Del - As Macbeth said to Hamlet in Midsummer Nights Dream, ‘we’ve been done up like a couple of kippers’
Episode 3 has the one major plot running through it, and it is another get rich quick scheme - although this time it backfires massively with our protagonists down £2000 by the end credits.
It’s the first episode episode that we see: the van being used (albeit briefly) and Del calling Rodney a plonker (not for the last time).
John Sullivan admits that the plot came as a result of the episode name which he really liked. The episode having little consequence on the long-term storylines of the characters then makes sense - we don’t see any fallout from this in the next episode.
That aside, I feel like this is a strong episode as it shows the brothers up against it but also flawed and desperate. In these moments, the gags and one liners come flying out thick and fast. I particularly enjoyed:
Del - Listen John, I don’t know what this Barney is all about, and I don’t wanna know. So why don’t you chaps get out of the way before someone gets a smack in the ear?
Mr Ram - please, don’t threaten me with violence, my friend. My colleague here is a 2nd Dan in karate.
Del - And I’m a black belt in origami. Get out of the way.
Del - Didn’t Grandad tell you I telephoned?!
Rodney - Oh yeah he told me. ‘Del’s been caught by the Indians’ he said. Didn’t know whether to phone the police or the Texas Rangers!
Del - It’s the bacon and the egg situation all over again.
In and amongst this fast paced quipping, there’s some fantastic slapstick moments too. The most notable of these being Del’s fall, forward roll and catching the statue in one move which is the highlight of the episode. But lots of little moments made me laugh too such as Del throwing the digestive in his tea at Vimmal’s flat, and carrying clothes already outside the store into a 2nd hand clothes shop.
We also see Del’s methods of drumming up new business, by attending fancy Chamber of Trade dinner and dance dos where he wears clothes well above his current social status, carrying on the image theme from last episode. There’s a reference to Del interrupting Rodney’s evening with a girl, showing the priority is currently business - this will change as the characters mature.
This won’t be the last time that the Trotters come up against con artists who use their own wish to make a quick buck against them. My mind automatically draws parallels to S6 E3 ‘Chain Gang’ which sees this played out on a grander scale and fuller cast, but with the extra time to have an alternate more uplifting ending.
Tomorrow’s episode: The Second Time Around
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