Grace is fretting over their plan to bring Lucy – Stella’s
“mad ex” over without even explaining anything to her, while Jude tries to
figure out what to wear to work in her first day as store manager.
Jude, one hangover cure later, sets off to her job,
praised by Stella but Hannah questions her willingness to drop her dreams of
being a fashion designer.
And Lucy arrives. Stella doesn’t recognise her at all –
her memory’s completely gone – but Lucy cracks upon the photo album of the
times they spent together. She’s also very very loud and rather annoying and
more than a little nasty with burps and drinking out of the bottle of the milk.
She is a witch – Air – but has no coven and she and Stella were together 5
years ago. Lucy says their relationship was fine, albeit fiery until they had a
big fight, broke up and the coven convinced Stella to forget her. Grace
counters that it the memory spell was Stella’s idea and that Stella was
constantly in pieces with Lucy, all the time. But she thinks Stella can’t fall
in love again until she remembers Lucy and gets over her.
To life the Switch, Stella and Lucy have to share a
memory that means something and after a picture we won’t speculate about, Lucy
points to their matching necklaces they got at Glastonbury where they nearly
got married before Stella was transported to first aid in a wheelbarrow. It’s
on such foundations that true love is built.
Stella hides in her bedroom trying to get Lucy to leave,
pretending her memory is gone but Lucy stands outside being annoying until she
hits on an old nickname that finally causes Stella to snap and slip that she
remembers. The pair of them set to arguing while Hannah leaves to job hunt,
leaving Grace to be on standby.
At work, Jude finds Aaron heartbroken because Miles has
got a new job away from him and has already left. Jude says she needs him at
work and he gets very dramatic, but any hissy fit is averted when he sees some
new stylish clothes on the computer and completely forgets to be upset (see, if
your GBF is having an emotional problem and you may find yourself focused on
his issues for 2 minutes, don’t worry, throw some clothes at him. After he’s
finished being gleeful over the fashion, the natural order will re-assert and
he will return to your issues). The fashion designer behind the clothes – the new
big thing – is an old school-friend of Jude’s. And he was completely and
utterly uncool and unartistic at school. And he’s designing a special range
just for them – it’s been kept secret because they didn’t want it to get out
and “only the creative” were kept in the loop. Jude, the aspiring fashion
designer, is shaken and upset, unsurprisingly.
Aaron sets to work trying to comfort her while Jude complains
about the advantages the designer had she never did (he went on work experience
in Paris, she went to a jam factory). When a customer comes in with a complaint
she loses her temper and leaves.
Hannah looks for a job in the job centre window when she’s
mistaken for someone else –a woman he interviewed for a job earlier. Hannah
asks if the woman got the job, he says no, they needed someone more dynamic –
she leaps on the chance and asks for an interview right here and now (well in
the café). He works for a security company, testing company’s security and her
job would be to test security guards to see if they’re up to scratch.
Basically, she’s to try and shop lift and if she succeeds they return the goods
and report, if not she shows her credentials. Uh-huh, I can see where this is
going. Hannah, alas, cannot and is naively excited. Julian gives hires her on a trial basis.
Back to the flat, Jude joins Grace on vigil outside
Stella’s room. Jude says how much she hates her job and wants to use a Switch
to design her a portfolio – she doesn’t want to manage a shop, she wants to
design for them. Stella leaves the room describing Lucy as impossible and
Hannah comes in telling everyone she’s got her dream job. Jude is not amused –
Hannah gets her dream job in an hour, she’s been designing for years – she
needs some help and summons everyone to the cauldron. Spell time! Which leaves
Stella to return to her argument, Jude to work, Hannah to her secret work (she
can tell no-one – uh-huh or Stella may hit her with some common sense) and
Grace to return to her vigil, poor Grace. But it’s broken by Gerry arriving to
collect his guitar. Let the flirting commence.
Stella, again, asks Lucy why she’s still there and Lucy
wants to know if she feels nothing at all. Stella admits they had some good
times but that they were mostly bad. Lucy says she’ll change and wants to go
back. She talks about how she was heartbroken – just like Stella – and how it
hurt to have Stella just delete Lucy from her memory. She has regrets and wants
to change that.
There follows a prolonged silence which Grace considers
to be a very bad sign in the ongoing argument. She enters the room, cries out and
leaves. She walked in on them having sex (and is very very impressed by Stella’s
flexibility). And the news – Lucy’s moving in and Stella and she are going to
give it another go.
Hannah goes on her first “mission” and successfully shop
lifts despite her extreme lack of subtlety. She reports to her boss who is very
impressed by the amount of loot she hauled and says they need to go back in
again to check the security guard who has a bad reputation. She realises,
rather belatedly, that she could get the security guard fired.
She returns to the shop to renew stealing in an extremely
obvious manner. She tries to make it more and more obvious in a desperate
attempt to be noticed and caught by him. Eventually attracting the attention of
a kid and getting him to tell the security guard. To her relief, she’s caught.
To her dismay – the store manager has never heard of the firm she says she
works for (who didn’t see this coming?) She turns and runs.
She hides out at the flat where Grace is being annoyed by
Lucy (who also takes the time to dig at Hannah) – who has talked Stella into a
4 week holiday in Ibiza (which could jeopardise her job, much to Grace’s shock).
Gerry invites her to his gig and Lucy insists they all go.
Jude goes to her headoffice with her new portfolio to see
the creative director. Wendy, the receptionist tells her there’s no unsolicited
material and won’t introduce her to the creative director when she collects her
post (I think we’re supposed to see Wendy as being really unreasonable here –
but that is kind of her job). Judge chases down Phoebe Striker, the creative
director, and begs for 10 seconds of her time. The spell kicks in and she
agrees. Flipping through the pages in her portfolio, Phoebe invites her up to
the office for a chat.
She takes Jude into a full meeting and introduces her to a full table of designers, all of which are spelled into loving her work. Phoebe offers her the role of head designer and everyone applauds her.
In the office she calls Aaron and he squeals and
celebrates for her. She tells him to tell work to stuff the old job. But then
starts her first task – the weekly team meeting every Friday at 11:00am (now). They
ask her vision for the next season and she’s clearly out of her depth, she
wings through it well, possibly spell assisted. At break she sits next to the
intern who desperately wants to be a designer and asks Jude how she managed to
get where she is. The others mock her for not having heard of Jude. Jude learns
that the intern has 3 other jobs as well as being an intern, she couldn’t
afford to do it otherwise.
Later the intern shyly asks Jude to look at her portfolio.
She praises her talent since they’re, apparently, really good. She asks Jude if
there’s anything else she should be doing to get noticed. When Phoebe dumps
some costings work on her desk – figures Jude doesn’t remotely understand –
Jude offers it to the intern as a chance to get more responsibility, exciting
her that she’s so trusted.
Of course, she’s an intern and doesn’t really have the
experience for such responsibility – all the costings and fabric orders are
completely wrong and Phoebe goes on the warpath after Jude. Jude throws the
intern to the wolves who gets kicked out.
Back to the flat – Jude is just thrilled that Lucy and
Stella are back together and that Lucy has moved in. Really.
Jude, Grace and Hannah have a meeting. Jude and Hannah are obviously concerned with their work issues and Grace criticises them for being selfish since they’re not concerned with Stella. Jude slaps her down then calmly explains that no, they’re not responsible for Stella’s happiness, they removed the spell and if, without any magical interference, Stella chooses Lucy anyway then that is her choice to make even if they don’t like it. Damn just when you think everything is just too silly, in comes some excellent advice like this. Jude says she’s resolved what she will do with work and Hannah dramatically declares that she won’t bring her friends down with her.
To the pub with 2 celebrants and three very reluctant
members (and Jude makes an unnecessary comment about not even thinking Lucy’s
gay because she thinks she’s giving Gerry they eye. There are plenty of reasons
to dislike Lucy without attacking her sexuality or presenting possible
bisexuality as a reason not to trust her). They ask Stella if she is sure about
Lucy and Stella says Lucy has changed – and also blames them for controlling
her life with the Switch which they protest about since it was Stella’s idea in
the first place. When Hannah can’t afford to pay for the drinks because her
card is refuse, Stella goes to play but Lucy steamrolls over her and tells her
not to (Grace picks up the tab) and then Lucy invites the whole bar back to
their place for a party.
At the party, Stella is upset by Lucy dancing very up
close and sexily with another woman. But then another woman brings Stella a
drink – which she takes – and they dance (in a much more restrained way than
Lucy) Stella gets much more. Grace hides after being a little jealous of Jude
and Gerry. Later Gerry accidentally enters her room looking for the bathroom.
Grace praises Jude considerably to him. Sexual tension builds, they lean
together and… hear screaming.
They run through to find Lucy attacking the woman who was
dancing with Stella. Gerry splits them up and says the party’s over (everyone
leaves) while Stella tells Lucy to calm down. Lucy starts ranting and raving
and attacks Stella with a whisk. She screams at Stella that her coven aren’t
her friends, that they’re losers who are using her (you probably had more
credibility in these judgement calls before attacking someone with a whisk).
Stella announces that they may be losers but they’re her losers and to get the
fuck out. Lucy storms out growling that nothing’s changed – and Stella agrees –
no, it hasn’t.
Time for the aftermath. Everyone on the sofa, Grace
removing the whisk from Stella’s hair and they discuss Stella being free. And
Hannah asks for a Switch for her embarrassing situation.
Using her boss’s business card to target a spell to him – to prevent him telling any more lies. He hands all the goods to the security guard with a confession and also saying he has a very small penis.
Jude, at her work, quits her job, takes responsibility for the screw up and shows Phoebe the intern’s work, showing its value and encouraging her to take the intern back.
She and Hannah have a new plan – setting up their own
market stall with Jude selling her own creations. Hannah handles the retail
side (already smoothly fitting into the market community) and Jude handles the
creation. Jude kisses Gerry – with Grace looking on, and Stella sees Ariel, the
cute girl she talked to in the pub the other night and goes to speak to her
after the other 3 threaten to drag her over.
I think Stella and Lucy were really well done. Sure it’s
not a happy relationship – but does anyone have a happy relationship on the
show yet? In fact, she’s the closest we’ve seen any of them have to an actual long
term relationship. Stella and Lucy present differently, but there’s no attempt
to create a “male” and a “female” partner. Unlike the gay men in episode 1,
there’s no sanitisation of their relationship and they do kiss on screen and
have sex off it – similar in treatment to Jude and Miles. Lucy is a horrible
person – but she’s a horrible person. She isn’t a horrible lesbian replete with
lesbian tropes etc, she’s just a horrible person. And, other than one comment
by Jude, everyone accepts Lucy and Stella’s relationship and casually accept
her lesbianism – but don’t like Lucy specifically.
Unfortunately while the lesbians are handled well, the
gay men continue to be offensive. Aaron is stereotype laden, barely appears and
Jude completely ignores his issues to talk about hers – his recent break up is
less important than her underlying career angst. He’s a complete, subservient Gay
Best Friend to a straight woman.
I liked the lessons around Jude and short cuts but I also
hoped more would be developed on the opportunities she was denied due to class.
We touched on it with the opportunities her classmate had that she didn’t but
then it was derailed by Jude using magic to get to the top of her profession
rather than going the long way. It was a nice lesson about shortcuts but missed
the lesson about class and opportunity.
I am glad with Jude and Hannah working together. Hannah tends
to breeze in with everyone else without any commitments of her own, Grace is
the anchor at home and Stella the mother hen which means those 3 tend to be
heavily involved in the storyline. Jude with her separate job has been more
apart from the group a little so I’m glad they’re bringing her back in.
