Things come to an explosive end in ITV’s latest mini series. Here’s our Playing Nice episode 4 review.
After three episodes, we’re finally on the verge of finding out what happened when Theo and David were swapped in the hospital. So far, these reviews have been spoiler-free – except for episode 3 which included a big spoiler for Disney’s Frozen – but for the final review, we’ll be discussing what happens at the very end.
If you haven’t watched Playing Nice episode 4, please do so and then come back to this review. You have been warned!
Right then. If you’re still here, I’m going to assume you’ve watched the episode or you simply don’t care about spoilers.
Episode 4 of Playing Nice finds Pete, Maddie, Miles and Lucy all giving testimony in the trial that will decide who gets custody over Theo and David. Pete and Maddie aren’t doing too good, especially after Theo ingested some of the weed gummies meant for Pete’s dad, just like he did in the beginning of the series. Yet, Pete took the gummies to his dad to ensure Theo never ate them again by accident. What’s even funnier is that Pete came home to his dad the other night to find Miles there. Hmmmmm…
As Pete takes the stand, Lucy and Miles’ lawyer asks if he gave up his work in journalism to look after Theo. Pete says yes and when asked if he misses his job, he truthfully asks that he does. Maddie is also quizzed about her long working hours at the restaurant, but funny enough, Miles isn’t questioned about his working hours and Lucy isn’t asked if she missed working after staying at home with David.
It’s these subtle differences that make Playing Nice a much richer experience than it seemed at first sight. Writer Grace Ofori-Attah and director Kate Hewitt never spell everything out, leaving us to engage with the show actively. It can be frustrating, sometimes all we want to do is to turn our brains off and be carried away by a bloody good TV show, but Playing Nice asks us to do more.
The finale finally fully reveals the extent of the abuse Lucy has been suffering under Miles. Jessica Brown Finlay has taken a bit of a backseat in the previous episodes, but she’s the real star of episode 4. Lucy swapped the babies in the NICU, in order to protect her biological son from Miles. It was a moment of madness, a quick decision that she made in the heat of the moment.
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What’s perhaps the most affecting part of the Playing Nice finale is the connection between Maddie and Lucy. Women are so often portrayed as catty, sly competitors, but Playing Nice shows the unbreakable bond between women. We will always support each other, we always see when one of us is struggling and being abused. Maddie has suspected this for a long time, but it’s finally in episode 4 that their connection is fully explored.
Playing Nice juxtaposes Lucy and Maddie’s struggles. Maddie suffered from deep depression, needing care and help and now it’s her turn to help Lucy who has been abused and dominated by her own husband. A really lovely scene intercuts Maddie’s need of help washing some bottles under the tap with her helping Lucy wash her hands after the series’ volatile climax.
Playing Nice would have benefited from a few extra episodes to stretch the narrative a bit, allow it more time to develop but what a treat this series was. A psychologically complex, deeply intriguing look into mental health, abuse and parenthood with four amazing central performances. If Playing Nice is a taste of what awaits us in 2025, we’re off to a great start.
