Denial
The Convention
Episode 2 of I Hate Suzie begins with our couple attending therapy and it appears some time has passed since the scandal has broken out. Suzie’s no longer living in the house and looks like she’s struggling to keep everything together. Cob has no time for that though and gets right to the crux of the issue. He wants to know exactly who Suzie’s been sleeping with. Instead, she hides her face in her hands. Some time later, Naomi wakes Suzie and comes up with a plan. They’re going to deny the whole thing and call it fake news. As they head to a convention, Naomi gives her some advice. “Can you talk about AfterDeath, rather than the sci-fi you did 12 years ago?” This, ironically, is also the time frame when Billie Piper was doing Doctor Who. Eventually Suzie takes the plunge and steps out on stage to the clapping fans. She allows the audience to ask questions and inevitably they turn to the scandal. Instead of tackling it head on, Suzie decides to deflect the attention and brush it off as fake news. After a disastrous convention, Naomi arrives to debrief Suzie about what happened. Only, it’s worse than she thought as the press have spun yet another story vilifying Suzie. This time, it’s all relatedto the convention.
Substance Abuse
While Suzie starts spiraling, doing cocaine in a hotel room with a man named Benjamin Detroit, Naomi shows up with drugs. As they all start talking, Suzie starts to lose her grip as she gets more and more high. While Ben and Naomi cuddle in bed, Suzie heads out but finds herself chased through the corridor by a fan. Eventually she checks the news online and that only sets her off to gobble down a whole bunch of sleeping pills. When she awakens, she finds herself in a bath full of cold water. She’s obviously not in a good way and as Naomi picks her up, she’s got a nasty cough from her bad night’s sleep. Eventually they talk and Naomi gives her the harsh reality of the situation. She needs to tell Cob they’re over and move back into the family home. Instead, Suzie straightens herself out and sits with Cob, admitting that they’ve got difficult times ahead. Although he’s not going to forgive her quite yet, the warm hug he gives is evidence enough that their marriage may not be over. In the middle of the night, she receives a call from the mystery man and she tells him she hasn’t found the right time to tell Cob. This, it seems, is the man she’s been having an affair with.
The Episode Review
With more meta references this time around, I Hate Suzie continues to blur fact with fiction. The nod toward the therapist being called Rose (Billie’s character name in Doctor Who) alongside the sci-fi convention is a really nice satirical spin on conventions. It also briefly touches on those infamous super fans too. The anxiety continues to bleed through the entire show but this time it’s propped up by a heady cocktail of drugs and denial. Seeing Suzie spiral and end up in this seedy hotel room is certainly tough. It also plays on those ideas of celebrities turning to drugs as a way of dealing with the stress and pressure. So far so good, I Hate Suzie continues to deliver some really impressive drama that tackles a lot of important topics.
