Short but sweet Ben scenes on Tuesday as Frankie gears up to leave for Australia and he plays a small, unwitting part in bringing her and Mick back together.
Screencaps for this episode can be found here.
In the Mitchell house, Frankie sits down in her coat, and pulls her packed rucksack towards her, pretty much ready to go. She’s just rustling through the top when Ben walks in and holds up two cards, asking her opinion on which one is better. I don’t really think either are up to much, to be honest. I’m starting to think it’s a running joke that people who live on that Square just can’t buy good greetings cards.
Ben points out that Phil doesn’t like anything anyway except for making money, making him the worst person to buy for. Anything’s got to be better than a card that says “Happy DAD birthday” though, right? Put a tenner in the card, sorted.
Frankie’s interested in the fact that it’s Ben’s dad’s birthday (Callum did mention Phil in the episode before, but I guess Frankie may not have gotten the connection; she may not have even seen Phil during her stay!) and Ben clarifies it’s tomorrow. No doubt Frankie was thinking how strange it would be if both their dad’s birthdays were on the same day. I mean… I thought it was the same day! It turns out there’s a bit of discrepancy around when Phil’s birthday actually is, and he may have just decided to have his birthday drinks a day earlier for some reason. Or maybe Callum just told Ben it was the next day so they could go to Mick’s birthday drinks instead.
Either way, Ben’s still looking for an answer – which terrible card is best? Frankie points to the Happy Dad Birthday card, but it’s not the answer Ben was hoping for, as he was leaning towards the one with a race car on it – which is slightly more Phil, I guess. Frankie just smiles at him, but it doesn’t reach her eyes; things are still weighing heavily on her. And as if he can sense it, Ben turns the subject to last night, gently prodding Frankie to see if she’ll tell him what was going on with her. Seeing her shrug and shake of the head, as if it doesn’t matter, he reminds her that she’s still his mate, even if she’s moving to the other side of the world. Frankie’s visibly touched by that, but tells him not to worry about it because her plan is to leave it all behind anyway. It’s a mindset Ben’s all too familiar with – and he also knows that it doesn’t work like that. He suggests to her that whatever problems she’s got here in England, she should sort them out first. He’s implying they’ll just follow her there, and when that happens, she might not have an Aussie Ben and Callum to look out for her. It’s too cute for words, really. And it’s good advice too, encouraging her to face her problems whilst still supporting her move to Australia.
Ben hears his phone ringing in the kitchen (with his magical cochlear implant, of course) and leaves Frankie to it. I can only guess that the phone shaped outline in his pocket must be someone else’s. He’s left the card he didn’t pick on the sofa, the one Frankie liked; and she picks it up, contemplating.
Later, after Frankie chickens out of delivering the card after Shirley sees her, and Mick overhears Phil talking to Denise about Raymond and how he’s gone on long enough not being a part of his life; Mick sits in the Albert at his birthday drinks (guess the plans for the Vic changed) telling Linda how even though he can’t change what happened to him, Frankie’s a part of him, and he can’t change that either. He approaches Ben who’s standing near the bar with Stuart (still at a distance because of Covid, but also allows for a headcanon that they don’t want to stand too close to each other anyway) and greets him, trying to be casual. Ben wishes him a happy birthday, and is confused when Mick asks him where Frankie is off to now she’s left Walford, because why would he be asking?
Mick tells him that it’s because Ollie loves her and is going to miss her, and he just needs an address so he can send her a painting – not letting on of course that Ollie is actually Frankie’s half brother. Ben makes a face that’s both sympathetic and apologetic as he tells him she’s gone to Australia. Mick’s a bit horrified and asks if it’s just on holiday, hoping that’s all it is – but no luck, as Ben tells him he doesn’t think she’s coming back. He’s as helpful as he can, telling Mick she’s got a flight from Heathrow in a bit, and he’s just said goodbye to her in the shops as she was getting lunch, and that she’ll be heading for the tube. It’s quite a bit of info, and enough for Mick to take off in search of her in the hope that it’s not too late. I’m sure Ben picked up on the fact that it was important for Mick to find her, that something more is going on.
The Mick and Frankie scene, where he thinks she’s gone and shouts through the tube barriers for her only for her to point out from behind him that he’s calling after a deaf girl, is really cute. He acknowledges that he’s her dad, she gives him the card, and they have a hug aided by some camera trickery and body doubles.
Not sure if we’ll see Ben or Callum again this week, but I hope we do, since Frankie didn’t leave after all and it would be great to see them finding that out.
Jenn's Ballum Blog 