Episode 8: Jenny & Christian
It's been a while since we've seen the kleptomaniac Jenny (Sheridan Smith) and with other characters being seen more than once this series, it was only fair we'd get a return from her too. This time around she's on a date with the somewhat religious Christian (Andrew Scott), who's got the Perfect 10 (commandments that is) and it's a date that goes well for them. So well, they end up sleeping together and having a very adult and mature conversation in relation to their respective beliefs and then things go to crap. Yeah, it seems that Christian has a wife called Helen (Amanda Hale) who's fed up of his wandering eye and turfs him out before Jenny tells him to fuck off as well. It's a good story with some nice moments between Smith and Scott but it also seems that a lot of Jenny's lingering issues (her stealing and inability to get over being ditched by her ex) are still holding her back. Other than that, a fantastic episode though, 9/10.
Episode 9: Mia & David
Well the series did start off with Mia and David, slotted them in the middle along with Ellie and Stephen, so it makes sense that it would end with three of the characters, doesn't it? In this episode Mia manages to annoy both David and Stephen over her erratic behaviour with children but she does manage to end up with at least one of them while the other resolves to be a better parent to a kid we meet for a few minutes. It's a great final episode with some nice moments from both Chaplins and Mellor but it also kind of feels that if the show returns for a second run that Mia and David are probably two characters we might not need to see more of. Stephen on the other hand could be up for discussion though, 8/10.
After nine episodes, we've had a great series with Dates. A nice mixture of stories, interconnecting and otherwise, great performances and some interesting debates on what can bond or drive people apart from each other as well. Channel 4 - commission a second series, please. Give Heidi, Callum, Jenny and Ellie other episodes with new characters, an episode with two guys on a date without the usual cliches and another episode for Erica and Kate, told from the latter's POV. You know you want to.
You can watch the series on 4OD right now if you've missed it.
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