MovieChat Forums > One Foot in the Grave (1990) Discussion > The ending to 'Who will buy '

The ending to 'Who will buy '

posted 13 years ago by Henry_Marzini
8 replies | jump to latest

I just watched that episode again and I was wondering what did the ending mean if anything ? I couldn't tell if it was meant to be sad or even tragically funny ?

The way they showed the box that was delivered to Albert's house with Bendy Dinosaurs entitled on it. Was it meant to be sad that he cancelled the money for his security locks to purchase the dinosaur toys for his grandchildren ?

Or was it it just supposed to be ironic that Victor angrily turned the dinosaur toys earlier and then they ended up costing a man his life ?

or was it just meant to be dark humour, that something such as Dinosaur toys would cost someone their life ?

We've got to have... MONEY !

[–] andlovesaidnohim 13 years ago

It was to show that although Margaret had the best of intentions, her actions inadvertently led to his death.

It was shown earlier in the episode that Albert had recieved a letter thinking it was from his son in Australia. It was just a leaftlet and Margaret lied, making up a letter because she couldn't bear to hurt him as he was so excited. If she hadn't done that, he would have bought the locks but instead he bought the toys for his grandkids.

That and sadly, some elderly people really do have no-one in the world. Thinking that his son cared was the only thing that kept him going.

It was tragic.

[–] Henry_Marzini 13 years ago

Yeah I think you're right. I suppose it would have been better if she told the truth I guess but it still would have been very sad for that old man and it would have been very difficult for Margaret to explain to him it wasn't from his son.

I've noticed there were two other occasions were Margaret lied and as a result negative consequences followed.

In the episode " We've put her through the living tomb " she lied about the Tortoise not being dead and as a result it ended up being buried alive in the garden ( though I suppose you could argue if it wasn't for Victor's carelessness it wouldn't have happend in the first place !)

and in the episode " Tales of Terror " Margaret lied to Mrs Warboys about attending a funeral and so when Mrs Warboys with cousin Wilf stopped by the Meldrew house she had to spend about alot of time in the cupboard

I suppose the message of the times Margaret lied was basically to always tell the truth no matter how unpleasant or harsh they may be.

Although In the episode " The Man Who Blew Away " Victor and Margaret did lie about being pleased about seeing Mr Foskett even though they secretly hated seeing him and that seemed to have given him temporary joy, sadly though, not enough to save him from killing himself.

We've got to have... MONEY !

[–] heat22000 12 years ago

And...

Her uncharactaristically underhanded plan to have Victor's caravan 'stolen' resulted in a neighbour's ending up as scrap!

[–] Troll_Dahl 12 years ago

In 'Monday Morning Will Be Fine', she lies that Victor is having an emergency operation to get out of going to a coworker's wedding. That really backfires when they go out to the pub and coincidentally meet her coworker (who has never seen Victor) and her fiancee. The coworker sees Margaret on her own at first and doesn't think she's with anyone. The fiancee turns out to be an old school chum of Victor's but he mistakes Victor for another old classmate, so Margaret takes advantage of the situation to avoid exposing her previous lie by not letting Victor, who finds the whole thing unbearably awkward and embarrassing, tell the truth. Victor ends up having to walk home alone in the rain, so he catches cold as a result of Margaret's lie and also gets in trouble with the police for breaking and entering, because they got a lift home from the pub from the other couple, so instead of going with Margaret, Victor had to pretend he lived in a different house somewhere else and the homeowner saw him "prowling".

I, too, have noticed that Margaret is often keener than Victor to lie in order to avoid embarrassment or social discomfort and we see that these white lies often have unintended negative consequences and sometimes, as with Monday Morning will Be Fine, there's no way to get out of it without making things even more horrible in a different way.

I don't think 'The Man who Blew Away' is exactly the same kind of episode, even though they did lie. It's not their fault his wife left him and he committed suicide. The wife would have left even if he hadn't visited them. But I agree that there's a theme about the importance of honesty. Even though it's sometimes hard, it's almost always (don't want to make sweeping statements) going to be more painful to maintain a lie whether it be by commission or omission. I didn't see that thread about Margaret's character at first. It's one of the things that can come out from viewing all of the episodes multiple times. You can start to stand back and see themes running through them.

'Irregardless' is not a word

[–] LemonGrove 12 years ago

But is that the case? If Margaret hadn't done what she thought was for the best and just told the truth, she would have stopped the old man and said the flowers weren't for him and took them back, without even getting to the letter.

The old man would then still have assumed he had a letter from his son, but was unable to read it. He would probably have the bought the dinosaurs anyway for his grandchildren in case they came over, as a result of the letter.

Incidentally, what would have been the implications as a result of the 21 year old girl not getting her birthday flowers? You just never know do you!

[–] Troll_Dahl 12 years ago

That's true, LemonGrove. I do think there's a thematic thread with Margaret lying, but I didn't initially see this as a big "Margaret lying" episode. I still don't think that's primarily what it's about. I don't think it's entirely fair to blame Margaret for the old man's death. It's more like sad irony.

Answering the OP, I always took the ending to me that he spent the money he would have spent on his locks on bendy dinosaurs for his grandchildren. It was sad and sweet at the same time.

'Irregardless' is not a word

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] soulful01 12 years ago

I agree there seems to be a running theme on the unintended consequences of dishonesty, no matter how well intentioned. For this episode, I think focusing on the dishonesty is missing the point. It was just a plot device used to examine the plight of the elderly. The blind man wasn't really alone in the world. He had a son and a niece at least who should have been there to care for him. Having children is no guarantee of comfort in your old age, nor are they a guarantee that you won't die old and alone. The ridiculous dinosaurs may demonstrate the many unknown links between all of us, but more probably demonstrate the callousness of businesses that push crap for profit no matter the cost. Furthermore, what does that say about society that a man's life depends on whether or not he can scrape together 100 pounds? That's a piddling sum of money, but he's a poor and old nobody that society would just as soon forget. The world drifts cruelly on, as demonstrated by the arrival of the dinosaurs that cost him his life. All in all, this was a very depressing episode in a lot of ways. However, this show has a way of taking you to the edge without pushing you over. All in all Victor and Margaret have a pretty good life. They live in a nice home in a nice neighborhood, have their own car, wear decent clothes, and have sufficient food in their bellies. All in all, not a bad life. It makes the ridiculous scenarios bearable.