When is the end of a series not really the end? When the series in question is Dairy Girls (Channel 4).
E knew in advance that Tuesday night’s episode was the end of the third and final season, but also that it wasn’t the last we’d see of Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell). , Claire (Nicola Coughlan), Orla (Louis Harland), James (Dylan Llewellyn) and the rest of the characters.
They were back last night for a one-hour special. It really was the end of this time, and there couldn’t have been a better way to say goodbye.
If dairy girls With the death of Claire’s father (spoiler alert) lingering on Tuesday — and the same night she found romance and shared a kiss with “another Lazy,” as the always-clever Michelle put it — it was the biggest. Would have been the fall of an end since the hit-and-run death of Victor Meldrew one foot in The grave.
Instead, Dairy Girls turned out to be at a stellar, spectacular height. Full disclosure: I’ve always been a little agnostic about the series. I never felt that it fully justified the often weirdly frenzied hype whipped around it.
There was a cracker last night, though. We caught up with the gang a year after Tuesday’s events. Claire and her family have left Derry for ‘exotic’ pastures – Strauben, to be exact – but she plans to return for a very momentous occasion: Orla and Erin’s joint 18th birthday party.
Actually, Erin has been 18 for a while, but the girls’ “tithole” mother, Sarah (Kathy Keira Clarke) and Mary (Tara Lynn O’Neill) decide to save some Bob by merging the celebrations.
What is the probability of it going wrong? A lot. The girls end up sharing the venue with the crowd of First Communion kids because Mary forgot to book on time.
To rub salt into the wound, the school’s prefect hater and sucker Jenny Joyce (Leah O’Rourke) also has an 18th birthday party, a lavish affair with champagne, karaoke, a magician, fancy gifts for guests. bags and Riverdance.“It’s practically the Oscars,” shouts Erin, “our party doesn’t stand a chance!”
video of the day
Another, marginally more important event is also taking place at the same time: the vote on the historic Good Friday Agreement, the details of which stunned Joe (Ian McElhinney). He’s read the prologue 30 times and still can’t make out the head or tail of it.
However, it’s crystal clear for the gloriously dim Sarah. “If you vote ‘yes,’ you can swing either way,” she says.
It’s as if show creator Lisa McGee was determined to sign off with the compilation album equivalent of all the things that the series does best. Every character is given a moment to shine.
The growing animosity toward the new arrival of Gerry (Tommy Tiernan) leads to much laughter, a clumsy cousin called Eamon (Ardle O’Hanlon), who is staying with the family while repairing his collapsed roof. being kicked (very slow) and manages to break everything he touches.
There is conflict between Erin and Michelle when the latter’s brother, an assassin, is released under a Good Friday pact, and a resolution is reached when they make up. It Also Allows for a Rare and Poignant Moment of Reflection for the Goobiest of Derry Girls,
As always, Sister George Michael (Siobhan Mac-Sweeney) gets all the best lines, including a faded take on Jenny Joyce’s truly terrifying drama: “The conflict here has led to some terrible atrocities, and Now we must add your drama to that list.”
But she shows her human side when informed that the authorities are taking her elsewhere.
She won’t go without a fight and has a few options:
“I make a difference here. The girls know, the parents know this. I’m not ready to go. Try and force me, and there will be a terrible nuisance.” However, in the end, her luck will be up in the air. She goes.
Everything ultimately revolves around the big vote. Erin is skeptical about whether Compromise might actually work, which gives Joe what, I think, is one of the most beloved pieces of dialogue McGee has ever written.
“What if it works?” He says.
“What if it all turns out to be a ghost story? You’ll one day tell your wee.
“A ghost story they will hardly believe.”
it was real dairy girls closing, and it was ended with a current coda that I won’t spoil by revealing.
just perfect.
