Inside No 9 – ‘To Have and To Hold’

The fourth season of Inside No 9 has proven to be one of the most consistent in terms of writing strength and in the variety of stories it tells – ‘To Have and To Hold’ is a testament to Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s power to shock and horrify, using the premise of a married couple in crisis to present us with an altogether darker tale.

Adrian (Pemberton) is a mild-mannered wedding photographer, struggling and emotionally distant from his wife Harry (Nicola Walker). She yearns for more of his time and affection and decides to renew their wedding vows but, despite her best efforts, it seems there is nothing she can do to really attract Adrian’s attention.

This an episode of Inside No 9 so, needless to say, there’s something else going on – however, the hints to this late reveal are lightly seeded throughout the episode and for quite a while, I thought this was going to be an unprecedented straight episode. It has an air of ‘Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room’ about it – the relationship between two partners is now sad and almost bitter and, when played like that, it makes for some introspective and occasionally tender drama.

There’s just a sneaking feeling that more could have been done here

Walker is excellent here, as always – she’s an actress who really is good in everything, but has a particular knack for sad hilarity. This couldn’t be more evident than in the Nurse Honeypot scene – in order to try and revitalise their sex life, the couple try a bit of roleplay, and it is excruciating to watch (in a good way). Harry’s determination to seduce Adrian, coupled with a husband who is really not into it (he’s more worried about getting oil stains on the carpet), make for a scene that is tragically funny and one of the most real things you’ll ever watch.

The episode is mostly a two-hander – Shearsmith and Miranda Hennessy crop up as a recently-married couple after their photographs, but they could not be there and it wouldn’t make the episode any worse. No, the interplay between Pemberton and Walker is what makes ‘To Have and To Hold.’ Pemberton plays Adrian in a massively understated manner – at one point, Harry grows frustrated with him and calls him the most boring man in the world, and that’s kind of the point. The level of restraint is designed to make us believe that Adrian is just an everyday, depressed husband.

And then the twist happens – oh, what a twist.

Previous episodes of Inside No 9 have toed the line between dark and funny in their resolutions – ‘To Have and To Hold’ is dark through and through. It transpires that, nine years ago, Adrian kidnapped their cleaner and has held her captive in a sound-proofed basement room specially built to allow him to abuse her. During the abuse, he had fathered a son (given the name he and Harry were going to give their child). Normally, dark Pemberton characters have a touch of lightness to them – here, he is completely evil.

Sometimes Inside No 9 would benefit with more time

This twist, while incredibly effective, does force a very rushed end, and another twist that anyone could have seen coming a mile-off. It works wonders for the tale, but it leaves us with a resolution that, although satisfying on a narrative level, leaves you wanting a bit more – it can do a lot with half an hour but sometimes Inside No 9 would benefit with more time. ‘To Have and To Hold’ is one of those instances.

I came always from this episode disliking it (mostly, I think, because of the flood in the end ten minutes), but it is extremely well-written and the acting is superb. That this half-hour travels so far – from a moving portrait of a disintegrating marriage to dark horror – without feeling unearned is proof of Inside No 9’s strength, and it makes for an astonishing episode of TV. Watching, though, there’s just a sneaking feeling that more could have been done here, and that’s a shame to take away from what is otherwise superb television.

Next week: The jury of a TV awards company must choose a winner for the Best Actress award – but only one of the eight candidates can win…

You can read our review of the previous episode, ‘Once Removed’, here.