Episode 4 begins with Denise’s (Jennifer Heylen) first week in Dublin when she meets Ashling (Jade Johnson) and is later introduced to the karaoke club. The brief memory suggests that Denise was a hit from the beginning and ends with her singing Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams.’ Lloyd Lloyd (Stephen Jones) is serenading Aine Casey (Elva Trill) with the very same song in his apartment. It takes a bit of convincing but he eventually convinces her to join in. After Aine makes it clear that the song will be her last, there is a brief bit of joking. Things turn serious when Lloyd takes note of the Northern Lights’ TV screensaver. He not only tells Aine that she should still take the trip but he offers to accompany her.
When Denise finds herself plagued by Bill’s (Roger Evans) incessant snoring once again, it causes her to remember telling Julia (Lucretia Van Der Vloot) about her move to Dublin. The memory suggests that the move came right after her father’s death from lung cancer. Given that Denise refers to Julia by her name rather than mom, suggests that the two of them don’t have the best relationship. Before the memory ends, it briefly skips ahead to Lloyd and Denise shopping the market for a home in Dublin.
In the present timeline, Lloyd introduces Aine to his favorite comedian, Bill Hicks, and his philosophy that life is like an amusement park ride. As he explains the philosophy, she remembers a nice day that she spent at the beach with Sean (Jay Duffy). This also causes him to remember when Denise had this philosophy framed as a housewarming gift for their first home in Dublin. This memory also suggests that Julia helped them purchase the place.
After a brief bit of joking about Bill’s snoring, Denise and Julia share a conversation about Denise thinking that Julia is a bad mother. Although Denise doesn’t confirm or deny the claim, she does tell Julia that she wants to do the Camino Trail alone. Julia refuses to leave and that’s as far as the conversation goes for the moment due to a flashback of a housewarming barbecue she and Lloyd hosted. This memory reveals that Ashling and Tony (Kevin McGahern) and still trying to naturally concave a child but because of the lack of success and Tony’s impotency, they’ve looked into IVF. Julia wishes them luck and assures them that once they have a child, they will truly know what love is. Despite the good vibes, things immediately turn awkward when Julia learns that Denise doesn’t want children. Much to everyone’s surprise, Tony pursues the matter further by asking why. Denise simply claims that it isn’t for them.
Things become just as confrontational in Lloyd’s present timeline when he tries to force Aine to make her own F*ck it list. This leads to her remembering the day she spent trying to teach Sean to drive on the beach. The memory appears to be a pleasant one and even leads to them getting intimate. Although two bicycle cops (Ally Ryan) show up, Aine insists on finishing before they arrive. Not only do they both climax but they are let off with a mere warning. Things aren’t going so well back in the present, as Aine is now in the process of storming out of Lloyd’s apartment.
Lloyd tries to prevent Aine from leaving by claiming that he wants to get to know her better. There is a bit of back and forth but this eventually leads to Aine claiming that she isn’t a good person. To confirm this, she tells Lloyd that she didn’t want to go home because he mother, Sandra (Denise McCormack), had blamed her for Sean’s suicide. This briefly leads back to the memory of Aine’s argument as well as a later lunch date with Aine’s family. During this lunch, Sandra and Paul (Don Wycherley) go out of their way to make sure Sean knows they are proud of his improvement which for some reason only makes Aine mad. She accuses them of babying him and tiptoeing around him which eventually leads to a huge blowup. Kelly (Shauna Higgins) even attempts to come to his aid after Aine jokes about him getting sent off to the funny farm.
In the present, Lloyd continues to try to convince Aine that she is a good person and he admires her for the way she is handling the situation. She ends up kissing him and he kisses her back briefly before storming off himself. In the bathroom, he remembers the argument he had with Denise after the housewarming barbecue. During this argument, he admits that he lied about not wanting children. Denise also admits that it isn’t that she hasn’t ever thought about having children but she fears that she wouldn’t get a good mother.
Despite it being the middle of the night and Denise’s injured ankle, she allows Julia to lead her to some spot outside that is promised to be worth the effort. During their very brief hike, they continue to debate Julia’s staying. When it becomes clear that Denise hasn’t changed her stance, Julia promises that she will leave if Denise doesn’t feel better about her staying after a few days. Lloyd becomes the topic of discussion after this. Denise appears surprised to not only learn that Julia has spoken with Lloyd but it appears that she also feels bad for the situation Denise has put him in. The discussion doesn’t go much further than this at the moment.
Although things are more awkward than ever when Lloyd rejoins, it appears that she took the kiss much less seriously than he did. After just a brief bit of joking about his admiration for her, he tells her that he doesn’t know if he and Denise are still an item. This isn’t fully explained at the moment and the episode ends with the memory of the day Lloyd found out Denise was pregnant.
Northern Lights Review
The episode wasn’t one of my favorites but it wasn’t one of the worst either. I was finally glad to learn that Denise’s grief is tied to the loss of her father. I also find her estranged relationship with Julia quite intriguing. It’s nice to have something redemptive for her character to build towards. I also liked the element that Aine’s childish behavior brought to the series. I can’t say that I was completely blindsided by the reveal of Denise’s pregnancy but I wasn’t really expecting it. I’m betting that it will turn out she had a miscarriage or may have one in the ensuing episodes.
I didn’t particularly like the parent/child theme of the episode but will give the series credit for trying to approach it in a different fashion. I don’t know if that will make sense for some but it’s the way I feel. Episode 4 deserves at least a 5.3 out of 10.
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