My Review of It's A Sin: "Episode 4"

 

Written by Russell T. Davies

Directed by Peter Hoar

Ritchie (to everyone): "I'm gonna live."

I cant believe there's only one more episode left in this incredible miniseries and this one certainly saw the shit hit the fan even more as we opened with a funeral of another young man whose parents couldn't accept his sexuality while Ritchie went on a tangent about decorum.

I've seen that Ritchie has divided viewers and in a way that's a good thing. I love all the main lads on this series have been so different to each but at the same time, it feels believable that they all are friends. Colin's death still loomed on events and here Ritchie wanted not to talk about AIDS while being confronted with the reality of it.

Olly Alexander really impressed with this episode. Ritchie might not be the easiest of characters to like at times but he definitely went through the ringer here. An attempt to cook a nice dinner for his family went awry and he unloaded a lot more than he probably wanted to on an old school mate named Martin (Jonny Green).

I did fear that straight Martin was going to punch Ritchie when the latter was coming on a bit too strong, but instead he was kind and told Ritchie to look after himself and I loved that. I also loved that Ritchie stepped in during the protests after some policemen attacked Jill and his confession and determination at the end was a highlight along with the ballet scene with Martin.

I somewhat mentioned that Ash had felt underused so far this series ans this episode somewhat amended that as we got to see into his job as a teacher. The job came with an asshole boss that made Ash go through books to ban that might have homosexual content in them. Aside from that, there was also the hint of Ash wanting to get closer to Ritchie with the latter keeping him at arm's length.

As for Roscoe, he was somewhat enjoying the high life being offered to him by closeted and conservative MP Arthur Garrison (Stephen Fry) but Arthur being such fanboy for Margaret Thatcher was more than Roscoe could tolerate so he took some pleasure in adding a special ingredient to Maggie's coffee. That scene was the other highlight from this one.

- Ritchie got to act in a Doctor Who bit called Regression Of The Daleks. Surely Chris Chibnall should be calling any of these talented young actors for this show.

- The inspiration behind Jill Baxter, Jill Nadler appeared here, playing Jill's mother Christine. I also loved seeing Colin's mum, Eileen at the protests too.

- Standout music: Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).

- Chronology: March 1988 at the start of this episode.

There's just one more episode to go and this series really has gotten better and more heart breaking as it's gone. Ritchie's downward spiral, the protests, the hard realities gay men had to face and the enabling that people like Garrison did with Thatcher. 

Rating: 9 out of 10