As the second episode of Joan begins, Joan Hannington (Sophie Turner) calls to speak to her daughter Kelly (Mia Millichamp-Long). Joan tells her daughter she’s looking for a new place and she’ll still see her on Thursday. She walks under a bridge where she digs a hole and buries the diamonds. Joan sleeps on a bus that night. In the morning, Joan goes to Boisie (Frank Dillane) to help him work. She watches Boisie work. Once the customer leaves, Boisie tells Joan he got it from his warehouses where he keeps all of his stock. He refuses to tell her more about the warehouse because his whole life is in there. Boisie says he has the perfect job for her. First, they have to clean up for the last job she did. Boisie wants her to speak to Bernard (Alex Blake) and cover her tracks.

When she refuses, Boisie suggests she never had it in her anyway. Joan pokes herself in the eye so she can speak to Bernard and look the part. She goes inside and tells Bernard that her dad has lung cancer. Joan explains she has to go to Scotland to be with him. Bernard tells her that family is everything. Joan asks about Linda. She suggests Linda has money problems. A young man, Larry, tries to sell clocks to Boisie who says he doesn’t buy rubbish. Joan shows Boisie that she got a reference from Bernard. Boisie admits he’s impressed. They start talking about the job. Joan doesn’t want to shoplift using a dodge check. Boisie says she’s going to need a passport because they’re going to Spain after she nicks the gear. Joan says she needs to be back by Thursday afternoon. They need to courier some jewelry. Three high-value pieces were lifted from a house in Mayfair last week.

Boisie’s mate Albie sells it out in Spain. They take it over and Albie will pay them when it’s delivered. Boisie tells her about the plan before sending her to the store to get clothes. Once she gets to the till, they’re going to ask for a check guarantee card. Boisie wants her to ride it out. The clerk asks her to write three checks instead. Then, Joan leaves in a hurry. Boisie tells her to come straight back to his flat. Instead, Joan goes to The Lombard Hotel where she steals. She goes to the lady’s room to change her appearance. Later, Boisie receives another visit from Larry the young fence (Gene Gurie). Larry buys the stolen items. Boisie tells Joan to leave the price tags on the next time because punters like to know how much they’ve saved. She claims she’s finished when she gets back from Spain. Boisie doesn’t give her any money because he thinks they’re even.

Joan threatens to walk out. She ends up flirting with him so she can take the money from his pocket. They make out and possibly have sex. The next day, Boisie reveals he learned to clean in prison. He learned everything there including antiques. Boisie wants Joan to carry the cache containing the jewelry. Joan wants two grand for taking the risk. She decides she’s going to wear the jewelry. When they reach the plane, Joan is asked to step aside and wait for someone from passport control. When he arrives, he tells her that she left her passport on the counter. Joan is frightened on the plane. Then, they arrive in Spain. Joan is excited about being there. Boisie says they need to see Albie. He asks Joan to act dumb around his missus because she doesn’t know about the business. Albie (Gershwyn Eustache Jr) was his cellmate in prison.

They meet Albie and his missus, Val (Laura Aikman). When Boisie and Albie step away to do business, Val tells Joan she’s the first girl he’s brought out there. Val reveals that Albie imports stuff. Once they leave, Joan gets her money from Boisie who tells her to always count the money. They check into the motel before hitting the beach. Joan asks why Albie keeps everything from Val. Boisie believes she knows deep down. He tells her how Albie looked out for him when he was inside. Joan urges him to come into the water even though they can’t swim. Later, Boisie asks Joan to move in with him. She doesn’t want to because of Kelly. Joan ends up getting a dog for Albie’s son Jonny because he needs friends. Val tells her they’re going to name him Arnie. Boisie tells Albie that he’s smitten with Joan. He tells her that she’s a thief and she’s already stolen diamonds. Benny Boisie believes they’ll make a good team.

Albie asks Joan to treat him well. He found out that her ex did a job for him back in the day. Gary said she was a nightmare and ran off with his kid. Joan gets upset and leaves. Boisie and Joan get back on the plane. Joan worries that she’s going to be late to see Kelly and the social services will find out. She gets upset and complains to Boisie. Joan tries to get off the plane but it’s not possible. She learns they’re going to be 90 minutes behind schedule. Joan makes it and runs over to see Kelly who is with Nancy (Kirsty J. Curtis). Later, Joan speaks to Mrs. May (Dorothy Atkinson) and says she can’t wait to get her back. May says Kelly is forming a healthy relationship with Sue Ashbury (Caroline Faber) and the family. Joan claims she’s ready for Kelly now. May says they need to make sure she’s properly settled. They tried calling her yesterday and Nancy said she’d moved out.

They also tried her place of work. Joan says the boss was a perv before she gets upset. Joan insists she’s set for Kelly. She shows Mrs. May that she has money for a deposit. May admits they know that she stole a car. They believe Kelly is better off where she is right now. They’ve obtained a court order formally placing Kelly in their care. Joan argues they’re making it too hard for her. She goes to the pub for a drink. Boisie brings her stuff and asks about Kelly. Joan explains she can’t get her back until she proves herself. Boisie asks if she’s looking for a place to stay. Boisie invites her back. Joan says she needs proper money if she wants to get Kelly back.

 

Joan Review

The second episode of Joan wasn’t particularly strong because we’ve seen all of this before. What is it about this story that warrants a television drama about it? The story doesn’t even delve into Joan Hannington’s past, yet it’s trying desperately to get viewers to sympathize with the character.

That’s impossible when Joan has sabotaged herself at every turn and blamed everyone and everything except for herself. There’s a good chance that a lot of the show’s story has been fabricated to try to make things more interesting. Instead, this has made it very predictable. For instance, it was easy to see that Joan would be late meeting Kelly.

It’s also a little corny that she stole a vehicle to see her daughter. The casting certainly doesn’t ring true either, but the bigger problem here is that the story is just so unoriginal and dull. It’s really unfortunate because there probably is a powerful story here somewhere. The creators just haven’t given viewers any reason to care about Joan or her story through two episodes.

There’s no way Joan Hannington’s life was this boring or unoriginal. The second episode scores a 4 out of 10. Recaps of Joan can be found 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.