Rivals episode 4 review | This isn’t how journalism works

rivals episode 4 review
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Declan shows off more top journalism skills as he prepares for a showdown with Rupert. Here’s our Rivals episode 4 review.


Christ, the weather’s turned quick. Just one episode on from New Year’s Eve and Rupert’s already galivanting around in shirtsleeves. There’ll be no flirting for him if he catches a chill, I can tell him that much.

He needs to be on top form, too, because Declan has a nasty surprise in store. Finally persuading/forcing the neighbourhood cad onto his Graham Norton-meets-Newsnight chat show, Corinion’s attack dog has a piece of dirt so ruinous Taggie has to spend most of the episode persuading Rupert to drop out.

Meanwhile, Tony and Freddie have a day of hunting to look forward to, during which it transpires Freddie has a terrifying ability to massacre grouse (this feels inherently believable, if only because he’s played by Danny Dyer). Unfortunately for everyone involved, Lisa McGrillis’ Valerie also turns up, and is nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying enough that the later “posh people making fun of not posh people” moralising is quite tricky to get on board with. Still, at least she’s not Patrick O’Hara, Declan and Maud’s Oxbridge-dwelling frat child who rings Cameron up on Valentine’s Day to read Keats at her in a scene surgically designed to make me personally vomit with rage. I’ll be sad if they try and redeem him.

In-keeping with the show’s relentless pace, however, the latter half of episode 4 is devoted to Declan and Rupert’s interview. We’ve seen a couple of these interviews by now, and it’s difficult not to find Declan’s interview technique completely bamboozling. Starting with small talk before essentially pivoting into a rant about his guest’s moral character (with scarcely a question mark in sight), it doesn’t really resemble any interview show I’ve ever seen. For a man everyone talks about with the kind of professional awe usually reserved for astronauts, he (whisper it) doesn’t seem like a very good journalist.

Read more: Rivals episode 1 review | Mary Whitehouse would hate this

Facing off against Rupert, who demonstrates with every doorframe lean and cheeky grin that he is exactly the sexy cad everyone says he is, the interview therefore doesn’t quite land with the gravitas it probably should. At least, when the latter looks about to walk off before the show returns from an ad break, it’s hard to see why Declan would care – judging from his previous outings, he could just read his most damning evidence to camera and the show’s runtime would hardly drop a minute.

Still, that’s not to say the interview’s second half and its aftermath isn’t some ruddy good telly. And, with a final line that threatens to flip the show’s power dynamic once again on its head, it feels like there’s plenty more good telly to come.

All episodes of Rivals are streaming on Disney+ now.

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