As the third episode of The Gathering begins, Adam (Sonny Walker) gets high during the party. He speaks to Kelly (Eva Morgan) until Jessica (Sadie Soverall) pushes him. Jess tells Adam she trusted him. She yells that he told her and they’ve all seen it. Jess tells Adam they’ll talk when he’s not trashed. Two weeks before, Adam plays basketball with friends. Desmond tells him he’s got a fan as a girl watches on. After the game, Adam checks his messages with Jess who hasn’t responded. Debbie (Jodie McNee) tells Jess she might be in good shape at the championships next month. When Adam goes home, his dad introduces everyone to Vanessa, James, and Ella. Adam admits he was supposed to be out tonight.

Ella (Kate Reed-Williams) tells him she loves his music. Adam learns that Josh isn’t feeling well. He’s really upset because his mom wouldn’t let him go to a party. Dawn says Josh is too young for that type of party. Adam doesn’t think it’s that kind of party since it’s just jocks letting off steam. Ella touches Adam’s hand and asks him to pass the wine. Her parents agree to let her drink despite being young. Adam steps away to take a call from his mom. He questions why she let him in and promises to come right now. Once Adam arrives, he threatens to kill someone outside if they touch his car. He asks his mom if he’s taken Kyran’s console. His mom explains that he’s Kyran’s dad so she can’t stop him from seeing his little boy. Adam insists he won’t take Ky because he’s a bum and has no interest in being a father.

Paul (Warren Brown) checks on Tate who asks if they can go see Rocky. Paul isn’t sure they can do that. Kelly hopes they won’t just put him down without telling them. She doesn’t understand that Rocky has never hurt anyone. Adam goes looking for Jake. Once he finds him, Jake claims his mom gave him the console because she said he was spying on her through it. He says she made them come and take it away. Adam tells him to stay away. Jessica messages Adam to ask him to stop texting her. Adam asks his dad if Kyran can stay with them for a few weeks. His dad reminds him he was with Nina for five years. He asks if Kyran is safe. Adam promises to sort everything out and he’ll be no trouble. Adam worries they’ll put Ky into care because they did it to him.

His dad says he’ll speak to Dawn. Adam leaves with the console. Then, he speaks to Josh about the party. Adam promises to sort him out an alibi next time. Josh watches videos from the party and a girl who supposedly wants to get laid. Dawn doesn’t like the idea of Ky staying with them. Adam’s dad thinks it’s good he wants to step up since most lads his age are too busy getting trashed. Dawn talks to Lou about Josh smoking weed. She explains that Josh’s exams are coming up and having a kid around wouldn’t help. She refuses to let Ky stay until the exams are over. Debbie watches as Jessica doesn’t land her jump. She tells her that the pressure that comes from within is what drives her. Natalie (Vinette Robinson) watches from nearby. Adam storms into the practice to confront Jessica.

She says Kelly didn’t need to say anything. It’s all over the social so she doesn’t know why he didn’t tell her. Jessica believes Kyran is Adam’s kid, but she soon finds out that’s not the case. Debbie tries to get Adam to leave. Adam believes Jess would’ve thought otherwise if it was a picture of a jock. Jess insists she isn’t like that. Once Adam leaves, Debbie tells Jess to sort this problem out. In the car, Jess admits to Natalie that the block is serious. She asks if she can speak to Saul and get more of the pills. Helen does a police lineup and picks Paul from the group. Paul tells Diane that he can’t go down. She wants the truth from him. Paul says he had a pop at Kelly so he asked him for a little word. He claims he asked Jules to apologize before Jules went for him. Paul is adamant that Jules threw the first punch. He doesn’t think they’re going to believe him over Jules though.

Adam goes to his mom’s place and finds Kyran alone. He wakes Kyran with him and calls Nina, but she doesn’t answer. Kelly hangs out with Bazi and watches videos with him. Adam calls but Kelly doesn’t answer. Adam returns and finds his mom back at home. She begins saying she can’t do this. Adam tries to convince her that everything is okay. Jess looks at pictures of Adam before Natalie joins her outside. Jess tells her she was worried that it took her so long to get home last night. Natalie gives her another box of steroids. They’re a higher dosage so she doesn’t need to take as many. Adam introduces his dad and Dawn to Kyran. Dawn takes him outside to talk to him about it. Adam says his mom doesn’t have any support or anything. He says Dawn has all of this and she still can’t do right by him. Dawn says there are procedures they have to follow and can’t just take Kyran in.

Adam says he’s already started looking for his own place. Dawn relents and agrees to let Kyran stay. Kelly records Bazi doing tricks. She wants him to come to Adam’s thing later. He seems to agree to come. Kelly returns home and learns that Paul isn’t at work. He reveals he’s been suspended until further notice. Kelly asks if he’s going down, but Paul doesn’t know right now. He admits they need to talk about it just in case. It might help Paul’s case if Kelly could say something since no one else has come forward. Kelly agrees to do it. It should work in Paul’s favor that Kelly is an elite gymnast who made the team. Jessica puts the pills in her locker. Adam gives his dad an early birthday present which looks like marijuana. His dad asks if he can get ahold of other gear. His friend Bob wanted to know if he could sort some stuff for him. Adam says he’ll see what can be done.

Jessica manages to land the jump now that she’s on steroids. Kelly arrives at Adam’s party and says she wants to get trashed. Lou gets high with Bob when Ella knocks on the door. She refuses to leave until they let her use some of their drugs. Ella runs into Kelly on her way out. Kelly looks at Lou before continuing on her way. Jess looks at social media and sees the pictures of Adam’s party. A friend tells Josh he won’t get any action from Kelly because she’s a lesbian. Jessica arrives at the party and apologizes to Adam. Josh tells Kelly that Jessica has nothing on her. Jess calls Bazi to see if he’s coming. He’s busy arranging hookups with guys. Adam introduces Jessica to Lou. He goes upstairs to kiss Kyran goodnight. Kelly calls Jess a grass. Jess goes to the bathroom to cool down.

When Josh arrives, Jess tells him she doesn’t feel good. She asks him to get Adam. Ella speaks to Adam about his girlfriend and whether she likes girls. Josh warns Kelly and Lou. They check on Jess before Adam arrives too. Lou believes she’s having an allergic reaction. He won’t let Kelly call for an ambulance and instead decides to drive her. Bazi gets into a vehicle with two men and gives them money. He’s asked about the white girl he’s been running around with. Bazi claims not to know what they’re talking about. He’s told to bring the girl around next time because she can pay back his debt. Lou asks Adam to tell the hospital staff that he was at a club and not a house party. Inside, Adam and Kelly are asked whether Jess has taken something. Adam says they’ve been clubbing.

They learn a bad batch of ketamine has been going around. The doctor takes her bag and finds the steroids. Adam insists Jess doesn’t do drugs. In private, Kelly tells Adam that he needs to tell them she had beak. She admits she saw Lou coming out of his office after using. Kelly says he had a girl in there. Adam warns her to be careful where she’s going with this. Later, the police search Lou’s residence. He’s arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs to a minor. One week later, Adam goes to the police station to speak to someone about the attack on Kelly.

 

The Gathering Review

The third episode of The Gathering added more points to the storyboard, yet the kitchen sink is still out of the picture for now. The series has some strong points, including good acting, nice scenery, and the camerawork is strong. Viewers who can bend reality just enough to accept everything that’s happening will probably enjoy the series a lot more than others.

As for the story, it’s too busy and bloated for my liking. With so much stuffed in there, it’s hard to really believe that this would be possible. The bloated story is also pushing some stories to the back while new angles are added for whatever reason. Since the first episode, there’s been drug use, cybersex, steroid abuse, tiger moms, an overdose, a possible drowning, a boy possibly being pimped out, anti-refugee bias, Parkour, spousal abuse, and so on.

The layout makes everything a little messy. On top of that, Natalie’s actions have been overshadowed by other terrible parents. What’s the main purpose here? Are viewers supposed to watch for the attack on Kelly even though that’s feeling like a nothing burger right now? Or, are we just enjoying this as a hodgepodge of Jeremy Kyle guests crammed into the same story? If the latter was the case, I would at least expect this to be set in a shady caravan park somewhere.

The series is just unfocused with so many concurrent stories and no halfway decent individual to offset the overall white trashiness of the story. With the series trying to do too much, anything it is doing doesn’t seem all that impactful. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Gathering can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.

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