Three's a Crowd

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Hannah introduces Alex and Ben to one another over lunch, though the two of them develop more of an animosity than a friendship, and her struggle over how to include Alex in her life later interferes with Belle's work when Bambi invites her to perform in a threesome.

The review for "Domestic Dispute" can be read here.

Having had a rather intense history with Ben (Iddo Goldberg,) including having dated him for a number of years, Hannah (Billie Piper) is understandably nervous to introduce him to her new boyfriend (Callum Blue.) In part she is worried because she wants her boyfriend to get along with her best friend, but she also has to take Ben's feelings into consideration, having recently rejected him due to being unable to balance her work as Belle with a romantic relationship and finding a way to explain why she can do so with Alex but not with him.

The story opens with Hannah marveling at how much more she enjoys sex when it's with someone she genuinely cares about, not having been in a relationship since she was with Ben and having forgotten what it is to share all of yourself with someone and expect nothing in return. She notes that, with Alex in the picture, sex has become much more complicated, which is evident later when, as Belle, she tries to work with her client Martin (Jeff Rawle) but can't perform as she keeps imagining Alex's face. It is here that Hannah, for the first time, connects her personal feelings with Belle's work, and while she had been aware that Alex would take offense to what she does, that he would be hurt if he found out she was sleeping with other men, she realizes exactly how much it bothers her to be with anyone other than Alex, meaning that she'll either have to choose between her job and her relationship or she'll have to keep lying to her boyfriend.

Alex shows a genuine interest in being with Hannah, not simply because she's attractive, but because he likes who she is as a person, making numerous efforts to convince her to include him in her life. As she excuses herself in the morning, claiming to have a meeting with an old friend, Alex tries to come along, forcing Hannah to lie about why he shouldn't come along, stating that her friend "[is] a horrible, horrible woman. And [Alex does] not want to have lunch with her." It's very obvious that Hannah is lying, and, to the audience, it's clear that she simply doesn't want him to know about Belle's affairs, but to Alex it must seem that she's not ready to introduce him to her friends, not ready to let him into her inner circle. Alex keeps talking about wanting to see her apartment, wanting to meet her friends, her family and parents, giving her a speech about how he's unsure if he can continue their relationship knowing that it's going to get deeper for him but more problematic for her. His frustration is palpable, as he's left thinking there's something wrong with him, that she's only using him as a placeholder until someone better comes along, and his speech brings her to tears. In the end, as he waits for a response, she states that she loves him, much to the surprise of them both, and there is a mixture of relief and terror in both of their faces, for Hannah it's relief that she does genuinely care for him and terror in regards to how she'll manage Belle's life, and for Alex it's relief that she feels the same way for him and terror about the issues that are likely to arise from their clashing of lifestyles.

Hannah tells Ben about Alex, and his initial jealousy is perfectly understandable given their history together, but is blown far out of proportion. Ben claims that Hannah wants to use him as a decoy to avoid telling Alex about her life as Belle, giving her an ultimatum that he'll only meet Alex after she's told him about her work as an escort. This entire situation happens without a single mention of Ben having engaged in group sex with Belle and two strangers during the events of "Passion, Reignited" while engaged to Vanessa. Ben then goes on trying to stir up trouble between Hannah and Alex, telling Hannah that Alex has a theory regarding her "living a double life," encouraging her to come clean. When Alex excuses himself from the table Ben complains that Hannah's trying to emasculate him in front of Alex while Hannah thinks that he's trying to destroy her relationship before it even starts. Eventually, at his most unlikeable, Ben walks out on the lunch, prompting Alex to ask Hannah if Ben's in love with her; she tells him that Ben is like a brother to her, and Alex tells her that Ben doesn't see things that way. However Ben sees their relationship, he's still an engaged man, and he's acting so incredibly childish that it's difficult to imagine that his friendship with Hannah will last much longer.

Bambi (Ashley Madekwe,) much like Alex, has a desire to grow closer to Belle, trying to connect with her as a friend only to be rejected, however accidentally, by Hannah/Belle. Bambi is working to make amends for her previous behaviors, trying to learn from someone already in the industry, and while it's understandable that Hannah/Belle might be irritated with her, she also happens to be the only person that Bambi can talk to about these things. Admittedly, it must be exhausting to deal with Alex's insecurities all day and follow that up with Bambi's insecurities through the night, but Hannah, as Belle, is used to putting people at ease and telling them what they need to hear, so for her to be so incapable of doing so in her personal life is an issue all it's own.

Goldberg plays Ben's jealousy really well, and while the seeds of his argument with Hannah were planted long ago, his intense rage comes of as somewhat melodramatic and unwarranted here. Madekwe delivers a nuanced performance as dejected Bambi, visually emoting very well while pretending that there's nothing wrong. The only problematic acting is given in Rawle's performance as Bambi's client, playing the role in an over-the-top fashion while simultaneously being unable to hit the proper anger that a man in his situation should have.

As Hannah wakes up next to Alex, director Fraser MacDonald makes use of an instrumental reminiscent of a music box, creating a fairytale-like tone to the scene that really separates it from everything we've seen of Belle's trysts up to this point. Belle is also given moments of reflection as she watched Bambi work and wonders aloud if she looks that ridiculous when she's on top of someone, noting that it's "not [Bambi's] fault, she's just doing her job. If that's what the client wants, that's what the client gets," subsequently joining in on Bambi's clichéd moaning. While both Alex and Ben joke about how they're likely to hate the other when they meet, but tell Hannah that they'll get along fine, MacDonald chooses to open their scene by having them sitting in awkward silence at the table with nothing to say to one another, every time one of them opens their mouth the other has the complete opposite opinion.

Chloe Moss writes Hannah/Belle as something of a martyr, doing whatever she can for those around her without really taking a moment to herself, and, as such, she's becoming more and more worn down by the world at large. Having been roped into doing a favor for Bambi, despite arguably being owed more from Bambi than to her, Belle arrives at the hotel to participate in a threesome, only to learn that Bambi has just started her period. Belle states that knowing when one's period is due is "page one" of the job, having Bambi instead use a cotton ball as a temporary tampon in order to get through the job and maintain her reputation.

Hannah's life has just grown more complicated in stating that she's in love with Alex, in part because, since being with him, she hasn't worked at all beyond her tryst with Bambi, but also because she knows that, when she does start working again, Alex is likely to find out the truth about her life as Belle. Clearly there will be a running rivalry between Alex and Ben, especially now that Alex suspects that Ben still has feelings for her, and as long as Alex is in Hannah's life, the friendship between Hannah and Ben is likely to remain rocky at best.

The review for "Love is for Other People" can be read here.