Loveday Writing

In this episode, the firm has been nominated for a Local Business Award and Roz has bought a table for the firm to attend the Awards’ dinner. Roz informs everyone that the judging for the Awards is done by an anonymous visit.

Meanwhile Helen is dealing with two clients – Phil, who wants every possession of his from his linens to his cutlery catalogued in his will, and Petro, who believes he is the illegitimate son of a famous newsreader, George Papadakis. With Phil, Helen takes Phil’s book with a list of his possessions (after accidentally ripping it in half), makes a detailed will for him (complete with an index), gives him a new notebook, and ends up chatting with him about pants. With Petro, she gets him to take a DNA test.

Meanwhile Roz asks Helen to improve her appearance for the Awards dinner, and she also asks Ray what his plans are with Helen once her suspension is lifted next month.

During her day, Helen goes to see Tony and Viktor, to find them working out with Blayden Tork (Ed Kavalee), a personal trainer. He introduces her to the Vibratron, a machine that has users stand on it and shake the fat off them. Helen asks Tony and Viktor to go to the Awards’ dinner with her and they agree (although Viktor doesn’t really want to go). The next day, Helen asks May for help in “jazzing up” her wardrobe. Helen ends up going to work wearing May’s old flight attendant uniform. Roz comes to work with goodie bags for the staff to hand out to visitors who come in, thinking they may be the anonymous judge.

Later Helen meets with Yassou Papadakis only for Petro to crash the meeting, which results in them fighting briefly in reception. After they leave, Blayden comes in to have Helen do his will as Tony told him she needed another client.

The next morning, Helen is putting the finishing touches on her outfit for the Awards dinner, which results in her wearing a nicer, fitted, brownless outfit to the office. Later, a Vibratron is delivered to the office, Blayton using it to pay Helen for his will.

Later, the staff go to the Awards dinner, which also has Alice Pike and Fun Peggy in attendance. Helen has come in her brown suit – now fitted and “jazzed up”, and Roz has come in a glamorous red dress. At the Awards dinner it’s revealed that Helen’s client, Phil, was the anonymous judge, and as the awards category that the firm is nominated for comes up, Tony has a heart attack and collapses as Alice Pike is announced as the winner of the award.

The next morning, Helen comes into work, informing Ray and Roz that her father is out of intensive care. They inform her that she won the award for Most Ethical Business Person due to Phil’s judgement of her and Roz accepted on her behalf. While Helen leaves the room with her fruit cake (that no-one else wants) Roz informs her that she still has a job at the firm. Later, Helen informs Petro he is not George Papadakis’ son.

The episode and season ends with the photos from the Awards dinner shown during the end credits – George and his grandmother, Lily, are mistaken for an inter-generational couple and Helen is mistaken for wait staff.

Overall I felt that the callbacks to previous episodes – Helen talking about her love of her three brown suits so she doesn’t have to think about what to wear every day, Alice Pike and her new probate firm, and Fun Peggy, as well as the fact that Helen came out of her shell and still has a job at the firm – made this a good season finale. If the show isn’t renewed for another season, it ended on a high note.

Stray Observations:

Running gags: Everyone reminding Helen that there’s going to be cake in the office at 11am, everyone in the office using the Vibratron, and Roz’s bat-like hearing.

-George is pansexual.

-Petro uses a restraining order as proof that he is George Papadakis’ son.

-Ray immediately guesses that Helen is wearing an old flight attendant uniform.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Hey Graham. You know if want to win money, you’ve got to register for that thing, they don’t just ring random numbers.” “Really?” “Yeah.” “Well that’s a waste of two years.” (Helen-Graham going back-and-forth on Graham thinking he will win the Today show money promotion)
• “I’m sorry for your loss…goodie bag?” (Helen to Yassou Papadakis)
• “It’s not a competition Viktor, you’re over-cherishing him!” (Helen to Viktor as Tony is being taken to the hospital by ambulance after having a heart attack)
• “I don’t recall saying turn your brown suit into a mariachi band costume.” (Roz to Helen on her altered brown suit)
• “He said you didn’t take advantage of a potentially vulnerable client. He cited your attention to detail and if you can believe it, your unique ability to relate to people.” “We did have a very good chat about pants.” (Roz-Helen on why Helen won the Most Ethical Business Person Award)
• “Get out and take your block of raisins with you!” (Ray to Helen on the fruit cake)