Two weeks in August / SPOILERS SPOILERS …

[the80sweregreat]

Watching at tv pace , it doesn’t end for ages , but as it’s all on I player obviously some may have watched it all.
I admit that I’ve been at a loose end and needed something to watch this week.
What do others think ? I did enjoy it. It was a strange drama and I can’t tell if it was satire or a black comedy or just the holiday from hell! Or all three.
The policeman made me laugh ( how lovely was he) and a few quips. Some really good acting too.
I feel guilty for binging it.

Ah not a cool girl at all; from the BBC website:
”Two Weeks in August’s lead director is Tom George (This Country, Sherwood) who will direct episodes 1-4. Matthew Moore (The Great, Colin from Accounts) will direct episodes 5-8. ”
Edited to add: the scriptwriter was Catherine Shepherd, who played Zoe’s mother. I knew I recognised her from something and it was Peepshow!

I love that book.

Thanks, sorry I was wrong - well this explains everything! It was two different men. I misread this:

Created by
Catherine Shepherd
Written by
Catherine Shepherd

No I actually think you’re right, thinking about it; the directors would just be carrying out the creator/scriptwriter’s vision so ultimately a woman is behind it.

I thought of that book during the weird party scene too. It was a well delivered scene - quite uncomfortable.

Yes - The Secret History is a good reference. Also The Magus by John Fowles. Mystic shenanigans on a Greek island.

Re. The different directors, I can see that there were more funny moments as it got weirder and more desperate - and I liked Colin from Accounts!

The fact that we are confused over the dress - I suspect some scenes were filmed which gave a better explanation but they ended up being chopped. So we are just left confused! They only had to show zoe finding and stealing the cash and then buying the dress for it to make a bit more sense 😆

We were all probably just left to work it out ourselves re dress. It didn’t occur to me it the same one that was on the stall at first. I’m not that observant. I suppose she wanted to look stunning and an old sheet wasn’t cutting it! Lol.

I think you have a good point here - it wasn't well edited so some things don't make sense. I suppose when you work so closely with the text you can't see the loose ends? I'm not going to go back and look but was it under the second director that the maiden suddenly became topless?

I was left perplexed about other things but the dress was very much flagged up to me. The iPlayer film poster for the series has Zoe to the forefront wearing it - then they did one of their long-lingering shots (so many of those) as it was hanging up in prime position on the stall over the women.

I still didn't think that Zoe had taken the money from Jess, though. And I definitely can't imagine Dan thinking of surreptitiously creeping in to someone else's room to return it - he didn't seem to have any original thoughts or energy. I thought it was more likely that the nanny had thought it was owing to her and that was why she left suddenly - if anyone had taken it from Jess (who made a fuss and exaggerated everything). The problem is I have no idea what the nanny and Dan said to each other - yes they both have noticeable accents but the sound quality was poor.

Why don't you put the subtitles on? That's what I do with accents/mumbling.

Because it is in English and I hadn't thought of it! But, yes thanks, I will another time - I couldn't face watching this again though 😱

Thanks ... will have a look for The Magus. Sounds intriguing ...

Yes, that really jarred 😆 It was a series of two halves but someone missed the post it note about whose boobs we were supposed to be seeing!

Amusingly Colin From Accounts starts with the flash of a nipple - I think that director may have some unresolved issues to address 😬

I recall the nanny saying she didn’t need this job; she has a trust fund …

I quite enjoyed it up to the last episode which seemed like a cop out or more likely, leaving it open for a follow up series.

It probably helped that when we watched it, there was a heatwave where we were so it kinda felt like you were there:)

I felt a knot of tension when Nat was trying to find the key to the yacht and on that paddle board.
The fire looked far too close for comfort as well.
I wouid have been the one panicking there! I admit I can’t be cool in a crisis.

I liked Zoe. She had been doing wife work and taking all the mental load for a long time and she needed a change. Dan was a wet lettuce.
one thing that puzzled me: the policeman had a partner at the party, no? (In fact weren’t they married?) but when Jacob went to his house in a later ep, it was just him there. Jacob only referred to him; he said something like ‘we drank coffee and hung out.’ Where was the husband?
It was implausible how Nat’s house was initially presented as practically uninhabitable but then they all stayed there. Presumably they all pissed in buckets or something 😄

Oh I thought Jacob turned up at the police station and stayed with the guy there?

I did wonder how he knew where he lived! I didn’t recognise it as a police station. But yes, it would explain why his husband wasn’t there.

Funnily enough, DS and I were convinced that The Secret History was a starting point, whether direct or subconscious inspiration, for Two Weeks!

I have to say I really loved it. We've just binged it, watching one every other night. I take my hat off to writing where I'm compelled to keep watching even when every single fecking character is massively unattractive! Well, maybe not the put-upon Greek islanders who were fed up with all the BS and entitlement. I didn't mind so much about plot inconsistencies, though we were a bit disappointed that the Greek mythological stuff didn't, in the end, add up to that much. Not sure what the Fates standing in the fire were meant to portend ...

There was also a lot of amusing social satire and snide commentary. Loved the fact that they all ended up in small boats with life jackets on, after that excruciating discussion about refugees earlier on!

@TruffulaTree
"We've just binged it, watching one every other night."

I don't think you understand binging 😄

Loved the social commentary and lack of self awareness of the main characters. Spot on! The acting was good, it was cast perfectly.

A bit disappointed in the male gaze thing - the actress didn’t have to be topless. I’m sick of that now tbh.

Okay late to this... I did really enjoy it but it was bloody ridiculous. Were the rich people meant to Pan and Athena?