New Year, Old Problems – Episode 5 begins with Queenie Jenkins (Dionne Brown) counting down the seconds to the New Year at home alone. Although she is still trying to decipher Tom Blake’s (Jon Pointing) enigmatic Christmas message, her choosing to stay home suggests she is taking her resolutions very seriously. Before the night is over, she has added staying away from Guy Carew (Joseph Ollman) and cutting her screen time in half.
While stressing over seeing Ted Noman (Tom Forbes) after their awkward sexual encounter, Queenie gets her first chance to put her New Year commitments to the test when she receives a text from Guy, with the offer of a hookup. She turns him down.
As expected, things are immediately awkward when Queenie arrives at work, but surprisingly enough, it is Gina Hargadon (Sally Phillips) and her problems with her lover who make things awkward. Once Gina manages to compose herself, she thanks Queenie for coming in over Christmas and asks to hear her pitch. Queenie pitches her New Year’s Resolutions/New Year’s Revolutions idea and although Gina likes it, she tells her to keep it fun and accessible.
Queenie attempts to share the good news with Darcy Pike (Tilly Keeper), but she doesn’t share her enthusiasm. Darcy acts as if Queenie had never mentioned it to her. Things only get more awkward when a nearby board meeting breaks up and reveals Ted’s presence. Queenie decides to approach him to get the awkwardness out of the way but is in turn introduced to his wife Jess Noman (Kimberly Nixon). Although Queenie handles the incident rather well, Jess immediately becomes suspicious that something happened between the two.
Queenie internally debates the incident later while walking through her old neighborhood when she spots Adi Malik (Mim Shaikh). She is initially stunned by his brush-off but soon realizes the reason for it when Noor Malik (Priya Davdra) jumps out of a nearby car and verbally assaults her. Queenie is embarrassed enough by the verbal berating that ensues but the street preacher (Lunga Anela-Skosana) doesn’t help matters.
Later that evening Queenie is already having problems focusing on her piece for work, but a drunken Guy only complicates matters. She attempts to turn him away but he bursts in when she opens the door. She agrees to let him stay on the couch but this only leads to him finding his way into her bed later that night. He apparently gets the hint when she goes to the couch.
It isn’t until Cassandra Stone’s (Elisha Applebaum) arrival the following day that Queenie realizes she has forgotten about their brunch date. Cassandra can immediately tell that the meeting has slipped Queenie’s mind but refuses to take no for an answer and practically invites herself in. It doesn’t take Queenie long to detect Cassandra’s anxiousness which leads to Queenie learning that Cassandra’s new guy is playing games with her. Things immediately and awkwardly spin out of control when Guy stirs awake and reveals himself. This ultimately leads to Queenie discovering that Guy is Cassandra’s new boyfriend. Cassandra assumes this is intentional and rushes out after harshly insulting Queenie. Although Queenie leaves shortly after Cassandra does, she ends up at Tom’s flat.
When Queenie finally convinces Tom to speak to her, she spends several minutes pouring her heart out to him. It isn’t until she apologizes for being so closed off that she gets his attention. He asks her if she realizes that’s the first time she’s ever apologized since they’ve known each other. She’s in the process of telling him about the miscarriage when Anna (Orl Ridpath) interrupts.
After learning of Tom and Anna’s relationship, Queenie’s life only spins further out of control. She returns to work to not only discover that Ted is no longer speaking with her but has apparently reported her to HR, Juliet (Emma Pallant). Gina tells her that she isn’t fired but she’ll need to take time off work while the investigation proceeds.
The episode ends with Diana (Cristale De’Abreu) and Maggie Jenkins (Michelle Greenidge) finding Queenie in the bathroom, suffering from what appears to be a panic attack.
Queenie Review
‘When it rains, it pours.’ That would be the perfect way to describe this episode. And to say there was a flood would only be putting it mildly. I was expecting Tom to have moved on or at least seeing other people, but I must admit I was surprised to learn Ted was married. The HR thing was a bit of a shocker as well. This episode certainly set the pace for the remainder of the series and I’m fairly interested in seeing where it goes from here. For that, I’d have to give the episode a 5.6 out of 10.
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