Friday, January 30, 2015

Cucumber/Banana/Tofu - Episode 2 Recap/Review

It's the second week of this triple treat and things are certainly ticking over nicely with all three shows continuing to produce some surprising moments.


Cucumber: This was certainly an eye opening episode, more so than the first episode. Thanks to a rather hurt Lance, pretty much everyone knows that Henry doesn't like to get fucked or fuck in general. I do like that while Adam and his mate took the piss, Cleo was actually more sympathetic and even did some research on her brother being a 'side'. Actually, I think the female characters on this show (Cleo and Scotty specifically) are coming across as more likeable than some of the male characters. I don't know if that's deliberate or anything though.

I like that while Henry and Lance did somewhat break up in this episode, there were some great back and forth moments with the two of them as they both had their sexual history discussed with and by both Cleo and Daniel but at the same time, I think both of them are in for a rough time ahead, considering their midlife crushes/delusions.

Lance had no problem telling Henry that he had no chance with Freddie (who also relayed that message twice in this episode in a rather egotistical way) but Lance himself looks set to make a fool of himself with straight guy Daniel (who I really find annoying) and maybe even more than Henry at the moment. As for the subplot with the dead co-worker, that took an unpleasant turn that saw Henry getting suspended from his job but it's still a weak plot though. I also got a laugh out of Henry's little phone test as well.


Banana: Somewhat better than it's parent show this week, if I'm being honest. This show might be seriously influenced by Skins (mainly due to every episode focusing on a different character per week) but it's an utter joy to watch and Scotty (or Vivienne Scott) has easily become my favourite on either show so far. The one thing both shows are going to be known for will be their discoveries of fresh new talents and Letitia Wright is an absolute revelation as the hopelessly in love girl with multiple jobs.

While Scotty stalking and inadvertently scaring the married Yvonne wasn't the wisest of moves, it was nice that this episode took various and genuinely surprising twists and turns. Scotty's profession of love for Yvonne and calling her beautiful spurred the married woman into changing her life for the better and she was even kind enough to give the good natured Scotty some sound advice too. The one thing I really loved about the episode was the support system Scotty had - the friends at the party who wanted her to find love, her mother who gave her sage advice and the co-workers at the call centre who leapt to Scotty's defence at the end of the episode. An utterly fantastic episode from start to finish and one that nearly brought a tear to my eye.


Tofu: Only ten minutes this week but again, I'm finding this little side order/appetiser both highly amusing, insightful and a little cringey in place (not a criticism with the latter). This week was discussing about our attitudes towards sex, the different ways in which men and women talk about it and also had an amusing sketch with three different generations of men discussing their own prowess while adult star Jake Bass also made some interesting comments on his own preferences too.

Next week, someone from Freddie's past rocks up and we get to know both Violet and Sian.

No comments: