Episode Four: Threesomes
"Was he always this crazy?”
The plot lines continue to unravel cleverly. Pete, in a club, sees Josh’s somewhat unhinged ex, someone physically very similar to himself, and realised that he fits a pre-existing type for Josh and that, perhaps, Josh may be a little shallow. Meanwhile, Tiff is studiously avoiding Doug after he declared his love last episode, and Pete discovers that Tiff has been lying to him about Mistress Mira’s sessions. He seems to take it rather well, but this hints at future ructions.
Most interestingly, and unexpectedly, Doug is in hospital after having been hit by a taxi, and Tiff (assisted by some weed, in a hospital in all places!) ends up bonding rather well with Doug’s ex, and ends up telling her she can’t love him- overheard by Doug.
Episode Five: Nanci
"I love you, Nanci.”
Interestingly, a large chunk of this episode is devoted to Tiff helping a rather rich old school friend to have her first ever orgasm- a problem for many women, and not necessarily so easily or unconvincingly solved. It’s a sweet scene, but Tiff doesn’t seem to do enough to justify the adorably explosive result.
Meanwhile, Pete and Doug talk, and Doug makes unconvincing promises to come out.
Episode Six: The Lost Egg
"Waddle for me, baby!”
Penguin fetish man is back, which I’m sure is the one thing all of us Bonding fans were hoping for from this second season. Alas, though, he ends up telling Pete he’s no longer interested, meaning Pete now has no clients as a Dom, and this no real connection to the BDSM world other than his tenuous one with Tiff. He’s becoming unmoored. This does not bode well.
We learn that Josh’s conservative dad is... Mistress Mira’s sub. And she also has a vanilla husband called Keith. She’s a wise, decent, emotionally intelligent person. He’s lucky to have her.
Alas, things between Tiff and Doug are not so sweet. We end with quite a nasty row. Have they split up?
Episode Seven: Stand Me Up, Stand Me Down
"This is not your story to tell...”
This is the penultimate episode, so everything has to hit rock bottom.
Josh’s coming out to his father is probably as much of a disaster as it could possibly be. His dad upstages him by coming out first as a submissive masochist, reacts with vague homophobia (he is indeed a Christian conservative, but “Jesus was a masochist”), and Pete does the coming out for him. Oh, and he learns that his late mum was his dad’s Domme, which is, er, nice.
Unsurprisingly, he and Pete split up... and Josh’s workmates are actually totally fine with his sexual orientation.
Just as bad, Pete overhears Tiff talking about him, how he fathered her baby and getting rid of the foetus without telling him, and how she literally pays him to hang around. Ouch. Cue a massive row... and Pete ends up having to do a comedy gig, with an agent in the audience, when really not in the mood. This is nicely structured plotting, even if it does tend to fit the template for penultimate Netflix episodes.
Just as nicely done, we end in a none of hope as Tiff cries in Doug’s arms.
Episode Eight: Permission
"I can't explain why I love you..."
So we end with a broadly satisfying concluion but on that deliberately leaves things unresolved. Tiff and Doug get together again and she declares her love at last, which is lovely. Pete accepts that Doug was never for him. Mistress Mira decides that the Dommes of New York need to flee the nest and look after themselves.
Yet there are big question marks about Pete. He and Tiff part on better terms after clearing the air, but they part without reconciling. Pete is still in the wrong, I think, seeming to accept a TV comedy gig to mock a world which was never his and that he has no right to mock. Is he really going to be that much of a dick? Alas, the ending is ambiguous. But, yet again, the characters are superbly written and acted.
Here’s hoping for a third season.
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