3.10

I'm actually not sure how to start this one. It's taken a lot of thinking about, but I thought I had better get it done before the final episode or that would really be too much to cope with! It's long, and I apologise, but I tried to tell it as completely as I could. I know that not much of what I write makes sense, but I hope that this does - it's been fairly difficult to write.

The whole town is taken up with a forthcoming Oriental Food Fair at Fitzgerald's - a fundraiser for a CATscan with a 'silly cup' as a prize. Brian Quigley is hoping to win (well, he's it rigged of course!) because his next venture is a Chinese restaurant in BallyK. The locals gather together after hours in the pub to sample some of Assumpta's efforts and discuss the food fair. While Padraig is in the middle of telling a daft joke about somebody's mother dying, Peter returns from his mother's funeral. But, there is no tension and everybody is thrilled to see Peter back, especially Assumpta.

Assumpta is having problems with the fuses in the pub - the lights keep going on and off and, being the stubborn person that she is, she insists on fixing the problem herself. Brendan sends Peter down into the cellar after her to give her a hand and they start to talk. Before they get very far the rest of the locals come down to see if they can help and the moment is gone. But they both acknowledge that they do need to talk.

Ambrose has had a directive from Cilldargan to crack down on after hours drinking at the pub so despite Niamh's protestations that he can't arrest her best friend, Ambrose descends on the pub and not only charges Assumpta but everybody else there including Peter. They are all summoned to appear in court. After serving her with a summons, Ambrose then goes to find Assumpta in the cellar when she is messing again with the fuse box and asks her to babysit. She tells him no in no uncertain terms so he asks Peter who agrees, deciding he will use the time to prepare for the food fair.

At Niamh's that night, he is in the middle of cooking when Assumpta turns up. She does not know that he has been booked and thinks that Niamh is expecting her. When Peter asks her to stay, she reluctantly agrees and they start to discuss the fair. Peter suddenly becomes very upset and when Assumpta asks him what is wrong, he decides that it is time to talk. He doesn't know how to start so he starts the ball rolling with the Polar Bear joke. (baby polar bear asks his mummy is he really a polar bear? She replies 'of course, you've got white fur, you eat fish, you're a polar bear'. He is not satisfied and asks his daddy who gives him the same answer. When his daddy asks why he is worried the baby bear replies 'cos I'm freezing'.) the meaning behind this joke becomes clear to Assumpta. Peter breaks down and she pulls him to her to comfort him. He buries his head on her shoulder, sobbing and before long, he is kissing her neck. After a moment, Assumpta pulls away distressed, telling him that she is sorry, but it is not right. She runs out of the room in tears leaving Peter alone in the kitchen.

Brendan, Siobhan and Padraig are looking after the bar when Assumpta runs in and runs straight past them. They can see she is upset so Brendan goes after her into the kitchen and asks is there anything he can do. She tells him she's fine, but it is obvious that Brendan has not missed the tension between her and Peter and he now has a good idea what is going on.

Later that night, Assumpta turns up on Peter's doorstep demanding to know what he wants from her, but he cannot tell her. She leaves in a temper narrowly missing being run over by Brian who gives Peter a talking to.

Next morning, the entire village goes to court. Peter and Assumpta are not speaking. The case is thrown out of court by the judge and everyone is elated.Afterwards, Assumpta slips off down a side street and Peter follows her. They go for a walk by what must be the most beautiful lough in the world and Peter finally confesses how he feels about her. They decide that they have to be together and they return to BallyK vowing to sort it all out.

Once there, Peter goes into the church to pray. Fr Mac takes him off for a chat and asks him what he is going to do. Peter more or less replies that he is leaving the church. He goes to the pub to see Assumpta but the three stooges are there so he phones her instead. He tells her he loves her and he'll do whatever she wants. She replies 'fine, but would they have to go to church'!

She sneaks away from the bar and meets him by the river Angel for a few moments. It suddenly dawns on Peter that he will have to find some other way of making a living so he pursuades Assumpta to give him a job in the pub. (just as an aside, I have to say that this was the best ever scene in three series of BallyK. It was the first time that Assumpta was truly relaxed and happy with every trace of aggression completely gone. You really felt that they were going to be very happy together). He tells her he'll never let her down and she goes back to the pub full of smiles.

Later that night, the food fair is in full swing. Brendan is very much aware of the meaningful looks between the two of them, of the fact that Peter has a face like a cheshire cat, and Assumpta hasn't scowled once all night. Peter wins the 'silly cup' because everyone else cheated and used Brian's new chef to cook their entries. Peter couldn't care less about the cup - he is too busy grinning and in a quiet moment, he pulls Assumpta away to the far end of the bar and tells her again that he loves her.

At this point the lights go off again. Assumpta refuses Padraig's offer to sort it out for her and jumps down into the cellar. Brendan pulls Peter aside and remarks that he knows why Peter is looking so pleased. He's referring to the cup, but Peter is so happy, he doesn't care. The lights go on, everyone cheers and they go off again with a loud bang. There is silence for a spilt second then Peter calls after Assumpta and runs down into the cellar. When he gets there, he sees her lying on the floor unconscious. He is followed by everyone in the bar. Dr Ryan and Brendan try mouth-to-mouth but it is no good. Fr Mac insists to a distraught Peter that he should give her the Last Rites but he refuses, flashing back to the first ever episode when Assumpta told him in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't want them. Fr Mac says if Peter doesn't he will and Assumpta would prefer Peter to do it. Peter sends everyone away and, in between sobbing and apologising, he gives her the sacrament.

As Assumpta's body is carried out into the ambulance, everyone follows and watches, standing in the rain. Peter shakes off Brendan's hand and goes over to the bridge. He looks down into the water and hurls his clerical collar into the river in disgust. He collapses, his body racked with sobs, onto the wall.

There's not much I can say about this. As I found myself, no amount of knowledge abut the episode in advance can prepare you for actually seeing it. The first 40 mins were wonderful, all the scenes we had been waiting three years to see. But at the end, I was incredibly angry. Despite knowing about this for nearly a year, I couldn't believe that the writers had done this to us. I am aware that Dervla asked for Assumpta to be killed off, but I still think that electrocution is a particularly barbaric and vicious way of doing it. Maybe it's just a personal thing, but there are less violent means of killing someone off (strange as that sounds!). I have to say though, the only consolation came from the fact that this and the final episode were written by the creator of the show, Kieran Prendiville and it showed. The original humour and charm were there and it was easy to see that no one can possibly know the characters as well as the person who created them. A classic episode, despite the cruel ending.

A brief moment . . .