Ep 3. The Broken Reflection

The episode "The Broken Reflection" from season 3 of One Foot in the Grave centers on Victor Meldrew, a retired and irritable man who constantly finds himself in frustrating situations. In this episode, Victor's wife Margaret purchases a mirror for their bedroom, which quickly becomes the center of a series of mishaps and hilarious misfortunes.

Victor is immediately suspicious of the mirror and continuously chastises Margaret for buying it. We see his paranoia play out in various scenes where he becomes convinced that the mirror is evil and out to get him. His superstitions are not helped by the fact that he accidentally breaks the mirror while attempting to move it, which he believes brings seven years of bad luck upon him.

As the episode progresses, we see the mirror become a source of misfortune for all those who come into contact with it. Victor's neighbor, Patrick, accidentally becomes glued to the surface of the mirror while trying to fix it, and the local handyman ends up breaking his ankle while attempting to move it.

Despite the chaos that the mirror brings, Margaret remains convinced that it has a place in their home. She becomes increasingly frustrated with Victor's paranoia and lack of trust in her judgment. We see their marital tensions rise as Victor's stubbornness and inability to let go of his superstitions take center stage.

In scenes throughout the episode, we see Victor's struggle to come to terms with getting old and out of touch with the world around him. His irritability and anger stem from his fear of being irrelevant and left behind. His distrust in the mirror represents this fear, as he sees it as a new and foreign object that threatens his sense of comfort and security in his own home.

Finally, in the climax of the episode, Victor comes face to face with the reality that his superstitions are nothing more than fear and irrationality. He sees himself in the broken shards of the mirror and is forced to confront the person he has become.

Overall, "The Broken Reflection" is a comedic and introspective episode of One Foot in the Grave that explores themes of aging, fear, and trust. We see Victor's relationship with Margaret tested by his own stubbornness and paranoia, and we are left with the sense that perhaps his fears are not completely unfounded.