Denial and the subsequent hypocrisy are very much the key themes of this episode with Bill Macy (Steve Evets) having to deal with his PDS sufferer son Rick (David Walmsley) returning from Afghanistan and the fallout of his return for the Human Volunteer Force. Keiran (Luke Newberry) continues to struggle at home as he is forced to hide from the town whilst his parents try to keep the news of Rick's return from him. Fortunately, his existence is interrupted by the arrival of Amy (Emily Bevan), a loud and proud PDS sufferer who helps Luke out of his shell. Once Rick and Keiran are reunited, even more tension comes to the fore in the small town of Roarton as none of the residents are quite sure how to deal with having PDS sufferers in their midst.
The beauty of this episode is that if you took away the supernatural elements, there is still a touching and affecting story about a troubled relationship at its heart. The build-up to the meeting between Rick and Kieran was deftly handled, drip-feeding information about their relationship rather than stating anything explicitly; Rick's emotional reaction to hearing of Kieran's death was a small but significant moment and Kieran's constant glances towards portraits of Rick said far more than any few lines stating they were in a relationship could have done. Whilst it is again yet to be stated outright, the two are, or were, in love with each other and having to deal with the consequences of this in their small-town nightmare would have made for an intriguing drama in itself. The fact that they are both undead goes even further to making the waters that little bit more muddied.
Rick and Kieran's relationship may be transferring some of the show's themes from the more metaphorical to the more literal, but there is still plenty to be mined from the way in which In The Flesh is using the zombie aspect to elaborate and explore different themes of prejudice. The Partially Deceased Syndrome and its sufferers have become a well-handled symbol of any societal outcast and this week, various were explored. The obvious was the relationship between Rick and his father Bill, a man who clearly has a difficult time accepting his son for who he is. We get lines loaded with meaning about Rick's handling of guns, his treatment of women and his drinking habits and for Bill, this is all about creating his son into the ultimate masculine symbol. I suspect that, with his animosity towards Kieran, Bill deep down knows that Rick is gay, but refuses to acknowledge this fact, just as he knows his son is a PDS sufferer, but will not treat him as such, nor will he allow anyone else to.
Elswhere in the episode, the performances continue to be excellent and Bevan's Amy is breath of fresh undead air in the town of Roarton, challenging prejudices and provoking all of the characters into thinking about their situations just that little bit more. I'd like to see more of Kenneth Cranham's hate-spouting vicar, but he forms an intriguing background figure though given little more development than as a physical manifestation of the town's prejudice. Evets also continues to portray the conflicted father well, able to register his internal struggle with his son with little more than a frown. However, it is to the two leads who I reserve the most praise; Walmsley and Newberry have managed to make an undisclosed relationship very affecting in just a few short scenes and the exchange between the two of them in the Jeep was a fantastic piece of drama.
With only one more episode remaining in this current run, there are a lot of loose ends to be tied up for the characters in In The Flesh, but with a series that has stated its intent and carried out its purpose with such confidence, I have every faith that we will be provided with a satisfying conclusion. Now all we need is for BBC Three to commission another series.
- Becky
You can read Becky's review of Episode One here.
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