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Classic UK TV
“The name’s… Dolly”: Re-watching Widows
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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 335662" data-attributes="member: 23"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">She’s Out</span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px">Episodes Five and Six</span></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p><p></p><p>From the vantage point of 2022, knowing this is the end of The Dolly Rawlins Saga, there weren’t any real surprises in these final episodes. The remaining questions really are if the final act of the trilogy was compelling, entertaining and satisfying.</p><p></p><p>I feel <em>She’s Out </em>got off to a decent start but then immediately faltered. There were enough flaws in the first half of the series for it to feel as though it lacked credence and direction. Compared with the original Widows, this series doesn’t do too well. That initial run of episodes started strong, set out its stall regarding its overall objective (the big crime) in its first episode and had thrilling dynamics. She’s Out took over half its length for the big heist to even form and much outside of that felt like filler, with a load of women snarling at one another, or stomping out of the house forever but immediately returning. I know I keep coming back to it, but this is <em>French & Saunders’</em> “What a bleedin’ dump” territory. There’s a lot of mouthing off and apparent threat, but much of it is ultimately just a lot of meaningless noise. </p><p></p><p>One angle that added interest for me in the women’s dynamics was how their mercenary attitudes towards even one another felt like a habit that had come from being hardened and somewhat desensitised in prison. </p><p></p><p>Take Shirley’s memory. At different points, both Audrey and Mike evoke Shirley’s memory when trying to reason with Dolly. In both cases, Dolly effectively tells them to shut up and acts as though she doesn’t care. She even reminds Mike that Shirley knew the risks. Even though she then goes on to apologise and say that she shouldn’t have spoken this way, she doesn’t say why not, so even this sounds a little perfunctory. </p><p></p><p>There’s an equally self-protective response to Kathleen’s imprisonment on an old charge. There are a couple of times when someone mentions the news and other women act as though they haven’t even heard. Dolly even ignores such a comment and carries on discussing her plan. It could be read that she’s so preoccupied with the scheme that she hasn’t even noticed. But it could also be viewed that she’s simply boxed it away and Kathleen is no longer part of her world. </p><p></p><p>Usually, in a female-led series, a miscarriage might mean a lot of bonding and walls coming down. In this world, however, Angela has betrayed them by informing and so there are very few glimmers of gushing gynocentric warmth. On learning that Angela has lost the baby, Ester immediately snarls “Serves her right”. Dolly visits Angela in hospital to make sure she’s OK and Angela thinks her act has successfully changed Dolly’s mind about her leaving, but Dolly remains detached and tells her no. She may only return to The Grange to collect her things. </p><p></p><p>With the writing round Angela I felt like cheering at this, because she’s written as a whiny brat who takes no responsibility and falls back on emotional blackmail to get her way. Something that kind of works when she returns to The Grange yet again with a trembling lip to plead to stay. However, even here Dolly makes it clear to the others that Angela’s there only to serve them by looking after Kathleen’s kids. And it appears Angela would get no cut from the tens of millions they plan to rob in the heist. </p><p></p><p>The scheme itself is clearly very heavily based on the Great Train Robbery, which feels appropriate in a way since I watched Buster for the first time just before starting <em>Widows</em>. The real-life crime is even referenced in dialogue, but the fact that so many elements of that heist are echoed here does make this series feel lacking in originality. And on top of this, the series feels partly designed to hit similar notes to the original <em>Widows</em>.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><em>continued...</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 335662, member: 23"] [CENTER][B][SIZE=6]She’s Out[/SIZE][/B] [SIZE=5]Episodes Five and Six[/SIZE] [/CENTER] From the vantage point of 2022, knowing this is the end of The Dolly Rawlins Saga, there weren’t any real surprises in these final episodes. The remaining questions really are if the final act of the trilogy was compelling, entertaining and satisfying. I feel [I]She’s Out [/I]got off to a decent start but then immediately faltered. There were enough flaws in the first half of the series for it to feel as though it lacked credence and direction. Compared with the original Widows, this series doesn’t do too well. That initial run of episodes started strong, set out its stall regarding its overall objective (the big crime) in its first episode and had thrilling dynamics. She’s Out took over half its length for the big heist to even form and much outside of that felt like filler, with a load of women snarling at one another, or stomping out of the house forever but immediately returning. I know I keep coming back to it, but this is [I]French & Saunders’[/I] “What a bleedin’ dump” territory. There’s a lot of mouthing off and apparent threat, but much of it is ultimately just a lot of meaningless noise. One angle that added interest for me in the women’s dynamics was how their mercenary attitudes towards even one another felt like a habit that had come from being hardened and somewhat desensitised in prison. Take Shirley’s memory. At different points, both Audrey and Mike evoke Shirley’s memory when trying to reason with Dolly. In both cases, Dolly effectively tells them to shut up and acts as though she doesn’t care. She even reminds Mike that Shirley knew the risks. Even though she then goes on to apologise and say that she shouldn’t have spoken this way, she doesn’t say why not, so even this sounds a little perfunctory. There’s an equally self-protective response to Kathleen’s imprisonment on an old charge. There are a couple of times when someone mentions the news and other women act as though they haven’t even heard. Dolly even ignores such a comment and carries on discussing her plan. It could be read that she’s so preoccupied with the scheme that she hasn’t even noticed. But it could also be viewed that she’s simply boxed it away and Kathleen is no longer part of her world. Usually, in a female-led series, a miscarriage might mean a lot of bonding and walls coming down. In this world, however, Angela has betrayed them by informing and so there are very few glimmers of gushing gynocentric warmth. On learning that Angela has lost the baby, Ester immediately snarls “Serves her right”. Dolly visits Angela in hospital to make sure she’s OK and Angela thinks her act has successfully changed Dolly’s mind about her leaving, but Dolly remains detached and tells her no. She may only return to The Grange to collect her things. With the writing round Angela I felt like cheering at this, because she’s written as a whiny brat who takes no responsibility and falls back on emotional blackmail to get her way. Something that kind of works when she returns to The Grange yet again with a trembling lip to plead to stay. However, even here Dolly makes it clear to the others that Angela’s there only to serve them by looking after Kathleen’s kids. And it appears Angela would get no cut from the tens of millions they plan to rob in the heist. The scheme itself is clearly very heavily based on the Great Train Robbery, which feels appropriate in a way since I watched Buster for the first time just before starting [I]Widows[/I]. The real-life crime is even referenced in dialogue, but the fact that so many elements of that heist are echoed here does make this series feel lacking in originality. And on top of this, the series feels partly designed to hit similar notes to the original [I]Widows[/I]. [CENTER][I]continued...[/I] [/CENTER] [/QUOTE]
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“The name’s… Dolly”: Re-watching Widows
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