It’s A Sin – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Farewell Colin

We begin episode 3 of It’s A Sin with Ritchie in March 1986 chasing his dreams and attending numerous auditions. This eventually culminates in him heading back to the bar where he meets a fellow aspiring actor called Donald Bassett. The two immediately hit it off and this leads to some light flirting and inevitably sleeping together.

When Donald calls him darling in front of the group, they all suspect there’s more going on here than casual sex. Unfortunately their time together comes to a screeching halt when Ritchie notices black spots across Donald’s back. He immediately suspects the worst.

Jill meanwhile, is working in musical theater but also answering the phone to those suffering from AIDS.

Roscoe is living the high life after sleeping with a millionaire while Colin is given a set of keys at work to open up the place early. Only, when he gets there he collapses and begins convulsing on the floor.

After a bit of a scare, his Mother takes him back to Wales for the time being. Unfortunately Colin’s fits and convulsions continue and just like Henry before him, he’s brought in to a hospital bed alone. It’s here Colin’s Mother receives the devastating diagnosis that her son has AIDs. Unfortunately that means he’s stuck in this room for the time being.

When the guys in London learn what’s happened, Jill and Ash hurry off with as much money as they can muster to try and bust him out. Roscoe starts cleaning his room, worried given he shared it with Colin, while Ritchie ignores Donald who shows up outside their apartment.

Jill and Ash manage to convince a legal representative known as Lizbeth to fight for Colin’s case. She shows up at the hospital and points out all the flaws they’ve conducted and suggests an amicable solution before things get messy.

Well, this seems to do the trick as Colin’s Mum is allowed to see her son. It’s here Colin receives the devastating diagnosis that he has AIDs. Thankfully, he’s free to go and the guys take him back to London to be close to them. Only, Colin is not himself.

On the back of this, all the friends have a blood test to determine if they have AIDS or not. Despite being told to be sensible, Roscoe winds up sleeping with an MP while awaiting his result. Roscoe and Ash both receive negative results but, as we soon see from the end scene of the episode, Ritchie decided against finding out his result.

That night, the guys receive the dreaded call confirming that Colin has passed away,

The Episode Review

As the AIDS virus begins to circulate around our main characters, Colin’s passing is a shocking and poignant moment that allows us to see this virus in all its devastation. Seeing how quickly it ravaged Colin’s body and turned him into a shell of the man he was before is harrowing reminder of just how awful this disease is.

The other storylines for Ritchie, Ash, Jill and Roscoe continue to push the drama forward though and tellingly, Ritchie deciding against finding out if he has AIDS or not seems to hint that he may actually have the disease. Given how desperate he is for an acting career, Ritchie would rather be blissfully unaware than give up on his dreams.

And what of Roscoe too? Given he had a blood test and then slept with the MP, could it be that he’s been given the virus after the blood test clearing him of AIDS? It would certainly be a cruel blow for his character but for now that remains speculation so take it with a pinch of salt.

In the meantime, the show continues to deliver compelling drama, with some excellent dialogue and a great commentary on the aids epidemic sweeping the 80’s.