Plenty of Fish: Analysis

Season 1, Episode 3: Plenty of Fish

Analysis

Episode 3 begins with Erica on a date - and is definitely one of the funniest openings in Season 1. Now, I can't pretend to have much experience in the dating arena, I'm in no position to be looking for a relationship right now. However, does anybody really enjoy it?

Certainly not Erica, whose comment that she loved Mike's apartment and has to move in once again demonstrated her incredible foot in mouth ability. Mind you, a sink full of dirty dishes when you're hoping to ask the girl back to your place? Not as much foot in mouth as shooting yourself in the foot.

I remember at uni working myself silly cleaning my room in advance of a girl I liked coming around. You just do it, don't you? How you live says a lot about you, and all that stuff. All the cleaning worked for me, anyway.

It was the masks and his choice of literature which eventually did for Mike though. I thought their making out on the couch seemed a little heavy for a first date, but Erica obviously liked what she saw - until that 'made in Taiwan' label started to sow the seeds of doubt.

Mike seems stunned when she leaves so suddenly, but seriously, he only has himself to blame.

Back at Erica's, it's clear to see just how comfortable her and Ethan are around one another. Playing on the Wii, sharing ice cream, always trying to reassure one another. These are two people who care a lot about each other.

I'd never heard of the idea of 'peaking at High School' before watching Being Erica. Now it's a thought which terrifies me. I was good in education, it suited me. I liked being given work to do, knowing when to do it by, turning up at class, working to a timetable. It was easy. I excelled. I worked hard. I aspired to get good grades. OK, I was a bit of a geek, clearly.

However, I never envisaged that, for some people, they're never better than when they're in school. The high attainers in education were the high attainers in life, surely? Now out of education, I discover that's not always the case. I could have already peaked?! How depressing.

Of course, the main focus of the episode is the school reunion. Now, I'm far too young to be invited to one of those right now, but I can say with some assurance that I would never, ever, want to go.

I prefer to let the past be the past. Partly through design, I'm not in contact with anyone I went to primary school as, and very few from high school and uni. I don't spend my time wondering what they're doing with themselves now either.

Reluctantly, Erica does take part though, with the arrival of Katie giving her another chance to practise her brave face. Now, I've said before that I think Erica gets goaded into things quite easily, but in the case of Katie it's not hard to be.

She was pretty nauseating - particularly the false modesty of initially describing a promotion as "switching jobs." Erica, as ever, digs herself into a hole with her fake boyfriend - and it's clear for everyone to see where it's heading, and who will fulfil the role.

You could argue Erica and Ethan are already acting like a couple as he walks to her to her interview and kisses her as he wishes her good luck. He accepts being part of her lie though.

On reflection, it's strange that they had a completely different character, Ambrose, conducting Erica's interview. I guess it allows the plot of Erica being hired by someone who turns out to not be her boss though - which allows further sparks.

Plus, and this is a real annoyance of most UK viewers with shows from across the pond - I was glad not to hear any more of his English accent. Ambrose is by no means the worst - but it's still not clever. Not in a million years would he pass for being English over here.

Anyway, onto the reunion, where Erica's exit strategy sign is particularly humorous - particularly when she feels the need to use it later on. She then bumps into Zach - which brings bang a lot of bad memories for her - and Alex, who she is instantly attracted to.

Ethan's fake life as a doctor was funny to watch. It must be quite fun to go to an event where you are unknown and just invent a total new life and personality for the duration of it. I'm tempted to give it a spin sometime. Although saying you're a Doctor always opens up the possibility of being called for if someone gets ill. Best to stay away from that profession.

Erica ends up encountering Dr. Tom, who seems to like keeping her from using the restroom. She clearly isn't in the mood for a session, judging by her sarcastic remarks, but he retorts with a killer quote about sarcasm.

Now, I'm quite a sarcastic person, and I'd never heard that quote before, but it really resonated with me. I do use my sarcasm to keep people at a distance. It is my defence mechanism. Clever man, Dr. Tom.

I think throughout this episode we begin to see the relationship between him and Erica develop. They are now quite comfortable around one another, and he treats her regret over her virginity sensitively and seriously.

I guess for a girl it's always more of a bigger deal than with a guy, and I think Dr. Tom shows that, for all his quips and quotes, he does care for her well-being. He even makes notes in his notebook while she tells him about the regret - which I don't remember happening at any other time.

They chose another fun transition for Erica going back in time - her behind the wheel of a car and narrowly avoiding being in another accident - after writing off her car in the previous episode in the present day.

Erica seems to change her mind very quickly between calling off having sex with Zach and taking revenge on him. Probably dictated by his by actions. Her line about his bringing of a box of condoms being "very optimistic" was very funny.

I didn't know much about Muskoka, so had to google it. For me, these kinds of settings for camping trips away are very North American. I don't think they're as extensively done in the UK. Maybe we prefer to go to Europe instead, or just somewhere hot and away from the rain.

Alex, as the poet, is clearly portrayed as the very antithesis of Zach - who Erica comically exacts some revenge on with the camera. He's clearly a creep with the way he talks to her and you feel he definitely deserves his comeuppance.

For once, Dr. Tom isn't serving food when Erica meets him during her time travel, rather he's fishing. I really like this scene, as the pair seem very relaxed around each other. Erica even manages to finish off one of his quotes and identify the source of another. She's learning.

Dr. Tom's range of sources for his quotes is always funny though. Choosing Dostoevsky in his office earlier and then quoting from The Matrix when fishing. Great acting from Michael Riley, who always gives a "stellar performance" in my opinion.

When Erica returns she encounters a rumour about her suffering from "syphilass." You have to congratulate the writers for that one, classic adolescent humour, and you can definitely imagine someone coming up with it. Jenny's reaction is particularly funny. She's not the brightest spark.

Katie making out with Zach speaks volumes about her character but Alex steps in to defend Erica's honour in the kind of classic chivalrous male way that all guys would, and should, like to do if brave enough.

Erica said she saw the regret as a chance to erase a bad memory, but it's also an opportunity to rewrite a bit of history as she has sex with Alex. I'm guessing that the DVD extras include the view from his perspective when she removes her top? Right?

Not sure what to say about the sex in a canoe, other than having her climax as being the moment she travels back to the present day is frigging hilarious. Especially how people look at her when she comes out of the locker room.

It leads to her wanting to get to know the present-day Alex, which is bad news for Ethan. Is it just me, or does he seem keen not to go? Was he warning Erica she didn't really know him for her sake, or his?

His conversation with Zach on the way out and the photo of him and Erica definitely made him think though. If he hadn't considered a relationship with Erica before, he certainly is now.

Things with Alex for Erica quickly go off the rails, pardon the pun, when he starts enthusing about trains. Seriously, what is he playing at? Trying to chat up a girl and talking about a passion for trains? Does he think that will work?

Surprise, surprise, Erica quickly gets bored. Even less of a surprise was Jenny letting the truth about Ethan slip - allowing Katie a chance to show what a real bitch she is. Erica acted in desperation when lying, nothing else. Katie seemed to revel in being malicious though.

Erica leaves the reunion pretty upset - and who hasn't resorted to ice cream when in need of some comfort food? However, who's there to pick her up but Dr. Tom.

He kind of acts like some guardian angel figure in this episode, not least through seeming to allow her to change her past in this regret, not just alter her future. I didn't think that was the point of therapy, but maybe the nature of this regret of hers made him relax the rules.

He tells Erica that her fear of getting hurt is holding her back from committing to relationships - and I guess that boat is pretty crowded. I know it includes me.

I am exactly like Erica - I look for reasons why a relationship won't work out, reasons for why someone isn't right for me, before even thinking about asking someone out. It's an incredibly negative stand point, I know.

What Dr. Tom says makes great sense though. Sure, you can allow the fear to beat you and not dive in. Or you can dive in and either find happiness, or get hurt. Only the diving in provides any chance of happiness though, so you have to eventually go for it.

He then magically whistles her a taxi - what was that about? She looks very impressed at him. This is definitely the calm before the storm in their doctor-patient relationship.

The final scene is a bit of a bombshell of course, with Erica and Ethan ending up kissing - although it was obvious something was going to happen. Who initiated it? Who made the first move? Difficult to tell. Their stare at the end clearly shows that nothing is ever going to the same between them again though.

I guess this was an important episode for the writers to get in early on in the series - trying to explain why Erica is still single and has problems in relationships. I also think it's probably one of the most identifiable problems of Erica's with the show's fans.

Personally, I don't think there's anything harder than making a relationship work. I know it's something I have been unable to do in the past. I guess the only thing you can do is to keep throwing yourself off that cliff and just hoping for the best.