As the episode begins, Sam Thompson (Maxine Peake) tells DI Eve Preston (Susan Wokoma) they’re whores when they like it and frigid if they don’t. When they’re no longer desirable, they’re ignored. Sam claims they all play the same game until they get voted off the island, and she runs the island. She snatches the picture of Amy Dixon (Amy Leeson) off the table and quickly flips it over. Eve and DS Peter Alan (Dario Coates) go over Amy’s case and learn the 16-year-old was found dead outside of Tivoli nightclub in 2011 with alcohol, cocaine, GHB, and valium in her system. In the end, it was ruled death by misadventure by the coroner. Eve can’t believe Peter doesn’t remember this since it was a big case and the parents accused them of a cover up. As Sam walks toward a restaurant, she walks by protestors who urge her not to eat meat because it is murder.

Her daughter, Gemma (Megan Parkinson), is taking part in the demonstration. Back at home, Sam tells her daughter to do work experience instead of sitting on her arse for two weeks. Gemma suggests pretending she went to work with her mom so Beth Taylor (Tanya Vital) encourages her to go and see how hard her mom works. When Adam (Isaac Lancel-Watkinson) offers to go with his mom, Gemma claims he doesn’t even know how to masturbate yet. After an outburst, Sam decides her daughter is going whether she likes it or not. At the office, Maya Benshaw (Rakhee Thakrar) researches Tess Jones only to find that she doesn’t have any disciplinary records. Sam brings her daughter in, introduces her to Maya, and asks her to find something unimportant for Gemma to do in human resources. Maya chases Sam to say she can’t just force a teenager on her because she is handling important, personal information.

She asks for her application, but Sam says she didn’t apply. When she learns that Gemma is Sam’s daughter, she calls it nepotism because many young people would love to have an internship here. Sam doesn’t argue with that. After Sam leaves and enters the interview room, Gareth (Kieran Bew) joins Maya and discusses his middle-sized penis. He claims his talents are knowing exactly how to delegate. He says his mom holds the reins, Owen (Ben Batt) is the brains, and he is the beauty. As for Sam, she is scary so he warns Maya not to turn her back on her. In the present, Sam confesses she didn’t necessarily want Gemma in the office since she isn’t cut out for corporate life. She wants to change the world instead of profiting from its demise. They begin talking about the difficulty of being a single parent and whether Sam is jealous of the happily married couples although she says nobody is happily married.

She prefers this life since it is less complicated. Before Tess (Callie Cooke) enters Maya’s office, Maya fills her envelope with a stack of blank papers. She asks Tess to walk her through it in her own words. Tess isn’t sure what the purpose is since everything is in the file along with the non-disclosure agreement. Maya suggests it would help them moving forward if they talked about these things. Tess admits her relationship with Hugh Evans (Rory Keenan) wasn’t conventional and she was 16 while he was 30. Since her envelope has been empty, Maya tries to get her to talk about the one incident that was too much for her. Tess admits to freaking out the first time he tried it on. She was a bit tipsy when he asked her to bring something to his office. Once she arrived, Hugh pressed into her until she could feel him. It felt wrong so she told her nan who said it happens everywhere and encouraged her to play the game.

She followed her nan’s advice and it happened again. It went further this time when Hugh put her hand on his penis. She laughed and got out, but it kept happening until she eventually just went along with it. Maya doesn’t think she consented to it since she felt she had no choice. Tess says that has become the catchword of the century. She goes on to say she didn’t consent to anything. She went along with it because that is what he did. Tess complains it messed her up before suggesting she should be in management and married with kids by now. While he has moved on with his life, Tess hasn’t been able to do so. She alleges nobody started listening to her until the company decided to move forward with the IPO.

Once Maya asks about Amy, Tess blames herself for that since she should’ve been watching out for her. We see a flashback of her pulling out a baggy of cocaine and going to the bathroom with Amy to share some. Hugh told Tess he’d protected her if she took the hit for him. The inquest said it wasn’t the coke that killed her and they instead blamed it on the cocktail of other stuff. Maya suggests taking this to a tribunal although Tess doesn’t have money for that. Tess explains she made a deal, signed the NDA, and they got rid of him. In six months, she will get a wedge of cash, a great reference, and she can leave on her terms. When she is asked whether she has closure, we see a flashback of Tess finding out about Amy’s death and seeing her body. She tells Maya not to be daft before leaving the office. Sam says their initial target was to be the first UK sportswear brand to use only British-made materials.

There isn’t a market in their demographic so they can’t justify the cost. While she talks, we see Owen chatting with Hugh outside. Sam confesses they’re reliant on China before Owen interrupts by knocking on the door. When she steps out of the room, Owen says they have a problem and it has a vagina. He explains Maya has visited Hugh so Sam needs to talk to her and get control of this before they have a PR nightmare. He asks her to smooth things over with Hugh too. Carys Jenkins (Katherine Pearce) is shown cleaning and preparing food at home as she tries to forget Gareth’s porn. Vanessa (Zoe Tapper) meets with her at a restaurant and learns she discovered porn. She thinks that is okay because she always liked gangbangs. Carys corrects herself by saying she found Gareth’s porn and it wasn’t nice. Vanessa says everyone has fantasies so those thoughts should be locked in a box and forgotten. She takes away the rest of her food while saying she thought she’d be good at porn.

Maya visits Sam who reveals they’ve had a complaint about her harassing a former member of staff. She argues he is still a member of the staff although some don’t know it. Sam reminds her they have a legal department and it doesn’t include her. She insists they still need Hugh until they float and he is no longer in the office because he gave illegal drugs to Amy. Maya believes it would ruin them if people thought they had been enabling a predator. Sam tells her to look around and she will see glass walls everywhere. She claims she sees everything and nothing gets by her. Then, Sam explains they decided to take the word of a problematic drunk over a senior manager who may have misbehaved. It was a different time back then, yet they still let the manager go over events that happened a decade ago. Maya listens as Sam says they have a legal obligation to pay him until his contract ends or they’ll face a protracted legal battle.

Sam argues they handled a bad situation pretty well. She tells Maya she is not working at The Guardian before the conversation ends. Carys tells Vanessa she has been thinking about going back to work because it’d give her and Gareth something to talk about. Vanessa warns her Gareth won’t like her becoming a career woman. She should think long and hard before sacrificing her marriage for seven pounds an hour. Back at the office, Anita Jenkins (Alison Steadman) runs into Maya. They talk briefly until Anita tells Maya it is nice to finally meet her. Anita meets with Gareth, Owen, and Sam in private to say she did some digging and found that Maya was extremely insistent on pursuing unfounded accusations regarding financial discrepancies at her previous job. It got to the point where she was obsessed. When she faced resistance from the legal department, some files were anonymously leaked to the press.

Although it turned out to be nothing, Maya was made redundant a short time later anyway. When Anita claims they hired a whistleblower, Sam takes the heat although she says Duncan checked her out. Anita wonders if they’re asking Sam to do too much. Sam disagrees. She insists Maya had great references and Duncan’s inquiries found that she was well liked. She told Maya there was a thorough police investigation that cleared them, but they did like to party back then. While Anita believes they should fire her, Owen and Sam don’t think so. Sam promises to handle it and that it won’t be a big deal before she is told to befriend her and find what makes her tick. Just before the meeting ends, Anita urges Sam to push forward with the flotation as much as possible. Carys goes to the pre-school where she meets with Mr. Callie and ignores a call from Vanessa. Meanwhile, Vanessa sends her a list of beginner’s porn to watch while meeting with Doctor Wilson (Andy Brady).

She reveals she has stopped taking the pill because she believes the pull-out method is sufficient. She doesn’t want any extra chemicals in her body. However, she is late this month and that never happens. Vanessa is relieved when she learns she is not pregnant, but they aren’t sure what the problem is yet. The doctor offers to give her patches to help regulate the signs of perimenopause although she refuses to believe she is menopausal. At home, Maya researches Amy’s death and quickly learns that Sam is the person who notified the police after the body was discovered. Sam visits her seconds later to apologize for everything. Audrey rushes out of the door once again as Sam is invited in. Sam jokes about the cat’s appearance before they sit down and discuss Maya’s last place. She says it had the same issues including stress, depression, alcoholism, and harassment. She left because it found like a change and she is now divorced.

Sam is divorced and he sees Amy every weekend which is all she can tolerate. She begins talking about her husband taking her to the cleaners. When Maya asks about taking a co-parenting class, Sam names off a list of things they tried, but nothing worked because they just don’t like each other. Maya wonders if she came there because she is worried she’ll find something out although Sam is adamant there is nothing to find out. Maya explains it has been ten years, yet it doesn’t seem like Amy’s death is going away. Sam says everyone was inebriated while Amy and Tess already had a skinful before they even got there. Since Sam was only the office manager back then, she doesn’t think she had a duty of care to watch over them. She insists it was normal to get drunk at 16 back then since it was part of the culture. To watch everything they did, she would’ve needed eyes in the back of her head. She complains she can barely look after herself so she can’t be a mommy to everyone.

Sam reveals Amy left a bit before they did. Her body was still warm when they found her. Maya says you found her before the doorbell rings and interrupts their conversation. Liz White (Kate Lamb) is at the door with Audrey in a blanket because it must’ve been hit by a vehicle. Sam says they need to get her to a vet although she and Maya can’t drive. Maya takes her inside. Sam stays with her through the night and learns that Maya has been taking pills. In the present, Eve asks Sam whether they became friends, but Sam says it depends on your definition of friends. While their cycles did not sync, she irritated Sam marginally less. Eve won’t let her smoke in there before she learns that Maya had been taking Alprazolam. Sam says it is nasty stuff that she took once and it hit her in the face like a brick. Eve pushes in hopes of finding out who gave her the pill. A flashback shows a man rubbing Sam’s leg in the office.

Eve tries to get her to talk about it, but Sam refuses. Sam and Gareth go to the vet to pick up Audrey’s remains. They turn down the offers to upgrade the urn to something fancier and turn the ashes into a diamond that can be worn. At the office, Maya asks Owen if she can leave early. He quickly agrees to let her do so. He offers to give her a few days off since he was devastated when his lab passed a few years back, but she turns down his offer. As Maya sits in her car, she watches as Gareth pulls up Sam. They are very close and kiss several times. Sam knocks on her window to check on her, but Maya isn’t eager to talk right now. Once Maya gets out of the car, she asks Sam about the kiss. Sam says they’ve known each other for a long time and he is like her brother.

Sam gets angry as she says her private life has nothing to do with where she is today because is a great COO. Then, she says Maya has no idea what she went through to get this far. Maya asks if it was the same stuff Amy and Tess went through before Sam slaps her. Maya gets in her car while Sam tries to give her the cat’s ashes. When she won’t take the box, Sam accidentally spills the ashes all over her clothes. Sam apologizes before joining Tess for a cigarette. Tess says the least she could do is get the car valeted since all the nooks are crannies are going to be filled with dead cat. Sam says they used to be mates. Tess remembers but that changed when Sam got promoted and became a bitch. Sam reminds her that she isn’t getting promoted because of herself. Before Tess goes back inside, she recommends Sam keep telling herself that. Later, Sam goes to the school to pick up Adam and runs into Carys and Vanessa. Adam isn’t happy to see his mother who says they have an appointment.

Vanessa makes a joke about Sam not using Botox before the counselor tells Sam she doesn’t seem present today. Although Sam doesn’t want to talk about it, she eventually says she is ticked off because Gemma lost her work experience. She tells Janet (Laurietta Essien) the flotation thing at work is making her really stressed. The conversation turns to Gemma’s desire to learn more about her biological father. Maya’s mother arrives at her house to help her deal with her recent loss. Carys goes out to eat with Gareth who is in a hurry to get out of there. Carys offers to pay for the meal since she got a job as a teaching assistant. Gareth says that is amazing although he doesn’t seem too thrilled with the idea. He asks if she needed a bigger allowance, but Carys says she just wanted more independence. Meanwhile, Maya argues with her mother about her Vegan diet and properly organizing her fridge. Her mother asks if she is taking her medication before suggesting they should talk to that doctor Luke found for her.

Maya calls him a quack who just wanted to load her up on heavy-duty tranquilizers. Her mother recommends taking a self-care week because what happened last time wasn’t good. Maya says that had nothing to do with her mental health and everything to do with the systemic corruption at her workplace. As Owen comes down the stairs, he finds Vanessa putting makeup on Gemma and says the temperature in here has risen considerably. Vanessa doesn’t like it when Owen jokes about leaving her and taking Gemma. Maya’s mother asks her about telling Luke who was very fond of Audrey. Then, she asks if she has thought about giving things another go since she isn’t a spring chicken, but Maya wants no part of that. Once Sam arrives at the cheese club, she talks to Carys about her job and Gemma interning at Fly. Liz changes the subject by revealing she is pregnant despite the fact they never have sex. Sam wonders if Dom slipped her a roofie.

As she begins inviting the women to bring her meals during her postnatal period, Vanessa says they’re all exhausting her tonight. She eventually admits to being diagnosed with perimenopause. Once they begin talking about Gemma walking around the office, Vanessa says it isn’t the teenagers you have to worry about. Carys follows Vanessa outside to tell her not to worry about Sam because Liz just says stupid stuff. She says Owen doesn’t have eyes for anyone else and Sam is just one of the boys at the office. Vanessa calls her a stupid little woman before saying Owen isn’t screwing Sam, but Carys’s husband is. When Carys returns home, she finds Gareth sleeping with their child so she covers them up. She goes downstairs and pulls out a knife. She pulls a piece of food from the fridge and begins eating it.

Sam is shown vaping at the police station. A flashback shows her calling someone to say it has gone really wrong. She asks for help. Sam visits Hugh who says he and Phoebe are knackered. She admits it is always this yard. When Sam offers him a drink, Hugh says he has been clean and sober for ten years. She asks if he ever thinks about that night before apologizing for Maya coming around prying. Hugh says they made him the sacrificial lamb out of everyone who was shagging and snorting at Fly Dynamic. He claims a girl died and nothing happened, but he was gone when 2021 rolled around. Hugh claims he didn’t drink or sleep around and did his job well. Then, he admits he doesn’t remember much from that night besides being at the office with Gareth where they were using drugs and drinking.

He claims he didn’t see anything while Sam says she keeps replaying it over and over in her head. Sam can’t fathom how they lost her although Hugh says they were all high. Sam wasn’t, but she was busy calling Gareth every hour trying to get laid. She denies calling anyone that night. Hugh says otherwise as we see a flashback of Gareth’s phone ringing as Sam calls. Sam swears she didn’t call him since she can’t stand him when he is drunk. Hugh says he left and went to the club. Sam thought Amy had left. However, Hugh told a different story. Now, he says he can’t remember. Sam encourages him to tell her whatever he knows. Hugh says nothing besides telling her to let herself out. Sam returns to the club to ask Amy what happened that night. A flashback shows Amy leaving the club and getting into a nearby taxi. Hugh is outside of Fly Dynamic when Amy arrives and approaches the building. Sam follows in her footsteps and asks what they did to her.

 

Rules Of The Game Review

It feels like there is an important message being conveyed by Rules of the Game, but I am afraid it is being muddled along the way. The lead cast is good although the characters are a bit shallow and nobody is particularly likable. At this point, even Maya is hard to take seriously because she didn’t seem to care too much when her cat was hit and killed. Then, she is following a strict Vegan diet while swallowing strong pills before, during, and after work. The whole thing is silly.

I also have to wonder how in the world some of the dialogue was allowed to pass through the filters. I’ve been warned for posting partial bikini pictures from certain shows I’ve recapped, yet this episode goaded a young boy about masturbation. If this has a message about workplace sexual harassment, it is becoming far too two-faced to hold any worth.

The BBC has produced some of the best shows in the past few years so shows like this are quickly giving the network a black eye. It really needs to go back to the content that made it so spectacular in the first place instead of turning every project into social activism. The episode had some interesting moments, but it is far too tedious and slow. The dialogue needs to be cleaned up although Maxine Peake and other members of the cast are doing their best.

The episode scores a 5 out of 10. All recaps of Rules Of The Game can be found on Reel Mockery here. Want to support the Reel Mockery project? Find out how to do so here.