Misfits: Series 3, Episode 2 – Dork Review

Last week, Misfits spent most of its running time selling us on Rudy, their new character. This time, it’s all Curtis, all the time. It appears they’re taking turns. And yes, the Curtis episode is largely about the implications of his new gender-bending powers.

So, did it make you feel uncomfortable? In a good way or a bad way?

Misfits Meets Eastenders

This being Misfits, they don’t mess around when thinking about what storyline to do when a male character gains the ability to change into a woman. After warming up with a few comical misunderstandings, they launch into the date-rape.

Obviously, this is a hard topic to address in entertainment television, and they tackle it in much the same way as EastEnders: make it as awful and upsetting as possible, to the point where the scenes involved were pretty uncomfortable to watch. Yes, one could take a more contemplative, nuanced look at that one, but perhaps not in a show that we largely watch for banter and obscenity with a slight aftertaste of emotion.

Sensitivity Meets Monkey

Along with that drama at the end, Curtis gets a few decent scenes in which he discovers the female perspective and learns very important lessons, etc. Yes, they go for the cheap laugh sometimes, but this is the show that made a character have sex with a gorilla for comic relief last year. They can’t always be super-sensitive.

Huge kudos, by the way, to Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Kehinde Fadipe as the his and hers versions of Curtis. They really did seem to be playing the same character all the way through.

Rudy Meets Face

Elsewhere, not much else to be honest. The Curtis material is strong, but once you’d gotten used to the gender-switching, it was fairly straight drama. I occasionally found myself wishing for a bit more weirdness. There’s a vague subplot drop involving Kelly having a crush on that power-dealer who keeps appearing.

And for those who complained that Rudy dominated the episode last time, thankfully they let him step back and allow Curtis to take charge this time. He still gets most of the fun moments, though, and Joseph Gilgun is certainly very, very good at gurning.

So, I enjoyed this again. Not as splashy as last week, but always solid. Nice to see the old cast will still get their moments under the Rudy regime, and based on the trailer, next week it’s Simon’s turn. Can’t wait. In the meantime, check the episode out on 4OD and let us know how you found it?

More Misfits on Dork Adore | Misfits: Christmas Special – Dork Review

Nick Bryan

Nick learned to read and write at an early age. This has developed into an unhealthy need to either write stories or consume them for later dissection. He reviews film and TV on Dork Adore and The Digital Fix, lives in London and enjoys a nice white beer.

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