Our survivors experience more disappointments, but their little family unit is growing.
Snatches of hope drive Abby and the others forward this episode. She returns to the school, with the older teacher now gone. Interestingly, she doesn’t find his body and we’re left wondering what actually happened to him. When she’s in the chapel, there is almost a glimmer of hope in her eye as she hears the voices of the two young children, John and Lizzie, coming in.
I really do wish Abby would accept the loss of Peter. I don’t expect her to give up hope – and that wouldn’t be reasonable or realistic – but she needs to lower her expectations. It’s hard seeing her go through such enormous disappointment each time Peter isn’t there. Greg and Jenny both have a lot of patience, having been very kind for so long now. Considering the desperate, stressful circumstances they’re under, it wouldn’t have been too unreasonable if one or both of them had snapped and confronted her with the brutal truth that this is virtually pointless. Yet I think Abby may already know this on a deeper level and Jenny and Greg are aware… but saying it aloud would be painful.
“Oh god, I didn’t meant it!”
They grasp at information from John and Lizzie, plus a newspaper in the school bus. On the way to find the ‘angels’ that heard the call of God, they stop at a seemingly empty house.
Except it’s not quite so empty after all. Lincoln (Peter Miles) appears and is jumpy, which isn’t what you want from someone holding a shotgun. Greg’s gunshot wound had me panicking – it’s not on the same level as the injury we saw in Genesis but it’s certainly still serious for them. Luckily Greg is the kind of rugged, hard man’s man of the 1970s that means he’s annoyed but immediately practical and relatively calm at moving on to a solution. For Greg, being shot is merely an irritating inconvenience.
Peter Miles is a nice guest appearance and after initially thinking Lincoln would be a strong-willed, violent threat, on one level it’s amusing in its ridiculousness that he’s actually a bit wet. Lincoln’s story of armed men coming and stealing his crops made me groan because it’s exactly what I’ve been fearing will happen if our trio find somewhere to settle.
While he does appear a tad pathetic, he’s also fairly creepy, something Peter Miles does so well. Gregg and Jenny obviously scent it. After initially sleeping separately (Abby says, “Tell me if you want me to be the odd one out,”) and telling him they aren’t a couple, Lincoln comes into Jenny’s room one night to find Gregg in bed next to her. While it seems as though they are becoming closer, this seems a clearer indication of protection rather than their relationship taking a sudden leap forward. I’m not sure Lincoln necessarily had predatory intentions towards Jenny – we’ve seen him previously skulking around the house at night, choosing to sleep in the children’s room, and it seems more likely that he just doesn’t want to be by himself at night. This is hardly surprising considering how on edge he is during the day.
It’s apparent that Lincoln doesn’t want to be alone and won’t cope. But Gregg and Jenny agree the house isn’t suitable for a long-term stay. As our gang pack up to leave, you can sense Lincoln’s desperation. I was sure he was going to do something and making a grab for the children was the most obvious threat. Was he actually ever going to do anything more to harm Lizzie? I doubted it, but, like his trigger-happy actions earlier, it shows poor judgement and a nasty streak that means he was never going to get an invite to join the others.
The Angels
I was a tad suspicious of the religious hermits at first. The way they are initially described to us, I pictured three normal blokes who suddenly found themselves with religious words compelling them. Instead, they seem like they have always had God in their lives and events simply pushed things further. At first, I’m not sure what sort of ‘religious’ they are: humble, church fete organisers or bellowing, “You’re all sinners!” from an upturned crate as you try to shuffle past to M&S. These ones turn out to be rather sweet. I get the impression they just want Abby to be as happy and content as they are.
When Greg and Jenny catch Abby up, seeing the children play with the men is lovely. I’m worried for John and Lizzie only having each other. Greg, Abby and Jenny are doing their best but as most of their time seems to be taken up struggling to fulfil the bottom levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy, I’m doubtful they will have much time or energy for fun games with the kids. It’s an element of the episode that makes the conclusion all the sadder. I felt as though Gone to the Angels pulled the rug from under me as I really didn’t see the infection of the hermits coming. Was I naive? I don’t think: it’s clearly supposed to be a shock twist.
John and Lizzie
The two children joining up with our trio did surprise me. Until the episode took a turn, I was wondering whether John and Lizzie would end up staying with the hermits. Outside of children’s television and sitcoms, I don’t think I’ve seen any dramas from this period that have incorporated children into the regular cast – recurring characters yes, but not regulars in the way of this series.
Unlike the traumatised Mick last episode, John and Lizzie seem relatively unaffected by what they’ve been through. The fact they’re younger has clearly helped; they don’t fully comprehend everything that’s been going on and have managed to adapt quickly. In fact, things just seem a big adventure to them. When Abby tells them they can try their new sleeping bags, Lizzie asks, “And the anoraks?” “You won’t need those,” Abby tells her, causing Lizzie to give a disappointed, “Oh.”
The hunt for a permanent home continues then. A boy driving the school bus promised to come back to John and Lizzie but never did, and we know the schoolboys never reached the angels. This seems strange and I’m worried Arthur Wormley’s lot may have ‘persuaded’ them to join. However, we still don’t even know if Peter was among them. It will be interesting to see if these kinds of threads are ever tied up by the series. I don’t think they need to be as it’s part of the intrigue for me – we know as much about the rest of the world as Abby, Gregg and Jenny.
