This review contains spoilers.
I enjoyed last week’s Switch more than I have in the three weeks prior, and was praying this penultimate episode of series one would be another winner. It was, even if it was completely different from the hour that came before. Billing itself as a comedy/drama, this was an episode that lent firmly towards the comedy side, and managed to elicit more than a couple of laughs from this writer’s hardened sense of humour. More than this, it combined those light-hearted moments with some genuinely interesting adventures for the four girls, and I’m actually going into next week’s finale feeling optimistic.
Grace was the main focus, as her new relationship with Gerry is causing the other three girls varying degrees of discomfort. For Stella because her love life has stalled yet again, and for Jude because her fear of commitment had kept her from finding happiness with the very same guy. Poor Grace has always seemed insecure and shy but her relationship with someone admittedly much cooler than she is has magnified those traits more than ever. Personally, I would have preferred it if the show had placed Grace in more of a mothering role like she was in the premiere, instead of the timid stress-pot we’re handed in this episode. I can’t say I like Gerry, either, and hope he doesn’t last until next week’s finale.
In direct opposition is Stella, who is inspired by Grace’s breakfast time make-out session to find a new girlfriend for herself. In typical Stella fashion, she holds interviews for a string of dates, applying her type-A personality to the task of reinvigorating her love life. The speed-dating scene was hilarious and Lacey Turner’s sharp tongue and comic timing were given another well-deserved outing. She comes out with some zingers this week, and it’s a wonder that the character doesn’t ever come off unlikeable. In the end, her search leads her to her boss, who checked the ‘interested in women’ box simply because she’s had such bad luck with men. It’s a happy ending, though, as she introduces her to a man who’d tried his luck earlier.
Hannah continues her flighty career search with a try at private witch tutoring. Seeing an advert for a snobby mother seeking training for her anti-social daughter, she convinces the other girls to perform a reputation spell, and is soon left alone with an thoroughly unpleasant fifteen-year-old. Instead of teaching her how to be better at magic, though, she feels it’s more worthwhile to teach her how to interact with other girls and possibly form her own coven. After several failed attempts, she finds her use by helping the Stella-less girls perform another unnecessary spell (this time to make Gerry tell the truth), and Hannah sends her back to her mother happier and ready to face the world.
Jude’s story includes a guest appearance from Kevin Bishop, who plays his role fairly straight. Afraid that she’ll be left alone now that Grace is with Gerry, Jude invites a guy she met once over for sex, before convincing him to give the relationship a proper go. For once, the storyline doesn’t involve Jude screwing anyone’s life up with her own selfish intentions, but it still doesn’t go too well for her. After deciding to ‘go out’ with each other, we find out that Mike is a bit of a nutter, and she asks her gay co-worker to pose as her absentee boyfriend and get rid of him. It’s fairly entertaining, and I’m always glad to see Bishop in anything.
The girls are heading to the annual solstice next week, with Gerry tagging along, and we get to see Grace’s mother return. I’m looking forward to getting out of London for the final week, even if I’d rather not spend more time with the Kensington witches.
Read Caroline's review of the previous episode, here.
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