Youth: Season 1 Episode 1 – Recap and Review

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Episode 1 “Lockjaw” Details

• Director(s): Dawn Shadforth
• Writer(s): Sharon Horgan
• Public Release Date (HBO): September 20, 2026
• Check out more of our “Youth” coverage.
• Images © of HBO

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Recap

Alex is a woman of a certain age, and it hits her as her son, Rauri, is due to go off to university; she gets lockjaw randomly, and she sees her ex-husband start a new life, and she realizes how lonely and horny she is. Sam, both her employer and best friend, tries to help by playing matchmaker, but her sending 67-year-old Michael doesn’t make things better.

Luckily, Patrick, who she has a love/hate relationship with, is willing to mess around, but it seems what Alex wants more than anything is real intimacy. Which makes Ruari coming home unannounced awkward at first, but him crawling into her bed seems to be just what she needed all day.

New Characters in Episode 1

Alex (Sharon Horgan)

• Character Summary: Alex is a woman in her 40s or 50s who works at a literary publisher. She is divorced, with one son, Rauri, and has been single for a couple of years now, as she was focused on raising her son. However, with him going to university, she finds herself looking at her life and wanting love again.

Sam Laville (Sharlene Whyte)

• Character Summary: Sam is Alex’s boss and closest friend, who is married and is trying to help Alex get back out there.

Rauri Flynn (Aran Murphy)

• Character Summary: Rauri is Alex’s son who is mischievous, awkward, and seemingly might be as lonely as his mom is – but he’ll never admit it. Currently, he is going to the University of Kent, with a focus in Politics and International Relations.

Michael (Tim McInnerny)

• Character Summary: Michael is a 67-year-old man, a friend of Sam’s, who was an art dealer but now works in property management.

Patrick (Rupert Friend)

• Character Summary: Patrick is someone who is very flirtatious towards Alex, but for reasons not revealed in the first episode, she hates this man. Not enough to block his number, or be disgusted by the idea of sex with him, but in some form or fashion she does hate this man.

Lorcan (Owen McDonnell)

• Character Summary: Lorcan is Alex’s ex, Ruari’s father, who is an actor.

Malcolm (Douglas Hodge)

• Character Summary: Malcolm is an author, whose latest book, Goblin Seed, was rejected by Alex, and he seems hellbent on getting her to admit one of the biggest mistakes she made was passing on his book and firing him.

Plum (Libby Mai)

• Character Summary: Plum is Alex’s secretary at the Laville Agency.

Review and Commentary

Highlights

A Less Glamorous Depiction Of Being A Woman Who Is Middle-Aged [83/100]

It can often feel like, in an effort to destigmatize aging, an ideal gets presented. We’re shown and pushed the idea that in your 40s and 50s you will feel sexier than ever. That you’ll finally have a stable career, where there is some sense of power and influence. Also, you’ll have a group of friends who, while messy at times, give you a sense of belonging. Never mind what they can’t offer you; viable lovers can. All of which is possible.

However, that isn’t possible for everyone, and sometimes it can feel like a luxury. Which is why Alex makes for the perfect lead. Does she have some form of power at work? Yes. Hence why Malcolm goes out of his way to try to prove himself to her, and we see her assistant, Plum, run behind her as she does. But there is also the acknowledgment of her failures, which keeps her from being another character who is killing it professionally with a messy personal life.

Instead, what we get is balance. Alex’s career, as you see it, is presented almost as a backup plan, something she did to pay the bills when her bookstore went under. Which, yes, she might be good at, but she also seems to be on autopilot. Also, yes, by most conventional measurements, she is attractive, but between a divorce and being a single parent, sex has been elusive, and it seems consistent intimacy with another adult also is in short supply.

Which is perhaps what hits the hardest and makes you want to invest in Alex the most: The idea that you may get to the point where you may not be easy to love or you may one day not be lovable. And the way it is presented, it isn’t lovable in terms of being sexually desired. It is being older, kooky, similar to Alex’s parents, and secure in a way that can be difficult as a single person.

For yes, you can have a fulfilling life and be single. But a factor people often sidestep regarding that is wanting to be single. If you feel like, as it seems Alex does, all you may have is a backup choice like Patrick, whom you love to hate at times, that doesn’t make you feel better. I mean, take note, Michael: for all the work he tried to put into going on a date with Alex, even helping her feel pleasure, she didn’t want or need that type of intimacy. She wanted someone to talk to about how she felt about her son leaving for university and how that is forcing her to look at her life without him.

All of this makes Alex feel like something akin to Pamela Adlon in Better Things, but in a middle-class tax bracket. This allows there to be no separation of wealth to keep you from fully relating or connecting with her character.

Overall

Our Overall Rating [83/100]

Youth might be geared towards speaking of the subject matter as fleeting, which can have negative connotations, but maybe that’s what the audience needs. Not hope, ideals, or being sold a fantasy, but something closer to the truth. Not a full-on reality check, for we all need escapism, but a reminder that, even if things aren’t ideal and you may cry about it sometimes, there are still things worth living for. Be it a burger, a kebab, your son wanting to sleep in your bed, or a shag with someone who you wouldn’t marry but can take the edge off.

What To Check Out Next

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