” It’s like it could be great, but it can’t quite get over the last hurdle.
Kev is on edge as the one-year anniversary of the arson approaches. He’s struggling, but he’s been cut off from his usual support systems, and that’s making it harder for him to function well at work. A minor medical emergency on the job takes a surprising turn, trapping Mal and Dennis in a tense situation. Meanwhile, Trish experience a hard setback in something she’s been trying to realize for herself for a long time.
Once again, the rescue plot has some really solid material in it. When the watch responds to a 911 call from a group of schoolgirls whose teacher has gone into anaphylactic shock, we’re treated to another dose of the soft skills of the job. It’s not just offering emergency medical treatment or searching a derelict building for the girl who wandered off, it’s also comforting and reassuring the children who are scared and wondering if they did the right thing and constantly underfoot. It’s fun to watch some of the supporting characters playing with the girls in background business or letting them try on their firefighter hats/jackets. But for Kev, it exacerbates an already emotional-stressful time. Due to the nature of his injuries from the arson, he’s now unable to conceive children, and so he thinks he’ll never be a dad, something he always longed to do (at no point has anyone brought up the idea of adoption, but since this whole thing is still relatively raw for Kev, I’ll give him a pass on not thinking about that for himself.) As such, it’s hard for him to deal with these girls running around being sweet and annoying and charming and in need of emotional reassurance, and he doesn’t handle himself well.
In general, we’ve seen numerous examples of Kev’s issues interfering with his work. However, while a lot of the things that come up are related to his trauma after the arson, the biggest common factor, for me, appears to be his resistance to dealing with his emotions. His tendency to bottle up his reactions to his personal problems spills over into his professional life, and he treats his fellow watch members better or worse depending on whether he’s in a good place with them personally. We’ve seen the watch pull together before despite interpersonal issues bubbling in the background, but here, it gets a few of the firefighters into a very dangerous situation, and even in imminent peril, they have a hard time working together to get the job done. Overall, I’d say it just works, but there are scenes where the drama gets way too overblown for my tastes.
Trish is off in more of her own plot today. Knowing that the anniversary of the arson is coming up, she’s been trying to be there for Kev, but when he keeps pushing her away, she focuses on herself instead, starting a long-awaited job that’s very personal for her. I like that we’re getting a little more of her that’s about her rather than just her place in Kev’s life, and some of the details of what’s going on here are interesting.
However, when Trish runs up against an unexpected barrier, there’s an uncomfortable scene where she calls Ziggy to talk about it and receives a “go after what you want, no matter what” pep talk. First, it’s not a scene that makes that much sense – Trish and Ziggy don’t seem to be that close, a circumstance that has only increased in recent episodes, so it seems weird for Trish to be calling Ziggy to discuss her problems. Trish’s whole demeanor in the scene doesn’t seem to jive with what we’ve seen of her character so far. Furthermore, I don’t really like to see Ziggy being used to bolster Trish in this way. Again, Ziggy hasn’t really been friendly with Trish to begin with, plus she’s dealing with her own work problems right now. It leaves me feeling like we’re watching a Black woman (supporting character) take time to emotionally support a white woman (one of the lead characters) who isn’t a close friend of hers, all while she’s trying to handle her own issues alone, and I don’t really like that.
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