To Have and to Hold

There are times I have no idea where an installment of Inside No 9 will go.

As was the case with 'To Have and to Hold.'

Adrian is a wedding photographer who seems to be more interested in his jigsaws and Pot Noodles than his wife Harriet.

Harriet adores him, looks forward to renewing their vows but Adrian seems disinterested. We find out later that this could be because Harriet strayed as Adrian spent his weekends on weddings.

A surprise holiday to Paris leads to a room with a view.

What started out as a very realistic portrait of an unhappy marriage that is disintegrating, it certainly went for a dark twist with a delicious revenge.

This is certainly a strong fourth series with no dud so far.

Inside No. 9 - S4E4 - To Have and to Hold

A middle-aged married couple doesn't get along like they used to. The wife tries to stir things up, but the husband, a wedding photographer, is absentminded and does not respond to her initiative. He spends too much time in the basement where he has built a photo-developing chamber, and he doesn't think much of his married life. But is work the only thing that ties him to the basement...

Mostly a slow-moving marriage drama, "To Have and to Hold" eventually turns into a creepy thriller. Pemberton gave one of the best performances of the series here.

7/10.

It says something about the quality of this fourth season that this fourth episode, which is about as high quality as UK comedy has to offer at the moment, still feels like a slight let-down after the previous instalments.

For change in this season, the lead performer is Steve Pemberton. He portrays Wedding photographer Adrian whose marriage to Harriet (Nicola Walker) has withered seemingly due to issues with intimacy, spontaneity and infertility. When Harriet books a surprise birthday trip to Paris, Adrian is extremely reluctant to leave the confines of his basement dark room. Is this because of deep seated resentment from a previous affair, or could it be something even more sinister?

Perhaps one of the reasons this episode doesn't quite match up to the previous ones, is that it isn't really very funny. . . and doesn't especially try to be. There are the odd amusing lines amongst Adrian and Harriet's conversations, but mostly it's a painfully realistic depiction of a couple who have fallen out of love and can't admit it. The acting from both leads is excellent during this section of the episode.

The dark twist, when it comes, I didn't anticipate, though looking back the seeds were planted with lines that seemed inconsequential when first seen. The final reveals are not played for laughs either, and actually stayed with me for a while after the show had finished.

The return to the dark tales of previous seasons is welcome one even if the series has shown new heights these past three weeks.

While you can say that parts of the story are inspired by real life events, this is one of the best episodes. The dynamic in the couple works really well and the suspense is well built.

I love that each episode is standalone, this is one of the best. Deliciously dark.