Short Reviews of Every Single Episode of Inside No. 9 [2/2]

Originally, I posted these to my Tumblr blog before I started this blog. I have split this into two parts so you don’t have to spend the rest of your life scrolling. The last post is here if you haven’t read it.

Disclaimer: my opinions are not definitive but they are bloody good. There may be spoilers so read at your own risk.

Series 4

1. Zanzibar

This is my mum’s favourite episode. I read about it being written in iambic pentameter and was initially worried that it would feel gimmicky, but it’s done so seamlessly it feels like you’re enjoying a modern Shakespeare play. It’s funny and lighthearted with some great references peppered around. The colour scheme of the set is so aesthetically pleasing and the directing was, in my opinion, impeccable. 

2. Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room

I love seeing Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith acting opposite each other with such an intimate storyline. The ending is bittersweet and appears as another lovely examination of grief, but in a far less bleak way as it has been seen before. Among much more complex storytelling methods, this episode is more paired down and that is far from a criticism. 

3. Once Removed

Now this is a clever one. The reverse chronology is a fascinating setup that is initially quite confusing but truly genius. Shoutout to Reece for playing an assassin that probably could have quit while he was ahead at some point. It’s also one of the most creative locations of the “No. 9″ as the final ten minute segment shows.

4. To Have and to Hold

I am probably the best audience member for Inside No. 9 as I do not think, I just let Steve and Reece drag me around with the stories and I try not to predict the endings. As a result, this episode hit me like a freight train. Initially, I felt like it was an episode that was moving fairly slowly and was simply a look at an unhappy marriage; I did not expect a Josef Fritzl situation. The marriage vows are a creative way to separate the scenes that lull you into a sense of security to begin with. Honestly, I can’t look at Pot Noodles in the same way. 

5. And the Winner Is… 

Okay. This is my least favourite episode of Inside No. 9. While it’s not necessarily a bad episode, it’s one I often find to be rather unremarkable. However, on the far more positive side, there are some great funny moments and Zoë Wanamaker is a particularly delightful presence. 

6. Tempting Fate

And we are back on the comfortable praise train from the mild criticism carriage. My mum and I decided to actively look for the hare that is in the background of every episode during the first time watching Tempting Fate. Imagine how irritated we were. Mild bitterness at the hare placement aside, I think this episode is brilliant. It’s funny and clever and the setting of the flat truly feels like the home of a hoarder. There’s something genuinely sad about the setting: a council flat filled with miscellaneous crap (it must have been fun to dress that set). A final note is that the sound of the rat made my cat want to fight the TV.

Bonus: Dead Line

Watching this episode on BBC iPlayer does not make it hit as hard as seeing it live would have been, but it did not stop me falling for it hook, line and sinker. I am, to this day, completely furious with Steve and Reece for baffling the living shit out of me the first time I watched this episode. The whole thing is absolutely glorious and it’s always nice to see comedy veteran Stephanie Cole.

Series 5

1. The Referee’s a Wanker

I do not understand football and nor do I care to, but I do enjoy this episode. First, I have to give credit to the costume department for making Mitch’s mascot outfit look like all animals and none at the exact same time. Then I would like it to be noted that I live for gay shit and, as a result, love this episode. I think this episode is one of the funniest with a nod to genuine issues of being openly queer in sport. Though somehow Reece Shearsmith seems to be playing the gayest character in the room, but more on that later. 

2. Death Be Not Proud

There are two things I love: Psychoville and John Donne poetry. This episode has both of those things. It also has terrifying hoover placement, a dreadful pun about babies and bathwater and references to serial killers that I understood to a disturbing degree. Watching this episode with people who haven’t seen Psychoville is interesting: they understood it, but the sense of humour wasn’t to the taste of my dad who found it too dark at points. I, meanwhile, think the episode is fun and ridiculous. Extra points for the dance number. 

3. Love’s Great Adventure

A blink-and-you-miss-it twist. I blinked and I missed it the first time but happily I’ve watched it another two times since the first so I now fully understand the plot. The use of the advent calendar is another clever visual choice, and Guillem Morales’ (a director I expressed my admiration for in the last post) choices in this episode feel ever so slight Ken Loach-esque. There’s a familiarity among the cast that makes them incredibly believable as a family. Simple and deeply effective.

4. Misdirection

Reece, your magic nerdiness is showing. The setup of the flashbacks early on really settle you into the style of the episode as a viewer and I think that Misdirection holds the record for the earliest Steve’s character has been killed off (and in quite a brutal way as well). The entire concept of the episode is a real winner and I could rant about the directing choices for hours – which my friends and family can attest to. 

5. Thinking Out Loud

Do I have some dubious feelings on this episode due to the stereotypical portrayal of dissociative identity disorder? Yes. Do I feel that Maxine Peake’s character is completely justified in her crime? Absolutely. Steve directed this episode solo and an impressive job he made of it as well: making what is essentially a series of talking heads interesting is no mean feat. Shoutout to the character of Galen for making me jump so much; Inside No. 9 is not good for my blood pressure.

6. The Stakeout

At no point while watching this episode did I predict the twist. It felt so out of left field it took me a while to appreciate The Stakeout for what it was. Now, I appreciate the peppering of clues you get throughout and the dynamic between the characters. Bonus points if you caught what the name ‘Varney’ is a reference to before I did, which was about thirty seconds ago when I started writing this review. 

Series 6

1. Wuthering Heist

Right, when I first saw this episode I was right in the middle of studying Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and when writing an essay kept spelling ‘Heist’ instead of ‘Heights’ so I’m annoyed about that. Otherwise, I love this episode. It’s funny and it’s clever and it’s stacked to the gills with dreadful puns.

2. Simon Says

Somebody watched Stephen King’s Misery recently and it shows. I am absolutely terrified about the fact that Steve and Reece clearly did a lot of research into fandoms for this one, mostly for their sake. The whole episode had an uneasy sort of edge to it that was incredibly compelling. There are also some brilliantly framed shots in this one, all the sort of things that I find dead exciting.

3. Lip Service

I think this episode might have actually given me whiplash. The twists in this one made me so happy and the atmosphere of the whole episode was so beautifully curated, it was the perfect sleazy hotel. I have to give Steve some serious credit for his performance which was both sympathetic and slightly unsettling at all the right moments; as well as a special mention to the moment with the phone call, in which Sian Clifford’s character gives voice to Felix’s wife.

4. Hurry Up and Wait

This one is interesting because I honestly thought I was going to be incredibly underwhelmed by the ending. Thankfully, I was not. This is the episode that made me the most uncomfortable of the whole series: it had a genuinely strange mood to the whole thing and that is not a criticism. By no means is this my favourite episode of the series, but I think it has it’s merit as a mystery perpetuates throughout that, as a viewer, you want to get to the bottom of. Bhavna Limbachia gave an excellent performance in what was really quite a small role but one that reminded us of the context of the situation. 

5. How Do You Plead?

In this episode the lighting gets darker as it progresses, something I didn’t notice until I had to shut the curtains because I couldn’t see. It’s a little detail from Morales that is so satisfying. Every single aspect of this episode is what I love about Inside No. 9: it has comedy, mystery, and intertextual references that I felt clever for understanding. It is also worth noting I was completely right not to trust Steve playing a seemingly minor role. 

6. Last Night of the Proms

I mean…I can’t work out what to say about this one. I don’t mind saying that I do not fully understand what was happening here. If I’m being honest, the few times I’ve watched this episode I’ve been distracted trying to repress memories of terrible family gatherings. I think the episode was an interesting exercise in interplaying music and narrative in a way that is slightly reminiscent of ‘Empty Orchestra’ and I enjoyed it for that. It’s also another episode with a fair sense of humour which I appreciated following how unsettling ‘How Do You Plead?’ was.

Now that I am all caught up with the existing series, it is a fair guess that I will be returning for the next few right up until the end. Hopefully with fewer episodes to cover in one go, I’ll be able to make my opinions more in-depth rather than the brief overviews here. My love of Inside No. 9 cannot really be limited to a few sentences, after all.

~ Caelum