As the first episode of Obsession begins, William Farrow (Richard Armitage) performs a surgery. He is congratulated when he successfully separates the twins. When William leaves the hospital, Ingrid Farrow (Indira Varma) is waiting on him. As they drive, Ingrid reveals Jay is coming up tomorrow. She hopes they’ll be able to get more out of him tomorrow. When William asks about Portia, Ingrid says she is long gone. William wonders if there is anywhere they could stop for a drink, but Ingrid wants to hurry up and get to her dad’s place. She reminds him that the weekend is about celebrating him. Later, Ingrid suggests having a lie-in tomorrow since he has had an enormous few weeks.

They begin making out. In the morning, Edward (Anil Goutam) comes outside to say hello to Jay Farrow (Rish Shah) when he arrives. Ingrid and Sally (Sonera Angel) join them moments later. When they go inside for coffee, Jay makes it clear he isn’t going to expose his girlfriend to them because he actually likes her. As William walks down the stairs, he overhears a news report about his successful operation. Edward says Wednesday’s party would be a good chance to bring William into the House of Commons to discuss the advisory position. Ingrid will be in chambers that day, but he’ll join him as soon as she can escape. Outside, Sally finds out that Jay’s girlfriend is named Anna Barton so she tells the others.

William talks to Jay about the health tsar role. Jay asks him about fast-tracking his funding for the stem cell trials. William goes to the party with Edward. He receives a message from Ingrid saying she is running late. While William waits, he locks eyes with Anna Barton (Charlie Murphy). When he sits down at the bar, Anna comes over and introduces herself. She quickly realizes that he is Jay’s father. William says Jay has been secretive about her so he might be worried about introducing them. Anna has been hoping they meet because the separation was an incredible achievement. After William gives her an olive, Anna says she is going to go now.

Once Ingrid finally catches up with William, she admits she isn’t eager to stay if he is ready to go. Anna watches them get into a taxi outside. In the taxi, Ingrid asks if he bumped into Jay’s new girlfriend. William claims he didn’t since he wouldn’t know what she looked like. Anna goes home and has sex with Jay. He admits he has come to the difficult conclusion that it might be time for her to meet his family. In the morning, Anna listens as William calls Jay’s phone and asks him to call him back. Anna puts William’s phone number in her phone. She surprises him by calling him moments later. Anna explains she is coming to lunch next Sunday and wanted him to know. William adds her phone number to his contacts.

When they arrive, Ingrid urges William to come down and say hello. Once they’re alone, William asks Anna if she’d like a drink. She asks what he’d like her to drink. Sally comes in moments later and introduces herself to Anna. As they have lunch, Anna reveals she works at the Foreign Office on Ben Collier’s team. She goes on to say she did politics at Leeds. Edward asks her about the party last week. Anna admits she normally tries to avoid those kinds of work events. In the end, she was glad that she went. She is asked about the trip they’re planning to Paris. Anna calls it a long weekend to one of her favorite cities. Later, Anna follows William into the kitchen and rubs her finger against his.

The family talks about Anna when she finally leaves. While they’re in bed, Ingrid tells William that Anna is so much older than him. She gives Ingrid a strange feeling. William tells her not to worry about it since they never last anyway. Ingrid suggests it is just sex. Once they get home, William gets a message from Anna saying she liked the drink he picked for her. He deletes the message. At work, he gets a call from Anna and reluctantly answers it. They arrange to meet at 4:30. He briefly speaks to his coworker before leaving. William meets Anna. After William gets naked, Anna lies on the floor and tells him yes. They have sex. Once they finish, Anna gets in the shower while William leaves.

After that, William gets a message from Jay asking if they can meet later. When they meet, Jay admits he doesn’t think his mom is keen on Anna. William thinks she is just worried that he is rushing into things. He is sure Ingrid likes Anna although it doesn’t matter what either of them thinks. Jay says he feels an overwhelming need to be with Anna all the time. He’d love them to get to know each other.

 

Obsession Review

It is easy to want Obsession to do well because Richard Armitage and Charlie Murphy are always enjoyable, but the first episode was really just okay. If the viewer hasn’t watched television or read books in the last 20 years, this may all be new to them. Otherwise, they’ve likely already seen this story played out many times before.

Most people are going to fit into the latter group considering how cliché Obsession’s story already is. The series has the masterful surgeon, the politician, and the rich family. Where is the originality? There isn’t enough substance to care about the characters or anything that is happening at this point.

Truthfully, it felt like the sex scene overwhelmed the story in the first episode. I need a reason to care and the first episode of Obsession didn’t give me nearly enough reason. It scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Obsession can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.