I have really mixed feelings about this episode.
On the positive side, this is one of the episodes I think about when appreciating the show's ability to just write compelling scenes even before anything macabre has appeared. I'm not saying that it's thigh slappingly hilarious but I'm not asking it to be. With this sitcom-acquired talent, the characters have such personality and memorability despite their short screen time. There is no filler, no cliches without giving them their own twist and the narrative doesn't drag for a second.
It is both a plus and a minus how they went for the Festen approach. Amid the, occasionally embarrassing but apparently innocuous rituals of family get-togethers, secrets are threatened with exposure and here done so with subtlety and nuance. A lot of it put me on the edge of my seat and there is some great misdirect.
What made this leave the wrong sort of sour taste in my mouth is hard to phrase. I guess I feel they took the easy way out as writers. You'll see what I mean. There isn't really a twist, there's just a laugh at the protagonists' expense.
Seeing Noreen from Benidorm is indeed an additional treat.