Disc Reviews
Bomb Girls Series Two Review
I recently discovered and got through series one of Bomb Girls in the space of a day, so I was looking forward to getting stuck into series two. The first series was only six episodes long, but now we have a great twelve episodes to watch. And we pick up straight away where series one left off, and we follow the lives of the women working in a Canadian munitions factory during world War II. They maybe helping fight the war overseas but each faces a personal struggle.
Gladys (Jodi Balfour) the daughter of a wealthy family who see her as ‘slumming it’ as she insists on working on the factory floor, still has to find her place – should she give in and fit in with her families expectations or hold her job in the factory. She also has a constant fear that her fiance will be killed on the frontline. Betty (Ali Liebert) the hardest worker in the factory is under constant pressure not only to hide her sexuality and be outed as a lesbian but also hide her German ancestry. She struggled to hide her feelings for her best friend Kate during the first series and after Kate disappeared at the end of last series Betty has been trying to find her. Kate (Charlotte Hegele) after spending the first series on the run from her abusive preacher father, finding her own voice and gaining friends, she has had to return to her father for the safety of others. This series we’ll find out if she survives. Vera (Anastasia Phillips) was disfigured in a factory accident in series one, she has turned to casual encounters with soldiers to regain the attention she once received. Lorna (Meg Tilly), the floor matron, has discovered she is pregnant as a result of her affair with a fellow shift worker, she now has to chose between her family or the unborn child and the man she had the affair with.
While Jodi Balfour’s Gladys maybe the leading lady but some of her journey this series is a bit over the top, Jodi does a great job with her but you get distracted by the other girls. Ali Liebert lights up the screen as feisty Betty, you understand her struggle and as the series progresses you feel for her and want her to finally get something in return. Charlotte Heagele is beautiful as Kate, she brings not only a beautiful voice to the show but also such a delicate charm. Anistasia Phillips steals every scene she’s in as Vera, her need to be loved and accepted after her accident breaks your heart when you see what she’ll do to get this. And even though Meg Tilly’s Lorna is meant to be the shoulder these girls can lean on, she deals with several personal blows and still has to be there for them.
You full in love with these girls and its easy to get stuck watching all the episodes over a single weekend.
The costumes are beautiful and reflects the time period perfectly, not only do we see the class struggles of the time but also tackled are the racial and gender issues of the day. The show also reminds us of what people had to go through during the war, and how we became the world we are today. While the series may have been cancelled we have the TV movie (Bomb Girls – Facing The Enemy) to look forward to, But will our girls get a happy ending or all be battered by the war?
Sian Richter