Breathless - General Discussion

[photo fox]

There's no PBS show site for this one yet, but this is the synopsis of the first episode...
 

All is not as it seems for the brilliant and charismatic surgeon Otto Powell (Jack Davenport, Smash) and his glamorous wife Elizabeth as hospital colleagues vie for power, temptation smolders, and a dangerous old secret is drudged up.

PBS episode page

If you have a clever sub-title for this topic, let me know!

[M. Darcy]

Since the PBS website only mentioned Jack (which to be fair is enough to get me watching), I looked up the rest of the cast on IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2829558/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6 and it has a really great cast.  Including my new favorite actor Iain Glen. 

[M. Darcy]

We have a few weeks until this begins. Breathless will start August 24th with the other episodes Aug 31 & Sept 7.

[treeofdreams]

How about a dedicated forum for Breathless, so people can find it easily?  It starts tonight.

 

Also, I don't know where else to put this, but how about a forum for Death in Paradise?  It airs Thursday nights on PBS and is a really good mystery series.

[photo fox]

treeofdreams (or anyone), feel free to request a forum for either of those shows in the New Show Forum Request area. You can find guidelines on how to complete your requests here.

 

We're using this Masterpiece forum as a kind of catch-all for the various shows, some of which don't garner much discussion. However, we are completely open to creating new forums for any of the individual shows, if someone wants to request them.

 

If a new forum is created, I'll lock this topic and move any posts from here. So feel free to go ahead and post here in the interim.

[dcalley]

Death in Paradise isn't a Masterpiece show, so it should get its own forum. However, I don't think it's shown on all PBS stations (it's syndicated, I guess), so discussion may be light.

 

Breathless wasn't renewed, so it's just the 3 episodes.

Edited August 24, 2014 by dcalley

[M. Darcy]

I am looking forward to watching this tonight. I decided to wait and watch the True Blood finale later and it's a few Simpson episodes I can skip (busy busy tv night).

And of course WETA isn't showing it - luckily MPT is showing it.

Edited August 24, 2014 by M. Darcy

[Brattinella]

Well, I watched it tonight.  It is the most relentlessly bleak and depraved piece of muck.  I will absolutely not be watching the rest of this dreck.

[Driad]

 

Thank you, Brattinella.  I couldn't understand half the dialogue (although I watch a lot of British dramas) but it didn't look enjoyable.

[Brattinella]

I love a good drama or a tear-jerker as well as anybody, but there needs to be a SMIDGE of joy in there somewhere, right?

[M. Darcy]

Well, Jack Davenport is really nice to look at.

I think MPT is confused - they kept saying this is on for 5 weeks but I don't think the guy realized they showed episodes 1 and 2 tonight. And the PBS website says it's only 3 weeks.

[jjj]

I believe it was five episodes in Britain -- they combined the first two this evening.  (PBS did the same thing with "Silk" last year, which had been six episodes in Britain, combined into three on PBS.)  The cast list linked above lists five episodes for most of the characters. 

 

Meh, it's good to know it was not renewed, which will keep me from watching it too closely. 

[attica]

Besides the really great hair, clothes, and set decoration (and a surprisingly deep roster of actors), I'm not loving it. Mostly because all of the women are miserable, unable to break out of their miserable situations, forced to clean up after All the Menz so that their lives can be breezy and swell (or at least look that way), and worst of all, shamed for it all. Feminist Hulk Smash!

 

I'm hoping we'll get plot momentum out of these various morasses. Mad Men is propelled throughout the 60s, but with only a few episodes, I'm not seeing how Breathless's arc gets through. If it doesn't, well, costume eye candy.

[Mumbles]

Speaking of Mad Men, this show was so similar at times I laughed out loud. The fidelity-challenged protagonist with the mysterious secret from his days in the military. The redheaded dish with an eye on social-climbing via marriage. The feisty, principled young woman who stands up to her patriarchal boss. The callow and thoughtless young pup who bristles at the perceived slights from his boss.

Still, I guess that I'm in the minority here who liked it fine. But other than the creepy police inspector looking into whatever happened in Cyprus, I don't yet see how it's a "Mystery."

[MyLisa]

What's the story about Dr. Otto's kid?  I get the feeling he's not the natural born child of Dr. and Mrs. Otto, plus he's practically a clone of that other couple...   And what could have possibly happened in Cyprus?  A life-saving operation in the battlefield that left the inspector impotent?  And why does red-headed nurse hide her relationship with her sister?  Bah!  Too many questions, yet too little interest to really care about the answers...

[jjj]

I don't yet see how it's a "Mystery."

 

It is just "Masterpiece", not "Masterpiece Mystery", although I also would quibble that it is not "Masterpiece"! 

[M. Darcy]

For some strange reason I think they are considering it as a "mystery" - hence the intro by Alan Cumming. 

[attica]

I think that once they do the Alan-Cumming-arches-a-murderous-eyebrow intro, it's officially under the MM imprimatur.

[M. Darcy]

 

I think that once they do the Alan-Cumming-arches-a-murderous-eyebrow intro, it's officially under the MM imprimatur.

 

That was the best part.  Heh, if I ever run into him on the street, I am so going to ask him to reenact his intros...especially the way he says "murrrrderrrr."

 

It was strange - the MPT guy kept saying over and over that Zoe Boyle played Matthew's fiancé on Downton Abbey but he never mentioned that Mary's fiancé was also on last night. Poor Iain Glen - always gets dumped by the girl and now ignored by the pledge drive guy.

[JudyObscure]

I kept thinking of Mad Men's plot, too, and wonder if the detective was presumed killed during the war and the little boy is his.

 

I also had trouble hearing most of the dialogue, it seemed the important bits were whispered under loud music.

 

 It was all just so unpleasantly angry-making.  I know "things were different then," but  a lot of it was just too hard to believe; the treatment of the older woman by her doctor ( did he really believe hormones would help with the sagging?) the chunky woman unclear on how babies are made,  the gorgeous redhead desperate for a husband, for that matter, the gorgeous redhead well liked by other women in spite of all her exhibitionistic dancing, the pretty young secretary in hospital having an affair with the creepy,ugly married man.

 

Who are we supposed to root for?  The dark haired (married) nurse and the (married) doctor who's after her?  After "Call the Midwife," I have nurses on a giant pedestal and don't want that to change.

 

The sets and costumes are beautiful but other than that this is closer to 1950's pulp fiction ("The Bramble Bush") than any period's masterpiece.

[jjj]

I do apologize -- I thought "Masterpiece Mystery" had a distinct title, but I see it does not!  Here is the link to the 2014 shows, and hurray, "Inspector Lewis" is back soon!

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/features/news/2014-masterpiece-mystery-full-schedule/

[Brattinella]

Such a perfect review, JudyObscure!  Seriously, the men are just plain nasty, the women are used and abused and cowed and GOD I don't like seeing this.

I was really expecting the lech/ugly doctor to start waving his dick around!  And that bunch of interns, laughing about a prolapse! :((

[dcalley]

the chunky woman unclear on how babies are made

I didn't think she was unclear on it. Her husband couldn't get it up. She knows the problem's with him and wants to talk about it, but no one will talk about it with her. I think her "can it be the man's fault?" was just an attempt at easing into the subject.

 

I was disappointed in this. I don't care too much about any of it, but I will watch the next two and likely not be sad that it was canceled. I kind of wish the abortion stories were more of a focus, as that was what I found most interesting when I read the initial description.

 

There's a synopsis here for episode 1.

[BookThief]

What the hell was that?  I thought the title was already stupid and though even Alan Cumming couldn't make it sound cool I figured "Well, it's on PBS, it's probably alright."  We meet like, 20 characters in the first episode.  Who do you think you are, Game of Thrones?  And yes, joyless describes it well.  Otto's fixation on main nurse lady was just weird. Obviously there's some "mystery" to the show but after watching this first episode I really don't care what it's going to be or what happens to any of these miserable people. 

[dcalley]

Otto's fixation on main nurse lady was just weird.

Yes and unfortunately it seems like she'll fall for him. "How did you get my address?" "I followed you home." Creepy! Red flag! "I've never felt this way before." You barely know her! Showing this persistent, stalkery behavior as effective is not good. I wish the show had gone some other way with these two.

[Driad]

I wish the show had gone some other way instead of to PBS.

[beadgirl]

Ugh, I just watched this. 

 

The biggest problem I think is that it is based on a very simplistic form of feminism/liberalism.  "Look how awful it was! Aren't we so much more enlightened now?!"  Yes, there were women who were stifled and miserable.  But there were also women who genuinely loved being "just" a wife and mother.  There were women who maybe wanted more or something else, but were nonetheless able to find contentment or even happiness in their lives, or who found other outlets.  And there were women who worked even after marriage and kids -- they may not have been the majority, but they existed (my grandmother was one).  There were women who saw nursing as a vocation, not just something to do until marriage, and even some women who became doctors, lawyers, scientists, and so on; again, not the majority, but they existed.  I think it does women of the past a disservice to portray every single one of them as despairing victims with no agency.

 

And you know what?  Not all men were lecherous or clueless assholes.  Some loved and respected their wives, some supported their wives in big ways or in small ways, and quite a few managed to be faithful. 

[JudyObscure]

"Look how awful it was! Aren't we so much more enlightened now?!"

You nailed it, Beadgirl. My mother was an extremely happy, well-read, busy, creative homemaker, back in the day, and my father was not a patronizing jerk. He actually painted watercolors while she landscaped the yard and the neighbors didn't ostracize them!

I'll be watching part two tonight, though. It's Sunday, it must be Masterpiece. I can't help myself.

[beadgirl]

Right! My mom graduated college in the early sixties, got a masters, held several jobs, moved to P.R. by herself for a year, and eventually married my dad and became a housewife, which she wanted.  As we got older she occasionally took a tutoring or teaching job, and my father had no issue with it.  Which is not to say my mom didn't experience sexism (she tried to become a flgiht attendant, but apparently her legs were too fat), but she wasn't oppressed and miserable either.

 

As I watched the show I couldn't help compare it to a recent episode of Endeavour.  There was a young, well-off college student who complained bitterly of sexism and protested a local beauty pageant, but then whined that she would probably end up a married housewife (because apparently she had no say over her life?).  She was contrasted effectively against the (working class, I think) winner of the pageant, who had a definite plan for her career and was determined to achieve it, and the wife of the businessman who ran the pageant -- the husband openly admitted that his wife was the brains behind all of his success.  Using one's looks is not the best way to succeed in life, and it is a shame that the wife had to work through her husband rather than run the business herself, but nonetheless these two went out and did things, rather than passively sit and be victims of the men around them.

 

But yeah, I'll be watching too!

[Brattinella]

Oh God, I watched it again.  It is just a horror from beginning to end, isn't it?  The men are, without exception, awful.  Well, maybe the Indian doctor and Cohen are the exception, but they haven't explored them thoroughly yet.  Even hubby remarked on it tonight.  The women are terrible too, mostly.  They are just that way in a different direction.  I don't know why the one woman just doesn't go to the Policeman's boss and tell on him.  WHAT is this horrible secret in Cyprus?  I'm so ashamed to be invested in this when I said I wouldn't.

[JudyObscure]

I'm guessing the dreamy doctor was drunk and somehow let the detective's son die. Now he wants the doctor's wife and son as replacements -- or something?

The preponderance of peignoir negligee sets is starting to seem like a running joke. It would be fun to see them topped off with nurse Matron's chiffon cap.

[poeticlicensed]

It's now 2/3 through the series and I have no clue what the deal is with Otto and his wife and the weird dude and Cyprus, but I am getting tired of the mystery with zero clues. I also have no idea why Otto is obsessed with the mousy nurse. The only story that is straightforward is the redhead and her philandering hubby. Is it bad that I don't know any of the character's names after 2 double episodes?

[attica]

I think it's unfortunate that the corners of Natasha Little's mouth turn up when she's trying to evoke distress. I've seen her in lots of things; is this something I've never noticed, or is her performance here a sub-par outing?

 

Iain Glen would like a sandwich now, I think. Something carby, something with protein.

 

My eyes are still popping at the set decoration here. Not a single white wall to be found anywhere. Even the hospital floor is full of jazzy patterns and colors!

 

One does not often see it with English actresses, so it's weird to note that Sarah Parish seems to have had Some Work done. According to wiki, she's only 46, so if her character is meant to be older than she is (which is reasonable, given that she tells a 30-year-old Richie that she's old enough to be his mother, and I'd like to think she wasn't imagining herself as a teen mom), she'd want to resist the siren call of face-skin-tightening.

Edited September 1, 2014 by attica

[Ms Lark]

I'm thinking of this as "Mad Men Call the Midwife." And not half as interesting as either of those two.  Unfortunately, it's no Masterpiece and there's no Mystery. Well, unless you count "What happened in Cyprus?" Frankly, who cares? I knew that creepy Inspector would string the wife along so he could continue to get his jollies, more or less that is. Ugh. I suppose I'll watch the final episode for closure, but this has to be the worst "Masterpiece" ever.

[Brattinella]

I swear I was SCREAMING when the Creepy Inspector was in the car with her!  UGH!

[peeayebee]

My eyes are still popping at the set decoration here. Not a single white wall to be found anywhere. Even the hospital floor is full of jazzy patterns and colors!

When ep 1 started, I thought it was a dream sequence because the colors were so vibrant, and then when ep 2 started (as Mr Powell, the nurse, and the anesthesiologist drove thru the neon-lit streets) I again thought it was a dream. 

 

One does not often see it with English actresses, so it's weird to note that Sarah Parish seems to have had Some Work done. 

I had the exact same thought. It was strange to see.

 

Apparently like everyone else, I don't know what the Cyprus incident was. I'm sure we're not supposed to know yet. It seems Powell -- and why do they call him Mr. instead of Dr.? -- was drunk when he operated on someone. I'm not convinced it was Chief Inspector Mulligan's son, but maybe. 

 

I may be way off, but it seems like the Powells aren't really married, or are married in name only. They sleep apart and are never affectionate toward each other. I don't think Tommy is Mr. Powell's son, and maybe Mrs. Powell isn't his mother, either. I'm not sure where they got Tommy though.

 

Mulligan is creepy and sickening, and yet I'm impressed by Iain Glen's performance, esp when I think of him in Game of Thrones.

 

I'm distracted by how much Catherine Steadman (Nurse Wilson) looks like Alyson Hannigan. Also, Natasha Little (Elizabeth Powell) looks a lot like Tippi Hedren.

 

I'm thinking of this as "Mad Men Call the Midwife."

Ms Lark, that is perfect!

 

What else can I say? There are so many characters with so many secrets, it's like Peyton Place. I can't stand Truscott and was hoping he'd drunk-drive into a tree. Since I figure Mr. Powell isn't really married, I want him and Nurse Wilson to get together. I think they're very cute. It's also nice and different to see the leading man as awkward around a woman he likes. I didn't really buy his immediate attraction to her, but I like him and her well enough that I'll forgive it.

[photo fox]

-- and why do they call him Mr. instead of Dr.? --

Brits, please correct me, but I believe surgeons in the UK go by Mr. instead of Dr. IIRC, at one time surgeons didn't actually have to complete medical school, and therefore weren't doctors.

[SonofaBiscuit]

I don't know.  I kind of found this show interesting, but I will admit that I'm very easy to please and will watch practically anything :)  I gave it a chance because of Jack Davenport, and I'll admit that I liked the attraction between him and Nurse Wilson.  I get the impression that Otto is a serial cheater, so I'm unsure at this point if what he feels for Nurse Wilson is real, or if she is just the next victim in his sights.  He has such a lovely way with his patients that I would hate to think he's really just a slimeball! 

 

I'm confused as to why the two sisters are pretending that they don't know each other.  Wouldn't they likely have the same last name? The red-head just married so her colleagues should know her maiden name.  I'm not sure what the point of all of the secrecy is.  Also, did it seem like maybe Otto and Nurse Truscott had something more at one point? 

 

Yeah, many of the men on this show are completely awful.  Truscott, in particular, and most of the residents (?) are totally unprofessional and disrespectful to their female patients.  How humiliating it would have been to have to spend any time in the hospital under the watch of any of those men (beyond Otto, who I thought had a very calming bed-side manner).

 

Am I supposed to get the impression that Enderbury can't get aroused because he's actually attracted to men?  At first, I thought that the show was trying to imply that Enderbury was attracted to Dr. Mehta, but I'm not sure if that was what was happening or not.  I felt so bad for Enderbury's poor wife.  Joanna Page is adorable and it was so awkward when she was trying to ask Otto's wife if the ED problems could actually be her husband's fault.  She needs some better friends...not ones who will use her wedding gift as an ashtray! 

 

I don't really care much about the Cyprus mystery, and Inspector Mulligan is just creepy and yucky.  The less said there, the better, I think. 

 

Next Sunday is the last episode, so I hope that we don't end on some big cliffhangers.  I would like some sort of closure for investing my time in this, please.

[dcalley]

I'm pretty much just watching this for the furniture and then the clothes and hair.
 

The men are, without exception, awful.  Well, maybe the Indian doctor and Cohen are the exception, but they haven't explored them thoroughly yet.

Yeah, the Indian doctor seems OK and has an interesting wife the show will probably ignore. The doorbell rang just as she started to talk (sigh). They probably have a good marriage, too, and you just can't have that on a show, oh no. Sam I thought was likable but then he irked me by asking Otto if he had a chance with Nurse Wilson. It's not that big of a deal, but I guess I was already on edge about how awful everyone is. Just ask her yourself! Or read the clues--she's clearly into someone else and not you. (Or you could try just working with women instead of seeing them as potential love interests.)
 
Another character I wouldn't mind learning more about is the head nurse from Trinidad, was it? Again, I don't think that's going to happen.
 

I'm confused as to why the two sisters are pretending that they don't know each other.  Wouldn't they likely have the same last name? The red-head just married so her colleagues should know her maiden name.  I'm not sure what the point of all of the secrecy is.  Also, did it seem like maybe Otto and Nurse Truscott had something more at one point?

Jean said her family was dead--not a big deal when her sister lived farther away, but now she has to stick to that story. How did Jean take care of her dad while she was at work, was he alone? Because Nurse Wilson (her married name, I assume) is using the runaway to care for him (how convenient). Your last question is addressed in the ep. 1 synopsis. I have no idea if that will come up in the show more clearly.

 

Nurse Wilson is keeping secret her sister, her husband, her father, her runaway, her involvement in an illegal abortion and her knowledge of that whole side business, and now an affair. Enough already!

[SonofaBiscuit]

 

Jean said her family was dead--not a big deal when her sister lived farther away, but now she has to stick to that story. How did Jean take care of her dad while she was at work, was he alone? Because Nurse Wilson (her married name, I assume) is using the runaway to care for him (how convenient). Your last question is addressed in the ep. 1 synopsis. I have no idea if that will come up in the show more clearly.

 

You are right, I forgot that Nurse Wilson is married to some guy Joe, so nobody would know her maiden name.  I also wondered who was taking care of the dad while Jean was at work because I don't get the sense that he's capable of taking care of himself.  It's a small thing, but I was irritated by the fact that Angela (Nurse Wilson) just left cash sitting around in a jar in plain sight and then had to borrow money from her sister for bread, milk, and bacon after the father took the money from the jar.  That was idiotic.  Why don't you, ya know, try hiding the money somewhere so your father and complete stranger of a houseguest can't just grab it whenever they feel like it and leave you without any money for groceries?  You're far too trusting, Angela! 

[peeayebee]

 I get the impression that Otto is a serial cheater, so I'm unsure at this point if what he feels for Nurse Wilson is real, or if she is just the next victim in his sights.  He has such a lovely way with his patients that I would hate to think he's really just a slimeball!

At first I thought he was a big ol' ladies man, but as the show continued, I started to doubt that. He was so tongue-tied with Nurse Wilson it's hard to imagine him approaching other women. He seems practically saintly to me. But I'm just not sure about him.

 

Am I supposed to get the impression that Enderbury can't get aroused because he's actually attracted to men?  At first, I thought that the show was trying to imply that Enderbury was attracted to Dr. Mehta, but I'm not sure if that was what was happening or not.  

I was wondering that at first, but when they finally had sex, he sure looked aroused and pleased. Maybe he was just nervous about his job, first about getting the promotion, then about possibly killing that patient. As for Dr. Mehta, I didn't think Enderbury was attracted to him; he was just brown-nosing.

[M. Darcy]

I just want to know if Shaun Dingwall ever gets a character with a happy ending.   I half expect him to end up dead at the end (unless there is an alternate universe somewhere with a successful Charlie).

[EtheltoTillie]

I do apologize -- I thought "Masterpiece Mystery" had a distinct title, but I see it does not!  Here is the link to the 2014 shows, and hurray, "Inspector Lewis" is back soon!

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/features/news/2014-masterpiece-mystery-full-schedule/

They apparently changed it from Masterpiece Theater (which used to run in NYC on Sundays) and Masterpiece Mystery (which used to run on Thursdays).  A few years ago, they started running all the shows only on Sundays, but they retained separate titles.  Then they combined it into one series called Masterpiece. 

I'm pretty much just watching this for the furniture and then the clothes and hair.

 

Yeah, the Indian doctor seems OK and has an interesting wife the show will probably ignore. The doorbell rang just as she started to talk (sigh). They probably have a good marriage, too, and you just can't have that on a show, oh no. Sam I thought was likable but then he irked me by asking Otto if he had a chance with Nurse Wilson. It's not that big of a deal, but I guess I was already on edge about how awful everyone is. Just ask her yourself! Or read the clues--she's clearly into someone else and not you. (Or you could try just working with women instead of seeing them as potential love interests.)

 

Another character I wouldn't mind learning more about is the head nurse from Trinidad, was it? Again, I don't think that's going to happen.

 

Jean said her family was dead--not a big deal when her sister lived farther away, but now she has to stick to that story. How did Jean take care of her dad while she was at work, was he alone? Because Nurse Wilson (her married name, I assume) is using the runaway to care for him (how convenient). Your last question is addressed in the ep. 1 synopsis. I have no idea if that will come up in the show more clearly.

 

Nurse Wilson is keeping secret her sister, her husband, her father, her runaway, her involvement in an illegal abortion and her knowledge of that whole side business, and now an affair. Enough already!

I read on IMDB that the red-headed sister was playing two roles, but there was no explanation.  Can anyone explain?  Have we seen her but not recognized her?

Edited September 3, 2014 by GussieK

[dcalley]

I read on IMDB that the red-headed sister was playing two roles, but there was no explanation.  Can anyone explain?  Have we seen her but not recognized her?

No, it's just Jean Truscott / Jean Meecher, married name and maiden name.

[SonofaBiscuit]

I just want to know if Shaun Dingwall ever gets a character with a happy ending.   I half expect him to end up dead at the end (unless there is an alternate universe somewhere with a successful Charlie).

 

I'm not familiar with much of Shaun Dingwall's work, but I'm assuming he's sort of like Sean Bean when it comes to his body of acting work?  That man ends up dead in everything! 

 

Maybe I'm dense, but I feel like some of the stuff needs to be spelled out a little more obviously for me.  The Masterpiece Episode 1 synopsis mentions that

"However Otto does need love, which red-haired nurse Jean Meecher once gave him, along with assistance on the “specials.” I had wondered if Otto and Jean had been romantically involved, but I don't feel like that was actually made very clear in the first episode!

  I hope the stuff with Enderbury is also clarified.  Was he having impotency issues because he wasn't attracted to his wife, or was he under too much stress, or possibly some other reason??

[M. Darcy]

 

I'm not familiar with much of Shaun Dingwall's work, but I'm assuming he's sort of like Sean Bean when it comes to his body of acting work?

 

In the things I've seen him, Shaun ends up dead - just like Sean Bean.  He just always end up making me so sad :-( Though, to be fair, while he does end up getting killed on Doctor Who, in an alternate universe, he ends up alive.   (heh, its long enough ago, that shouldn't be considered a spoiler).

[editorgrrl]

Maybe I'm dense, but I feel like some of the stuff needs to be spelled out a little more obviously for me.  The Masterpiece Episode 1 synopsis mentions that

"However Otto does need love, which red-haired nurse Jean Meecher once gave him, along with assistance on the “specials.” I had wondered if Otto and Jean had been romantically involved, but I don't feel like that was actually made very clear in the first episode!

 

Perhaps PBS cut that part? From the "Masterpiece" FAQs:

All of our programs originate in the UK and are produced to fit UK television standard slot lengths. Many are edited to fit our PBS time slot, which is different from those in the UK.

 

Editing to fit television's time slots is a fact of life for almost all programming.

 

When faced with the need to edit, we take it very seriously and approach our editing decisions with great care. Almost always, it is the UK producers who determine and edit the scenes to be trimmed from the U.S. broadcast. Our goal is to deliver to you the film that is closest to the original intent of the producers.

[EtheltoTillie]

No, it's just Jean Truscott / Jean Meecher, married name and maiden name.

Thanks, and that makes me think that the person who wrote the comment on IMDB was a ditz. 

[wellread]

I guess everyone is as disgusted as I was by the routine tie-up-all-the-loose-ends, soap opera, happy ending.  Did I fall asleep and miss what happened to Inspector Mulligan's body?  This has to have been the worst Masterpiece ever, including all programs ever shown under the Masterpiece umbrella.

[attica]

I was sort of surprised that Otto ended up back in his dead-end marriage, father to yet another baby not his. Well, if you're going to build a life around a passel of lies, there you go.

 

I'd also like to acknowledge another trope present here that I wish would die a fiery death: that of the only female character who defies patriarchal sex roles dies (by cancer of her ladyparts, ain't that an anvil). Sure, everybody loved her instead of despising or pitying her, but dead she still is. And her death is a Lesson To Us All.

 

I don't quite buy the plot line that had Charlie refuse the new job. If you want me to buy that, show, you have to show him hesitant or reluctant during the interview process, rather than having the time of his freaking life. Maybe there were edits?

 

Loved Jean's funeral outfit. You don't ever go wrong with New Look fash, do you?