Saturday 8 March 2008

TW 209: Something Borrowed

A story that doesn't know if it wants to be serious soap opera, or wacky hijinks!


The shapeshifter gives the episode a boost of humour it needs to keep going. A wedding episode is usually played for laughs (mainly because it's the comedies that do wedding shows), and Nerys Hughes getting shot is enough to get anyone's spirits up. But then the episode shifts gears regularly with a horrible crunch as it tries to service the love triangle that is Gwen and Jack, because of course we want those two crazy kids to get together... I guess. Don't really care, as long as it isn't bashed over our heads constantly every episode like they do with every single relationship this series! We get the point. Frankly I wouldn't have been too surprised if the wedding had been cancelled (certainly foresaw the retcon ending), but they decided to go for setting up the miserable marriage and Gwen's love struggle will tear everything apart. Aw, bless.

Oh, speaking of the blatantly obvious: Owen's dead, you know. If he didn't keep going on about it, we never would have guessed. And also on the news front: Ianto and Jack are an item! Wow, they really keep rolling out that continuity...

This episode tries to serve two masters, and as the quote goes: "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other." [Matthew 6:24] Replace slave with audience and this might be close to how this episode is received.


Next week: Ah yes, circus folk, the very essence of horror...

[END]

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