As the first episode of The Ex-Wife begins, Tasha (Celine Buckens) drives in her car as she says we’re sold a lie from birth that there are good and bad people. She sees Jen (Janet Montgomery) next to her. Tasha says there aren’t because they all have the best of intentions. They begin trying to cause each other to crash. One of them does before Tasha says love can justify almost anything. It can make all of us do terrible things. Tasha looks back as they try to get Jen out of the vehicle just before an explosion. Three months earlier, Tasha and Jack (Tom Mison) prepare for dinner. Jack gets a call from Jen who wants him to tell Tasha something, but he won’t because it is their wedding anniversary. When the call ends, Jack tells Tasha that she doesn’t want to know. He begins talking about Emily being asleep while Tasha wants to know what Jen was saying.
Jack says she called about his sister Hayley (Clare Foster) who wants Jack and Jen to be Ethan’s godparents. She will be Auntie Tasha. Jack explains that Jen and Hayley have been best friends for 20 years. He surprises her by paying off the rest of her student loans although he knows she doesn’t like handouts. After the intro, Jack complains to his lawyer for not helping him while Tasha carries their baby. Jack says he can’t even drive his wife and child home now. After they agree to go climbing as scheduled, Jack calls Lola (Nina Singh) to get someone from the office to pick him up because they banned him for three years. Later at home, Tasha isn’t thrilled to learn that Jen has arrived. Tasha goes downstairs where she interrupts their conversation about the wine Jen brought for Jack. Jen learns about the three-year driving ban and the fact that Tasha doesn’t have a license.
Tasha says they can get the train to the christening, but Jen says he hates the train. She offers to drive them all since she has space. Jen drives them there as they talk about her christening happening at the same church. Tasha gets distracted while listening to them from the backseat. In a flashback, she gets a call from Sam (Jordan Stephens) as she rides her bicycle. She admits she hasn’t heard anything after the job interview. After the call, she runs into Jack’s car and falls off her bike. He quickly gets out to check on her and make sure she is okay. Once they get her up, she checks her phone and Jack gets her water. He offers to call her job to explain everything since she might be late. Jack says he can take her home, get her cleaned up, get the bike fixed, and send her home in a taxi. He takes her home where she washes her wound and gives her tea. Jack offers to give her 400 quid so she can get a new bike.
When she mentions her refurbished phone, they agree that 800 should cover everything. As he begins tending to her wound, they talk about his wife Jen. Later at work, Jack calls Tasha to check on her wounds. They agree to get an early dinner a bit later. He asks her about graphic design before they talk about Jen and how she does interior design. When Tasha asks about kids, Jack explains there is a bit of a problem there since Jen can’t have kids. Jack doesn’t want to bombard her with this stuff. He says they’ve been together for a long time and have been through a lot. He wanted and tried to make her happy, but life doesn’t always work out that way. Jen has agreed to a trial separation even though it is only separate rooms right now so they can find out what they want. He can see other people if he wants to. Jack ends up sleeping with Tasha. Seconds later, Tasha tells Sam that was three months ago before apologizing for not telling him.
She took multiple tests and is pregnant. Tasha knows it isn’t Sam’s. She intends to get rid of it. Tasha meets with Jack and tells him that she already called a clinic, but he tries to convince her to go through with it. Tasha sits in the back while Jack and Jen handle the christening with Hayley. The group goes to a party where Tasha and the others drink. Hayley takes pictures of Jack and Jen with the baby. As they go outside to look at them, Jack thanks Tasha for dealing with it. She claims Jen is running around like she is still his wife. Tasha jokes they probably think she is the nanny before accusing Jen of doing the godparent deliberately. Hayley interrupts to ask them to have a domestic elsewhere. Once they’re alone, Tasha tells Hayley that he is fine even though it is difficult having her and Jen there. Hayley reminds her it is only a party. As they continue talking, Hayley suggests it might be better if Tasha didn’t come next time.
Tasha curses her before Hayley calls her classy. Hayley says they all know what she did to get here and how Jen and Jack tried for years to get pregnant. Then, she conveniently shows up pregnant. Hayley says she might’ve got everything she wanted, but she doesn’t get to choose her friends. Jack comes back to check on them before asking Tasha what happened. Tasha says it needs to stop and Jen shouldn’t come to the house anymore because it is weird for her and Emily. Jack agrees to speak to her. Later that night, Tasha tells Jack about something Hayley said earlier so he insists she’ll learn to ignore her soon. Tasha explains she said it was Jack who had fertility problems and not Jen. Jack confirms it and says he had plenty of swimmers but not the best athletes. It was hard although it wouldn’t have been impossible. Jack alleges they could’ve kept going but Jen wanted to stop.
He tries to explain why he didn’t tell her. A bit later, Tasha sends a message to Sam saying she misses talking to him and he says the same. He agrees and apologizes for the things he said. While out shopping, Tasha runs into Jen who admits she drives all the way to this store because she is a creature of habit. When the worker comes to help Tasha, she leaves Emily with Jen. Emily is gone when Tasha returns so she begins freaking out and frantically searching for her daughter. She is relieved when Jen shows up behind her with the baby. Jen insists she just went to another aisle to get bread, but Tasha still isn’t happy about it. Back at home, Tasha checks out Jen’s profile which shows pictures of herself with Jack. She is surprised when Sam walks into the room. Sam briefly talks to Jack who leaves moments later. He tells Tasha why he surprised her. Tasha warns him that Jack isn’t an idiot and knows he doesn’t like him. She argues that he should’ve texted before visiting.
Sam thinks she should get out more and that Jack doesn’t care about the competition. He jokes that it at least isn’t her ex-husband showing up. Sam wonders what it is like being rich before she agrees to show him her expensive bags. The next day, Jack suggests Sam still doesn’t like him. Tasha admits they’re trying to patch things up and it is nice to see an old face. She says he doesn’t hate him although he is protective. Jack reveals they want him to go to New York next week even though it isn’t ideal. He offers to get tickets for Tasha and Emily if she doesn’t want to stay there alone, but Tasha isn’t keen on taking their daughter on a long flight just yet. She doesn’t mind Jack going though. He spoke to Jen and she won’t be coming around anymore. Sam offers to take Tasha somewhere. He has to go back into the house to retrieve Emily’s rabbit. When he gets it, he may take something else too.
They talk about how Jack goes away a lot and it bothers Tasha because she misses him. They begin talking about Jack’s job and what Tasha would like to do. Tasha doesn’t want to leave just yet because it doesn’t feel right. When she returns home, she is shocked to find Jen sitting in her kitchen drinking her wedding wine. Tasha insists she can’t just come in here because she could always call the police. Jen explains that Jack told her to keep the key for an emergency and she needed to find some documents. Jack told her to let herself in if Tasha wasn’t home. Jen reveals the lovely HMRC is saying that she owes thousands in taxes. They briefly talk about Tasha’s friend with the car. Jen instructs her to be careful if something is going on with Sam because Jack has a temper. Tasha threatens to call Jack and tell him what she is doing so Jen agrees to go. She talks about Sam on the way out. She claims Jack brought it up after the christening, but Tasha doesn’t believe that is how she knew Sam’s name.
Tasha begins believing Jen followed her to the supermarket. She asks for the keys back as Jen gets ready to leave. Tasha tells Jen she needs to stop doing this and leave them alone. Jen wants her to tell Jack that she can’t do this anymore. Once Jack gets home, Tasha tells him what happened and what Jen said. He told her to come over, but he expected her to knock on the door. He confesses that Jen is worried about the tax things even though Tasha doesn’t care. She believes Jack is lying or Jen has been staking the place out. Jack agrees to talk to her again because it has to stop. If it doesn’t, he says they’ll have to address it more seriously. Calling the police is an option if she doesn’t feel safe. The following day, Jack leaves home. Tasha texts Sam to ask if he has ever met Jack’s ex, but Sam says he has not. She gets Anna to babysit Emily while claiming her mom is ill.
She goes out and tracks Jack’s phone. She gets out of the car before reaching the destination. She manages to get into the complex and get inside the building. Tasha knocks on one of the apartment doors. Jen and Jack are shocked to see her.
The Ex-Wife Review
The first episode of The Ex-Wife did a good job of laying out the basics of the main story while introducing the characters. The fundamentals are pretty good including the acting, camera work, and even the soundtrack. The casting may not be perfect as it feels Celine Buckens might not be mature enough for the role, but she is doing a good job with the script so far.
Truthfully, the biggest problem here is the fact that there is little to nothing original in The Ex-Wife. It feels like a copy-and-paste production of so many television shows prior to it with many of them being released in the last year. What is going to make The Ex-Wife stand out among the crowded competition?
It may get better as the show progresses, but it is hard to imagine it is going to distinguish itself from the handful of similar shows released this year. It is only four episodes though so it may just be short enough to justify a binge. It really depends on what the show does differently and whether it can break the constraints of the genre.
The first episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Ex-Wife can be found on Reel Mockery here. Use ad blockers and still want to support our work? Find out how to do so here.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
