Speaker
And, we aren't ham people. Now, out of context, that might be a bit baffling and confusing, but it shows how her mum cares more about the thoughts of others, rather than herself, on the day of her husband's funeral. A trait that's subtly passed down. Not only that, it gives Alison this idea that this kind of behaviour is acceptable. That it's okay for Kevin to add act in this way, because it's what she's always been used to. But of course, in the series itself, the tipping point is reached in the first episode, where Alison yearns to be away from the town of Worcester. Now, while I've never been there, and I assume they may be taking creative liberties with the way it looks, I do understand how conceptually a place in the middle of nowhere with little to no prospects can be emotionally draining, coupled with the fact that this is where the characters have grown up their entire lives, it feels like a proverbial shackle that has chained them to this town. Allison actively tries to convince Kevin to move away from the town, but he's always acting childish, from gaming during serious conversations, to being more concerned that his boss is coming over for dinner, and that he desperately needs Allison to be the one to organise everything, but it is until she finally has a one-to-one conversation with Patty that her dreams are finally shattered. when she realises that Kevin has spent all their savings and never told her. This is an absolute gut punch of a moment, as it truly sets in who runs things in Allison's life, and without any act of change, she will be a prisoner of her own circumstances. Of course, that does involve some rather wild plans to get rid of Kevin, but... What's also interesting is, are the ending, he somehow always comes out of these moments better than he had before. But before I go on, I want to touch on another side character i mentioned called Patty, played by Mary Hollison Bowden. This is a really interesting character as well, since Patty fits into the stereotypical one-of-the-guys tropes that you would usually see. I've brought this up in past episodes, but it's something that I used to see a a lot of in the gaming community growing up. that one girl who wasn't like the others, trading typical feminine interests for ones that were at the time more aligned with being more masculine. This then means that they aren't doing what they want to do, but rather doing what those around them dictate are acceptable. The same goes for Patty. who is somewhat two sides of the same coin when it comes to a relationship with Alison. While not trapped in an abusive relationship, she's an excessive people pleaser, going as far as to confess that Kevin lost all their money to Alison, despite never having a really strong relationship with her previously. This then escalates when we find out that Patty is a drug dealer on the side, but does so in a way to help the local community get their hands on pain medication just to tide them over. Of course, this soon leads to her getting intertwined with Allison's own misadventures, but as a pair, the duo are really compelling together. Both of them find a somewhat comfort in supporting one another. And while will admit the start it Alison who's taking the, you know what, with what she's asking of Patty, the balance of their relationship starts to mellow out and it is great seeing them getting occasional, albeit small victory every so often. A semi-controversial point I have to bring up though is a few episodes in, where Patty and her boyfriend Kurt separate after she refuses to accept his marriage proposal. This then leads on to her starting a relationship with one of the police detectives called Tammy, played by Candace Coke, investigating the recent drug dealings in the area. Now, while I have nothing against the relationship itself, it came across as quite sudden and something that belonged to more in this sitcom world as opposed to reality. I get that it adds tension to Allison and Patty trying to get away with the various crimes, And initially I thought it was just Tammy trying to pretend so she could get more information but as the show goes on, you realise that, oh, this is a rather problematic relationship going on here. And considering the whole show is built on a problematic relationship, that is saying something. Some people have tried to argue that Tammy is an abusive character and while I can see that to a degree, it's