Jamie (Michelle Mylett) has a surprise for William (Mazin Elsadig) and she is on a mission to share. William follows in her determined wake as they hustle through an empty bar into the back kitchen.
This is it!
Jamie asks, “Do you trust me?”
William replies, “Absolutely not!”
“Then this is going to be terrifying for you,” and Jamie climbs into a freezer full of water.
Wait! WHAT?
OK, so the freezer is secret passage—part of a network built before the discovery of fluid dynamics—to Dovie’s (Jennifer Dale) backyard pool. It seems Jamie has arranged a party of popular authors, giving William an opportunity to rub some elbows and get feedback on his manuscript. However, like Roman Roman (Richard Zeppieri), the effort has pushed all of Jamie’s insides out, leaving her empty. William, though, is full. Feeling completely alone, Jamie has fallen victim to loving too much.
Meanwhile, Mitzi (Lola Tash) and Bondurant (Daniel Maslany) are visiting Bondurant’s father Orvis (Rod Wilson) in the backwoods of Manitoba and Mitzi hears a startling sound. She sends Bondurant to investigate … his mother Sitari (Cheri Maracle) has come home to roost.
In typical Bondurant fashion, we learn that his parents, in their raven forms, were forced into marriage as punishment for being so selfish as to allow the twin towns of Wendel and Clark to burn to the ground. Apart, his parents are the best parents ever, but together they are poisonous. This proves an uncomfortable reunion for Bondurant and speaking of poison …Â Bondurant’s parents lace Mitzi’s tea with amobarbital, whereupon Mitzi reveals to all that she slept with William.
So that leaves us with two couples, each on the brink of a breakup.
This surreal little show is one that people either love or hate; there is no in-between. The most frequent complaint is that it is “overacted,” or “takes itself too seriously.” That, though, is exactly the point. You only get out of it what you put into it. If you take a bit of time to unpack these quirky stories, you come away with a lot of great wit.
Four in the Morning airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
