On The Run
The Village returns with Episode 9, and the final tumultuous ride before next week’s finale. It’s the day of Ava’s court trial and everyone is trying their best to make her feel calm. Enzo and Gwendolina start cooking their own dishes, deciding to go in competition with one another, while Sarah tries to make herself useful, spray-painting a message for Katie. Speaking of which, Katie takes Liam to her birthing class for comfort. He tries to make her feel better by pulling faces but when a couple come in with a baby, her anxiety kicks back into high gear and she asks to leave. Things go from bad to worse for her this episode, as she hears some bad news regarding the adoption terms. She takes her anger out on Liam who tries to defend his position but before he can speak, Katie is hit by a bike and rushed into hospital. Meanwhile, Ava breaks up with Ben on the eve of the trial and as everyone convenes at court the following day she doesn’t show up – all that planning and prep work for nothing. Back at the apartment sheleaves a note for Patricia saying she’s run away which consequently leaves the court no choice but to file for deportation. While Nick spends the episode piecing together his time from 9/11, Ava rings Ben one last time to say goodbye, informing him they’re on the run up in Canada but she stuck around for an extra night to see him. Whether we’ll see Ava again this season is left up for debate but if not, I can’t help but feel the last 8 weeks have been a monumental waste of time for all involved with trying to help her with her case. Still, there’s no time to dwell on this though and we return to Katie whose in hospital, panicking when they cant find the heartbeat but thankfully Liam’s at hand and he uses the techniques from the birthing class earlier in the day to keep her calm. Back at the apartment, Katie tells him she loves him and he tells her the same. Before they can discuss anything, Katie suddenly clutches her stomach in pain, sensing something wrong with the baby. The episode ends with her asking for her mum and a big cliffhanger for next week’s finale. To be fair, there’s a good amount of drama here and some of the issues discussed are certainly topical but at the same time, this episode really dropped the ball with Ava. Since the first episode, we’ve seen all the other residents rally around her and doing their best to try and help her. While I do understand to an extent why she’d run, I also feel like it’s discredited a lot of the other characters in the show too by her doing this. Ben’s entire arc has essentially been for nothing while Gabe severed ties with his Father for a cause that turned out to be pointless. This episode was certainly full of high points though and some of the comedy is really well placed here. I’ll discuss more about the overarching story in next week’s full season write-up but for now, The Village continues to deliver good drama, even if it is at the expense of the season’s character arcs.
