The Full Monty – Season 1 Episode 2 “Supply Chain Economics” Recap & Review

Supply Chain Economics

Episode 2 of The Full Monty begins in the aftermath of Destiny seeing Gaz point a gun at Chelsea. She is pissed and not on talking terms with him currently.

Destiny takes the dog to Lucy’s house, who is overwhelmed to see Chelsea. Lucy expresses her gratitude to Destiny, who is touched by how happy she was to see her dog.

Dave has certainly found a new friend in Dean Twiglet, the boy he caught in the last episode stealing crisps from the school pantry. The two look set to embark on a budding friendship. Dean uses the Food Bank, indicating trouble at home. Dave is cognizant of that and makes sure to keep this a secret.

At the SSA, the water leaking problem has become a huge menace. The pipes are bursting left, right, and center!  We see a music class get interrupted as the roof breaks because of the pressure of the water. To avoid Jean, Guy hires Darren to be his ‘Deputy Head of Operations at Excello Commercials.’ Jean sees right through Guy’s “disappearing act” and warns Darren that she will not allow Guy to write this off on the maintenance budget.

Jean visits Hetty’s house, who is the music teacher at the SSA. Hetty was traumatized after the incident and mentions to Jean that she wants to date Dilip Amagee, the Deputy Headmaster of the school.

At the cafe, Horse frets over the new form he has to fill out to claim benefits. Nothing in his condition has changed over the years and the form, which is almost 33 pages long, doesn’t help matters.

Destiny is back at her mother’s house. She has shown up to school on a rare day and Hetty pushes Destiny to join her choir. She sees musical talent in Destiny, but she doesn’t seem to agree.

Dave is concerned about Dean and asks Jean about his situation. Dean has learning disabilities (dyslexia and ADHA), is asthmatic, and is often bullied by the other kids. Dave crashes into the cupboard behind him and sees a basket of baby’s clothes fall out.

He is upset with Jean for not taking them out before. It turns out that their newborn baby tragically died and he could never get to wear those clothes. Dave is further upset with Jean when she doesn’t take action on a school bully who threw Dean’s duffle bag on the roof. He goes to return it to Dean’s mother at his house. The next day, Dave reprimands the bullies who were harassing Dean. Dave learns that it was Dean who threw the duffle bag on the roof as he doesn’t wish to participate in the PE classes. Jean later notices Dave and Dean mopping up the basketball court together with the song “Bad Moon Rising” in the background.

There is tension between Destiny and Brian as the latter keeps stealing the twins’ lunch money. Yaz, Destiny’s mother, is led to believe she took it instead. We also learn that Lomper has borrowed money from some not-so-pleasant men and is struggling to repay them. When Dave gets to the bottom of the mystery behind Dean’s missing lunch money, he is shocked to find Destiny is the culprit.

Dave goes to Gaz with his concerns but the two have another fight. Gaz’s behavior is too casual and Dave’s miffed because of it. He is supposed to guide Destiny in the right direction at this age. Dave takes Destiny to Dean’s house, where we learn that Destiny stole his lunch money because she gave her own to the twins. And Dean in turn steals food from the canteen. “Supply chain economics,” says an amused Mrs. Blakefield, Dean’s mother. She shockingly reveals that the day Dean missed school was because he tried to kill himself by taking an overdose of her painkillers.

Destiny and Dave are quite heartbroken. Darren informs Jean that the insurance won’t cover the repairs and the money will have to come out of the school budget. With a heavy heart, she takes Hetty off the staff, since she cannot meddle with the core curriculum. Hetty reprimands her for ignoring the needs of children like Destiny who only have arts like music to connect with.

Dave talks to Dean about his situation and offers himself as his go-to man whenever he feels he is in trouble. But Dean gets upset with Dave because he told Jean about his suicide attempt, which prompted her to call social services. Since Mrs. Blakefield is in surgery and Dean lives alone, he is temporarily placed in a care home.

Destiny breaks Brian’s car’s windshield in her frustrations as Hetty’s insight turns out to be true. Dave expresses her bitterness toward Jean for outing Dean. Frustrated, she tells him that she is going to her mother’s. But in reality, she is meeting up with Dilip, whom she is having an affair with.

The Episode Review

As expected, the tone of the storytelling is really different from that of the movie. Episode 2 had fewer moments of reprieve and even more baggage for the viewers. Jean’s affair with Dilip did not feel like a nice touch but the characterization of her situation is authentic. Although cheating is never justified, one could make a case for what she was inclined to do.

Dave and Dean’s bond will be the special highlight of the show. Their growing fondness was carried on in episode 2 and was seen as an important part of each of their lives. Dean is missing a father and Dave wanted to be a father all his life. Gaz and Destiny’s relationship is quite similar in the broader strokes but the detailing presents different opportunities.

Horse’s benefits struggles and Lomper and Dennis’ estrangement are the final pieces in the emotional spectrum. As of now, there are mixed feelings due to what was expected and what we are seeing in The Full Monty. But there is potential for things to change.