As the episode begins, we see a young Joseph getting settled in at the boy’s home. Joseph (Stephen Graham) sits and recalls old times in the garage. He looks at an old picture. Joseph checks in on the family. Michael (Frank Laverty) invites him to join them. Joe explains that he is going to try to get in touch with his son before he goes to school. Soon, Joseph leaves and tries to call his son. The call is not answered. Joe travels to a nearby cemetery. He looks at the graves of Eoin McCarthy and Brigid McCarthy.

Next, Joe heads to the boy’s home. It has been closed and sits abandoned. He sneaks inside and begins looking around. Old memories come back to haunt him. Joe makes a run for it. Eventually, he enters a local pub. Craigy (Mark O’Halloran) is there. They end up drinking together. In the middle of the night, Dinah (Niamh Algar) hears the phone ring. It is about Joe. Dinah and Anna (Helen Behan) are forced to pick him up at the pub. Joe is terribly drunk. He gets himself into trouble on the way home.

Dinah ends up punching him to keep him quiet. Joe wakes up in the middle of the night. His jaw is sore. Dinah helps him get some medication. They speak about the night and Joe’s behavior. He apologizes several times. He tells Dinah that she is gorgeous and he doesn’t want to mess her up. She claims that isn’t possible. They begin kissing. Anna drops in on them and puts their romance to an end. Anna ridicules them both. She tells Dinah that she’ll kick her out if they don’t stop.

The following day, Joe tells Anna that he is an alcoholic and shouldn’t be drinking. Anna tells him that Dinah is a hot mess. She recommends staying away from her. Joe arrives at work a short time later. Michael and the others take it pretty easy on him. Dinah tracks down Janine (Niamh Cusack). She was the case manager for her case. Janine knows where Dinah’s son is. Dinah wants to get in touch with him. She learns that it will be up to the current parents. Craigy speaks with Joe.

Craigy offers to listen to Joe’s troubles. After all, he was in the boy’s home too. Joe doesn’t want to speak about it. He claims that he was never molested or anything like that. Craigy gets upset and leaves. Joe apologizes as Craigy walks away. Dinah writes a letter about giving up her child. She blames her mother.

 

The Virtues Review

The Virtues is incredibly slow, yet very deep. I find it very difficult to do the show justice with these recaps. There isn’t a lot happening. Nevertheless, each scene is overflowing with emotions. It is impossible not to find this show bleak and depressing. I have enjoyed all three episodes. However, I would recommend reading the description for the show before watching the opening. It will make things more understandable and the show a lot better.

I can’t wait to see what happens in the next episode. This one scores a 7.5 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of The Virtues right now!