It's A Sin | Valerie struggles to grasp reality

[@RashekaO]

She played this role so well. The roles completely reversed between her and her husband and she was on a rampage. Wow! I still get chills watching this.

[@trinaq]

I agree, I loved the subtle role reversals with Richie's parents. His father is more accepting of Richie, while his mother is decidedly not!

[@daynerpotter9514]

Yes it is an excellent adaptation of the eighties AIDS issue, beginning from SIV in apes and then later becoming HIV in humans and AIDS once in its final form.. Terrible virus 🙏

[@lexkanyima2195]

@@daynerpotter9514 but who's to blame by not accepting is ? Valerie

[@daynerpotter9514]

@@lexkanyima2195 no blame, a young man died at the end of the day, ignorance is an emotion

[@lexkanyima2195]

@@daynerpotter9514 but Valerie should have accepted her song as a gay men

[@daynerpotter9514]

Not letting Ritchie see his friends before his death will haunt her for eternity though 🙏😱

[@daynerpotter9514]

Instead blaming all of his friends for her own denial 😔

[@beianli4620]

Serves her. I just hope Ritchie knew Jill well enough to not die believing she didn't care to visit him.

[@david-jonballinger6638]

@@beianli4620 he knew his mother so I don't think he would have believed her lies.

[@david-jonballinger6638]

I also think the other mother's speech to her about not knowing her son or seeing any signs of him being gay will stick with her. She would punish herself for being dense and unintentionally uninterested in seeing that part of him

[@TheSteviebabes]

That was bloody brilliant. I laughed my ass of, when the mam told Jill

[@Em-un8gw]

I hate her but love how she was portrayed. The idea that we thought the mum would be emotional and supportive and dad would be angry and mad at him and the change to her being angry and possessive and dad being emotional was cool concept

[@kurthaven834]

It’s hardly a concept, it’s quite normal for mothers to be exactly like this

[@Em-un8gw]

@@kurthaven834 yes but the fact that we all expected her to be understanding and upset wheras it was the dad who was understanding and upset and she was angry and in denial

[@danielvincent5306]

True to life, though, from experience of just this thing.

[@orlandobabe]

This is the kind of person I distant myself from to avoid getting violently angry.

[@Buckaroo_Baldwin]

​@@Em-un8gwWe all expected it? Are you actually speaking for everyone who watched this show? Because I wasn't expecting that I knew she was gonna lose it.

[@popland1977]

Her inability to deal with the situation as she takes out the Christmas presents is heartbreaking

[@rick182z]

So true to life

[@danielvincent5306]

From experience, so very, very true to life.

[@xavierbeurre8064]

The actress who played Sanja did such awesome work with what little screen time she had!

[@david-jonballinger6638]

She was great. I wish someone had been there to tell my mum that when I came out.

[@valeriaepifani6802]

Keeley Hawes. What a performance. Emmy, Bafta, Golden Globe...Sag...she deserves every award.

[@sharonrigs7999]

I liked her the most in Ashes to Ashes

[@julietwhiskey6987]

“Get the door,” gets me every time. In such a serious moment, that lift gave me life. It’s the “Whatever, girl,” underneath.

[@jamessm5012]

I really believed the last episode was going to end with Jill and the mother by ritchie’s side and he dies but honestly when she said those words “He died yesterday” my heart just sank. It doesn’t suprise me but still shocking. The mum was jealous that Jill was like a mother to him and how much time she spent with him but instead of taking over as a mother she was still dealing with the process of knowing he’s gay and failed him. The whole thing has just messed me up. I wish we got to see a scene between Ritchie and his sister, she was crying in the final scene of her but a conversation would have been nice to find out why she always had a bad attitude and maybe she could have been by his side.

[@AmericanDream1776]

This series affects me to this day.

[@lexkanyima2195]

Valerie was impulsive that Ritchie was actual gay al those years

[@david-jonballinger6638]

His sister was an interesting character. She was shown to always be mad and Moody at him and I think it's tied to her line about their parents only having eyes for him when he's around. She is the lesser loved child, he is the golden child. Another reason it was so hard for him to come out. He felt the weight of the universe on his shoulders to uphold the family ideals and pride. I think her seeing her brother dying and then him passing away suddenly made her realise that she loved him and maybe he wasn't a perfect doll after all but his own person living his own way of life that might have seemed flawed to his parents.

[@rossdimmock1]

To be honest she was crying because it was her brother, and she loved him, nothing more. They showed her being moody when she was a young teenager like most are and don’t realise the value of family at that point.

[@alexjewell2351]

The Sister appeared to be distant from RItchie too, I'd imagine that was referencing possible learned behaviour from the Mother. It tends to run in cycles.

[@orangehokage7]

Kind of love the fact that his Dad is more concerned about the Aids than his sexuality. Then again i haven't seen the show so i might be completely wrong.

[@0211coxy]

No that’s exactly what happened, he ridiculed him for wanting to be an actor, never showed any love etc but then at the end was just devastated he was dying 🥺

[@ryanstarlight8018]

You really should watch this show. It's amazing.

[@MrDeadhead83]

Watch it.

[@danielvincent5306]

That was very true to life. From experience.

[@chrissiem3958]

She pulled out all the stops with this. Made me feel so awful for her, but hate her at the same time. Truly an amazing performance 👏👏👏

[@0211coxy]

I love this scene and I love Sandra ❤️ she really puts Valerie in her place

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

Sandra was brilliant the way she gave it to Valerie

[@alexjewell2351]

The Sandra scene was gold.

[@nikolanikola8543]

This is a horrible scene... How can a mom know if their child is gay??? It is NOT something you can know just by looking at someone...

[@cjbaby15ify]

@Nikola Nikola of course you can tell if your son's gay, or at least have a very good idea.

[@nikolanikola8543]

@@cjbaby15ify Sorry, but you can't

[@akaha001]

Keeley Hawes should win everything for this performance

[@hoverton6541]

Damn right, absolutely phenomenal

[@trinaq]

I agree, she did a wonderful job of portraying a close minded mother of that era.

[@Nimf]

Agreed!!! She was incredible

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

Normally I like Keeley's characters but this is the first time I've ever hated a character she's played she knocked it out of the park with this performance I was shocked at her behviour and the things she said here and then keeping Ritchie's friends away from him despite him asking to see them was just cruel I can see why Jill lost it at the end and let Valerie have it. Valerie deserved every word Sandra and then Jill dished out to her!

[@bryangary2270]

@@wickedwitchoftheeast88 Did you not see Bodyguard? She played the Home Secretary advancing some truly odious policies. And yes, Ms West is an incredibly gifted actersas. I loved her in The Durrells of Corfu, but emotions on that show were never quite this tense.

[@hoverton6541]

This performance was phenomenal.

[@lisagillam5785]

He could have died surrounded by his friends, instead she kept them from him and he died alone. I hope she lives with that for the rest of her life.

[@mrparts]

This was very common at the time..Parents taking their dying kids away and isolating them from their friends.

[@lexkanyima2195]

@@mrparts and very dark

[@johncurrie6693]

That happened alot. The parents had their children away or abandoned them. You have to view this with eyes of the 1980s not 2021.

[@danielvincent5306]

The writing and the acting are phenomenal in all these scenes. There's a tiny, tiny detail which I think gets overlooked. Valerie actually says, "Do you think I should've known?" and Jill reaches across the table to hold her hand. That could have been a turning point. But then Sanja comes in and the conversation changes tack. Valerie, it seems to me, is almost ready to be open-minded about Ritchie being gay until it's brought to her attention that maybe she's partly at fault for the lies. That's when she turns on Jill, not before. It's a brilliant portrayal of both denial and deflection.

[@johnblake4589]

Actually, I hated that scene and in my opinion, it caused the episode to go downhill. Sanja who we've never seen before or know anything about. She just comes in and says things that honestly no human being would say to another, especially given that they're in the same situation. This is a stranger coming in to a room and effectively calling a woman whom they've never met before and who they know has been given some terrible news and is struggling to cope a terrible mother. Honestly the whole thing just seemed to be cheap to me and crammed in so that they could have some conflict for the remaining episode.

[@omgwaffles09]

@@johnblake4589 If we assume Sanja has been around the hospital even for just a short while for whatever reason (staff or another helper like Jill) she might be jaded from seeing this exact scene play out many times before (neglected son dying of aids, parents in denial). I don't think it's that unrealistic. Definitely not inhuman.

[@johnblake4589]

@@omgwaffles09 In the case of telling a story though you mention/show that. They've been in the hospital several times before in this and previous episodes, they could at least have mentioned her. This scene to me reads like someone in a cancer ward suddenly cutting into another random stranger with an ill relative for not noticing that they had any symptoms. Given the quality of the writing in the rest of the show and from Russel T. Davies generally, this whole part of the episode and beyond just felt rushed and forced. He'd already done the "evil misunderstanding mother" trope several times with various characters. I just don't feel that it added anything but that's my personal opinion.

[@omgwaffles09]

She's the opposite of "evil misunderstanding mother". She's blunt but brutally on the money with her comments. Obviously, she understood her son who's on the same ward a lot more than Valerie did. I personally thought it was really well-executed scene and most in the comments seem to agree.

[@johnblake4589]

@@omgwaffles09 Re-read the comment, I wasn't talking about her. I was referring to Valery with the "evil mother" remark.

[@moonlightfitz]

This scene is pure masterpiece. Russell T Davies is a genius.

[@RayKappo]

My cousin died of AIDS. I watched this as soon as it came out......broke my fucking heart, but by Christ....it is fucking brilliant. Raw, emotive, everything you want but don't. Kudos to the scriptwriter & all those who played their part. Sleep well Paul. You're missed.

[@jackdawmamma7482]

I'm so sorry 💙 I was there with one of my oldest mates (we'd known eachother since we were 5) when she found out she had HIV & it was heartbreaking. She'd met who she thought was her ideal boyfriend, loved him like crazy & he seemed to be a really nice guy. They slept together for the first time after they'd been together 5 weeks & the next day he stopped responding to all of her calls & messages & blocked her number & on all social media. She was heartbroken & a couple of months later she got a message from a number she didn't recognise saying something along the lines of "You don't know me but I know you were going out with a guy who was calling himself "X" who slept with you then dumped you next day. His real name is actually "Y" You need to get yourself tested asap because he's done this before". She just assumed it would be for something like chlamydia so asked me to go with her to the walk-in clinic. When they did all of the tests for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea etc they also told her they they needed to do an HIV test & she was really shocked & didn't want to do it but they convinced her. When they had the results they called her back in straight off I knew something was wrong by the Dr's face. They told her the rapid HIV test was positive. She was 17 years old. She couldn't beleive it & kept asking them over & over again to repeat the test. So they repeated the test in front of her with the same result & said some blood would also be sent off to the lab to confirm it. Not only that but the bastard had also given her Gonorrhea on top of it. I was with her when she had to tell her Mum & the whole situation was just gut-wrenching & heartbreaking. This poor girl had already survived so much- her Dad was an alcoholic who'd hit her a lot & had watched him raping & trying to kill her Mum on many occasions until her Mum finally took her kids & left him for good, like me she was a survivor of child sexual abuse, she'd survived several serious suicide attempts & had been in a teenage psychiatric ward. Her arms were covered in scars from cutting herself. She was such a lovely person- we always had a great laugh & some of my best memories of college especially are of me & her sitting around in random fields smoking weed, drinking cider & just messing about making up songs & talking about anything & everything, or the time we dyed eachothers hair red just for the hell of it & getting so much dye everywhere we both looked like we'd been in a horror movie. That whole week between getting her intial results & the results back from the lab I stayed with her- sometimes she'd be angry & in disbelief, other times she'd just carry on as normal, but a lot of the time she'd cry when she thought no-one was looking or thinking I was asleep. Her family were purely heartbroken & the police were even trying to track this guy down because he'd done this to at least 4 other girls & 3 guys (in the UK it's illegal to sleep with someone if you know you have HIV without telling them. She thinks he must have "stealthed" her (started out wearing a condom but taken it off before he actually started which sadly didn't become a crime in the UK until 2020 as it is now considered a form of rape) but the police never found him. He'd come into the country illegally & had been using fake names & moved all over the place. It was all just horrendous. Less than 5 months later I got a call one night from her Mum saying she'd ended her life. Her funeral was hands-down one of the saddest occasions imaginable. So many tears & a lot of anger. I miss you every day R, I'll never forget you xxx

[@pablofrank2466]

Ruth Sheen in this scene is just amazing. But yes, Keeley Dawes knocked it out of park.

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

Ruth Sheen was brilliant in this scene the way she gave it to Valerie as Sandra clearly loves and supports her son regardless shows the differences between them. Sandra accepts her son and loves him whereas Valerie can't accept Richie is a gay and blames everyone else for her being kept in the dark when its clear she didn't want to know anyway she wanted Richie to be how she wanted him not for who he really was and that is why Richie kept her in the dark because he knew she would never accept him which must have so horrible to live with

[@lucacaretto3184]

no matter how many times I watch this scene. it gives me chills every time.Such a great actress!

[@AZ-lx7jr]

Best written villain this year so far

[@jbiddle9235]

This was definitively my mother when I came out. Thank god no aids, but the shock even though it was obvious. She just didn't want to accept it. She was normally the carrying accepting parent, just not with that one... My dad's response(who was not normally the caring accepting parent) "your mother told me that you like men?" "Yes" "Okay, well let's watch some TV."

[@grgacvarak1]

Ruth Sheen oh my God. Allways so accurate, precise, perfect. It hurts when I watch her.

[@sanfordcurtis8242]

Keeley really outdid herself with this performance.

[@simbabunny9710]

Give Miss Keeley Hawes all the awards

[@daynerpotter9514]

She played a blinder of an ignorant, self obsessed, in denial parent of the eighties with a gay child, excellent 👍

[@itsjemmabond]

Jill was right, she never told Ritchie's parents she was his girlfriend, and it wasn't her duty to reveal his true sexuality. The woman with the thick accent had a point too - Ritchie lived in his parent's house until he left home but they refused to see he was gay?

[@daffymh1719]

I imagine that living on the isle of wight is quite isolated compared to London and homosexuality was hidden. People were sacked and ostracized, so perhaps Ritchie hid it well. The woman in the kitchen could live in a completely different environment where there's a massive gay community like London. You have to realize that Valerie has just learnt that Ritchie has cancer, aids, is gay and is going to die all within the last 10 minutes, I can't imagine what that's like. You can see that she clearly loves her son.

[@tmariethatsme8170]

Richie used Jill and hid behind her..

[@shortangel333]

Keeley Hawes did a great job. But I still hate Valerie. Mmm, she really upset me in the final episode.

[@kimobee5330]

Me too she didn't listen to anything he was saying you could see he was gay 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿💯

[@tmariethatsme8170]

@@kimobee5330 Remember the times and also where they lived.. Man yall love blaming the parents but not the person

[@Edgeworthscravat]

This was the biggest plot twist. Seeing his dad break and confront the fact that his son will die, showing the most emotion he has shown all show. And then his mother become this Ice Queen control freak.

[@Phoebealm]

All I am thinking how sad and heartbreaking that ending was poor Ritchie. His mom totally blind and so horrible (amazing performance). I love this show.

[@lexkanyima2195]

But she was not aware

[@CorridorJ]

What I liked about this series is that you thought the dad was the bad one and the mum had compassion. But it turns out at the end his dad is the one more accepting of his son and his illness and his mum was the one who denied his friends to see him before he died

[@VILA1963]

What a cast!!!! Brilliant.

[@knowledgegathererdraftsave1979]

In these dramas and performances be they in films, tv series’ or theatre, we might hate the character, but we have so much love and respect for the actor/actress; Keeley Hawes was phenomenal and she acted out a magnitude as Valerie in this series finale. She deserves so much recognition and definitely an award for such a performance. All of the actors in this show were phenomenal in their own way as their characters and deserve everything for it. The final scene between Valerie and Jill in this episode; both Keeley Hawes and Lydia West acted it out magnificently, hands down.

[@scottmena4653]

To think that there were so many parents like this during that time...and sadly now. This show deserved Emmy's. Blows my mind. The performances were stellar and heartbreaking.

[@lalak492]

I loved how the other mom ripped Valerie & new arsehole asking how she didnt know her own son

[@MicksA]

He’s beautifully gay. A beautiful comment.

[@tmariethatsme8170]

And now he has a gay disease

[@tommytank99]

All right sweetheart ... I’m done. Superb Keeley and Lydia. Amazing storytelling ❤️❤️❤️

[@paulxavier6532]

Just saw this episode last night. The whole show up until episode 4, was good enough, but this episode, # 5 makes it an excellent show, due in large part to Ms. Hawes’ absolutely gripping, stunning and unforgettable performance. And kudos to Ms. West’s performance as well. Their scene together at the beach was equally memorable. This finale will stay with me for days.

[@lexkanyima2195]

A shocking moment

[@fong03]

I know we are meant to despise Valerie and her actions were awful in the last episode, but I felt nothing but pity for her in this moment. It is mostly due to Keeley's phenomenal performance. You can see her go through all the stages of grief in this short clip. When she reaches denial and anger, she says terrible things, but I do believe that she loves her son and in that moment she realizes she is going to lose him. It doesn't excuse what she says and does, but I certainly felt her pain.

[@123brownjames]

To be fair they could’ve told her that he was gay earlier on and she probably would have accepted it. It’s bad that she found out while he was dying and there was no need for the lady with the orange juices to lay into her. A lot of parents don’t really know their children and vice versa. And yes she was ignorant but she wasn’t exactly evil. I thought the final episode was a bit preachy about times back then (when there were a lot of kind, understanding people amidst the idiots) and a little like when Doctor Who would give a monologue at the end of the series. Would have been more powerful if Valerie and Jill reconciled over Ritchie, whom they both loved in their different ways. As for his dad well he knew all along and Ritchie should have kept the condoms.

[@one-day-at-a-time4134]

@@123brownjames I really don't think it would have been so easy for him to come out to his parents. The way his mam acted toward the orange juice lady and Jill, was disgusting and in my humble opinion she deserved a good telling.

[@123brownjames]

@@one-day-at-a-time4134 true

[@groovytuesday6883]

@@one-day-at-a-time4134 orange juice lady was vile, I would have taken the face off her if she had spoken to me like that.

[@one-day-at-a-time4134]

@@groovytuesday6883 Ritchies "mam" had no right treating Jill the way she did, and her own husband who she verbally and pysically attacked. She really thought she could give orange juice lady some lip aswel, but she met her match with orange juice lady lol. Ritchies "mam" isolated him from the only ones who cared about him and she left him to die alone, now that's vile. P.S, i reckon orange juice lady would wipe the floor with you lol.

[@NorthernFella]

Keeley deserves an award for her acting for this episode.

[@Elijah-bn6ny]

This scene, as well as the entire last episode, illustrates the difficulty of the series to represent the ravages of illness on the body.

[@lexkanyima2195]

But the message was a bit confused

[@blairmore33]

One of the best pieces I've ever seen excellent acting and staging 💖

[@roryboytube]

LOL "Men are all the same..they go rutting" 🤣

[@barrykevin7658]

I've seen similar as this in real life ,Still shocking to watch . Outstanding acting .

[@lexkanyima2195]

A 2 minutes outstanding performance

[@keter-kunttry5066]

3:05 I love how she calls out her bullshit

[@yevgeniyaleshchenko849]

She was out of line and had no right to reproach/blame a stranger, especially in a situation like this.

[@016329]

I know she got a lot wrong but I really felt for her. It’s easy to say she should have known, like that lady in the kitchen but a lot of people (especially back then) were quite naive about things like sexuality. She was never given the chance to accept him and if you look earlier in the series, she knew something was wrong and kept asking Ritchie about it but he wouldn’t tell her.

[@Harvester236]

Exactly, and I think everyone is missing the point that she is the perfect example of a tragic character. In context of the time when there was so much ignorance around the issue, parents finding out their son is dying and has disclosed his sexuality out of fear of being neglected must've destroyed them. It was very wrong of Valerie to deny Ritchie's friends to visit and be with him for sure, but in the context it kind of makes sense.

[@gerardmackay8909]

@Michael Hester. Late here to comment but I totally agree with you. As usual we’ve got the polarised uncompromising condemnation (she’s a monster) and Valerie is MUCH more nuanced than that. To me the word ‘terrified’ comes to mind and Keeley Hawes’ portrayal of blind panic and stubborn denial is masterful. Taking Ritchie back home is back to a safe place before his London life posed such a mortal threat to him and she even plays comic songs he loved imagining him to be 5 again. His friends are associated, albeit unfairly, with this threatening world and she wants to block it ALL out. The result is bleak and harrowing but the road to hell is paved with good intentions and her intense, burning love for her boy is undeniable. I didn’t totally like Jill’s confrontation with her at the end because I found it, in parts, jarring and out of character. I actually think Valerie might well have been more supportive than Ritchie ever gave her a chance to be. As Anne Bancroft said in the brilliant Torch Song Trilogy. “ You cut me out of your life, then you blamed me for not being there.”

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

@@gerardmackay8909 Whilst I agree with most of what you've said I have to say Jill was right to say what she did to Valerie. She may have had her own suspicions but why didn't she say to her son I love you no matter what maybe then he would have found the courage to be honest with both of his parents. Instead he kept them at arms length totally in the dark and lived in shame at being gay. I actually wonder if Valerie felt some jealousy towards Jill and her friendship with Ritchie.

[@gerardmackay8909]

@@wickedwitchoftheeast88 I’m not exactly saying Jill was totally wrong in what she said (after all she deeply loved Ritchie and being kept from him would understandably cause anger and distress) I just thought the strength of her condemnation was a tad out of character. Anyway I think you have a good point about the jealousy angle because a mother like Valerie would probably handle playing second fiddle to a girlfriend/wife but not to a platonic female best friend.

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

@@gerardmackay8909 ok I see your point. I think the way Jill unloads on Valerie is because she's finally at the end of her patience with her. Remember Valerie was off with Jill from the day she met her and thought she was Ritchie's girlfriend you could tell Valerie didn't approve of it. Then when she finds out the truth about Ritchie she lets out all her rage and ignorant views then turns on Jill and blames her. Then when Ritchie dies Valerie wouldn't even let Roscoe and Jill see Ritchie and say goodbye for ten minutes she isolated him from his friends and I think finding out Ritchie died alone and then Valerie asking for stories about Ritchie was the final straw for Jill she snapped and let Valerie have it.

[@danielcox3152]

Writing, acting, production masterclass

[@darrenrichards7978]

Who are these people that give thumbs down..go on..name and shame yourselves

[@BossySwan]

Hilariously honest orange squash woman 😂

[@alexjewell2351]

Love Keeley Hawes, her character was vile in this, that's the mark of an incredible actress.

[@jackcampbell8505]

I watched this when it came out, Iast month I lost my best friend too aids it destroyed me again, if there is any god he will let us cure this awful thing

[@ticklebearnj]

Amazing scene!

[@rebeccawest1912]

This is gonna sound controversial but looking at it from Val's side, I imagine that she grew up in the late '40s early '50s where being gay was illegal and nobody spoke about it and realising that it was in her family was probably too much for her (tho I'm not condoning her behaviour it's pretty bad)

[@grahampearson161]

Valerie can't process what's happening. Like, literally this is too much for her to deal with. She's a very realistic character, as unlikeable as she is.

[@rebeccawest1912]

@@grahampearson161 Exactly! I was just thinking that. X

[@lexkanyima2195]

But they are so protective, Valerie lived in a era were nothing is allowed

[@mojosbigsticks]

My step-mother denied gay culture because 'we didn't have them when I was growing up'. I wish she'd lived to see this show.

[@rogerramjet5302]

100%. Richie's friends could have possibly helped him connect with his parents - the worst case scenario was being disowned but at least he could then try and build a life based on love and truth.

[@daynerpotter9514]

Love ALL no matter what race, sexual orientation, colour, creed, Richie had such beautiful, loyal and loving friends ❤️❤️

[@rickhardman7376]

She loved her Son .... Can't argue with that

[@neilyboy8568]

Keeley Hawes is the best actress of our generation. She was outstandingly good here.

[@kelsian_smith03]

Loved her in tipping the velvet where she played a woman who dressed masculine

[@errolpletcher9186]

The real villan in this series imo was Richie. I mean, he knowingly infected other men and never seemed to give a toss about it. I wanna feel bad about him dying cut off and alone, but thinking about the death sentences he handed out to God knows how many other guys.. And yes, Jill is was right- shame did play a part in it, but that's still no excuse.

[@alllittlethingzz]

He thought having aids was like the flu and wasn’t real till he got sick and slowly started to die from having sex with all those men

[@Saosin3333]

Sandra is the icon

[@steveurkel9440]

the mums reaction to the news feels so real

[@tmariethatsme8170]

RIGHT.. And her actions was Justifiable. I don't know why people expected her to react differently.. She really didn't know and he kept lying..

[@benjaminphilpot4262]

Thank god they can do something with this dreadful disease I know of someone who had this disease maybe as far back as early 90s dunno if there still around just so sad

[@jadebowles5471]

Great performance by Keely Hawes. Her reaction was a very common reaction of that time. And it sadly portrays how most people reacted to HIV/aids back then

[@angel101025]

I wish I had a friend like Jill ♥️

[@neilblackshaw3486]

Absolutely stunning performance by Keeley Hawes.

[@123brownjames]

All I’m thinking now is windmills in Amsterdam

[@ashleighfallon7897]

A mouse

[@AlisonBryen]

@@ashleighfallon7897 Where?

[@queenjulianalovesherfatban2064]

Sobbing

[@Haybear_92]

The Mum and Dad reacted the opposite of what's I'd expected them to. Dad was amazing, the mum cracked but then continued to be a vile person.

[@tmariethatsme8170]

Honestly, How do you think she should have reacted to something like that.. Get fucking real

[@dydx8585]

Valerie's reaction was so good and lasted so long 😂

[@angelaandersons7918]

My favourite part (weird thing to say) was when Valerie banged her hand on the desk while screaming at the nurse (who was in eastenders) in the visitors room when she slaps Clive, the clip clop of her heels down the hallway, the anger, the range of emotions, so powerful!

[@carlabessa9547]

Keeley hawes is outstanding here!

[@musicsavage]

Ritchie had learned denial from the best: his parents.

[@Upsallauniversity123]

Keeley hawes got zero nomination for bafta . Bafta looses respects infront of everyone

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Damn. Some serious work done well.

[@davidcooper7383]

Brilliant acting! Would like to see a prequel...set about a year before! Following the characters lives before they met!

[@jamessm5012]

I doubt that would be interesting a year before they met Ritchie, Roscoe and Collin were all just living at home in the closet, living boring lives studying probably.

[@itsjemmabond]

Had Channel 4 agreed to air 8 episodes as originally planned, we probably would have seen that.

[@mlourdessanchez317]

Keeley es la mejor catriz , se merece el universo..

[@salerio61]

I'm probably going to hell, but when the old dear gave out to his mum I couldn't help laughing. It looks superb, I will watch it. I like Lydia West and stuff she's been in before

[@justinharris5434]

Shes obviously a minor character but I love Sandra!!!!!!! I broke out laughing....sorry!!!!!

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

Sandra pulled no punches! She clearly accepted her son was gay and loved him regardless and I would imagine she has had to put up with a lot of shit because of that so when she heard what Valerie was saying she just told her some home truths and she wasn't wrong either I agree with her 100%

[@alllittlethingzz]

Hate how she kept Richie everyone away from his friends and she should have know her son was gay she was being very selfish

[@sophiafoot2410]

This felt like a theatre performance the mother

[@023sexybaby]

I don't get why that woman was so vile to his mum in the hospital rest room.

[@jamespoole3531]

The fact that she’s only just found out that Ritchie is gay when he’s on his deathbed means that he had to live in fear of her for 30 years, in fear of his own mum. She’s failed him as a parent.

[@dorian1364]

She was a total badass and spilled the t. Some parents are literally pretend they do not see their choldrens different sexuality. They are literally fooling themselves. She's one of them, and that lady just spilled nothing but facts about her

[@africanbella28]

@@dorian1364 Facts!!!

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

@023sexybaby I think the reason Sandra unloaded on Valerie is because she probably overheard Valerie's remark about Ritchie having a gay disease when she walks into the kitchen and she obviously knows Ritchie well so its likely he may well have confided in her about his mum and what her reaction would be if she knew. It speaks volumes that Ritchie hid his sexuality and even when he was seriously ill and dying he couldn't face telling his parents the truth so he hid it all until weeks before he died

[@andrea.bezdan]

To be honest, this video is an edited version of the entire scene. Valerie picked a fight with Sandra by asking 'Am I one of your idiots?' to a completely unrelated comment Sandra made about a charity show or something. Nonetheless, I am Team Sandra. Enough with the denial and the willful blindness so that parents have an excuse for not doing any emotional work with their children.

[@Titanicdork133]

these scenes have been edited right down to make Valerie seem like a monster. The full netflix version makes paints her completely different.

[@daveom2000]

Awesome scene, shocking🤔😳😱😢😢🙏🙏😇😇

[@caliden3785]

Anyone know where I can watch this? I am in the states

[@eviexedits9301]

It’s just been released on hboMax

[@donna5580]

HBO Max

[@deananthony1000]

Apparently you have A NORMAL HEART which is supposed to be similar

[@eightieslivenow7579]

Amazon prime

[@Joy6168]

@@deananthony1000, not exactly. A Normal Heart is about activism around AIDS during the 1980’s. Longtime Companion is more similar to It’s a Sin; a little known yet famous at the time movie about a group of friends dealing with AIDS in the U.S.

[@nayrod4529]

Sounds like denial to me.

[@orlandobabe]

That mother makes me sick. If I were Richie I would’ve told her to get out. Actually I’d scream it

[@tmariethatsme8170]

Your comment is disgusting

[@williesullivan3985]

Of course this is how Cynthia from Wives and Daughters turned out!

[@ButWhatIfItIs]

The best (or worst) about this was... idk about you lot, but I did not see the reaction from Val coming at all. F'ing tragic if that is actually how things went down. My own mum was crying every epsiode. Really put things into perspective for me. Gay/bi myself (still not sure) and I've been quite derogatory towards other gay people a lot of my out life. But despite this show's setting be in the past, it did bring me a bit closer in terms of offering support to other LGBT folk and perhaps taking it when offered too.

[@ddaniel5920]

what's the name of the song at the end?

[@virginiaipazia6149]

Keeley Hawes è l'attrice più brava AL MONDO. Fa paura quanto è brava!

[@rehnumachowdhury3629]

I didn't realise till the last episode that it had been 10 years. She has a point jill spent all of those 10 years running after them she didn't really have a life of her own

[@iantuition]

not quite. she was in their lives and they were in hers. they were all close friends and Ritchie was her best friend. also she was the one who got into HIV advocacy, to the point of getting her parents involved as well as the boys, and she was an actress too. the series just isn't as focused on her. and it is odd that she wasn't shown dating.

[@StepsKat]

@@iantuition Apparently there was supposed to be a plotline of her dating one of the lads in the cast of the show she was in but they had to cut it. But yeah, Jill basically having no life except looking after the boys was a bit odd.. Like, even if they didn't focus on it surely she had a boyfriend or two who would have been at one of the parties/dinners?

[@tmariethatsme8170]

@@StepsKat RIGHT.. Jill conspired with Richie.. She was his beard and he used her.. She knew he didn't tell his parents and his parents thought they were a couple regardless of what she said she was around all the fucking time

[@ggdebv344]

She got so many shocks at once that she’s freaked out. Can you handle your son’s coming out and that son is dying at once? She's just a mother who loves her son. I don’t blame her.

[@beianli4620]

So did the dad though, and he did way better.

[@wickedwitchoftheeast88]

I get she was in shock but I lost all sympathy for her when she said "and now he's got a gay disease" thats her own child she's talking about he's spent his life feeling shamed at being gay because of her homophobic views and all she cares about is what people think of her and Ritchie being gay he had to tell his own mother not to keep him a secret and he was dying and thats all that worried him. She made him feel shame until he died Valerie deserved every word Sandra and Jill dished out to her!

[@alllittlethingzz]

She was so focused on his sexuality instead of actually being there for him and making his friends stay with him on his deathbed

[@tmariethatsme8170]

Thank you.. I would have said and done far worst.. She had every RIGHT to be PISSED.. He had it for 2yrs and lied.. They hadn't seen him in a long time

[@tmariethatsme8170]

@@wickedwitchoftheeast88 BYE.. He didn't feel shame and lied and hide it and Jill did conspire to help him.. It wasn't Jill place to say anything but she could have not gone along with it after she told him the first time to tell them..

[@richieordeanidc536]

i love the line "he's beautifully gay"

[@albertdiz1030]

From my point of view Ritchie's parents were narrow minded and full of prejudgements, but they werent the worst parents, yes, they made a lot of mistakes but little by little they supported him as an actor, they were happy to see him around in the house and Ritchie loved them. At the hospital the parents were in crisis, they were shocked and in denial because their lives changed in one second, and that other woman didnt help by attacking Valerie. And of course that Valerie was wrong when she decided to keep her son away of his friends in the final phase because she denied him the right of being surrounded by his other family. That decission seems to reflect valerie's guilt for feeling responsible for the situation, or for not being more affectionate with Ritchie in the past, she wanted to make up for lost time with her little boy, she was in an anger phase, angry with the friends, with herself and maybe with her own son, so it is not as black or white as it seems at the end. My point of view

[@sassysquadasmr2486]

Hi

[@hensolo3262]

Every little speck of him is as bent as ??? note?

[@Prestidigitoreum]

9 bob note. Basically an insult that means extremely gay. But I don't think she meant it in an offensive way, more as a common turn of phrase back then.

[@mikeh2006]

That gobby women was out of order. One shoe doesn't fit all. I was never accused of being gay at school, I even tried dating girls a couple of times. People sometimes don't believe me to this day when I tell them. Even my partners family when I first met him 7 years ago told him I was making it up. Don't ask.. But yea, my mum said she didn't know either, and neither was she bothered when I told her. I really don't think she was concerned about it enough to give it a second thought really. I remember telling her I had someone for her meet (with a male name of course) That's how I came out. She paused for a few seconds then said "shall I tell your dad, or do you want to?"

[@cameron8946]

Looks like you got lucky then. Now I'm as gay as they come, but people don't see that in me as I don't act camp or listen to all the 'divas' and keep up with the trends, the character Ritchie in IT'S A SIN is stereotypically gay and 100% behind him on how proud he is, you don't have to be obviously gay to be gay. Now back to the comment on the woman being rude, Ritchie had probably confided in her having a son on the ward, there would have been a reason Ritchie never told his parents and it would have been fear. I grew up with parents similar, in fact when I came out I got told by my dad "I used to beat up people like you with my mates", my mum didn't talk to me for 6 months, so that woman wasn't rude, she told it as it is, as a parent you are meant to love and care for your kids and the ignorance and blind eye they turned was not that

[@b.m.t.h.3961]

Poor woman.

[@amyclarke41]

I gs 21😀k m s d

[@jameshurst8529]

Hello Amy 🥰😊