In this episode, Dara is weighing up winning and losing. His football team is driving him to the brink of all-consuming rage, so much so that he sought out escapism in a TV show dedicated to gory bloodletting, heartrending betrayals, and gratuitous equal opportunity nudity. One climactic moment was so compelling that the vicarious exultation caused Dara to leap from his chair, fists thrust emphatically skywards in celebration. One standout performance is given special mention.
A much-needed release? Or simply happy for a favourite character doing well? Deeper probing reveals thoughts on how extreme emotions can be very telling, especially when they are a break from the norm. Dara acknowledges a need for something to cheer, even though generally he finds life gives him plenty of reasons to be grateful. Nonetheless, he does ask if you think you have a life worth sharing. What would that look like? And what is the role of gratitude and perspective when it comes to evaluating what one has?
Things accumulate, things bite, things corrode…