TV Review: The Hour - Season Two, Episode Three

Full spoiler review of Season Two, Episode Three of The Hour after the jump:

The only thing I really have to say about the overall trajectory of The Hour at this point is that while it’s still doing a lot of work to set up the various plotlines at play, writer Abi Morgan (and of course, the wonderful cast) is nonetheless doing a terrific job of keeping the show entertaining and engaging. I sometimes worry that The Hour tries to pack way too much into its six-hour run – some scenes here feel like we’re just checking in on plots that will fold into the main storyline later – but Morgan keeps pulling it together beautifully. That remains true here, with the terrific final scene (involving the actual television show, which is always nice) pulling together several threads in what feels like an organic way.

Other than that, it’s really business as usual for this episode of the hour as each element of the story is furthered in a mostly satisfying way. I’m afraid Freddie’s wife Camille is destined to be one of those television show spouses everybody ends up hating: if you don’t create a convincing argument that the rival love interest might actually be worth it (e.g. Karen from the US Office) the character becomes an annoying impediment on the show for its own sake. I’m curious to see where we’re going with two of the more minor plotlines this time around - the ruffians bothering people on the street where Freddie lives and Mr Brown and Lix’s secret baby – but they’re two of the plotlines that are just touched on here.

Lastly, I do want to pay tribute to the performance of Dominic West, who really comes into his own here. He’s given many different notes to play and he hits them all beautifully – even though he’s a total basket case you can’t help but root for the guy. Sometimes when everyone on a TV show tells each other how charming a particular character is it’s because the actor actually has no innate charisma whatsoever, but not here. West plumbs the depths of the self-destructive, adrift Hector just as well as he shows him climbing slowly back on the horse over the course of that final interview. He’s becoming a really engaging, interesting character. The only slightly concerning element of his development is that Bel Rowley continues to fall by the wayside – Freddie and Hector feel fully developed, but Bel seems to be stuck on the fringes at the moment, and not at all where you’d expect one of the series’ three leads to be. I hope she comes back to the centre of the frame in coming episodes.

But overall, it’s just another excellent, satisfying episode of one of my favourite dramas on television.