*This blog is for people who have seen up to episode 3 of Inside Men and contains spoilers. Read the episode 2 blog here*
INSIDE MEN: Thursday 16th February, 9pm, BBC One
Get your rubber mask on and get ready to wade into the moral muck once again because itâs time to unpick week three of Inside Men.
This weekâs episode gave us an even further flash forward beyond the date of the robbery; Chrisâ baby is on the scene, Johnâs wife finds out the ugly truth and Marcus continues to be oblivious about the consequences of stealing a sum of cash large enough to sort out the Greek economy. With only one week left to go before we see the robbery unfold (in the first timelineâs version of reality – still with me?), suspense is ramped up to the max as nerves get the better of even the most likely criminal of the three.
âProtect your family â no one else mattersâ? â Chrisâ father
Rightly or wrongly, the most likely criminal is, of course, Chris. His father is in jail, his home life was appalling and, letâs face it, he has the right skin colour to make him prime TV criminal fodder. But how the seemingly gentle family man will interpret his incarcerated fatherâs advice is up for debate. Will it be the law abiding option and a marked departure from his crime-ridden upbringing? Or buckets of cash for our zealous family man?
Early inclinations show that he will grass his colleagues up but I suspect there could be a double bluff up writer Tony Bagallopâs ample sleeve. From side-lined security guard to top dog, Chris is proving to be one of the most intriguing characters of the series and his decision about what is ârightâ? for his family is likely to prove pivotal in the success of the heist.
And who knew that even contemplating crime would leave you cold-hearted enough to allow your own mother to choke on her own vomit (*quietly replaces snaffled paper clips in desk drawer*). Clearly tortured by his decision to let his alcoholic mother suffer a humiliating end, Chrisâ moral compass is suffering a serious malfunction which could have the potential to damage his dedication to the task.
âThe biggest cash robbery in UK historyâ? â anonymous newsreader
As John descends further into his own alternative, alpha male reality show (recklessly thrusting himself upon members of staff, shooting trees in a wood, unbuttoning his top button at work etc) the realisation dawns that he is about to inherit a colossal sum of money – but at the expense of his family life.
This guy has undergone a huge transformation but as much as the exploration of the emasculated ego of a frustrated modern man is fascinating, one does have to question whether his actions are consistent here. For someone so meticulous, thorough and supposedly family-oriented, would he be left in a situation where he needs to abandon everything?
After deserting his family and abandoning his morals it was time for Steven Mackintosh to perform my favourite piece of crass TV imagery of the week; the former pen-pushing nobody ascends his mountain of cash, and reclines on it.
âI’m involved now – why shouldn’t I get paidâ? â Gina
Inside Men aside for a moment, we would like Basgallop and the gang to seriously consider a spin-off show starring Gina (+ boobs) and her trusty sidekick moron, Marcus. The pair share fantastic on-screen chemistry and their unfathomably laidback attitude to it all provides another intriguing moral quandary for viewers.
Are these two devils incarnate, with no cares about the seriousness of their crime? Or are they simply acting out the part in everyone which screams out for a better life, and refusing to feel guilty for it. The pair hit the road this week as a kind of Essex-bred Bonny and Clyde, buying Phil Mitchell masks as they go. But next weekâs trailer hints that their happy-go-lucky attitude may be about to trip them up and, maybe, lock them away. Is it just me or is anyone else desperate for this pair to get away with it all and drive off like John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in a flying red cadillac?
