Repentance

Friday ends with a cliffhanger – the hope that Tracy truly regrets her actions, and wants repentance. She not only deliberately started a fire that killed two people, she has let her intended victim, Carla, take the blame for it.

She doesn’t know the torture that Carla is putting herself through, and the consequences of that for not only Carla but for everyone who works in the factory. Of course if she did know, she likely would be so pleased that she would keep quiet and enjoy the show. I don’t think Tracy can change that much.

I know the hopefulness that I feel this weekend, based on Friday’s final scene, will be short-lived. Tracy will not tell all to Robert. Even if she stayed determined to do so, someone would stop by for a chat. Or a kitchen emergency at the Bistro would mean he would have to leave with a ‘tell me later’. The truth will not out, I fear, this quickly or voluntarily from Tracy.

Good Tracy?

I don’t know that I’d like to see Tracy become a good person. She’s very good at being bad. I do like the nuances that she’s shown lately, though. Trying way too hard to change her ways at home and make amends.

The cooking attempts where you hold your breath, waiting for her explosion and pots to hit the wall. They were actions, and scenes, that went way over the top. More subtle was Friday’s sewing effort, where she repeatedly stabbed her finger with the needle. But she kept trying, laughed at herself and told Ken why she was doing it. She wanted to learn to do the things that her mother had always done for her. It sounded genuine.

A heartfelt gesture

Her despair and guilt seemed genuine too when Sophie brought Maddie’s stuff into the shop to sell. She needs money to hold a memorial do. Tracy was lovely, offering £200 without even looking through the box. Sophie appreciated a heartfelt gesture, but didn’t realize just how heartfelt it was and why. Tracy’s guilty look was a clue. But, without knowing what Tracy and we in the audience know, there’s no way she could pick up on the significance.

I like the Tracy of this week – still herself, brassy and shameless – but showing vulnerability and wondering what her mother would say and seeking out those answers, and actions, for herself. Actual repentance, though? Will she confess? We’ll see next week, but I’m putting all my money on no.