Mechanics and Technicalities

_****½

Duncan, Hannah's publisher, is convinced that her writing style needs a lot more work, while Hannah starts to seriously consider making their relationship somewhat more personal. Meanwhile, Bambi's frequent client starts to become something more, while Ben and Jackie's seem to be having more sex than Belle herself.

Previous: Playing Into Fantasy

The writing process has really begun affecting Belle's (Billie Piper) work as she starts silently critiquing her clients in an effort to better understand the thought processes of her characters. Worse yet is the fact that she seems only capable of climaxing when she imagines her publisher Duncan (James D'Arcy) in place of the men on top of her. Hannah's struggle to keep Belle a secret from her sister Jackie (Joanna Bobin) is made difficult due to her constant presence in Hannah's flat, and Ben's (Iddo Goldberg) frequent visits to Jackie's bed certainly aren't helping.

Belle, forever something of a mentor to Bambi (Ashley Madekwe), makes a point of telling her to always think that Byron (David Dawson) "[is] this nice to all the other clients, too," a thought that greatly disappoints her. As the story progresses, and Bambi gets more and more caught up in her interactions with him, she finds that he, too, feels that way about her, being slightly turned off every time she refers to him as a client. He tells her that "[she] make[s him] forget that this is [her] job," and it becomes very clear that they've fallen for one another despite the reality of their relationship. It should be interesting to see whether Bambi and Byron can make things work where Hannah and Alex (Callum Blue) could not as the series draws on.

Simon (Tom Price), Belle's incredibly nervous client, states that it's been a long while since he's had sex, and Belle proves incredibly adept at calming him down, musing that "it's so sad when they're like that, but give [her] an hour with him, [she'll] give you a new man." The entire sequence is absolutely hilarious, and his horribly stilted dirty talk is made all the better by Belle constantly side-eyeing the camera as she, too, is surprised by the depths of his strangeness. Eventually Simon has the two of them bleating like sheep as they climax, and it's one of the funniest scenes I've seen on this show.

Despite being well aware of their previous relationship, and how uncomfortable Hannah is with the situation, Jackie makes an attempt to speak to her sister regarding Ben's sexual prowess. This entire situation is incredibly disrespectful, from both Jackie and Ben, and given the fact that Ben is well aware of Hannah's activities as Belle, and of Jackie's status as a married woman, it's strange that he would continue on acting in this manner. Why Jackie doesn't go to stay at Ben's place is beyond me, especially considering the episode ends with the two of them sharing Hannah's tiny couch, which certainly can't be that comfortable for either of them, let alone Hannah.

At no point does anyone address the fact that Jackie has a baby, and it's entirely questionable as to its whereabouts. One could assume that Jackie's husband is taking care of the child, but Jackie makes no comment that she misses her baby, or that she even has one, and it's just strange that such a large part of her life could be completely ignored in favor of having sex with Ben.

As Belle Piper plays seductive very well, and here she's given the opportunity to play to Hannah's supremely awkward side. As her character realizes that she really does fancy Duncan Piper provides a genuinely authentic performance in how not to interact with someone, and the second-hand embarrassment that we get in watching her go for a hug when he wants a handshake is great. The rest of the cast also does well, but Price's role as Simon is also incredibly enjoyable, and I would be absolutely in favor of his becoming a recurring role.

Owen Harris directs this episode, and he does a fantastic job of it, providing what's likely the funniest episode this series has seen to date without detracting from the nicer moments. The montage of Bambi and Byron spending their day together is very sweet, and the unfolding of their romance is fairly believable, though incredibly short. The elaboration that Hannah makes as she writes her book is well done and hilarious, adding another layer to the character that we've gotten to know so far.

Richard Hurst seems to take great pleasure in writing Hannah's writing process, having her realize, through Duncan's commentary, that she's written herself as having three feet, and later with three hands, telling him that "[she] do[es] it better than [she] write[s] it." Duncan notes that her readers don't need to know the mechanics of the acts depicted, they want the sensation of living vicariously through Belle's work, and Hannah needs to focus less on technicality in favor of explaining the emotions, desires and feelings involved. Hannah begins writing Simon's tale, starting out completely honest, then elaborating beyond what happened, imagining Duncan in Simon's place and writing her fantasy based on what she imagines he would be like in bed. Impressed by what he's read, Duncan states that she's "really unapologetic about [her] love of the job," a quality in her that he greatly respects, and Hannah falls all the more for him.

It's only a matter of time before Hannah/Belle blurs the line between her professional relationship with Duncan and her personal one, and the two are likely to fall into bed with one another sooner than later. Bambi and Byron seem to genuinely be falling for one another, but with his hesitation to be reminded that she's a call girl, it's only a matter of time before either he breaks things off or she leaves the life to be with him. Meanwhile, Jackie and Ben's relationship is growing larger still, despite the fact that she has a husband and child, and his feelings for Hannah have never truly been resolved.

Next: Episode 3.4