More thoughts on Freddie's episode, and series four as a whole

[botherd]

I didn't hate this episode, and I wasn't bored by it. I think there were definitely problems with it, but honestly? None of that mattered to me in the moment where they found Effy in the bathroom, because I love her so much and seeing her like that hurt. It wasn't a surprise, but it was still a shock.

This episode was actually the most I've ever liked Freddie. I still don't buy Effy being in love with Freddie, but this episode made me really believe in his love for her. He was hopelessly out of his depth, but he was trying his best to help her and I can't hate him after that. I mean, maybe Effy suddenly hallucinating people out to get her is ridiculous, but Freddie chasing them away was the sweetest thing ever. I'm not saying I ship it now, because I still don't see it as a two-way thing, but I do like how much he loves her.

And, okay. Obviously my OTP is Katie/Effy, and I loved their moments together, but I kind of find it harder than ever to see anything actually happening between them. (I don't mean in canon, but it would be hard for me to write fic after this ep.) Because Effy is in a place where she really can't be in a relationship with anyone, and much as I love Katie I don't think she'd be any better than Freddie at dealing with Effy's problems. I think I'd just like Katie to be a really supportive friend from here.

I miss Tony. He's the person that Effy needs most right now. And I hate that he's not absent for storytelling reasons, he's absent because they got rid of the last cast and don't seem to care about bringing any of them back.

So, yeah, even though the ending of this episode really affected me, I still had problems with it, and they're the same problems I've been having all series. I think this episode would have been more effective from Effy's point of view, just like the Sophia storyline would have been more effective from Naomi's perspective, although I think that we got enough of Effy here that it wasn't quite as bad as what they did (or rather, didn't do) with Naomi.

The main problem, though, goes back to these episodes being way too insular. If they treated the show more as a genuine ensemble and made an effort to build character arcs over several episodes, Effy's deterioration wouldn't have seemed so sudden. It makes sense given her whole history on the show, but this series literally the only indication they've given is her taking pills at Emily's barbecue, and that's just not enough. So I bought it in the context of the episode, because it made sense for her character, but a few episodes of build-up would have made it more effective.

The other problem with the insularity of the episodes is that it means that storylines are just dropped, and I find it incredibly frustrating. I know a lot of people are looking forward to JJ's episode because they want a break from the depression, but frankly, I'm not. Partly because the trailer didn't make the episode seem all that good (and I say that as a JJ fan) but partly because I want to know what's going on with Effy. It just seems like really shitty storytelling to have a character try to kill herself and then ignore it completely. Was it like this in the first two series? I've watched them both, but I can't remember. Maybe they did have similar pacing problems, but I don't remember being this frustrated about the failure to create actual character arcs. I mean, series three was quite insular but still did a lot better than this. IDK, I think I'm going to blame Jamie Brittain.

Comments

[liev.livejournal.com]

I just don't know what to look forward to anymore. I loved Effy in s1 and 2, but I kinda lost interest in her after that, and s4 hasn't really done anything to change that. Like everyone else, I don't like these insular episodes at all, and this series has seriously suffered in quality because of it too.

Then there's NE, who get VERY little development (like, not even nearly enough to make them a believably couple again by the finale). Emily, who's my favourite by far, still seems so broken and bitter and depressed that it's hard to believe there'll be an upwards trend sometime soon. Naomi would need an episode, there's nothing else to say here. Panda, who I so ridiculously love, has been shunned so far, which is a shame, because all her scenes are usually very good and she interacts well with the others and, you know, the group as a whole. Which isn't even a group anymore, because we never see them hanging out now, and on the rare occassions when a few of the characters happen to be in the same place at the same time, it almost feels weird/forced. Katie's emotional journey has been the only (good) suprise so far. Not to mention that JB seems to think that more drama/more cheating/more suicides=most amazing thing ever, which isn't the case at all.

Ugh, I feel like every week I go to your journal and leave a comment worthy of the Debbie Downer award, sorry bb.

[botherd.livejournal.com]

LOL don't worry about it! Honestly, there's plenty to be down about, and I think the problem is that Jamie Brittain just doesn't know how to be a showrunner. Or how to write good episodes. I mean, I love Effy, but I can remember the precise moment when I really fell for her as a character and that was... chapter five of Bedlam. So if it weren't for fic, I probably wouldn't have been as affected by this ep as I was.

You're totally right that they can't fix Naomi/Emily believably, and yet I'm pretty sure that's exactly what they're going to try to do. I mean, they're probably the couple with the most development this series, but they still haven't done nearly enough to earn a happy ending for them.

I miss the group feeling as well. I remember how last series they didn't feel much like a group of friends, and somehow they seem to have made it even worse this year.