‘Love, Nina’ review: Nina has a new dilemma in Episode 4

Nina faces an entirely new dilemma this week and it’s not just because of yoga as Nick Hornby’s adaptation continues.

Since we last caught up with Nina and her writings to Vic a couple of things have changed.

First of all the hapless Nina is now attending yoga classes with her friend, Amanda – another nanny – who’s trying to get into drama school. ‘She wants to be an actress so she’s very flamboyant,’ Nina narrates knowledgably.

Secondly, Nina’s intellectual boyfriend, Nunney is preparing to go travelling – a development that Nina isn’t best pleased about.

At her yoga classes, Nina experiences a particularly new kind of problem. One that baffles those closest to her. She can’t hear the word ‘genitals’ without dissolving into a fit of giggles.

When Amanda decides to speak to the instructor about the issue, an embarrassed Nina hides in a nearby phone box. And when the whole sorry tale comes out over dinner it’s Malcolm who gets the biggest laugh. ‘I actually think that emigration would be the appropriate response,’ he comments matter-of-factly.

There’s a typically awkward-cringing scene as well as Amanda performs a monologue from A Streetcar Named Desire to Malcolm complete with an over the top ‘seductive’ accent. During the so-called performance Amanda utterly destroys a bunch of flowers leaving George indignant and Nina totally bemused by her friend’s behaviour. It’s all to do with shame of course – or rather – the lack of it.

With Nunney about to go travelling and then to university he, Nina and Ray interview potential replacements. What’s most important to Ray, however, is not that they can look after him but that they support the right football team and can hold a decent conversation. Accordingly the first candidate fails to meet Ray’s exacting requirements and the one who does, Robber, turns out to be a massive error of judgement.

But the elephant in the room this week is ‘change’. As Nina faces losing both her boyfriend and her new friend she wonders why they have to go. Why can’t everything just stay the same?

‘Nothing does stay the same,’ Nunney tells her. Naturally fate has other ideas and when the arrangement with Robber falls through, Nunney decides to stay and look after Ray until they can find a suitable replacement. Just to show there are no hard feelings, Robber leaves a phallic message on George’s doorstep.

Although with Nina contemplating university after finishing her A-Level, perhaps bigger change is on the horizon after all.