The follow-up to the mighty TV hit of 2010, This is England '88, returned to our screens this Tuesday running for a consecutive three nights, and as the previous series, the story of this lovable yet imperfect gang of friends from the north of England has been told in such a beautifully authentic manner.
The second series takes place two years after Combo took the rap for Lol murdering her sexually abusive father. In the first series Lol had an affair with boyfriend Woody's best mate Milky and now she has a two-year-old daughter with him, leaving Woody heartbroken and separated from the group.
Once again, Vicky McClure fully embodies the severely lost and depressed Lol, who has lost the will to smile let alone laugh out loud after her life has become this sinking hole even after her father has died. You truly feel for Lol as she can't find a way out of her head, constantly seeing her creepy father by her side. She is burdened with too many secrets so she keeps quiet with fear of hurting everybody else.
McClure has the responsibility of puling the main driving force of he plot and she has done a sensational job. Her scene with the nurse, begging for help was particularly heartbreaking as well as her visit to Combo in prison. Their confession of love and loyalty for each other has to be one of the most moving scenes I have ever witnessed - and in such a subtle way, which is what This is England does best.
Joe Gilgun reprises the role of Woody who becomes more than a waffling wally, as the audience learns of his suicide attempts in wake of separating from Lol and the gang. His frustrations and loneliness coming from his new life is put across and the first scene in the last episode where Woody confronts the gang - and Milky - portrays gritty emotion at its most excellent.
The humour of the series are still kept within relating to Shaun and Smell's troubled relationship to balance out the serious elements. This is England is a spectacularly made programme as not only does it include great acting, but each actor possesses a skill to convey true purity and realism to the characters they are portraying.
I laughed, I gasped and my heart ached for these characters, showing how much this programme has pulled me in and sucked me under. I can't wait for the third series.
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