As the fourth episode of Daddy Issues begins, Gemma (Aimee Lou Wood) is 28 weeks along. Cherry (Taj Atwal) tags along with Gemma to the parents’ group. Twinky (Lauren O’Rourke) introduces herself and says she’ll be leading the classes. Gemma asks about pain relief. Twinky argues that the pain of childbirth is one of the most exquisite feelings in the world. Another woman asks about dying. Twinky says some people think dying during childbirth is better than medical intervention. She reveals she’s mommy to three feisty French bulldogs. Cherry says she knows nothing about having a baby, but Twinky reveals the dogs suckled on her teats for two months. She kicks Cherry out. At home, Gemma asks Malcolm (David Morrissey) if her mom took painkillers.

Malcolm doesn’t remember and instead goes on about her mom being angry. Gemma is trying to figure out how the baby is going to fit into all of this. Gemma visits Catherine (Sharon Rooney) who confirms she’s not pleading guilty now. Catherine is going to claim it was a sex game gone wrong. She knew Gemma would kink shame her because she’s so vanilla. Gemma isn’t sure she’ll be at the trial since it’s two weeks after her due date. Catherine asks if Jess can look after it. Later, Gemma tells Malcolm that she got in touch with his sister Jess (Claire Keelan). She says Jess and Tyrone (Perry Fitzpatrick) have invited them over for dinner this weekend. Malcolm is not interested in going. Gemma believes Tyrone might’ve changed, but Malcolm still isn’t interested in seeing him.

Winnie (Chris Kerry) gets her hair done where Gemma works. Gemma argues with Rita about using hair spray and the chemicals in it. Rita explains why she doesn’t want a baby. Xander (Arian Nik) arrives with lunch for himself and Gemma. He learns Gemma didn’t actually want tuna and lemon curd. Instead, she takes his cheese sandwich. Xander tries to feel the baby kick. Rita complains that Gemma won’t let her near it. Malcolm and Gemma go to the group meeting with Twinky. They begin talking about helping babies that get stuck. Malcolm suggests using butter and Twinky agrees. She insists butter is better than forceps. Twinky talks about having an injection to cut the chance of hemorrhaging. She tells everyone about her organic baby supplements. Gemma asks Malcolm to come with her to see Auntie Jess.

Outside Jess’s house, Gemma promises not to let anything bad happen to Malcolm. They learn that Tyrone has a shoe system to avoid carrying mud through the house. Jess congratulates Gemma. Jess and Tyrone give her an odd gift for her boobs. She tells Gemma about her unhappy fun bags. Tyrone insists it’s a real thing. During dinner, Tyrone tells everyone how he built the skip hire business without crack or penis. They begin talking about Davina and lamb. Tyrone suggests she loved lamb but Malcolm couldn’t provide her with any. Gemma was hoping Jess would have some advice for being a single mother. Jess and Gemma talk in private. Jess says there’s never an ideal time to have a baby. Tyrone tells Malcolm about his air fryer that he’s never used.

Jess tells Gemma that Malcolm will love that baby more than anything in the world. Jess asks about the hot tub when Tyrone returns. Tyrone says it’s a good thing no one is allowed to use it since Malcolm is afraid of them. Later, Tyrone speaks to everyone and thanks them for coming there. He talks about serving penises for crack. Tyrone tells Gemma she’s screwed if she thinks Malcolm will be of any use. He believes Malcolm will be a useless granddad to that little pay. He only bought the hot tub because Malcolm is afraid of it. Malcolm yells that he’s not and he’ll show Tyrone. Malcolm decides to climb into the hot tub and eat the trifle Gemma made. He begins pouring it into the hot tub too. Gemma goes to the meeting alone. Dr. Rush (Margaret Cabourn-Smith) is there because Twinky has been arrested.

Rush says planning a birth is like planning a car crash. A birth plan is what you hope for and not what will happen. Rush admits they have no control over any of this. At home, Malcolm tells Gemma he has something to show her. She’s surprised by the crib he’s made for the baby. When she leaves the room, Malcolm touches the crib and it falls apart.

 

Daddy Issues Review

The fourth episode of Daddy Issues was watchable although nothing special either. The story is fairly predictable so we can see where the relationships are headed. The actors are doing their best with the script, but the jokes fail more often than not. The script is heavily reliant on shock humor which comes off as trying too hard and cringey.

All the stuff with Tyrone was over-the-top. In one sense, the series wants to be taken seriously because of Gemma and Malcolm’s relationship. On the other hand, it wants to be innovative and hip for modern audiences. Neither of those has worked well so far.

A bit more seriousness could potentially make Daddy Issues a stronger series and maybe even unforgettable. Otherwise, it’s fairly dry and the humor just isn’t strong enough to make this thing work. Nevertheless, Daddy Issues is watchable with the right expectations and the acceptance that there will be a lot of painful cringe moments in each episode.

The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Daddy Issues can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.