Getting On: Series 2, Episode 6 (2010)

Last Getting On installment of Capaldi Winter!  As predicted, the conflicts bubbling up last episode boil over here.  There’s an excellent, very real argument between Kim and Pippa that’s great to watch, definitely a culmination of a lot of problems that have been brewing for a while.  As with last season, the finale mostly deals with plotlines that have been building – work issues, a patient on her last legs, romances and rivalries – but there’s a bit of new stuff as well.  

 

Interestingly, the newest face on the ward is a teenage girl, the utterly unimpressed Zoe.  Den has amusingly taken the young lass under her wing; why?  Because she feels sorry for the poor lamb?  Because she wants to cheer up a sick girl?  Because it’s a change of pace from elderly ladies?  None of the above – she’s trying to wrangle a Make-a-Wish trip to swim with dolphins, one that would oh-so-conveniently allow Den to come along and participate as well.

 

I should mention:  I noticed it a while back, but I like that many of the patients on the ward carry over from episode to episode.  It makes sense that quite a few older patients would be in for more long-term care, and the audience gets to know them alongside Kim and Den.  It’s nicer/more bittersweet when they recover and go home, and it’s sadder when things go the other way.

 

One final appearance by PC’s Peter Healy, a class act as always (I’ve noticed that I say this almost every time he pops up, but I can’t help it.  Peter is a piece of work.)  This time around, he doesn’t even wait for Pippa to leave the room before he starts making eyes at other doctors, and he does a terrific job of nonchalantly making her feel like crap.  I’d want to throttle him in real life, but he and his smarmy self are pretty entertaining on TV.

 

Some nice direction here, especially in some of the more dramatic moments.  “Unflinching” is the descriptor I used early on, and it’s still just as applicable.  The scenes that are dramatic or uncomfortable are so true to life, not backing down at all from the situations at hand, and PC’s direction captures that sense really effectively.

 

Accent Watch

 

I’m still thinking RP, but I keep hearing those Scottish OOs and other hints of Scottishness poking through.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – A provisional yes.  I don’t think it’s for everyone, but there’s a lot to like here.

 

PC-wise – Not necessarily.  PC does a fine job with the role, but he doesn’t have a huge amount to do.  If you just want a taste, series 2 episode 4 is his largest outing.  I actually might recommend the show more for the directing than the acting – series 2, episode 3 is my favorite on that front.

 

Warnings

 

Nothing new add.