While we realize Lip Service has already aired a few episodes in the UK, we've just found a UK-based writer to expound on the relevancy of the show while offering a blow-by-blow recap! We'll be caught up soon for those of you who are watching weekly but for those of us across the pond, it's great to know what's happening with this break-out show for the BBC. Thanks A.P.!
Are we all sufficiently frozen by the sub zero temperatures currently gripping the UK? Well, put the heating on, make a cup of tea and enjoy...
In the world of Lip Service: It’s moving day and Frankie is helping Tess fit all of her worldly possessions into the back of a cab. Tess has forgotten a number of items so Frankie goes up to the flat to collect them.
She accidentally walks in on Sam in the shower; Sam is cordial and introduces herself while Frankie is cold and barely verbal. As she walks past Cat’s room she sees her dressing and pauses to ogle (not cool). Cat catches Frankie watching and tells her off but they start to bond over Cat’s grandmother’s vase.
It seems these two have much in the way of history. Cat can tell that Frankie is upset over something but Frankie doesn’t want to talk about it. Sam walks in, which puts an end to their bonding. Frankie quickly leaves the coupledom atmosphere. When Frankie and Tess arrive at the flat it is fully furnished, and I don’t mean with mere beds and a table and chair, oh no, there’s a sound system, a set of bongos, snazzy glasses everywhere and the bar is well stocked...I wonder when the owner will return.
At work, Cat’s boss interrogates Cat over the intern whom she interviewed and recommended and whose sickness was, as the boss discovered, due to Ketamine misuse. The intern has been fired and Cat is in his bad books for not realising what the intern was up to. He adds in some homophobic comments for good measure and my head is running through grounds for suing him.
Meanwhile, in the bachelorette pad, Frankie sets up a gaydargirls profile for Tess to get her back into the swing of dating, Tess is not enthusiastic or hopeful but plays along.
Back at the firm, Cat tells Jay about the intern and Jay acts surprised, denying all knowledge of the intern’s illegal activities. When Frankie arrives Jay tells her to not breathe a word of his involvement in the Ketamine incident. Frankie is preoccupied with the Cawthorne situation and Cat is initially impressed by Frankie’s business-like interaction but realises it is an indication that Frankie is troubled by something. They go to a cafe and Frankie tells Cat that she’s dead, officially. Cat says she will ask Sam to run a name search on Annie Cawthorne but Frankie is reluctant to have anyone else involved but eventually agrees. Later, Cat is extolling the benefits of having an adult-like relationship and Frankie says she is pleased for her. She is trying to be a good friend after the accusations Cat hurled at her in the last episode. They talk about Frankie’s new flat, Frankie invites Cat to see it at some point and Cat agrees. It puts a rather sweet smile on Frankie’s face.
Upon returning to the office Jay is preparing for a meeting with a mortgage advisor and Frankie fans the flames of his commitment fears. She watches Cat on the phone to Sam, Cat requests the search and lies, saying it is a favour for a secretary at the firm, and grows increasingly uncomfortable.
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At Rubies, Tess is on a date with someone she met on gaydargirls; they build a rapport by telling their dating nightmare stories. When Tess goes to the bar a butch woman looks at her and tells her that she seems familiar. Tess is polite but cuts the conversation short.
Puppy – my name for the ever-loyal Ed -- goes on a date with a fellow aspiring writer. I thought I would have to eat my words of the last recap, however, he spends the entire date talking about Tess, becoming slightly drunk and very bitter. His date leaves, appalled by his lack of tact. But to be fair, I think she was the first person he could open up to, and when the floodgates open there’s no closing them until the waters run dry.
Tess has gone back to her date’s place and they’re getting down and dirty when the woman’s husband walks in ‘just to watch.’ Tess is naturally surprised and disturbed by her failure to spot the ‘straight couple – seeking third’ trap. He explains that they’re ‘bi-curious’; great – now let’s see a strapping gay man walk into the picture. I reckon the ‘bi-curious’ would quickly turn to ‘affirmed–straight.’ Tess quickly puts her clothes back on while the man’s lascivious gaze is unyieldingly on her – it makes me want to reach into the screen and smack him into the next millennium. In the end Tess provides on-the-spot couples' counselling and leaves the couple looking lovingly into each other’s eyes.
Sam arrives at Cat’s flat -- they must have reached the stage of key-exchange as Sam lets herself in. She tells Cat that Annie Cawthorne is an alias for Al McCarter. The woman has a criminal record for theft but it dates back to 30 years ago and there is no new information. Sam again asks Cat who requested the information; Cat reiterates the ‘secretary’ lie. Sam comments that it’s nice of Cat to help the ‘secretary,’ but she looks unconvinced and thoughtful.
Frankie is at home, there’s a knock on the door (she was hoping it would be Cat) and Sadie saunters in; Sadie is in the mood but Frankie is not, Sadie leaves emotionally unscathed.
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The next morning Cat brings Sam breakfast in bed – complete with flowers in a mini vase. Sam gives her the paperwork on Al McCarter a.k.a Annie Cawthorne and Sam looks like she is quietly waiting for Cat to be honest, but it doesn’t come. Cat remembers that she is meeting her parents for lunch and invites Sam along to meet them. There’s something clinging to Cat. I think it’s guilt. Sam is taken aback by the suggestion but agrees.
Meanwhile, Tess is padding through her flat; as she looks out of her window she sees the butch from the bar in the opposite building. It turns out the comment on familiarity wasn’t just a cheap line.
Tess ducks out of view when the other woman looks over.
Jay has moved on to stressing about a meeting with a financial advisor. Cat gives Frankie the information; Frankie isn’t pleased and leaves – heading for her uncle.
At lunch with the parents, the father sits quietly building things out of napkins and cutlery while the mother is holding court, showering approval on Puppy and Tess, and disappointment on Cat. Sam cleverly twists her round to expressing pride over Cat’s achievements and Cat flashes Sam an expression of gratitude.
Frankie visits her uncle and he welcomes her into his home. She digs for information but he does not want her to look for the truth because it will only cause her pain. He tells her that Al McCarter is not worth looking for.
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Back at lunch, while Cat and Tess go to the loo, the mother tries to play cupid; she asks if Puppy has ever thought about dating Tess, saying ‘She could be the one.’ Puppy is desperate not to believe in the one, especially the unavailable, inaccessible one. Sam points out that Tess is gay, a fact that his mother is well aware of, she retorts “I think we’re all a bit gay dear, aren’t we? That’s the trouble with Ed, he lets everything become an obstacle.” Sometimes you just have to laugh at the ignorance... The conversation is interrupted when Cat’s phone rings. Sam picks it up and sees that the caller is Frankie, she answers the phone and Frankie hangs up – confirming Sam’s suspicions.
Frankie, unable to get through to Cat, calls the next best person – Sadie. From here on in the episode descends into madness. Sadie’s latest conquest has swanned off of our freezing shores and naively left Sadie with the keys to her luxurious mansion.
Sadie and Frankie go on a binge of drugs and destruction of property. In short, they trash the place by having wheelie chair races, stare at the goldfish and raid the prescription drug cabinet (as if they needed more chemicals in their systems).
Frankie goes up to the roof and stands on the ledge in hazy despair. She is interrupted by a perplexed and tactless Sadie asking, “What the fuck are you doing?” They move on to a hot bath, Frankie asks Sadie to shave and takes photographs, one fears the worst what with the compromised motor skills they are currently displaying, but fear not – it doesn’t get worse than it already appears. Just as things begin to heat up there’s a knock on the door, the cleaner has come to feed the goldfish. Busted.
Meanwhile Cat and Sam are walking down the road, Cat thanks Sam for handling her mother so well and they kiss in a dark alley. Cat, overcome by the guilt of lying about the name search, tells Sam the truth. Sam already knew – there’s a reason she’s a detective sergeant. Sam asks if she should be concerned over the situation between Cat and Frankie; Cat assures her she shouldn’t and Sam asks that she not lie to her again.
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Later, having had one cocktail too many, Cat is clamped to Sam in the back of a black cab.
Sam points out that the driver is watching and Cat demands that Sam take her right there in the cab. Is it out of defiance or excitement of the forbidden? Neither explanation mitigates the ‘ick factor’ of this scene.
Tess and Puppy are at Tess’ flat laughing about lunch with his parents. Tess continues on her merry road of sweet obliviousness as to Puppy’s true feelings, she sits close to him and pulls him back onto the couch when he tries to leave. Puppy tells her that his mother said they would make a lovely couple, she scoffs and says, “Mental” – much to his disappointment. Jay arrives, alcohol in hand, and they have a three-person party.
Meanwhile, Tess sees the butch in the next building. They lock eyes and Tess tentatively waves at her. The butch contemplates for a moment and then closes her blinds.
Tess collapses on the couch and imbibes all of the alcohol in her hands, she complains about another “missed opportunity” and Puppy, under his breath, say “Cheers.”
Strike number one -- his intentions have crossed over to the self-serving side of infatuation as he drinks to what is essentially Tess’ unhappiness.
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Back at the den of iniquity Cat and Sadie are being questioned by a policeman and the cleaning lady. The policeman wants to take them to the station for further questioning but Frankie tells him to summon detective sergeant Sam. Sam and Cat arrive, Sam instructs the policeman that the owner of the property left Sadie the keys, an act that implies consent; therefore they cannot be charged for the destruction.
After he leaves, Sam turns on Frankie and Sadie. She’s angry at being called in to vouch for them. Cat asks Frankie who Sadie is, Frankie introduces her and calls Sadie her ‘girlfriend.’ Sam throws a barbed comment their way and instructs them to clean the property and leave. Cat digests the word ‘girlfriend’ with great difficulty. She walks after Sam, apologising, but Sam ignores her and walks out. Cat takes one last look back at the beautiful couple and follows Sam.
Later, Frankie arrives home and joins the party of three. She talks to Jay and presumes that the alcohol is to dull the pain of failing to get a mortgage, but quite the contrary, they succeeded and Jay is still not a happy man. The party dies down and they are all half asleep and drunk on the couch. Tess goes to bed and Puppy leaves, but not before Frankie makes a disgusting Rohypnol comment in reference to Tess - i.e. that she’s so drunk he probably wouldn’t need any.
And then there were two... Frankie and Jay hunt out the last remaining bottle of alcohol (possibly in all of Glasgow). Jay tells her of his conflicted feelings for Becky and asks if Frankie loves anyone. After a pregnant pause she finally admits that she loves, and has always loved, Cat. In the drunken stupor Jay comforts Frankie by platonically kissing her face, but Plato goes out the window... Jay starts to kiss Frankie, Frankie doesn’t respond and seems confused but in the end joins in. In the middle of the night Tess gets up for a drink of water and sees Frankie and Jay in bed together.
Down the rabbit hole we go...will we ever get out?
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Review:
There are three reasons this review has taken so long, 1. Job hunting, 2. The flu, and 3. I hated this episode so much. There were so many things that made me put my head in my hands. Firstly, Tess’ propensity to treat Puppy as a gay male friend rather than the straight male friend she knows him to be. This may be in part because it rarely occurs to her that people find her attractive (the butch excluded), but even the most oblivious people -- of which I am one -- catch on eventually. It’s not surprising that Puppy’s feelings are becoming more embittered, but his toasting to Tess’ missed opportunity with the neighbour tips the scales of sympathy. Initially one could pity the character but that will run out if he becomes an active obstacle.
Secondly, the cab scene between Cat, Sam, and the peeping driver made me recoil in disgust. My favourite couple of the series managed to turn my stomach. And that is all the comment I can muster.
Lastly, Frankie and Jay sleeping together... Frankie’s availability to men was addressed in the first episode – she uses men when women are unavailable. If her ‘pulling’ power is to be believed then women are never unavailable to her so this logic is flawed. But I’ll forgo the discussion of ‘lesbians’ sleeping with men otherwise I’ll be here all day.
Instead I will criticise it on the basis of inconsistency. As anyone who has watched the series will know Frankie is always the ‘giving’ partner in her recreational activities; when others, i.e. Sadie, try to reciprocate she ‘stops and tops,” so to speak. There could be a number of reasons for this:
1. She simply doesn’t want/like reciprocation.
2. She only wants reciprocation from someone she truly cares about.
3. She wants to remain in control/retain power.
If 1 is true, why adopt the missionary position with Jay? If Frankie were being consistent then there are a whole host of ways it could have played out; one possibility would be a replay of the scene between Frankie, Sadie and a strap-on – but with Jay in Sadie’s place. That would have been a subversive (and thus respectable) use of the plot point.
If 2 is true, why adopt the missionary position with Jay? Let’s face it; they’re both trying to escape their emotions for other people.
If 3 is true, why adopt the missionary position with Jay? I am not implying that ‘receiving,’ for want of a better word, connotes passivity, only that it may do so for Frankie.
There is a fourth option: She likes penetrative/encircling sex with men, if so, why doesn’t she appear to be enjoying it?
I will now return to my Lemsip and watch the snow falling outside the window – which will be soothing after the trauma of this episode.
Tess-tastic marital advice:
“I think it’s really great that you’re trying...yeah, anything you can do to keep the passion alive. It’s like cooking, isn’t it? You can have shepherd’s pie every night but why not add a little spice? Some chilli, pepper, bit of turmeric...”
Funniest line:
Mother of Cat and Puppy:
“She takes things very literally, our Catherine, always has; I think she might be slightly autistic.”
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