The Village Season 1 Episode 8 Recap & Review

Merry Christmas

It’s Christmas time in The Village and everyone is decorating and getting into the holiday spirit. We begin with Nick visiting Sarah and Katie apologising and doing some damage control. They talk about the events that occured last week and Nick admits he has no excuse for what happened.

Meanwhile, Ron and Enzo head to the local market to find the perfect tree. After snagging a deal with one of his old friends, Ron grabs the tree and starts hauling it home with help from Enzo. On the way, they stop and have a drink, discussing the holidays before they get some help moving the tree back home.

Ava speaks to her husband about their son and they try to come to an arrangement over what’s best for him. After some deliberation, they reach a stalemate for the holidays. Trying to get her mind off things, Ava begins baking christmas treats while Ben and her son head out and pick up some decorations. A knock at the door brings Ben’s wife into the mix and as Ben shows back up again, things get awkward. Heading out to the hallway she gives her ex-husband her ring and bids farewell before leaving.

After several cold exchanges and an awkward ordeal during Katie’s ultrasound, Sarah and Katie finally get a chance to talk. “I made a mistake” Sarah says, tears stinging her eyes, “I’m a good Mother.” She then leaves with Katie stewing over her words and deliberating over what to do from here.

Still suffering from PTSD, Nick figures out what’s been triggering his episodes – it’s not Afghanistan but actually 9/11. With a few lingering shots of Ground Zero and an old snow globe with the iconic structures intact, Nick tells Sarah what he’s been experiencing and they discuss their time together in the early 2000’s.

Patricia’s tumour has gotten worse and as the Doctor gives her the options going forward, she tries to push these thoughts out of her mind as Enzo throws a party later that night. While Sarah spends christmas spray painting a christmas tree on a wall, the rest of the characters join together to celebrate the holidays. As snow falls lazily to the ground, we close out the episode with one final look at the snow-covered concrete jungle before fading to black.

For the most part, The Village delivers a pretty indifferent slice of melodrama this week. While the characters themselves are charismatic enough to carry the series, I still can’t help but feel the lack of depth with some of these people really hurts the show’s lasting appeal. When you compare it to others in this category, The Village fails to really carve itself a unique slice of the pie, despite some okay work with its narrative.

On a separate note, it does feel weird watching a Christmas-themed episode during Spring-time but given how cold and wet our British weather tends to be most of the year round, it’s not too much of an issue. The Village continues to deliver enjoyable drama but it also feels fleeting at best; an in-the-moment drama that’s unlikely to have the same lasting appeal This Is Us has achieved.