The first episode introduces Jessica (Claire Goose) and Nick Haynes (Lee Ingleby) as they unsuccessfully attempt to rent out a spare room in their beautiful country home. Jessica is right in the middle of explaining the latest upgrades and her desire to ‘modernize’ the entire house when the prospective tenant brings up the no-pets rule. As the tenant can be overheard driving away, Jessica tells Nick that she was a total lunatic before dropping in on Alice Haynes (Freya Hannan-Mills). As short as their conversation is, it’s clear that the two are at odds about moving the house. Alice makes several insulting remarks about Jessica making decisions for her, which eventually sends her storming off back downstairs.
Nick attempts to comfort Jessica in the kitchen but she only grows more upset when the pipes spit out rust-colored water. Jessica’s suggestions for Nick and Alice to visit the Farmer’s Market give the impression that she doesn’t want to be consoled. Jessica watches them drive away from the front door before returning to clean the kitchen. While obsessing over a simple magazine placement, she is startled by a banging at the window.
After a quick explanation about the random drop-in and the doorbell not working, Sian Gregson (Jill Halfpenny) practically invites herself in. Claiming to be an artist, it doesn’t take Sian long to realize the home is right in the middle of renovations. She even offers her opinion on a wall color at one point, which Jessica appears to agree with. Jessica doesn’t hesitate to show her the room while also providing a descriptive breakdown of the home’s peculiarities and renovations. Alice and her being a 16-year-old artist is briefly mentioned before Jessica’s attention is drawn to a honking outside.
By the time Jessica reaches the front door, Marius’s upset wife is already banging. Both Jessica and Sian soon realize the lady is upset about her husband not getting paid for the plumbing work he did. Jessica quickly claims it must have slipped Nick’s mind and offers to pay. When she learns the sum is 2,400 pounds, she hesitates. Sian uses the opportunity to offer her 3,000 pounds for the deposit.
Returning from the Farmer’s Market, Nick encourages Alice to be nicer to Jessica. Alice agrees with the stipulation that he tear her to drive. Despite noticing the car on their return, Alice appears to be completely thrown by Sian’s arrival.
The following morning, when Nick expresses his displeasure about Jessica not consulting him about Sian, she tells him that he’s one to talk. He tells her the comment isn’t fair. Later that morning, the family arrives in the kitchen to find that Sian has cooked a big breakfast. Alice raises tensions when he claims he needs to get to school and asks Nick to drive her. Jessica ends up taking her. Sian makes matters worse when she mentions the 3,000-pound advance to Nick. The discovery sends him racing outside to confront Jessica. Both Sian and Alice overhear the ensuing argument.
Despite Jessica’s best attempts to smooth things over with Alice when she drops her off at school, she fails. Nick makes an equal attempt with Sian when he presents her with a lease for the room and offers to make the rental official. Sian is much more grateful.
At a café in town, Marius’ wife not only apologizes to Jessica for the earlier blow-up but she offers to have Marius come over and finish the plumbing work for free. Jessica learns that Sian misled Marius’s wife into believing that the family’s lack of funds was due to her autoimmune disease.
Much to Sian’s surprise, Jessica finds it funny and invites her out for a real drink. During their outing, Jessica tells Sian about Nick having an affair. Elsewhere, when Nick is unable to find any online information about Sian, he calls her reference, Miss Calder. Despite the rave review, Miss Calder gives Sian, Nick later learns that she is her aunt.
Sian and Jessica cause a bit of a fuss when they return home tipsy. Nick helps Jessica to bed and attempts to share what he learned about Sian. It appears almost as if Jessica isn’t interested in what he’s got to say, but they end up in entangled in each other’s arms. While that takes place, Sian attempts to bond with Alice by showing her some of her own drawings. At one point it becomes clear that Alice doesn’t really see herself as an artist and Sian immediately corrects that and even encourages Alice to enter a local show.
While dropping Alice off at school the following morning, Alice admits that Sian is cool, although it is strange to have a stranger living in their home. At home, Sian eavesdrops on one of Nick’s business calls. Using the guise of an investment opportunity, Nick appears to be trying to raise a quick 3,000 pounds. When he fails, he is shown retrieving a beautiful diamond necklace from a hidden wall safe.
Jessica witnesses three classmates teasing Alice when she picks her up at school later that day. Nick returns from pawning/selling the neck to find Sian in the middle of making another big meal for the family. Despite returning the money and his best arguments, he immediately realizes that Sian has no intentions of leaving. She even threatens him with coming on to her just as Alice and Jessica return. As Jessica and Alice make their way inside, Sian violently sweeps everything off the kitchen table to the floor. When Jessica and Alice race in to see what the disturbance is, Nick is stuffing the 3,000 in his trousers, which almost gives the appearance that the two of them just got caught in an intimate act. Sian explains the situation by saying that the bottom fell out of her grocery bags but Jessica almost looks as if she doesn’t believe it.
After a bit of TV together as a family, Alice approaches Sian about the strange interaction with Nick in the kitchen. Sian basically explains the episode away by claiming that she overstepped when he asked for her assistance on some forms earlier that day. When Nick intimately approaches Jessica as she does the dishes, it appears that she too has doubts about the encounter.
The episode ends with Sian telling her Aunt Fay over the phone that she found her daughter.
The Cuckoo Review
To start, I don’t personally feel that the series deserves all the downcasting it has been getting in the media. Yes, it is a bit slow and boring at times, but for me, it was choked full of suspense. The story is kind of bland and maybe for longtime viewers of UK series, I might be able to understand the outcry. I feel the same way about today’s ubiquitous detective/crime dramas. I am no expert but I feel the acting and cinematography were spot on. The somewhat isolated strip of seaside Ireland country and old home couldn’t have been a better option.
There were several things that I would question. First, in the scene where Alice is getting bullied, there appears to be a jump. At first, I thought this was a major editing flaw, but it happens again when she gets in the car with Jessica. Also, the scene where Nick tries to return the 3,000 and Sian slinging all the stuff off the table was a bit tasteless. Other than that, this series was incredibly intriguing. I’d give it an easy 6 out of 10 just for the mere fact that I am interested to see what happens next.
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