What I’m Watching: Years and Years

Years and Years: Season 1, Episode 4 (B)

With a show like this, it’s hard to know how things will turn out, though I guess it’s a wonder that the only character who died up until this point was one who hadn’t even played a major onscreen part. Daniel has exhausted so much effort in trying to be with Viktor and keep him safe, and an unhappy end for the couple was foreshadowed multiple times throughout this episode when he demonstrated an overly elitist attitude in regards to the dangerous conditions of travel they had to endure to get back to the United Kingdom. It wasn’t his fault that he got ripped off for 6,000 EUR before then paying the same amount to end up on a boat that was woefully overcrowded, and he ultimately lost his life making the journey back to his home. Viktor, who has been so strong throughout all this, seemed truly broken when he got to his house and called the family link to tell them all. Everything else that occurred in this hour pales in comparison, but it’s still worth addressing. The recap of world events was even more miserable than before, with the January Revolution in Spain and the tendency for even left-wing governments to turn asylum seekers away. The collapse of many European governments doesn’t feel as inevitable as it should, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade is something most expect to happen long before this distant point in the future. Rosie’s personal and business endeavors seem to be going well despite her sister threatening her new partner, and Stephen’s affair being discovered couldn’t really have played out any worse for him than it did.