Christmas Special, part 4: "Florida"

OK, as usual, I hate the Tim and Dawn stuff, and there's a lot of it in this episode, so I'll just try to not rant too much. This is a very short chapter and I'm going to make a very short commentary on it.

We cut to Florida, outside a big house, next to a swimming pool. Dawn is looking pretty and taking care of a little baby. This is a bit of a trick form GervaisMerchant, I believe, because at a first glance, I thought the baby was hers. The time passed is long enough for Dawn to have given birth, even if it's a little unlikely that she'd do it in Florida. If Dawn and Lee had had a baby, this might make the Tim and Dawn love story impossible at least for many years to come, and Tim would be a home wrecker. But of course this isn't the case, as she'll soon let us know. The baby wriggles in Dawn's arms as she explains that they were supposed to go home after 90 days, but they're "taking an extended holiday". She does check first if this is going out in the US, so we get a genuine documentary feel. I wouldn't say anything incriminating on camera, because people do share files over the internet and rip TV shows, so there's no knowing what the US authorities are going to see.

Dawn says Lee's doing gardening for money and she's taking care of baby Ryan, "this is Jackie's baby." An interviewer asks off camera who Jackie is. "Jackie is Lee's sister, and Gary is her husband. This is their place." It's a cute touch, since the interviewer didn't ask who Gary is, and Dawn didn't mention Gary before, so it's unnecessary to mention that, but it's likely that she would in that situation, because she introduced Jackie's son and Jackie, so she's rounding up the whole family. Ryan is cute and seems about six months old, so he was probably born during their stay. Lee, who at first looked to be sleeping in the sun, tells the camera that they're not paying rent, so they can use all the money they make on themselves. Probably they're not paying taxes either.

Lee says that their situation is "almost as good as Slough." "Definitely," says Dawn, but you can tell she's lying as she soothes baby Ryan. She doesn't seem happy at all; Lee gets to lay about as she takes care of the baby, and this is probably what Lee had planned for the rest of their lives. Also, I'm not sure if I'd let my brother and his fiancé stay at my place rent-free for years on end. It sounds like an uncomfortable arrangement. I'm not surprised she expects them to take care of her son as a kind of rent.

Timterview. Sadly, it's about Dawn. Tim is embarrassed about the last episode where he told her about his feelings, and backpedals now that he misinterpreted things and they're just good friends. For once, there's really nothing quotable or interesting about a Timterview. He makes sure to say that no damage is done and Lee is OK with him. It's pretty obvious that he doesn't feel OK about it, which is why I think they should have left this bit out. It's just rehashing what Tim has already said before. Moving on.