‘The Durrells in Corfu’: Season 2 Episode 5 Recap
Previously on The Durrells in Corfu, the family rode out an unrelenting and unusual storm. Leslie went quite literally stir crazy. Larry, who had scuttled home with a case of the mumps, exasperated everyone with his infertility paranoia. But mostly notably Aunt Hermione returned to the island with a mysterious new friend in tow. Regrettably, her companion turned out to be a fraudulent medium who pounced on Louisa’s yearning for her late husband and attempted to profit from the family’s loss.
Fortunately for the Durrells, the sun came out and the fake spiritualist was unceremoniously run off. And it would appear that after last week’s emotionally harrowing experience, everyone’s attention has turned to love…and cricket.
Three stages of a relationship. Yes, love is in the air on Corfu, from the first blush to the death throes and something a little more complicated in between. Let’s examine each one in turn.
Donald and Margo - You may recall that Larry’s friend Donald has been smitten with Margo since season one. Alas, Margo has a taste for more exotic men than this pale, bookish, very English suitor.
Enter Gerry whose studies of the natural world have given him keen insights into mating rituals. Donald has been taking his frustration at his failure to woo Miss Durrell out on young Gerald including a threat to beat the inattentive boy.
Master of distraction that he is, Gerry suggests that Donald try to act more “foreign”; less like a timid rabbit, more like a slinky tiger. As one would expect, this bit of advice backfired ending in confusion for Margo and humiliation for Donald.
Gerry, however, is not about to give up on his matchmaking efforts. Next he suggests that his tutor attempt to look more exotic by getting a tan like that American film star Al Jolson. Oh. My. Once again, well-meaning yet self-serving advice goes awry, and poor pasty Donald returns with a nasty sunburn.
Finally, after the burn has died down and a tan has started to emerge, Margo comments that Donald is looking rather attractive, “positively Mediterranean" in fact. Without meaning to, Donald seals the deal. Instead of his usual fawning, he calls her superficial and tells her she should like him for being a complex and intelligent person or not at all. At last Margo finds him interesting and sees a possible romance in their future. She even asks to see his workable googly.
Larry and Vasilia- At the other end of the spectrum we find the dying embers of the affair between the eldest Durrell child and his predatory lady love. Larry is tiring of Vasilia barging in on him while he's writing, insisting he propose to her and expecting sex on demand. Well, he doesn’t seem to mind that last one so much. However, when your girlfriend drops by and your first thought is to hide all the sharp implements in the house, it’s time to admit you’re involved in an unhealthy attachment.
On a visit home, Larry tells his mother he wants to end the relationship and is just waiting for the right moment. Margo suggests that rather than anger Vasilia by breaking up with her, he should do things that make her go off him instead. When he tries this tactic i.e. to behave “as dull as buggery”, Vasilia sees through it claiming he is scared of her and so wants to revert to Englishness.
In the end, it’s her desire to possess Hugh again that motivates Vasilia to end the affair herself. At the cricket match (more about that soon), she decides to dump Larry after three months together. She maintains that life is too short and she doesn’t want to be with him anymore. He does his best to conceal his glee and before we know it, Larry has returned home to the bosom of his family.
Louisa and Hugh…and Spiros? – We’ll look at this final relationship as one in flux and through the lens of a ‘friendly cricket match” between the Greeks and the English. It begins thus...
