Loveday Writing

This episode certainly lived up to its title.

The episode kicks off with Helen and Dale going to Gerry’s house on 17 October 1987, where they meet his wife, Carla, and their daughter, Alison. It’s there that Helen and Dale find out that Gerry and Carla met on a cruise ship, and that Carla knows about Gerry’s bisexuality. Carla also asks Helen if she wants kids, but she says she isn’t sure.

We then go forward to 19 October 1987, where reports are starting to come in on what will become Black Monday. The office also gets a call from Donna Gillies, a gossip columnist writing a feature on Helen, seeking a response from her about her past, including the details of her mental illness and being institutionalised as a teenager. Helen tells Lindsay that she believes someone from the office is leaking information. When Lindsay dismisses and insults her, Helen leaves, accusing Jean of leaking the information on her way out. Dale asks Gerry for his advice on the issue, Gerry tells him to kill Donna with kindness and have something to offer her in return. Meanwhile, Helen begs Charlie for help whilst he is dealing with the effects of Black Monday, he tells her he can make some calls.

Meanwhile, Geoff is being affected by Black Monday, calling his account manager for information. Evelyn goes to see Kay as she hasn’t responded to her calls and to find out about her birthday shares. Kay later comes over and tells them that she added to her birthday shares, and her entire savings have been invested and are at stake. However, Evelyn tells Geoff that their account manager told them that Kay sold her shares months ago. When Geoff tries to gently convince her to tell them the truth, she insists that her savings are still at stake. Meanwhile, Dennis meets with Vincent, who asks him why he didn’t give Charlie his own name for the news director role, but Dennis tells him that no-one will give him the job based on his ethnicity. Dennis tells Vincent that he can name his own price and asks that his price includes a pay rise for him.  

The next day, Dale rushes out to get the morning paper, he reads through it and doesn’t find the column in there. He tells Helen that this is a good thing as it buys them more time and that they should try Gerry’s idea, but Helen doesn’t want to grovel to her. Meanwhile, Noelene starts her day by showing off her new coral-coloured power suit to Rob and her family, but it doesn’t go over well, although when she arrives at the office, Helen tells her that she looks great.

Cheryl comes to Helen and Dale and tells them that Donna may have accidentally gotten her information from her, as she mentioned Helen’s real surname to Evelyn in passing. Helen immediately leaves and Dale goes after her, telling Noelene that she’ll have to send another reporter out to cover Black Monday on the stock exchange floor. When one of the cameraman makes a remark about her outfit, this gives her the idea to go out with Rob and the camera crew, and report on it herself.

When Noelene tries to interview the stock brokers they ignore her, however they respond to questions when Rob asks them, which denies Noelene her opportunity to prove herself and shine. Meanwhile, Helen goes to Geoff and Evelyn’s house, reprimanding Evelyn for leaking information with Kay overhearing their exchange. Geoff and Evelyn tell them to leave. When they get back to the office, Dale suggests offering Donna an exclusive on their engagement, essentially proposing to Helen. Helen tells Dale that there are some things she would never want to trade.

Meanwhile, Lindsay confides in Dennis that Charlie wants to call him, as he’s worried that either the budget will be cut or someone will be sacked. Dennis is afraid that Lindsay will find out about his conversation with Charlie, however Lindsay later reveals that he found out that Charlie is going to lose his job and ownership over the network, which makes him giddy.

Later, Helen goes to see Charlie at his office, as his employees pack up their stuff and leave. Helen asks him how much he would lose personally and guesses he would still be left with millions anyway, and reassures him that he will be fine. He tells her that she’ll be fine too, referring to the impending feature on her. Meanwhile, Kay is shown taking heroin in her apartment, confirming her addiction for the audience. Later, Geoff and Evelyn go to see her at her apartment to check in on her, and as they own the apartment, they let themselves in with their key and find her unconscious. Geoff tries to wake her up as Evelyn calls an ambulance.

Dale and Gerry talk about the impending feature and their love lives. Dale tells Gerry about his brief tryst with Tim the previous year, and that he and Helen agreed that they only wanted each other. Gerry tells Dale that he can see how much he loves Helen, but Dale thinks that the way he loves doesn’t fit in anywhere. Meanwhile, Charlie gets an early edition of the paper, where his decimation has been reported and not Helen’s past.

The episode ends with Dale apologising to Helen for proposing marriage as a fix to the gossip columnist issue, and they reaffirm their love for each other.

Overall, I felt that this was another solid episode exploring the themes of greed and fear. Greed was explored through the Black Monday reports and how it affected Charlie, Geoff, and Kay personally, as well as Noelene’s hunger to make her debut, only for it to be spoiled by Rob stepping in when stock brokers were ignoring her. Fear was explored through the gossip columnist writing about Helen and her past, and Kay using her birthday shares as an excuse to get money out of fear of not being able to get her next hit. On a critical note, the stakes of the gossip column really weren’t that high at the end, as Helen is a main character and was never going to lose her job, and Kay’s overdose was inevitable. On a positive note, I appreciated Noelene’s attempt at an on-air debut.