After last week’s lesson in grief, “Class” brought us an intense episode for the midway point in series 1, Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart. This week brings us back to the roots of the show, with the Shadowkin becoming a real problem for April. This is the first two-part story for the series and it honestly felt like we accidentally skipped ahead and jumped to the good stuff. With only 8 episodes in the first series, Class doesn’t have much choice but to move the story line ahead at breakneck speed. Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart brings the viewers to the edge of their seat with a powerful and dramatic cliffhanger.
While we’ve been sticking with the Class-mates at Cole Hill, Corakinus has been hard at work in the Shadow Realm on a plan to steal April’s heart for his own. As he tries to end the mistaken symbiosis between them, April begins to experience an intensified connection with him, resulting in strange physical reactions and an almost possession-type loss of control. April is already battling demons of her own when her father is released from prison and randomly shows up to see her, so her anger being fueled by Corakinus is both terrifying and impressive. He adds a serious amount of gasoline to her already burning flame. Much to her dad’s surprise April is able to summon weapons from thin air and actually threatens him outside of her school. April, unsure of herself and her heart leans on Ram for support and the two end up quickly crossing the “friends threshold.”
Image Credit: BBC
You remember what I told you about being at war with myself? I’m losing.
Meanwhile, Cole Hill has a new headmaster (the old one was eaten), Dorothea, who seems to know WAY more about the school and Quill/Charlie than should be comfortable for Quill or the viewers. There seems to be a silent invasion happening all over London in the form of blood-feasting, self-multiplying flower petals. Dorothea is in leagues with a so far unseen group known as The Governors, and is the first one to spot the weird flowers for what they really are and not just allergy season. Dorothea also implies to Quill that there could be ways of ending her enslavement to Charlie, and I’m just not sure that we should be trusting her yet.
Image Credit: BBC
We see the least of Tanya, Charlie and Mattesuz this episode, but they all had some pretty significant character development in “Nightvising” so that is to be expected. Charlie and Mattesuz, who is the only one of the kids to even take note of the alien flowers, spend most of this episode debating about the power of Charlie’s cabinet and if it is ethical for him to keep it let alone think about using it. Mattesuz questions Charlie on why the souls of his people would be more important than the souls of any other race, but also is seen sneaking around the cabinet and prodding about how it is used, leaving us to wonder if he really has good intentions at heart. Tanya and Charlie also exchange words, as she is unhappy with the way he ordered Quill around and compares his actions to slavery that he is just trying to justify using his plant’s law on her planet. Of course we’ve also got the standard bickering between Quill and Charlie, so it isn’t a surprise that none of them notice the flower invasion that is about to doom them all, OR that April and Ram just go missing in the middle of the day.
After threatening her dad outside of school, Ram takes April home and the two quickly become hot and heavy considering just a few episodes ago they weren’t really even friends. Their shared involvement in the rift in time and battling aliens together sure does bring you close quick. After, the moment is ruined when April’s mom rolls in on the two of them in bed. After a very awkward conversation between the three, Ram excuses himself to let the others know that something isn’t okay with April’s heart. April and her mother share a moment about men where it’s clear to see she still isn’t over what her ex-husband did to the family.
Image Credit: BBC
Outside April’s dad strolls up to the house, he is concerned for their daughter’s well-being after what he saw outside the school. April again threatens to attack her father and almost goes through with it before Ram gives her some encouragement. The other Class-mates have arrived to help out however they can (sans Quill) and for the first time are really witnessing what April has been dealing with. Deciding she has had enough, April begins her quest to claim her heart back. In that last possession by Corkanius they have each been able to locate where the other is in space, she can now be the hunter or the hunted. Using the Shadowkin connection she is somehow able to reverse her mother’s paralysis and then opens a crack in space to the Shadowkin Realm and goes charging through. Ram, being Ram, jumps in after her and the portal closes leaving everyone else in a stunned silence.
This is a two-part story but in the 40 minutes of running time as a viewer it felt like I was thrown all over the place development wise. The episode didn’t feel like it was just used as set-up for the second half coming next week, but it did feel rushed in certain aspects. Overall the episode was very powerful but a little frustrating. We have a lot left to explore with the relationship between Quill and Charlie, especially when Dorothea (who shouldn’t know anything) adds in a new dynamic. How much does Dorothea really know, who really is she, why did she spot the silent invasion of flowers that everyone else is oblivious to, and how does she know a way Quill can free herself? As for April’s mom, we’ve barely even explored her character so the fact that now she is just instantly healed kind of takes away from the potential character development we could have seen from her.
Next week I expect Class to be just as intense in wrapping up the cliffhanger from Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart. With the Class-mates all bickering among themselves will they even pause to take notice that the world is being taken over? Will April and Ram successfully be able to regain control of her heart? We’ve got two battles happening on two different battlefronts and with the team split up, I’m not sure our class-mates will all come out successful.
Be sure to catch me after Class right here on Three If By Space and live tweet with me during the show using #ClassDW
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