From the opening frames, the tone is set not by a thumping dance track, but by a somber, anxious hum. The episode wastes no time plunging into the mire of the post-Celtic Tiger collapse. The first quarter is a relentless assault of bad news: the IMF/EU bailout, the stripping of the cloth from the crucified statues of our economic sovereignty, and the endless talk of "austerity," "bailouts," and the "blanket guarantee." For anyone who lived through it, the footage of queues outside banks, "Anglo Tapes" soundbites, and the hollow faces of politicians announcing yet another budget cut is viscerally uncomfortable. The series' signature irony—juxtaposing bleak news with upbeat pop—is at its sharpest and most cruel here.
The episode doesn't ignore global events. The shuddering horror of the Chilean miners' rescue is given a respectful, quiet treatment. The chaotic, celebrity-driven madness of the World Cup in South Africa (the vuvuzelas!) provides a brief international distraction, though the series smartly focuses on Ireland’s heartbreaking (and farcical) Henry handball aftermath from late 2009, showing how that wound was still fresh. reeling in the years 2010
Lar Corbett’s goal against Kilkenny, synced to the crashing chorus of "Uprising." Most Depressing Moment: The silent pan across the "For Sale" signs in a ghost estate in Longford. Most Ironic Song Choice: Playing The Coronas’ "Heroes or Ghosts" over footage of Brian Cowen’s infamous, exhausted "Biffo" press conference. From the opening frames, the tone is set
The other major national story is the visit of Queen Elizabeth II? No—that was 2011. In 2010, it’s the even more awkward state visit of Pope Benedict XVI. The footage of a sparse, rain-drenched crowd in the Phoenix Park, contrasted with the mammoth gatherings of John Paul II in 1979, is a masterful visual representation of the Church’s collapsing authority in Ireland, coming just as the Cloyne Report scandal begins to break. The chaotic, celebrity-driven madness of the World Cup