Dear Edward – Season 1 Episode 2 “Food” Recap & Review

Food

Episode 2 of Dear Edward starts with Eddie on the ground amongst the plane wreckage, hearing Jordan’s voice and trying to crawl over toward his brother. He’s delirious, falling in and out of consciousness, as it soon becomes apparent that Eddie was the only survivor of this awful crash.

Naturally, a whole swathe of funerals are held across the country to mourn those lost in the crash. A rabble of people connected to our main ensemble meet at a therapy session, including DeeDee (Zoe’s mum), Milo and Adriana. Lacey is also there too, and as we learned at the end of the previous episode, she actually happens to be Eddie’s aunt.

Not only is she wrestling with the gravity of losing her sister and brother-in-law, she’s also going through a tough time with her fertility woes.

With Chale having passed, Kojo is forced to fly over and look after her daughter Beck, who’s left alone without her mother. She’s not talking, trying in vain to process her grief.

Adriana is thrown back into the political world again but this time, she vehemently declines to run for office. She’s heading back to school to do a course in Urban Planning. As a result Congresswoman Washington’s Chief of Staff, Cora, decides to run instead. Adriana gives her a nod of endorsement and allows her to do this, although there’s definitely a part of her that wants to honour her grandmother’s last wish.

Lacey is having a hard time with her new housing arrangement, deliberating over her sister’s last words where the pair ended up in a fight at a coffee shop about Lacey trying to get pregnant. As for Eddie, he befriends a girl called Shay outside, where they both talk a little about scars and Eddie’s newfound fame.

Eddie heads off for a physical at the doctor’s, who informs Lacey that the boy is malnourished and needs to eat. She needs to put calories in his body otherwise he’s going to be re-admitted.

Lacey manages to talk Eddie into heading to the supermarket to pick up food but he ends up collapsing after being seriously dehydrated. He’s close to being hospitalized again and some of that comes from the guilt weighing over him. That game of Rock, Paper, Scissors in the last episode has had a big effect on him.

DeeDee is in denial and not doing well with her grief, shrugging it off and just doubling down on her lavish lifestyle. The thing is Charles (her husband) is in a lot of debt. Ever since he left his job at Leighton, things have been on a downward trajectory and now DeeDee has been lumped with his huge debt over her.

The thing is, he’s been lying to DeeDee this whole time. He never actually told her he left his job over a year ago. There’s also rent for a condo in LA that Charles had, which DeeDee was not aware of. She soon realizes with shock that her husband was having an affair and not only that, but she’s the one forced to pick up the pieces – and the debt. DeeDee ends up stress eating.

The day’s therapy session goes ahead and Lacey breaks down, pointing out how hard everything is right now and how she’s struggling. Everyone silently gets up and hugs her, understanding the pain and the feeling of emptiness all too well.

After the meeting, Adriana ends up talking to Becks, who’s busy drawing butterflies outside. The pair strike up an unlikely bond, as Kojo realizes she could be the key to actually helping Becks to work through her issues. Adriana vents to Kojo when they head for coffee together, pointing out she’s the best person for the job and should run for office. Adriana is not so sure but talking to a stranger like this about her issues definitely seems to be helping.

There’s a glimmer of hope with Lacey’s situation here, when dinner goes well and both Lacey and Eddie do end up eating. It’s at least a start but of course grief is not a simple thing to work through and it’s going to take a long time.

Out of everyone, Eddie finds comfort in his next door neighbour Shay, given she treats him like a normal kid, not as a victim. In fact, he sleeps over and encourages Shay to recite Jordan’s words to him before bed. “Good night, stupid.” She says, as a tear forms in Eddie’s eye. He rolls over and attempts to sleep.

The Episode Review

Grief is not an easy thing to work through and it can hit you hard like a punch to the gut. Like Rocky himself says, it’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That much is especially apparent here as all our characters find themselves struggling to move beyond their circumstances and make sense of what’s happened.

Dear Edward has been very melodramatic and incredibly bittersweet too. This is a difficult show to sit through and binge, given the subject material, and perhaps it’s just as well that this one is airing weekly after the three episodes today!

The series is undoubtedly well acted and if you’re looking for a dramatic show to tug at the heartstrings, this one’s definitely going to keep you occupied for a while!