I Couldn't Say No to Our Babysitter review

The setup

The narrator opens with a confession: he is a husband who never expected to stray, and then came Mila, the family's babysitter. He finds her lingering late because her date stood her up, the latest in a line of unreliable men, so he offers to drive her home instead of waiting on a taxi. In the car she praises him as the rare dependable type and wonders aloud whether she should date someone like him. At her building, she needs him upstairs, two minutes at most, supposedly to collect something for his wife.

Episode 2

Episode 2 takes place in Mila's apartment, with the narrator cursing himself in voiceover the entire time. She invites him in, vanishes to change, and returns in the outfit meant for the date who never showed, asking his opinion. He manages a strangled compliment. She orders him to put his wife out of his mind. Then his phone rings, and it is Claire. The episode freezes on him torn between the call and the woman in front of him.

Who's who

• The husband: a narrating family man who talks himself out of nothing and into everything
• Mila: the babysitter, tired of unreliable dates and very clear about which man she prefers
• Claire: his wife, asleep at home, then suddenly very awake on the phone

Verdict: 6.9 out of 10

The title does most of the work, and the episodes simply walk you toward it. Mila's lines are confident, and the husband's narration is self-flagellating to the point of comedy. The ride-home pretext and the errand for his wife are believable, ordinary steps, which gives the whole thing a low-key realism. The phone call at the end of episode 2 is the obvious move, played straight. Decent if you want slow guilt; not much here will feel new.

Episode guide