“Do you want to be Rudy 1 or Rudy 2? I’ll be Rudy 2 spelled t-o-o, because…”
In an episode full of typical Misfits effing and blinding, it’s a line from Rudy’s geekier side that produced, from this fan, the hardest laugh of the series so far. It’s the way he tells ’em. Not only is this a Rudy-heavy episode, but it delivers three times the Joseph Gilgun in the form of a third Rudy – the hitherto unseen evil twin. Aggressive, angry and threatening, he’s the Noel Gallagher (or is it Liam?) to Rudy One and Rudy Too’s Oasis.
Having been locked away in prison with his ukulele for the past few years, Evil Rudy wastes little time upon his release in seeking out his brothers, taking over Rudy One’s body and making him act like a tit towards his mates. Bear with us – three characters with the same name, all played by the same actor – this recap might get a tad convoluted. Screwed over by Rudy One and Too while shopping for a Curly-Wurly, Evil Rudy is out for revenge. Having all these Rudys running about is a great concept – a twisted version of Michael Keaton’s Multiplicity. Gilgun is too cuddly to completely sell Evil Rudy (a problem which plagued Lockout, where he found himself miscast as a dangerous psychopath) but it’s an enjoyable triumvirate of performances all the same.
But if a show such as Misfits refuses to depict superheroism properly, it’s certainly not going to have Evil Rudy be your garden-variety supervillain. Rather than trying to take over the world or robbing a bank, he’s far more content to sit around the community centre intimidating poor Jess or verbally bullying Finn and the others. Jess comes in for the worst of it though, as this new Rudy takes a shine to the unfortunate lass.
Meanwhile, the others have enough to worry about without Rudy’s newfound nastiness. There’s the awkward matter of Finn having a little fling (to put it politely) with his stepmother, and the trainee probation worker taking a shine to Curtis. This gives Curtis something to do, but he’s still on the outskirts of the group for the moment. Poor chap seems to be having trouble gelling with the new recruits. We’re also left wondering what the trainee probation worker’s secret might be. Have we ever seen her and the proper (swearier) probation worker in the same room together? Perhaps Curtis’s gender-bending powers didn’t go as far as he might have thought… Just a thought.
One’s enjoyment of Misfits Series 4 will depend on the viewer’s fondness for the show’s new recruits. Personally, Rudy > Nathan every time, although the character is a divisive one, to be sure. Time will tell whether Jess and Finn prove as popular as the last lot, but they show a lot of promise. Now, if they’d just give Curtis a little purpose in life (beyond looking perplexed and amused by the others) we’d be well set. Next week’s episode looks to rectify that though, so we remain hopeful.
Episode Three is an enjoyable episode, if slightly disappointed. The matter of the Three Rudys is resolved a little too quickly (and not exactly satisfactorily) and seems like a waste of a great concept. Still, the episode has some solid laughs, and a couple of them are actually clean, for once. There are some great tunes at the end, too. Amidst the constant filth, swearing and violence, it’s nice that even Misfits can find room for a classic like The Macarena. Wahey, the Macarena. Everyone likes the Macarena – even, apparently, Evil Twins.
