Jack gets more than he bargained for when dating a single mother.
Jack is falling for the charms of a yummy mummy while Georgina is fretting about her parents divorcing.
I can honestly, unashamedly profess my love for this show, the first series was good but nowhere near as entertaining as this series and I have been quickly won around by the great performances, intricate storylines and the warmth of the handsome Toby Stephens and the fantastic Miranda Raison. Don’t get me wrong, this episode isn’t without flaws but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts when it comes to this tale of the cut-throat business of young mums attempting to get their children into the best school.
Georgina has been avidly reading a book on toxicology and Jack’s reaction is one of scorn, he himself believing that the forensic team should be the ones to study that sort of thing but Georgina is keen as always to brush up on her skills. After a shock announcement from Georgina’s Dad regarding his upcoming divorce from her Mum, Georgina was send into a whirl of shock before being whisked up into a seemingly straightforward murder investigation – but as you can imagine, all was not as it seemed.
The violent death of the headmaster of a prestigious infant school was a matter of great discussion between all of the well dressed and well to do Mums at the school and now it seemed Jack was on the prowl too, sensing their vulnerability and offering his own personal brand of police protection – despite Georgina’s protestations that the women were murder suspects. In surveying the scene it seemed that the headmaster had been stabbed in the neck with a very distinctive knitting needle and Naz performed his own recreation of the murder. The scene where Jack and Georgina attempted to calm the children’s worries was actually a definitely hilarious highlight as Georgina’s attempts to be soothing were somewhat overridden by Jack feeling affronted by the children mocking him because he wasn’t carrying a gun. Regardless of Jack’s hatred of children, this didn’t stop him from bonding with the kids, sharing as he does a similar immature outlook. Having sifted through the facts and an arrest made, Jack and Georgina were feeling pretty pleased with themselves and were even preparing to take the case to the Old Bailey. For anyone who is a sucker for a man in a finely tailored suit (I mainly include myself in this) there is a delightful treat in the form of Toby Stephens besuited and with his lop sided gorgeous grin preparing for the trial and Miranda Raison scrubs up very well in a beautiful blue dress (she does wear a lot of blue in this show – coincidence or just a colour she likes?). Aside from my slightly shallow meanderings, Jack and Georgina’s clothes shopping led to a slightly inappropriate conversation which ironically led Georgina to realise that they had arrested the wrong person.
Realising that the Mums were effectively bribing the headmaster in order to get their children into the school led to the focus shifting to the mothers again but one particular mum was on Jack’s radar for an entirely different reason. Even with his aversion to all things family, Jack was still smitten with the beautiful mother of a child genius and the scenes of his play date were where Toby Stephens really got to show his funny side, playing on a swing in a policeman’s hat. Jack’s derision at Georgina’s interest in toxicology was all but wiped away as she saved the life of her slacker colleague after he suffered a poisoning himself and this event in itself was enough for Georgina to form a theory to crack the case. Meanwhile, Tony’s quest to find the perfect cocktail had Georgina realising that Jack may not be perfect but that he is perhaps good for her in many ways as a colleague and the fear of a little girl whose parents are divorcing shows Georgina how to deal with her own fears.
As I mentioned before, this episode was great but not without flaw, the fact that a so called professional policeman would not date a suspect in a murder case can be overlooked but Jack’s monumental indifference to protocol in the face of potential sexual coupling can be a little unbelievable. However, in terms of the character, this is exactly how he would act and it is hardly The Bill is it? Jack’s slouching energy is brilliantly offset by Georgina’s enthusiasm and the chemistry between them makes the sparks really fly. I can’t imagine a better pairing in comedy and I sincerely hope that ‘Vexed’ continues for a long time. Police crime-comedy has never looked so good.
