Raquel - I’ve read the play again and again, and at no point does Shakespeare mention that Rosalind... is pregnant.
As we now have both brothers in a relationship, this episode typifies how they are currently headed in different directions. Raquel gets a new role in a production of Shakespeare, only to have the news of the pregnancy interrupt things, but delighting Del who has been supportive of her. Whereas Rodney and Cassandra seem stuck in neutral, and Rodney foolishly resigns thinking Alan has heard about their latest row (which he hasn't).
There's a moment of reversal in fortunes for both couples. Del believes that Raquel is embarrassed by Del or thinks less of him than the actors she's met, and Rodney temporarily patches things up with Cassandra. For Del it's Trigger who gets in his head, with a story about is sister who dated an actor and "suddenly thought she was more intelligent than the rest of the family". Rodney's successful wooing of Cassandra again at the restaurant is down to Del's interference (again) but this time it pays off. It's a moment for relief for both of them that they show each other that they still have feelings and an attraction to each other, despite their hostile tough exteriors.'
Whilst Del let Trigger's story get to him, for Rodney it is Albert who recounts the story of Tubby Fox who resigned but they refused his resignation. Rodney takes this advice a bit too literally and ends up having his resignation accepted. Only last episode we had Alan saying he was hoping that he could leave the business to Cassandra and Rodney and retire one day. Del is in disbelief and we get Rodney failing to justify his actions.
Del - You stupid little plonker! That was the best job you've ever had, and are likely to have - and you've chucked it away!
Rodney - Listen. I am in control of my own destiny. I am my own man. I make my own decisions.
Del - Then why did you resign?
Rodney - Because he told me to!
Del sums up the situation nicely.
Del - This is all your own doing. You've got no one else to blame. You had a lovely flat, a lovely wife, the bestest job in the whole world - and you blew it!
Raquel handles Del much better than Rodney ever has, by forcing him to stop interfering when he meets her and Adrian the director at lunch. Del is put firmly in his place, which he isn't used to. She becomes the person that he listens to most, in that sense replacing his mother. Del has lacked any real direction in his life up until this point but Raquel has come in and isn't afraid to set him straight.
That's not to say he's not working like he always has however. His business with the door bells shows that he's still up to his old ways. He also knows his low hanging fruit too as he manages to sell one to Trigger, Marlene and installs one on Rodney & Cassandra's new door for a great punchline moment. We've seen Del trying to push some rubbish before, but Mike tells him in the most honest way possible what he thinks of Del's product.
Mike - Del, they're cheap and tacky!
Del - I've got one on my front door...!
Mike - Yeah, you most probably have. You'd need a brain bypass to have one of them fitted!
All of this is overshadowed by the news of Raquel's pregnancy however. How nervous she is about telling him about it is a sign that whilst they are living together, it's still early days and she fears he may not want a child. However Del's reaction is over the moon, as he is to have Raquel in his life anyway. John Sullivan commented that he knew that if the show continued as long as it currently did then baby Trotters would inevitably become a storyline.
Tomorrow's episode: Stage Fright
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