Bel continues to be shortchanged in the storyline department, but at least Freddie cracks the crossword
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read any further if you haven't watched the third episode of The Hour. For a review of episode two, click here.
Cometh The Hour
There's not a lot of The Hour itself this week. In fact, though we hear it is doing far better thanks to Hector's exciting Egypt interview, the set barely even makes a cameo, appearing only as the backdrop to the much more exciting The Man Who Knew (this title is very significant, detectives, so keep it in mind).
The bulk of the episode happens away from the studio, in the country mansion of Hector's wife's family, with plenty of opportunities for class observations mostly allowed to slide. We get that Freddie isn't posh by birth by the fact that he attempts to wear dirty shoes to dinner, and that Bel is actually quite posh by the fact that she isn't fazed by any of the silly fancy games like Sardines. But mostly it's just a lot of running around drinking booze and shooting things (known these days as a "city break") though there is a curious distraction in the shape of Ruth Elms' former fiance, and The Man Who Knew actor, Adam Le Ray. Adam drinks too much and drapes himself over sneaky adviser Angus McCain, and in a haze of whisky, it's implied that he got engaged to Ruth to cover up her pregnancy, and his homosexuality.
Bel continues to be shortchanged in the storyline department, with her scenes devoted to her will-they, won't-they, oh-they-have affair with married Hector, whose wife seems quite nice, actually, which makes it all a little unpalatable. Freddie is of course still mooning after her with poetry, though they continue to have a sibling sort of intimacy ? sharing a bathroom, jumping up and down on the bed ? that makes it seem very unlikely, and I'm still not convinced there's any chemistry there. It feels as though Bel the character is still treading water. The trailer for next week's episode suggests she's going to have more to kick against, however, with the reasons for her appointment becoming more clear.
The Hat Men and the Debutante
Far more exciting is the Mr Kish business, not that you imagine Freddie would agree, with his leisurely mystery-solving continuing at a crawl. He confronts Kish about the video reel, resulting in a car-park confrontation that ends, rather anti-climactically, in the promise of a drink. A spy-ish, sinister drink, but still, not quite fisticuffs. Kish returns to the centre on Saturday, hanging around Freddie's desk, trying to snaffle the canister, but plucky Isaac is watching him, and he doesn't get away with it. When Freddie returns from his country adventures, they have a confrontation over coffee that's far more The Man Who Knew, resulting in a violent scuffle, and Kish eventually chucking himself over the railings. What we learn is this: Brightstone, as Freddie uncovered from the crosswords, is a person. (Who is probably friends with Gatehouse.)
Notes and observations
The pacing continues to be frustrating: once again, it felt like a slow episode, until the last 10 minutes.
? Egypt is still kicking off, and the government appears to have got itself in a pickle about it.
? "He's been drinking. Takes one to know one, sweetheart." Lix may be AbFab's Patsy in period costume, but she's still the most entertaining person here.
? "You came into my house and you frightened my father!" For fans of The Shadow Line, this is a Typical Fucking British Car Chase moment.
? Playing a convincing drunk must be one of the hardest jobs in acting, so hats off to Andrew Scott, who pulled it off with aplomb.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/aug/02/the-hour-season-one-episode-three
The Ashes European banks Short breaks The far right St Lucia Sunderland
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