Recap: ‘Land of Women’ Changes Pace In Episode 4

Mothers always know best, don’t they? It might be an effort to admit sometimes, but when mom says your husband is probably playing away on his so-called business trip, she’s probably right. That kind of intuition comes naturally. If Gala had listened to Julia when she first raised doubts about Fred as far back as when Kate was born, which is where Land of Women Episode 4 begins, she might not be in the mess she’s currently in.

To be fair, Gala hadn’t spoken to Julia for a year at that point. She didn’t even attend their wedding! But she knew what was up. She was right, too, when she said that boys tend to have a much easier time of things, which is how we shift from baby Kate in the past to grown-up Kate in the present day, sadly tipping out the last of her hormones.

Kate Needs Hormones, Gala Needs Teamwork

It seems like “Chapter 4” will be about Kate to a much larger extent than it ends up being. Following that earlier scene, she gets the chance to get revenge on gossipy Xavi by bursting into his office and telling all of his clientele that he’s likely to share their problems outside of the office. To keep her quiet, he gives her the pills she wants.

It’s the same with Gala and the wine. Following the developments in Episode 3, she and Amat only have a fortnight to get all the local women to agree to mix their wine into a new blend, and none of them are especially willing to do it since they can’t stand Gala or Julia.

The discovery that Amat and Montse are in some kind of relationship doesn’t seem to have impeded his romance with Gala, which continues to develop in subtle ways for now but is sure to burgeon later. For now, though, like the wine and Kate, it isn’t the focus.

Land of Women Episode 4 Revolves Around A Hostage Situation

When Kate gets home from the clinic, she discovers that Julia has welcomed the two men who were hunting them down in the previous episode into the house.

This sets up the primary gimmick of the episode, which is essentially a hostage scenario. The thugs — one of them is named Kevin, but I only know that from IMDb — hold the women at gunpoint in the hopes of locating Fred, and in the process, Gala learns that it’s Tony he owes the money to.

There’s no tension at all in this. It’s played for laughs almost entirely, and it was established in the previous episode that the goons are morons. But it is more interesting than the wine subplot if nothing else.

Through the email she found in Fred’s inbox, Gala deduces that he and his lover are at a hotel in Monte Carlo, so while Tony sends someone to check that out, the women are supposed to stay put. But no such luck. Gala immediately crushes up some sleeping pills in the bathroom in the hopes of poisoning the men, and Julia manages to get her hands on a gun.

But that leads me to another point.

Andreu Might Be Gala’s Father After All

Earlier in this episode, Julia had told the local priest that he was Gala’s father since the news about Andreu being sterile made him the only other viable candidate. He takes this news so seriously that he steps down from the priesthood.

However, Andreu turns up during the hostage situation — totally oblivious to it, mind you — to reveal that he’s not sterile. That was a lie he told Mariona to make her feel better about not being able to conceive a child. So, as it turns out, he could be Gala’s father after all.

Land of Women Can’t Pull the Trigger

After multiple escape attempts, the thugs are sick to death of Kate, Gala, and Julia. They’ve been poisoned, glassed, had wine thrown in their face, and had to chase them all over La Muga.

At the end of the episode, all three ladies are being held at gunpoint, but this isn’t the kind of show that will pull the trigger here.

I suspect this subplot will be dealt with sooner rather than later and the rest of the show will focus on wine and romance, but I do hope I’m wrong for once.