Talk Dirty To Me
In true Room 104 style, the latest episode of this third season is a bizarre slice of drama that ultimately fails to conjure up much in the way of originality. This episode plays on ideas of temptation and sexuality but it does so in such a confusing manner, that it makes the lasting power some of the better episodes manage to conjure. We begin with a couple in room 104 arguing while a young girl listens in. After he berates her for the way she uses her breasts to get what she wants, this young teen phones the number back and gets through to someone called Barbara. Dressed up in a red dress and imitating the woman from the room beforehand, she phones through to a man named George and tells him her name definitely isn’t Lucy. After some back and forth that borders on flirtation but never quite reaches that level, the girl accuses him of flirting. This prompts George to believe she’s a prank caller and prepares to hang up. However, she tells him her real name is Adrian and turns off the lights as they get talking. She riles him up, dirty talking and discussing her “big ol’ tits” until they end and he hangs up. A knock at the door some time later brings George into room 104. There, he berates her for phoning him, going on to tell her she’s lucky it was him and not a random psychopath. He goes on to tell her about his family and kids but Adrian is persistent, even now, talking about her breasts and trying to make him succumb to temptation until he shoots himself where we leave the episode. Room 104’s latest episode is arguably the weakest of the entire season. At least with some of the more mundane episodes, including the Father/son painting and last week’s spiritual family reunion there were big themes to fall back on. Unfortunately this episode lacks that same safety net, with weak themes around temptation and a questionable moral that I interpreted as man being incapable of resisting temptation. It’s an odd choice for this episode too, especially given the lack of empathy around our main character, but ultimately does nothing but leave things open to confusion by the end. Still, there’s something oddly endearing about this anthology series to keep you coming back and like rooting around a box of chocolates for your favourite, sooner or later you find what you’re looking for. Unfortunately for Room 104, this episode is far from the favourite in the box.
