'This is England '86' Episode 2

'This is England '86' Episode 2 Response

So last night the second episode of 'This is England '86' aired, leaving us with only two more episodes left.
Yesterday's show focused mainly on Lol (Vicky McClure) and how her world seems to be collapsing around her. The same thing is happening to young Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) as he finally feels like he's moving forward in the world before crashing back down to a painful and lonely reality. Milky's (Andrew Shim) story also began last night as his life-long love for Lol surfaced when she needed a shoulder to cry on after her relationship troubles with Woody (Joe Gilgun).

I'm loving how Shane Meadows had moved forward from the Skinhead culture that circles these characters and given them a new and believable dimension. They have become home-grown heroes who just want to get by. The television formatting of the story has opened more doors for these characters but it's good that they aren't getting the screen time which could make their stories become ridiculous. Instead, they get 4 hours to invite us back into their world and tell us a new tale, and for me, it's been a magnificent journey.
The show is beautifully performed, captured and rendered; it's easily one of the best British TV dramas this year.

I can see McClure's career rocketing after this because her performance as Lol is incredible. She bursts with raw energy and grit, something that many British actresses lack. Lol eats up every scene and leaves the crumbs for the rest; she is breaktaking.

I'm sure next week's episode will be fantastic, and with the return of Combo (Stephan Graham), I can sense that the characters lives are going to go from bad to worse.