As the opening episode of The Lovers begins, Seamus (Johnny Flynn) wakes up when his alarm goes off and gets ready for the day. Seamus snaps a photo with Ndidi (Evelyn Miller) outside his workplace thinking she is a fan of sorts. She follows him inside because there seems to be more to it. Once Seamus says hello to Tim (Simon Paisley Day), he is told Ndidi is going to be his producer. Seamus isn’t happy to learn that they’re going to be broadcasting from Belfast. Although his mom was from there, he hasn’t been back in years.

Ndidi explains they’re under pressure to produce more content from outside London. Seamus says he is happy because it’ll give him a chance to get back in touch with his roots. At work, Jason (Martin Quinn) catches Janet (Roisin Gallagher) stomping a chocolate bar so she can call it damaged goods and eat it. Her boss, Philip (Conleth Hill), reprimands her for cursing Jason. Philip tells her to take the rest of the day off and come in with a new attitude tomorrow. Janet says she’ll do it tonight. After he asks about her mental health, she curses him and leaves.

Seamus shoots an advert for his new show. Later, he tells Ndidi that they shouldn’t discuss suicide in the first week because they’ll lose their audience. Instead, he is going to try something on his own. Seamus talks about unemployment instead. Local boys throw a bottle at him before things get physical. Seamus flees from them. Meanwhile, Janet eats candy and looks through a magazine at home. She grabs a gun and goes outside to sit with it while crying. Before she can pull the trigger, she hears Seamus yelling for help. She ends up saving his life. Janet complains that he saved hers as well.

He asks if he can call a taxi. Seamus notices the guys are still outside so he asks if he can hang around. Janet invites him to watch television with her. Seamus says the taxi should be about 20 minutes. While Janet makes something to eat, Seamus questions why she wants to kill herself. Janet quickly changes the subject and asks why he is in Belfast. She is surprised to learn he is a famous television presenter. Seamus thought she knew who he was based on the way she was looking at him in the bedroom. Janet denies that. She begins doubting that he is actually famous. When the taxi arrives, Seamus asks her if she is going to be okay only for Janet to shut the door in his face.

Seamus decides to come back to check on her and notices the gun missing. He breaks a window only to learn that Janet is eating a bar of chocolate. Seamus asks her to call him a taxi again. After making a few calls, Janet tells him that they’re booked so he won’t get a cab for hours. She takes pity on him and says he is welcome to stay the night. He eventually agrees to sleep on the sofa. As they make him a bed, Janet reveals her husband died a few months ago. Seamus asks if that is why she is depressed. Janet questions who said she was depressed. She would prefer not to talk about it. Seamus convinces her to talk about it.

Janet claims she killed her husband in a sex game gone wrong, but begins laughing at her joke. Janet confesses that he left her for another woman. Later, Seamus finds Janet sleeping in the bathtub. She explains it is too cold in there because of the broken window. Janet ends up sleeping with Seamus and cuddling with him. When they wake up in the morning, Seamus says he better get ready for work. As he gets ready, he begins panicking. Janet tells him how she deals with being nervous. The song works and Seamus is no longer nervous. Seamus leaves a bit later. His first show goes well. As for Janet, her attitude at work has changed completely.

On the plane, Seamus gets nervous so he sings the song Janet taught him. Once he gets home, Frankie (Alice Eve) asks about his face. Seamus tells her that he was attacked by a gang of thugs in Belfast. She didn’t watch the show because she was filming all night. While looking at a magazine with Jason, Janet notices a picture of Seamus with Frankie. At home, she sends him a message asking why he didn’t say he had a girlfriend. She deletes that message and just says hi instead. After Frankie leaves, Seamus accepts the message and tells Janet that he liked meeting her. He also tells her that he’ll be back in Belfast next week.

 

The Lovers Review

The opening episode of The Lovers was surprisingly enjoyable, especially considering I wasn’t expecting much. The series has the same vibe as The Flatshare, but I enjoyed this episode of The Lovers a bit better. Johnny Flynn and Roisin Gallagher make a good pair and the duo is amplified by the fact that they’re so different.

The humor wasn’t always effective, but the episode’s heart made up for it. Even though this is only the first episode, you could already feel the romance building and it is hard to find that today. I do question whether it’ll be able to maintain this quality through six episodes though.

Nevertheless, the pilot episode of The Lovers was very good to the point I’d give it a 7 out of 10. Recaps of The Lovers can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.