Loveday Writing

Luke and Olly are going to the beach house to celebrate their anniversary. Olly has got some kind of romantic dinner planned with a chicken hidden in an esky. When they go into town to get supplies, Luke runs into an old uni friend of his, Sebastian, and his husband, Alexander. Sebastian and Alexander are stereotypically flamboyant and also tell Luke about possible property deals, hinting at Luke’s wealth, which is contrasted by Olly’s uncomfortable facial expression showing that he’s not.

When they arrive at the house, their wealth gap is displayed further when Olly questions whether the hamper is complementary. When Olly starts to cook dinner, Luke looks around the house, taking some cushions off the bed, finding a remote-control frosted window in the bathroom, and downloads a mysterious app. Meanwhile, Olly, unable to find a roasting pan, tries to cook the chicken in the oven in a cooking pot, only to find that doesn’t work, so he puts it in the barbecue on the balcony, turning on the gas but not the grill. When Olly hears the doorbell ring, he goes downstairs to find Luke welcoming Jett, a man he invited over for a threesome via a dating app.

After they smoke some pot and have an initial awkward interaction, they try to get the threesome underway, only for Olly to flee after seeing Luke kiss Jett. Luke runs after him to the beach, which results in Olly calling him out for making plans for the threesome and the trip without consulting him. Luke then points out that he has to make arrangements due to Olly not having a car or a driver’s licence. Just as their argument is reaching its peak, they hear and see fire coming from the balcony.

When they get back to the house, they discover that the gas task in the barbecue exploded as Jett was trying to light his joint, and Luke asks if Olly turned the gas on but not the grill. When Olly gets upset over the now-destroyed chicken, Luke calls him immature, which leads to Olly pulling a ring box that he hid in the chicken’s mouth out, intending to propose. When Luke belittles Olly’s proposal attempt, they break up.

The next morning, Luke and Olly have tense interactions, with Olly telling Luke he’ll be leaving on a bus. When Olly sees Luke with a new gas bottle for the barbecue, he offers to help, and they start to get along, only for Luke to have another go at him. Eventually, it comes out that Olly wanted to propose because he was worried about losing Luke. Luke reveals he’s not the marrying type but generally speaking not because of Olly, and he was also worried about being too boring for him.

Overall, I felt that this was a solid episode exploring the extreme stereotypes of same-sex relationships, shown through the characters of Sebastian and Alexander who were at one end of the spectrum, and Jett who was on the other end. I appreciated that Luke and Olly directly addressed this through their dialogue, as well as their attempt at a threesome and Olly’s attempt to propose, only to decide on a happy medium as a happy, stable, unmarried couple.

I also felt that this was the funniest episode of the season, with Jett dramatically declaring the threesome was the worst one he’s ever been to and asking them not to contact him again, Luke’s horror at realising that they reconciled by quoting a Kmart canvas art, and Olly’s attempt to turn Luke on by doing a seductive dance to Thirsty Merc’s 20 Good Reasons, a throwback to a line at the beginning of the episode.

Stray Observations:

-This is the first episode not to be written by one or all of the episode’s stars. The episode was written by Jayden Masciulli and Nath Volvo.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “You know I love it when you plan my toilet breaks.” (Olly to Luke when Luke tells him they’ll be stopping in 25 minutes)
• “Are you transplanting a human heart?” “No.” “A human liver?” “No.” “Gwyneth Paltrow’s head?” “Ooh, we should watch that again.” (Luke-Olly going back and forth on what Olly has hidden in his esky)
• “Luke, it’s an incredible dinner featuring no human body parts and that’s all you need to know.” (Olly to Luke on what’s in the esky)
• “I can’t believe you are abandoning me on my 30^th birthday!” “You were 30 last year!” “That’s not the point!” (Fiona-Olly-Fiona over a video call)
• “That’s not too barnyard-y is it?” “It’s actually more grassy, it’s one of my favourites.” (Luke-General Store cashier on a cheese he is thinking of buying)
• “And this is lovely by the way, Banksy?” “Ah, I believe it is a Picasso from his Kmart period.” (Olly-Luke on a canvas art hanging on a wall in the beach house)
• “I haven’t ruined your chicken schedule, have I?” (Luke to Olly when Jett arrives)
• “You two are insane, this was the worst threesome ever. Never contact me again.” (Jett to Luke and Olly)
• “Married with dogs, or orgies, is that really our only options?” (Olly to Luke)
• “Did we really just quote the Kmart canvas?” (Luke to Olly)