As the opening episode of This City Is Ours begins, Ronnie Phelan (Sean Bean) goes golfing with Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce). Elaine (Julie Graham) and the girls talk about the men from nearby. Davy Crawford (Stephen Walters) holds the flag for Ronnie. Ronnie misses the shot. He steps aside to speak to Michael about improving their margins although Michael thinks their margins are good. Michael doesn’t think they should change what works. Ronnie suggests having a conversation with the amigos. He’d like a bit more money to relax a little more. Ronnie wants to think about it a bit more. Later, Elaine holds a toast to Jamie’s son Alfie. Next, Michael waits for news at the hospital. He receives a message from “WhiteRose” saying the flights have been booked. Then, Michael is told how to provide his sample. Michael gets in touch with Diana (Hannah Onslow) who learns he’s at the clinic. He was hoping she could give him some assistance.
She decides they should have phone sex. Once Michael finishes, he goes to the club to speak to Diana in person. He reveals he has a low sperm count and his fellas can’t even swim. Diana says there are other ways to get pregnant. Michael reveals he’s going to Spain in a few hours because Ronnie is looking for a bigger payday. Ronnie is also making noises about stepping aside and Michael possibly stepping up. Michael joins Ronnie who says Banksey (Mike Noble) is meeting them. They join Banksey before meeting Ricky for drinks. They all share a toast to friendship and business. Then, Michael speaks to Stefania (Yolanda Vazquez) about getting the same product on better terms. Jamie Phelan (Jack McMullen) quickly comments. Stefania says they want to hear one voice. Ricky (Daniel Cerqueira) argues something else has to change if the price changes. Once Michael gets rid of Jamie, he explains that he’s at the table because he’s learning.
Ricky says their business is with Michael. Outside, Ronnie asks Davy if he thinks he’s doing the right thing. Davy isn’t sure it’s worth the risk. Ronnie asks him about his man at the docks. Davy says he is eyes-only and can only tell him if the container gets through customs. Michael tells Ricky that they can buy earlier at sea and take the risk of the UK border on themselves. He asks Ricky to work up a price for a direct shipment to Liverpool in two or three weeks’ time. Before long, Davy receives a message from his friend confirming the container has cleared customs. He calls someone and says it’s gone straight through. Davy asks if they still want him to go through with this. Davy isn’t thrilled with the answer. He calls Ronnie and tells him it’s not looking good. Michael and Diana get good news at the clinic. Michael meets Ronnie and Davy. They learn that Davy’s man said the container was taken part, put back together, and sent it on its way.
He’s saying there’s a buzz and lots of happy faces dockside. They were backslapping and stuff. Michael says they have to leave it alone because it’ll have spyware and they’ll wait for them to collect it. Ronnie is not happy. Outside, Ronnie tells Michael it’s the first time they bought at source and they tank it. He suggests they could be dealing with a rat. If it gets out that they have a hole in their supply lines, everyone will be trying to fill it. They talk about the people who knew, including Davy, Banksey, Jamie, and Bobby. Michael believes they’re all solid though. Michael says the Amigos are purely business. They’ll still want to be paid. Ronnie realizes it’s one of them. He asks Michael to wade through the crap in the street and he won’t forget it. Later, Banksey attacks a dealer and throws him into a vehicle with Michael who asks where he got the “lemo” from. In private, Michael tells Banksey that Ronnie will want Davy Crawford ended. Banksey admits he doesn’t get why Davy would do it.
At dinner, Ronnie asks Jamie why he asked Davy to be a godparent. Jamie says he likes him. He asks if he shouldn’t like him. Ronnie asks what he likes about Davy. Jamie says he’s a nice fella and harmless. Banskey and Michael break into a flat and Michael beats a man. Michael complains about the boy pulling a knife on him. Michael finds the drugs. The next morning, he calls Diana and wakes her up. They talk about the christening which is happening at twelve. Michael gets a visit and a package. When he opens the package, he pulls out a wrapped gun. Michael calls Ronnie and tells him he’s not feeling it because he doesn’t get any of it. He says Davy is a follower and not a leader. Michael says he was cutting three kilos. It’s good weight so he wonders where it was coming from. Ronnie says he’ll think about it, but Michael should go ahead as planned. Davy works out at the gym. Michael calls Banksey who says Freddie is out at the gym. Michael confirms he got cleaned up and dealt with his clothes.
Freddie (Adam Abbou) will message them when Davy is on the move. Michael meets Diana who asks what’s going on. Michael tells her they have a rat in the house and he’s sorting it. After he’s dealt with it, Ronnie will owe him. He believes they can do whatever they want in three years’ time. Diana is booked in to see her mother today. She asks Michael if he’s ever killed anyone. Michael says he hasn’t, but he could if they deserved it. He asks if that’s a deal breaker. Michael leaves when he gets the message. Davy leaves the gym and goes running. Michael eventually ends up near him. Jamie and Melissa (Darci Shaw) arrive at Ronnie’s house moments later. Michael gets the gun out and unwraps it. Ronnie calls Michael who is seconds away from killing Davy. At the last second, Ronnie tells Michael to abort the mission. Davy runs by and doesn’t see Michael. Diana returns home and hears angry voices. Then, she uses a video chat to speak to her mother Lesley Williams (Leanne Best) who is in prison.
Lesley asks about Michael. Meanwhile, Michael goes back to the clinic to fill the cup. Jamie speaks to Davy who wants to make sure they’re good. Diana arrives moments later and goes inside. In private, Rachel Duffy (Laura Aikman), Elaine, and Jamie talk about Diana. Bobby Duffy (Kevin Harvey) comes outside to get them. Michael arrives at the church during the ceremony. He sits next to Diana. Michael asks her if she’s sure she wants to start a family with him. Later, they go to a club to party. Diana asks Michael about the rat. They also talk about her mother. Diana tells Michael to never cut her out. She insists she’s not like these other women. Davy’s wife, Cheryl Crawford (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), introduces herself to Diana when she’s alone. She says she’s never seen Michael looking so happy. Cheryl says she drinks too much. Diana questions whether that’s her opinion or someone else’s. She says she’s been with Michael for about 18 months.
Cheryl claims there’s nothing good about their men. She urges Diana to get out while she can. Cheryl asks her to call her before leaving. Ronnie tells Michael he decided he was right and they need to find out what is going on. They talk about it with Banksey. Michael insists Davy isn’t brave enough to do this on his own. The stuff is coming out even if it’s just a trickle. Michael says it could be the gear they thought they lost. Davy spoke with the contact at the port and told them to let it go. Ronnie agrees to rack him outside of the United Kingdom. He suggests doing it in Spain. Later, Ronnie hangs out with Elaine and Davy. Michael swims with Diana who says she could get used to this. She questions why Ronnie has this huge villa and Michael only has a caravan. Rachel tries to get Bobby to talk to her. He farts instead. Rachel asks if Bobby spoke to Ronnie about her and her ideas. She says she will if he doesn’t. Michael invites Davy inside to help with some booze and Ronnie follows them. They attack him in the garage and kill him.
This City Is Ours Review
The opening episode of This City Is Ours sets up a possibly interesting story with a superb cast. Depending on the quality of future episodes, this could easily develop into a gripping drama on par with Kin. However, the opening episode was not promising in the least for a variety of reasons.
For starters, the script is pretty much as lame as one can get. There were no real surprises and everything was predictable. As soon as Michael agreed to buy the product before it passed through customs, it was obvious there would be a problem and there was. The soundtrack has some good tunes, but we’re not listening to a jukebox here.
The volume should’ve been reduced to make everything less annoying and to ensure viewers could actually hear the dialogue. There really isn’t any depth to the series at this point. The juvenile antics of the characters are also off-putting with phone sex, fart jokes, and so on. The fact there are eight episodes means this thing is going to move at a snail’s pace.
It’s a shame that the script isn’t stronger because the potential is definitely there. There is still potential here for the show to get better with James Nelson-Joyce possibly taking over the operation at some point. However, it looks more like the show is going to be a struggle to finish at this rate.
The opener scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of This City Is Ours can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion 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.