October 1940 and it's business as usual, with bombing attacks, making the most of a bad situation. Emma (Hermione Corfield) is now part of the Woman's Volunteer Service, driving ambulances and helping where needed on the streets after bombings and Lillian (Annabelle Apsion) says she didn't think she'd last but she's proven herself. Emma also needs to get a uniform, which she has to pay for herself and Joe (Matt Ryan) wonders why she doesn't get a pay advance from her father as he must be proud of her. Yeah Joe hanging around the staff entrance again!! She thinks he's looking for a story but he's already on one, she doesn't want to be 'written' about, i.e. mentioned in his radio broadcasts. Adding "anyone would think you're incapable of finding a story." Which he responds isn't fair. Yeah take it back!! ha. Well for starters would've thought he'd have much more to say than it not being fair, I mean he's more articulate than that! Silly writers! Actually he asks if her father's prevented her from signing up and a personal angle would be good. Yet she and everyone else found a worthwhile job. Garland (Steven Mackintosh) waited for her all night and he doesn't like her being out on the streets at night. She wants to carry on with work and asks if anyone's complained about her work at the hotel.
Toby (Edward Bluemel) and Adil (Akshay Kumar) are caught out by D'Abberville (Charles Edwards) knew that was coming as Adil leaves Toby's room and forgets his watch. Well it was pointless looking out into the hall before he left, if they didn't do that second time round and besides it could've been anyone's watch and Adil could've been there for any reason. But D'Abberville and his mind of course, always looking for an angle knows otherwise. So there's no point in Toby and Adil coming up with a story to put him off the scent, cos he was a bloodhound wherever and however his interest may be served. We saw that in episode 3 with the Comte and how he stood by him until bigger and better came along in the form of Priscilla (Olivia Williams) and Toby. As he threatens Adil at the end with deportation and being deported for "unnatural acts," how it would be humiliating for his family, seeing as only one of his brother's was born here. D'Abberville doing his homework. He wants Adil to get secrets from Toby about his work and Adil tells him Toby wouldn't be so indiscreet. However Toby would be saved by his mother. D'Abberville even telling Toby he understands him just to get him on side. Adil tells D'Abberville Priscilla will find out sooner or later as she's not stupid. (Episode 8 for our purposes.)
Joe's "professionally irritating" and says Emma doesn't think much of him. That'll change as he gets to play a hero of sorts when he stays with her later in the night. No, not in that way. At least he's a gentlemen towards her, always. Oh heck I said that this review and she repeats that in ep 7!! Pre-empting again on my part!
Garland buys Emma a uniform and can't believe they must pay for them. He wants her to take good care of it as it cost a lot. He's proud of her as he said before in an earlier episode and he tells Peggy (Liz White) he's proud of her now, but he worries waiting for Emma to come back. When he sees her it's the last time he thinks. But he should now understand how she feels about Freddie (Jamie Blackley) and how things turned out in the longrun.
Joe is riding with the fire crews and he manages (yeah no coincidence that for our purposes) to be where Emma is stationed and she thinks he's following her for his story. But out of 400 stations/fire crew, it's unlikely he'd have found her. As another raid ensues, they're told to evacuate the area as the fire can't be put out, where a woman asks for help. She won't leave her mother's DB, as the foxes/dogs got to other DB's and Emma promises to stay with her during the air raid, Mary Elizabeth Shaw, is her name, until they come for her. Joe helps Lillian take the woman to the centre for treatment. Then returns for Emma. She refuses to leave and so he stays with her. She tells him of her own mother and how she was there when she died, it was expected, she was only 9 but her father was at work. Also how she grew up with Freddie and when he'd come home from school, she expected him to have the same feelings for her. Well she and Freddie are destined to be together you see.
They talk of Freddie and how he was right to say what he did about their "different stations" and she's glad Joe did not say "I told you so." Joe doesn't recall saying that. Then asks what she'll do when the men come home, asking what her job was before at the hotel. Hey he can't recall she was a receptionist. Ahh Joe getting ideas here as he throws off his blanket (Ha and consequences be damned!!) Joe probably thinking he's got a chance with her. Thus the love triangle that didn't really transpire. Especially since she and Joe are meant to be closer in "station" and Joe's more worldly. He's seen plenty and Emma, is still rather naive. Lo and behold, the all clear sounds and they must end their little bonding session!
Billy (Ewan Mitchell) brings Kate (Lauren Coe) an orange he managed to get, but she doesn't want to eat it now. They'll share it tomorrow before her shift, as she kisses him on his cheek! Heck you know what's coming next. Forget about Emma and Freddie, or Emma and Joe, as Kate and Billy don't even get off the ground. Peggy is staying at the hotel temporarily as Priscilla was shown the story in the paper and the picture of her house. Peggy tells Garland that Billy thought she thought he wasn't good enough for what he did, but he understands now after almost losing Dora (Bella Padden). Another air raid and this time, Dora finds it hard to sleep as she's been through it before. But Peggy's with her now. Also Garland reassures her by telling her that the sound she hears is Billy in Hyde Park, with the 'Ack Ack' guns. Peggy adding he's protecting them, which he was. Kate waits for Billy the next morning but he doesn't show up, as Joe and Emma return, her mentioning how he's educated. The kitchen is deserted and she finds out Billy didn't make it. It was a parachute mine as Garland tells the others. Peggy is distraught and has to be alone to let her emotions out. The same with Emma, but Joe's there for her and she actually hugs him back.
Everyone also seeing Freddie's photo on the front page of the paper earlier on as 'Heroes Of the Sky.' Priscilla telling D'Abberville, as if he's interested that she encouraged Freddie to fly and join the RAF as she had a passion for flying. Her father was in the navy. D'Abberville feigning to understand her. In the cellar, everyone sees her and D'Abberville on beds next to each other.
Sonny (Sope Dirisu) finds out about Betsy (Kara Tointon) leaving for another singing gig and she won't tell him why. So as the air raid was ongoing he refused to leave and played piano, as did she. Telling him she's had men from here every night, but he's good and he's had only respectable women who go to church. He tells her he likes her, loves her. He even recalls the date they met on 6 June 1938, she sang for him for two years now. She can't believe he feels anything for her. Singing "the West End is the best end." They get together right there in that ballroom, obviously no one was going to disturb them. Sonny telling her no one should know about them, but she "don't give a fig" if they do.
Plenty to take in this ep with their lives all intersecting with each other in some small way. D'Abberville finding the right time to pounce and make a fortune for himself using blackmail, neither caring about his country or fellow countrymen, certified Nazi that he is. No, so not right for Priscilla and she's just been duped into thinking he actually feels anything for her. More feelings at play here too with Emma opening up to Joe after showing her disdain for him all this time. Which was just a front she put up. But Emma doesn't know who she wants as she tells Joe about Freddie showing she does have real feelings for him, cos why else mention another man to Joe. Then again Joe did that too last ep with his admiring him in his uniform and how she was the one who said they weren't right for one another. "Not suited!" Though it was more or less than a 400 per cent chance that Joe would end with the same fire crew as Emma, so much for saying it, cos that's what happened. Besides if Emma hadn't told Joe he can't find "stories outside of these walls" then he wouldn't have met her on the street and kept her company!
Oh stop calling Joe's broadcasts "cringeworthy" silly critics know nothing about cringeworthy. I shouldn't have to defend him every ep!!
At least the emotional scenes were done well with Peggy rescuing one child, only to lose another. One she thought would be safer at home than away. But she was right, Billy was protecting them that night and every night like nameless and countless others. As The Halcyon suffers its first casualty: one of their own and as Garland said it often enough "we look out for our own." Not quite this time.
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