Class Review: Episode 4 – ‘Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart’
By Leah Tedesco
In Episode Four of Class, ‘Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart,’ April shows immense strength.
April in ‘Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart’ (credit: BBC)
*** This review contains spoilers. ***
Episode One of Class, ‘For Tonight We Might Die,’ introduces the characters and the general premise of the show, as is the norm for first episodes. Episode Two, ‘The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo,’ focuses on Ram. Episode Three, ‘Nightvisiting,’ focuses on Tanya. Following the natural progression of this pattern, we come to Episode Four, ‘Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart,’ which focuses on April.
Episode Three establishes that April’s father, Huw, in a deeply depressive state, purposely wrecked the family car in an attempt to kill himself. This was seemingly without regard for his wife (Jackie) and daughter, who were also in the vehicle. As a result, Jackie became paralyzed and Huw went to prison. In Episode Four, he has been released, but breaks the restraining order against him by calling and visiting April and Jackie. What comes to mind here is Rose Tyler’s parents, Jackie and Pete, the latter having died after being struck by a car.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to break their heart bond formed in the first episode, Corakinus ends up more synced with April than before. While this results in some serious moments of rage in April, it also makes Corakinus more vulnerable. An intensely intimate encounter between April and Ram leads to a humorous one between the king and his advisor, Kharrus. This is one of the numerous examples of how Class cleverly blends comedy and drama. Also, Klingons come to mind here.
Another thing that this heightened heart bond leads to is April’s gaining the Shadow Kin ability to produce scimitars from her hands. She just barely resists killing her father with them. These weapons are not merely for combat, but are also able to open space-time rifts. When April senses that the Shadow Kin have successfully located her position, she uses this ability to travel to the Shadow Realm in order to reclaim her heart and preemptively defend her planet. Ram urgently follows right before the rift closes. Before April departs, she appears to transfer the heart bond to her mother, repairing her paralysis.
Corakinus in ‘Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart’ (credit: BBC)
In a secondary plot, Tanya objects to what she perceives to be an abuse of power in Charlie’s dominance over Quill. Even if it is generally just for Quill to be punished, it is hard to deny to that there is something inherently wrong with being able to make someone a slave. Though seemingly far removed, this does invoke the worsening issue of virtual slave labor within the prison industrial complex. Charlie’s penchant for abusing power is also troubling due to the fact that, out of hope, he has kept the Cabinet of Souls. Matteusz is disturbed by this because Charlie is considering the possibility of someday putting his people’s souls into the bodies of another race, thus pushing out the souls of the latter, effectively committing genocide.
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Episode Four also introduces Dorothea Ames, who is the new headteacher of Coal Hill Academy. She soon reveals herself to be acquainted with the enigmatic Governors. Her predecessor, Frank Armitage, was as well, but Miss Ames is much more of a sleuth. What have appeared to be innocent little blossoms shown throughout this episode, she discovers to be an insidious, and probably alien, carnivorous species — one that multiplies at a similar rate to that of Tribbles. In exchange for helping to eradicate this floral infestation, she offers to remove the arn from Quill’s brain.
She also reveals to Quill that she knows of the physics teacher’s living arrangement with Charlie, and that he has been using the last name “Smith.” Miss Ames remarks that, “You don’t see so many Smiths these days. It’s rather like John. Have you noticed no one under the age of thirty five is called John anymore?” This is an apparent nod to the Doctor’s most common alias.
For those who are not aware, the title of this episode is based on ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart,’ a song from 1983 by the band Yes.
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