aka: Caroline & Kate (to me at least)
Last Tango in Halifax can boast nuanced and clever writing as well as a talented ensemble cast, which includes Derek Jacobi (Claudius!). It centers around the families of two septuagenarians (Celia and Alan, played by Anne Reid and Derek Jacobi) who were once teenaged sweethearts and now reunited, have turned their smoldering ember of love for their first into a roaring blaze.
That is a great premise, but I'm watching for Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) and Kate (Nina Sosanya).
Caroline is presumably Celia's only child. Caroline is a fierce, competent and accomplished professional - head mistress of a posh school. She is a considerate and caring mother who successfully blends the roles of disciplinarian and friend to two strapping teenaged boys. Although, for all her awesome-sause, Caroline is a skittish cat when it comes to romantic relationships.
Caroline had been faithfully married for about 20 years but her husband left her for another woman. He later returned because he realized how good he had it at home. However, while he was away Kate was polishing up the woman he did dirty.
The fallen husband's return brings Caroline a choice: elbow grease and effort to make a
She drops Kate like a hot rock.
She wants Kate, she totally wants Kate. But at this point, Caroline is uber analytical and her head says keeping a selfish cheating husband equals happy children, while keeping Kate will only make her (and Kate!) happy. Happy children trumps happy self.
Husband eventually cocks up again and Caroline lures Kate back. OK, that sounded predatory, maybe it was, dash a little selfishness in there too. Who calls their ex to commiserate about their current mistake of a partner? How is a woman who has never stopped wanting you supposed to interpret that? Kate was at Caroline's side within two heartbeats.
Kate. She teaches languages and music at Caroline's school. Beautiful, amiable and accomplished in her own right; Kate is amazing. Kate is patient. She offers a friendly shoulder when Caroline is initially left drifting from her husbands abandonment. She sees Caroline run her school like a duck in a pond, sees her strut down the corridor in her 4inchers, gets to know her as a friend: she is drawn. She confesses her feelings to Caroline and a fragile new thing starts. Kate is happy until the husband returns.
I feared Kate was going to be pathetic when she meets Caroline again and accept her back sans groveling or bend to Caroline's will in some way. I was pleasantly surprised when she made Caroline acknowledge her shady actions and promise to improve. Good work, Kate.
It's not all roses from there. They'll give the relationship a go, but there's a family with whom to share the new dynamics. Queue husband's hysterics, children's worry, mother's dramatics, would-be stepfather's sympathy; writing that will keep you riveted, make you laugh, and have you thinking about its layers for days.
I hope to see Kate in
If you have watched series 1 (only 6 episodes)... aren't you disappointed in the dearth of Caroline/Kate fiction. Their story is so fertile.
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LINKS
Fanfiction: http://www.fanfiction.net/tv/Last-Tango-in-Halifax/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Tango_in_Halifax
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