Main cast: Louise Fletcher (Mother Birch), Sebastian Roche (Glenn Birch), and Page Fletcher (The Hitchhiker)
Director: Robin Davis

Here’s another reason to pillory the people behind The Hitchhiker: they manage to make Sebastian Roché look fug in Offspring, hence denying me of my possible greatest joy while watching this episode.

He plays Glenn, the super doting son of his mother, and I’d like to see a show of hands from people that actually believe that Louise Fletcher and he look like they could be related, much less mother and son. They don’t even speak like they belong to the same family!

The story is pretty predictable: the son is horny and wants to get it on with various hot, skinny women, but each time he gets close to scoring, his mother will somehow fall ill or need his attention in various other ways. Needless to say, something has got to give soon.

The predictability of this episode means that there is nothing here that stands out. It’s just The Hitchhiker rehashing the narcissist nutcase mother and spineless son tropes without putting anything fresh or interesting to the spin.

Fortunately, Ms Fletcher and Mr Roché manage to put on solid performances to elevate the otherwise derivative material. Both of these actors manage to balance scenery chewing and low-key acting in way that makes their roles far more compelling to watch than the show deserves.

So yes, are there better takes on these tropes out there? Of course. Given that this episode is a far better and hence a welcome sight, so to speak, compared to some of the previous episodes of this season, I’d take this as a win.