Snowed-In with Stepmom review

The setup

Theo's girlfriend brings him to her dad's house, and within minutes he has walked in on her stepmom, been told to knock next time, and been labeled a pervert for good measure. The stepmom and her husband compare notes and sound more intrigued than offended. The snow then seals it: no roads, no trains, nobody leaving until Tuesday. Over wine, Theo apologizes for gawking at the stepmom's living room workout, and her husband waves it off. Then he asks Theo, without blinking, whether he would like to sleep with her.

Episode 2

Episode 2 skips the morning after and goes straight to the fallout. Theo has been recording the stepmom, who tells him he need not have stopped, and his girlfriend finds the footage and catches him mid-temptation. She storms off to find her father. The stepmom does the math: two minutes until the house explodes. She offers Theo a choice between now and a week of regret, overrides his protests, and makes her intentions explicit.

Who's who

• Theo: the visiting boyfriend, forever apologizing for stares he keeps repeating
• The stepmom: athletic, blunt, quick with an insult, and quicker to change her mind
• The girlfriend's dad: a host whose idea of hospitality extends to his wife, apparently

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10

This one wastes nothing. Episode 1 stacks a walk-in, an insult, a conspiring couple and a snowstorm into ninety-odd seconds, then ends on the husband's blunt question. Episode 2 jumps forward instead of easing in, and the girlfriend's discovery gives it a real clock. The characters are broad and Theo is a puddle of apologies, but the plotting is brisk. It sets up the paid episodes better than most of its neighbors on the shelf.

Episode guide