So.. turns out that last weeks episode wasn't considered by all to be the triumph that I thought it was, indeed, it split the audience quite a lot. I feel like this weeks is much more likely to universally praised, though for me, whilst great, never quite hit the heights of invention that "Wuthering Heist" did.
Spencer (Steve Pemberton) a TV producer comes home with blood literally and figuratively on his hands having been involved in an altercation with a fan. Simon (Reece Shearsmith) comes to his door and tells him that he has footage of the incident, that the fan has died and that he has taken steps to hide the body. Simon is a fan of "The Ninth Circle" a fantasy epic TV show that Spencer was the producer for, that concluded with a final season that the audience found divisive and underwhelming. With the incriminating evidence as his trump card, Simon forces Spencer to revisit his series and produce a new run, righting his perceived shortcomings of the ending.
Though apparently "Line of Duty" would apparently be a more recent example, the inspiration point for the show is clearly Benioff and Weiss, who have been targeted for vitriolic abuse from the "Game of Thrones" fanbase, since the final season aired. The show does explore the concepts around fan ownership of a property a little bit, particularly when Gavin - a second fan of the series played by Nick Mohammed joins the story. Naturally though, as writers Shearsmith and Pemberton are mostly on the side of the artists, rather than an entitled minority. (He said, posting a review of their show that nobody asked for).
Good as though it was, this episode is familiar territory for the show, shifting balances of power in a dynamic, before a murderous and heavily foreshadowed conclusion. Which is not to say that there are twists and turns along the way - just that I felt this was the usual high standard that I've come to expect, whereas last weeks was (for me) a class above.
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