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Sunday 17 November 2013

The Paradise Series 2 Episode 5 Review

                                           
Things are hotting up at the Paradise, finally as the major protagonists all play each one off the other, well aside from Denise (Joanna Vanderham) whose naivety gets in the way, as well as her love for Moray (Emun Elliott) from seeing the real picture.  Moray doesn't see how he's slowly but surely turning Denise against him as he puts a spanner in the works to everything she wants to do.  The only outcome of this is defiance and the future does not bode well for these two lovebirds.  Ahh she called him "sweetheart" this episode but he doesn't do anything of the sort.

Denise comes up with an idea for all the shop girls in ladieswear to pool their commission's so that they share it at the end of the week, Clara (Sonya Cassidy) objects since some of the harder working girls will get more commission than someone like Susy (Katie Moore) who only gets a small bonus.  Denise decides they should vote on it and Clara puts her hand up first in agreement.  Then the others follow.  Denise wonders why Clara went along with it since she objected most vocally.  She replies cos Denise asked them to vote on it and she liked the idea of voting.  Denise wants there to be more voting and she wants the girls to come up with their own proposals.  Clara suggesting is that they have a ladies day out and all go swimming.  To which everyone agrees.

Weston (Ben Daniels) catches Myrtle (Lisa Millett) looking at the shop window of the new Food Hall from outside and is taken aback by how good it looks, as does Weston.  She created the cakes and then he asks her why she's not working, which makes her hurry off.  Moray has a secret meeting with Fenton (Adrian Scarborough) now actually at the Paradise itself, so much for keeping their meetings secret last episode.  Fenton and Jonas (David Hayman) agree Moray must up the stake in using Katherine (Elaine Cassidy) and making Weston jealous.  Think Weston kind of sees though their plan as he stumbles upon the same idea, that he should use Denise, at least he appears to be using her and it's not really in furtherance of the store but rather to also make Moray, not only jealous but also for Weston to keep a tighter grip on the store and also on Katherine.

Weston would like Denise to give a talk to the other Heads of Departments showing how she used modern methods of voting on plans and ideas as it will give them all cause to do the same.  he's pleased with her methods and her progressive ideas when Denise thinks he summoned her to the office cos he disapproves. Denise decides to use all of the girls to present their talk and to demonstrate how they reached their decision by voting.  Moray doesn't know about this but when he finds out he is the one who doesn't really approve. He's still blinkered in his quest to garner back the store for himself and Denise he says and yet he holds her back and stifles her creativity as the store will only grow and get more customers with every idea she implements and Weston approves of.  Weston shows this defiance in Denise when he asks in front of Moray what she thinks about Denise spending a day in each department and seeing what they do with plans of new ideas.  He thinks she should start in the kitchen and spend a day with Myrtle.  Denise jumps at the idea but says she would only do it of the heads agree, the look on Moray's face as he sees the store slipping further from his grasp.  Denise also ignores Clara's warning of what Weston is up to by her phrase of "cat...pigeon."

This comes after he has given Myrtle a brief to come up with an exciting and eye catching window display for the food hall.  But she can't think of what to do.  So cue Denise who convinces her to let her spend a day in the kitchen by telling her she should bake her own cake and call it 'Myrtle Cake.'  They can display it with lots of eggs, she uses 18 and can put live chickens there to. Anyone can have the recipe and she can have customers in the kitchen to explain how she came up with it.  Personally I thought the cake and display looked rather tacky, no really, wait 'til you see it! Ha.

Moray wants to off set the success of the food hall by displaying jewellery in the shop, a display of watches and Weston thinks this is in competition with the food hall as he comes up with the idea on the same day as the opening.  For this Moray asks Katherine for her father's watch to be put on display and form the centrepiece.  Katherine wanting him to call her Mrs Weston and then later changes her mind and he should call her Katherine instead.  She's reluctant cos it was her father's and was meant to go to the man she marries, which she hoped would have been Moray.  He understands this but later Katherine has a change of heart and not mind as she can't decide what to wear to the store, she gives him the watch after all.  Sam (Stephen Wight) is entranced by it and intrigued and she recalls of how it can hypnotize as it's so "bewitching," the same phrase she used and so does Sam now.   Her father used it on her and she found she changed her mind about things, like eating cabbage when she didn't want to when little and talking in a foreign language.

Of course she says it was all in jest and Sam hopes this is the case after he uses it to hypnotize Susy who calls it, 'wanting to be hypnotic."  He makes her buy him a beer and makes her repeat how Sam is wonderful and she likes him.  Which backfires since Susy keeps following him around, calling his name so longingly and he hates it.  Then one evening he finds himself with the watch in his pocket at the pub and Edmund (Peter Wight) says he shouldn't be carrying it around.  Sam feels the watch is hypnotizing him as he can't get away from it, like he can't get away from Susy.  He finds the watch ends up in his pocket again without him knowing.

Jonas and Moray still sneak around without letting Dudley (Matthew McNulty) in on their plan but he suspects Moray's still keeping secrets from him.  He confronts Jonas but he doesn't say anything and Dudley feels it's all Jonas's doing.  Moray only tells Dudley he's doing it for the good of the store, whatever he is doing.  Katherine and Moray promenade around the street once more as they used to do and she finds she misses that and recalls it too.  She wanted Moray to have the watch and tells him her father did too, at least she wanted him to have it after their, yet can't bring herself to say, after their marriage.  She wants to be honest with him and that's why Weston must never know about the watch.  Weston catches Katherine in a moment of happiness after she speaks with Moray.  Talk about sneaking around. Okay he was walking in the street but he turns up at the most inopportune moment, but opportune for him.

Jonas tells Moray he's getting into Weston's good books and gaining his trust and will know what he's doing as he'll eventually confide in Jonas.  Which is true as Jonas hits the wall in a moment of feigning frustration at his treatment by Moray who he tells Weston doesn't recognize his loyalty and years of service.  Jonas later tells Weston he's interested in military history and knows about the Indian mutiny and how Weston served his country, which of course makes Weston like him even more and more importantly trust him.

Weston has news for Denise and invites Moray to dinner which he accepts though reluctantly and even more so when he finds out Weston is also inviting Denise.  Katherine isn't pleased with the idea either and at dinner, Weston can only sing Denise's praises.  Weston telling Katherine, "she's quite something."  meaning Denise.  Moray finds out from Jonas about Weston being injured as he shows him a newspaper clipping and thinks he shouldn't be deceiving a man who served his country in this way whilst he sold ladies fashions. That's why he believes Weston despises Moray.  Weston wants to send Denise to Paris for a week to study the fashions of la bonne marche and she is thrilled to go.  Moray however is not pleased and neither is Katherine.  Though Weston got his pleasure and pound of flesh in watching Katherine and Moray both squirm inside.

Moray talks Denise out of going since they both want the store together and he wants her by his side, it was Weston's suggestion too.  She's not happy cos she's exited by the prospect of Paris, I say old chap it really wasn't tennis was it!  Especially since Moray's been there where he ran off to after he left or got fired from the store and now that she wants to do the same and improve herself and gather some knowledge, he wants her to stay here.  He can't see he's playing right into Weston's hands by stopping her since it will lead to a further rift between them, exactly what Weston wants.  Killing two birds with one stone, making Katherine angry and Moray too at the same time.  It's a case of two can play at that game at work here.

Moray is so angry that he wants Jonas to tell Weston about the watch and how her father's bequest was that she should give it to her husband.  Jonas reluctantly tells Weston this as he sees him in his office, skulking behind the door in secret, well sitting and skulking, ha.  Jonas finally tells him this and he takes the watch. The others find it's gone and Sam thinks he took it in his pocket but it's not there.  He's relieved when Jonas tells him Weston took it.  Later Weston torments Katherine even further by asking Flora (Edie Whitehead) if she'd like to accompany him to the food hall and takes out the watch to check the time.  The look on Katherine's face and she knows she can't say anything otherwise he'll know about her feelings for Moray that she still harbours.  Truth being he already knows the number of times he's sneaked around and so has she.  Katherine wanting to have coffee with Moray sometimes.  That'd be her cinnamon coffee.

So much cruelty going on here by both Weston and I have to say Moray too since they're both using the women in their lives.  I take it Weston must have had some feelings for Katherine when he married her or was it simply to live off her wealth and the store and cos she let him be free with other women. Whereas Moray prevents Denise from following her own dreams and advancing her career just cos he wants the store and so she should obey dutifully and do what he says, typical men always wanting their own way! I'm waiting for their falling out!  ha, or maybe I shouldn't say that but what's to come should hopefully be more interesting when certain plans are foiled and truths revealed.

Especially with Katherine talking to Clara and wanting to know about Denise since they both have been with Moray, she feels they should watch out for her cos they both know what Moray is capable of.  More like she wants to know if there's trouble in paradise (I know I used it again!) between Denise and Moray so she can swoop in.  Clara brings Susy out of her hypnotic state but Myrtle thinks they shouldn't let Sam know that and it'd serves him right too, having fun at her expense.

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