This Town – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Episode 2

Episode 2 of This Town starts with Dante getting up and ready to start this new chapter of his life. With music now allowing him to express himself, things are firing up for him. However, they’re also firing up for Bardon – but for a very different reason. Eamonn packs up the van and along with the bags of fertilizer, sports a white package carrying guns inside.

On the way to Birmingham, Bardon has the unenviable task of speaking to his mother, Estella. She wants to come to the funeral but Eamonn obviously has quite the temper on him and will only let her if she’s sober. And she’s very much not.

As they talk, Estella leans over to kiss her son and smells the diesel on him. She warns that if he stays here he’s going to get into a world of trouble. Things must be bad though because Bardon “jokes” that she’s worse than joining the Ra. However, Estella promises to leave the “wicked witch” (a reference to her drinking) behind and be at the funeral.

Eamonn and Greg talk together on the rooftop. Given they’re different sides of the conflict, they agree to a temporary truce. There are hunger strikes all over the place but Eamonn’s hunger derives from his love for Estella. He reveals that she’s “riding her addiction through the streets” but he keeps a close eye on her all the same to make sure she’s okay.

After this rather tense meeting, things are a little looser with Greg and Dante. They embrace when they meet again and Dante speaks about his poetry and love for music. He gains inspiration from that bridge and that’s how he ends up writing these poems. Greg squeezes his hand and warns that he needs to remember to step back – always. He has a kind soul and you can tell he looks out for his family, wanting to make sure he’s okay.

As the funeral takes place, Dante and Bardon catch up outside. The latter riffs on Dante’s new hat, which his father encouraged him to wear given Marie liked style. He’s written Marie a poem in the heat of his grief, and instead of heading inside to read it, Bardon and Dante take a quiet moment together to walk through the graveyard. After reading it to him, Bardon brutally tells Dante that it’s really bad and not exactly lighting the world up. It’s a surprisingly deadpan moment in a dour and serious segment – and it works very well.

Unfortunately, Estella shows up with smeared eyeliner and very much drunk. This interrupts Dante and Bardon’s moment, where they discuss music and that Bardon has a wonderful singing voice. The pair hold her arms and walk Estella to the church. She steps up in front of everyone and decides she’s going to sing Marie’s favourite song.

After the service, the three head into a nearby pub to pay their respects. Jeannie is here, and she takes Dante aside and shows him more of the stuff that’s been “liberated” (ie. stolen). It’s a brief moment though, as Dante ends up confronted by a guy valled Tyro. He plays the big man and steals Dante’s hat, taking off with Jeannie.

Dante sees red and this ends in a big fistfight, with Dante showing what he’s made of. Despite having a kind heart, he’s got fire in his fists. Eventually this leads to Greg taking his son out and talking to him. With his hands shaking, Greg gives him a cigarette to calm his nerves. The thing is, Greg realizes that Dante is an absolute natural with his fighting. He gets that from his dad, and unfortunately this leads to it being rife for him being recruited.

Dante shrugs it off but Greg warns that there’s no escaping from this now. He’s going to be encouraged to be part of the Zulus, which looks like all fun and games on the surface… until he’s brought into the darker side of the business.

When they part ways, Bardon talks to his cousin about their winding paths in life. He also reveals that he likes Jeannie and if Dante isn’t interested then he’s going to shoot his shot.

In the foreground of this friendship is another mutual partnership – one strung together by a tenuous business deal. Mr Carmen gets his security in order, thanks to a rather horrific incident involving a severed finger and a guy called Wire. Then turns his attention to Dante. Carmen has heard about the incident on the estate and wants to know more. Given Wire was there, he saw the fight first-hand.

Back home, Bardon is given a horrific choice. Eamonn shows up and tells him he has 9 minutes to make a call from a phone box. He has code words and this is to signal that a bomb is about to go off inside Coventry Train Station. If he doesn’t make the call, then numerous people will die. The bombs are rigged to go off. Bardon is livid, given the impossible choice he has to make, and he reluctantly leaves to do just this.

On his way back home, Sergeant Williams is stopped by a man who hands over an envelope. Inside are pictures of the railway station blown to bits. The Coventry Brigade has been activated and unfortunately, they’ve figured out that Bardon was the one who made the call. As for Greg, he’s told he’s to head back to Belfast and is going to be recommended indefinite leave away from active service. He’s then to go to Birmingham and basically spy on his own family.

The Episode Review

The iron grip of the riots is starting to close in on our central characters now. Things aren’t looking good for any of this trio, and perhaps not even the sweet sound of music can save them from the deafening cries of war. This is not going to be an easy path for any of these men to take, and the ending hints that we could be looking at an inner-war between the different factions after the attack on Coventry station.

This Town has been a really compelling watch so far, and things are set up nicely for the rest of the season to follow.