By Will Barber – Taylor

Although well-acquainted with Michael between the sheets, Stella starts to wonder how serious things really are between them. She decides that the best plan is to take him out for a romantic dinner which has hilarious consequences.

Once again Stella succeeds in being a wonderful mix between comedy and drama. While we have the wonderfully witty comedic scenes between Michael and Stella we also have the more dramatic scenes between Marcus and Emma. These scenes are particularly dramatic as the couple continue to wrestle with the fact that Marcus lingers in his relationship with Collette while still being with Emma. Meanwhile, both Big Alan and Yanto are kidnapped by a group of old age pensioners lead by Keith Barron.

The episodes dichotomy of comedy and drama is wonderfully balanced and keeps you wanting to watch it. The acting in these scenes and throughout the series is top notch particularly both Ruth Jones as Stella and Patrick Baldi as Michael. The chemistry that they share makes their scenes all the more fantastic to watch and their ability to bounce lines off each other is wonderful. Michael’s attempts to lift Stella’s embargo on sex is particularly funny to watch.

Keith Barron however is the star of the show in his guest role as leader of the rebellious old age pensioners. He commands every scene he is in and gives great comic grandiosity to it all. His deadpan playing of the character makes him even more amusing and gives it a wonderful old colonel type personage feel to the character.

All in all, this was another wonderful episode of Stella. As Michael and Stella grow closer together and Marcus and Emma seem to be drifting apart will things be able to last? The answer lies in the next episode.