Ep 2. Living with the Enemy

Island at War season 1 episode 2 titled "Living with the Enemy" takes place on the Channel Island of St. Gregory in the summer of 1940. The island, which is occupied by German forces, is still reeling from the shock of invasion and the establishment of martial law. The episode revolves around the tensions and struggles of the islanders living under Nazi Rule.

The tension in the episode is heightened by the fact that half the island's population is of German descent; they've lived there for generations and have come to consider the island to be their home. While they share a common language and cultural identity with the German soldiers, they don't necessarily share their political beliefs or desire to see the island as an extension of Nazi Germany.

Against this fraught backdrop, the drama takes form around two parallel stories. One story follows a local family, the Dorrins, who are living with the enemy. Mr. Dorrin had been taken away on the night of the invasion, and the family's fate was up in the air. They have since been reunited, but they are now living in a makeshift jail in their own barn. They are harassed daily by their former neighbors and friends, who call them traitors and Nazis, and their only way out is if Mr. Dorrin agrees to sign a pledge of loyalty to the Nazi party.

The second story follows an English couple, Philip and Celia, who have escaped to the island to be near their daughter and son-in-law. Philip is working as a driver for the occupying forces, and his willingness to work for the enemy has made him a target of derision and suspicion within the community.

As the episode progresses, we see the emotions and struggles of the Dorrin family, who are torn between holding fast to their loyalty to the island and their German heritage, and the growing realization that their lives will never be the same again. Meanwhile, Philip and Celia are grappling with the moral ambiguities and compromises of living under enemy rule.

The overarching theme of the episode is of how people adapt to new and changing circumstances. The characters are forced to make choices and live with the consequences of those choices. The tension between the islanders and the occupying forces is palpable and the consequences of living under enemy rule are clearly presented. "Living with the Enemy" provides a nuanced portrait of how ordinary people struggled through the days and months of occupation, and the impact it had on their lives.

While the episode is set during World War II, its themes of people dealing with the consequences of difficult choices have relevance today. The tension between those who collaborate with an occupier and those who resist, of those struggling with the moral ambiguity of compromise and of those who feel loyalty to a larger community are questions that continue to arise today. The episode captures the complexities and costs of living with the enemy in a way that is both poignant and thought-provoking.