The show begins with Bram Lawson (Martin Compston) is at the scene of a motor vehicle accident. He is out of the car when the other pulls out. Walking toward the overturned car, he decides to leave instead.

Fiona “Fi” Lawson (Tuppence Middleton) is having a drink when she hears a knock at the door. Apologizing, Bram contributes his lateness to delayed and canceled trains. She assures him it is okay. He asks what she would like to discuss. She claims to have missed him. He admits to missing her too. While kissing him, she notices something amiss.  He pours himself another drink. She asks if something is wrong. He denies there is anything wrong. When he tries to kiss her, she pulls back, demanding to know what is going on. He assures her there is nothing wrong. She accuses him of meeting someone. He says there is no one. She reminds him of the short time they have been separated.

Raising her voice, she demands to know what he is hiding when Leo Lawson (Tommy Finnegan) walks into the room. Leo wants Bram to stay, but Fi says he has important business to tend to. When she leads Leo back up to his bed, ram replaces her car keys back where he got them from.

Back to the present: Fi refuses to believe Bram would sell his son’s house out from under them.  Merle (Weruche Opia) asks Lucy Vaughn (Dinita Gohil) and David Vaughn (Felix Scott) when they met Bram. He says at the open house in the latter part of October. Merle claims she doesn’t remember seeing any signs of an open house, even though she lives next door. He says only about four prospected buyers attended the open house, which was over in about an hour. A law enforcement officer suggests they inspect Bram’s flat and local hospitals. Fi is surprised when the officer agrees to do nothing about the house. David informs them their solicitor Emma will return their call after her meeting is over.

Fi demands the officer make Lucy and David vacate the property. David shows the officer a digital document where approximately 2 million pounds was deposited into Fi’s account. She denies having any money in her account. The officer refuses to take action against the Vaughns. David demands the officer determine who the owner of the house is now. The officer assures them their solicitors will figure it out. David receives a call from the real estate agent Rav while Fi tries to convince the officer to do something.

In A Flashback – Leo and Harry Lawson (Casper Knopf) are playing soccer while Bram conducts a search for recent motor vehicle accidents.

Alison (Bronagh Waugh), Fi, Merle, and Kristy (Harriet Webb) are celebrating Alison’s birthday at a local restaurant. Kristy questions if Merle is hiding something from them. Kristy tells them Adrian and Hugh went out last night. After a few drinks, Adrian spills the beans about Merle’s pregnancy. Merle comes clean before Kristy has an opportunity to. She admits they planned to not tell anyone until she was 12 weeks pregnant. Alison congratulates her. Sarcastically, Fi says Adrian must be thrilled about the pregnancy. Merle says Adrian wants the baby to be a boy.

When Fi denies wanting another baby, Kristy says she needs a new man first. Kristy suggests she go out with Hugh’s friend who was recently divorced from his wife. Alison encourages her to do it. Fi utilizes the excuse of not having a sitter for her boys. Merle offers to take care of them.

Bram and the boys arrive home. She asks him if he knew Merle was pregnant. Pretending to know nothing of the pregnancy, he says that’s great. He promises to buy Adrian a pint the next time he sees him before leaving. As he walks away, he finds a news article about an 8-year-old girl who is in a coma following a motor vehicle accident.

Back to the present – David speaks to the real estate agent Rav about the house. Rav claims Mrs. Lawson contacted him in a panic about the money not being deposited into her bank account. Fi assures them she hasn’t called anyone while still claiming to be unaware of the deal. David claims Rav told him that Bram and Fi signed the contract at the same time. Jensen witnessed her sign the contract. He refuses to believe her when she denies signing any documents.

In a flashback – Bram reads a news article about the young girl and her mother involved in the motor vehicle accident. The article provides a description of the vehicle – a black Audi A3 – seen fleeing the scene. Bram tries to call Fi, but she doesn’t answer her cellphone. When he calls the home number, Merle answers the phone. He questions why she is at their house. She says babysitting.

Fi goes on a date.

Roger “Rog” (James Michael Hogarth) approaches Bram to ask what he is doing at The Brewers. Bram claims to be drowning his sorrows. He offers Bram to join him and his co-workers. Refusing, Bram says he is waiting on someone. Wendy (Buket Komur) sitting across from him asks Bram if he is waiting on her.

Fi returns home after her date. When asks how her date went, Fi tries to pay her for taking care of the boys. Merle informs her she poured herself a drink. Fi sarcastically asks if he visited the playhouse, where she caught her with Bram. Merle explains how she intended to tell her about her pregnancy. Fi asks if the baby belongs to Bram. Shocked, she swears it belongs to Adrian.  She describes her fling with Bram as a one-time mistake. Fi promises to keep their secret from Kristy and Alison before calling her a “lying treacherous bit**.” Merle tells her about Bram’s call before Fi throws her out of the house. When Fi calls Bram, he is having sex with Wendy from the bar.

Wendy describes his flat as “bland.” He explains how he shares it with Fi. She calls him disgusting when he tells her about his cheating with two different women. Fi forgave him for his first infidelity. She admits to loving desperate married men. Seeing the missed call from Fi, he utilizes the excuse of an early morning to get her to leave. She accuses him of still being in love with Fi. He agrees with her. She accuses him of fleeing the scene of an accident, leaving the occupants of the vehicle there to die. He denies knowing anything about what she is saying.  She wants him to pay her to stay quiet. He accuses her of trying to blackmail him.

He explains what led up to the collision. He says it makes him sick. She reminds him of driving off. Raising his voice, he says the other driver drove off. He suggests contacting law enforcement to tell them what happened. She tells him it would ruin the rest of his life. She agrees to keep their secret if he pays her more than the reward offered for information.

Fi tells Alison about her date. He invited her to join him in a visit to a museum on Sunday. She informs her about asking Bram over the other night. She describes the experience as feeling like a teenager. She says Rog told her he saw Bram leave with a woman last night. Fi appears shocked.

Bram smokes a cigarette while searching the Internet in front of the house when Fi and the boys arrive home. He jokes about being kicked out by his wife. She questions the purpose of his visit. He lies about being too knackered to return her call last night. She assures him there is no need to explain. Before closing the door, she reminds him to clean the sheets.

Back to the present – Fi now believes another woman was involved in signing the contract for the sale of the house. She calls her actions stupid. David goes over the scenario, saying the other woman claims to have not received payment for her house while she is identifying herself as Fiona Lawson. She gives him her driver’s license. Merle asks for the other woman’s phone number. David assures them Rav will refuse to break client confidentiality. Fi demands his phone number.

In a flashback – Fi is grabbing lunch at a local café when she drops her phone on the floor. Toby/Mike (Rupert Penry-Jones) picks up and hands the phone back to her. She assures him multitasking isn’t her strong suit. He agrees with her. As the elevator door prepares to close, Toby stops it and enters. He asks if she is an employee there. She asks what he is doing there. He claims to be there for a meeting. He invites her for a drink before she walks away. She takes his card and walks away.

Bram is working when Saskia (Celinde Schoenmaker) approaches to ask about the conference. He apologizes for rushing off. She questions how his divorce is going. He admits it is rough. She offers him a shoulder if he needs one. Wendy visits Bram at work. Standing up, she greets him with a kiss on the cheek. He asks what she is doing at his workplace. She thought he needed her phone number. He hands her his cellphone, so she can add herself to the contact list. She informs him of her availability before leaving.

Fi has a drink with Toby. She asks about his image consultancy career. He says it is a marketing job. She asks him to market her. He assures her she is beyond help. He claims to be divorced. She tells him her divorce is active. He has two teenagers. She boasts about her neighborhood, describing it as lovely. He asks what led up to their divorce. She refuses to talk about it. They agree to one drink before going their own way. They end up making out in a car. Apologizing, he says the date wasn’t supposed to go like this. She asks, how was it supposed to go. He claims it is his first real date since he divorced his wife. She suggests they take their time. He agrees before offering to take her home.

When she returns home, Alison asks how the date went. Alison teases her about the date. Fi asks if she would stop by to check on Bram and the kids this weekend.

Back to the present – Fi speaks with Rav about the house. She asks him to identify her. He describes her as having dark hair and being well dressed. She denies meeting him. He refuses to give her the woman’s phone number. When she informs him about Bram’s phone being out of service, he admits to having just talked to him about five minutes ago. Shocked, she asks for Bram’s phone number. David says he has it on his phone. She tells Merle the phone number isn’t Bram’s. Merle suggests she call it.

In a flashback – Bram receives a phone call from Wendy while waiting on Fi to answer the door. He immediately hands up when the door opens.  Before she leaves, he suggests they apply for a loan while they sort out their relationship. She asks him if he thinks getting more debt will help their situation. When he tries to explain, she accuses him of trying to let him move back in. He admits to needing whatever she wants.

Bram plays with the boys in the backyard when the doorbell rings. Roger and Alison stop by to invite them to a local fair. Alison asks how his flat is going. He describes it as being a bit awkward seeing them. She refuses to answer his question about Fi seeing someone. As she assures him Fi cares a lot about him, Wendy shows up. He introduces her to Alison as Wendy from work. She asks to speak with him alone. He asks what she is doing there. She accuses him of hurting her feelings because he hung up on her. He describes her behavior as that of a crazed stalker. She asks if Leo and Harry are his kids. He demands to know what she wants. She says attention, love, and $10K within 24 hours. Before leaving, she suggests he dump the car before law enforcement finds out.

Fi and Toby go bowling. She rolls and misses.

Bram visits his mum, Tina Lawson (Maureen Beattie). She asks about the boys. He suggests they sell his father’s car. She reminds him of how much his father loved the car. He asks if she wants him to have it. She says yes, but not sell it. He tells her about his father leaving for weeks at a time. He remembers hearing her pacing around, wondering where he was at. She asks what is wrong with him. He admits to needing a loan. She suggests he move back in with them. He assures her Fi doesn’t want him anymore. She refuses to believe it. He asks for her to help him financially. She reminds him of her pension. She gives him some cash for the boys.

Toby tells her their flat is not too bad. She tells him her time is divided between being single and a working mother. They make out.

Bram takes the car to a remote area. He gets out and tosses the key away before walking away.

Toby and Fi are lying in bed. She snuggles her body up against his.

She arrives home to find Bram with tattoos from the boys. He tells her about their trip to the fair. She refuses to give him any details of her weekend. He asks her where the car is parked. While she looks around for the car, he claims to have already looked everywhere. He says it may have been stolen. She asks what they should do. He suggests they file a police report and contact the insurance. Reminding him of their financial situation, she says they can’t afford a replacement. She thanks him.

Back to the present – Fi calls Bram, but he doesn’t answer. David asks if she has a spare room. She demands they leave. He refuses to leave until they speak to their solicitor. Irate, she physically attacks David. He orders her to stop assaulting him. He threatens to call the police if she touches him again. He suggests locking her in a cell will calm her down. Lucy assures her he doesn’t mean it. Calling her insane, he says it is no wonder Bram left. Fi receives a call from Toby, which she ignores. When he receives a phone call, she walks into the backyard. Merle suggests she calm down. Fi questions what she will do. Merle promises everything will be okay when they get in touch with Bram.  She admits the signature on the contract was hers. David approaches to show her the deed to the house. He tells her it is their house. Devastated she stares at the house.

In a flashback – Bram receives a call from Wendy who threatens to call the police if he doesn’t bring her the money. She gives him the address before telling him to be there within the hour. He arrives at the Starburst Café, where Wendy is waiting. She asks if he has the money. Handing her $1K, he says that is all he has right now. He tells her the car has been reported stolen and an insurance claim filed. He promises to pay the rest when the insurance pays the claim. Toby sits down beside Wendy. He says they want his house as the episode comes to an end.

 

Our House Review

Initially, I found the plot intriguing. About halfway through the pilot, I questioned my judgment. Now, I know I was wrong. On top of this, the blackmail premise couldn’t convince me the show is anything close to compelling. While it is only slightly possible, it is implausible to think someone would blackmail another person for the deed to their home.

The constant transitioning from the present to the past is just confusing. I believe the storytelling would have been more effective if the show jumped back 10 years and gradually moved forward to the present. The flashbacks are what keep me coming back.

There is nothing special about two episodes of standing in the kitchen bickering back and forth about who the home belongs to. The flashbacks tell the story, not the present scenes, which I find repetitively boring.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more Our House recaps here. Support ReelMockery by clicking the link to learn more.