By Will Barber – Taylor

It’s the night of the charity gala dinner and Michael asks Stella to be his plus one to the astonishment of his smug ex-wife Jan. Temptation, meanwhile, gets the better of Emma as she grows closer to Marcus.

Following on from the end of the last episode we see Stella and Tom recovering from hang overs from the previous night. Emma meanwhile seems to be strengthening her bond to Marcus which Stella is still unaware of. Meanwhile Michael is invited to the charity dinner where all of Ponterberry is going. Trouble is he has no one to ask and so while on his daily jog asks Stella to go with him to show to his ex Jan that he can still get a date.

Like previous episodes this one continues the plot arc of suggesting Stella and Michael may or may not get together to great comedic effect. The scene in which Michael in a roundabout way asks Stella to be his date is the highlight of the episode as he attempts to find a way to say it without sounding stupid. While this episode is more comedy orientated and lays off the drama a tad it still keeps up the dramatic tension building between Marcus and Emma about how they continue their relationship without hurting anyone else. James Thornton (Marcus) and Catrin Stewart (Emma) are particularly good at playing this tension up and make the episode feel more balanced even if it does lack the normal amount of drama.

This episode is a wonderful continuation to the series which is building further and further to the climax of the series in which we will learn whether or not Michael and Stella will get together.