Lorna Corbett is the group mother of Bomb Girls, looking after her girls on the blue shift. We discuss her roles as wife, mother, and floor matron at Vic Mu, and how her prejudices and knee-jerk reactions affect them.

Drink Special: Old Fashioned

1 oz. gin
1 sugar cube
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 splash soda water

Floor Matron/Group Mother

• Sally says: “as the floor matron (what a job description!) and the married mother of adult children, Lorna is sort of both the voice of traditional societal mores as she watches her girls, and living out her own sort of liberation from her confining life.”
• Supports Betty after she gets beat up (2×08)
• In the second season finale, tries to get rid of the letter Kate’s father sent and regrets that she hadn’t done it sooner

Wife and Mother

• Implication that Lorna’s been working for awhile
• Festering mutual resentment between Lorna and Bob that starts to heal in the second season
• Knee-jerk denial of Gene's PTSD

Queen of Knee-Jerk Reactions

• Consistently resists unexpected developments or things she perceives as different, but often comes around after gaining some understanding
• Xenophobia — Marco, Dr. Patel
• Blood drive

Prejudice

Hostility toward Gladys/Relationship with Gladys

• Trying to use her positive pregnancy test to get Gladys fired
• “People like Withams use people like us.” – to Gene (Both of those have to do with Adele Witham, though.)
• However, she delivers the note about James and comforts Gladys
• Also, in the finale, she grabs Gladys: “Betty and Kate. They’re in terrible trouble and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Affair with Marco

• Stephanie had trouble buying the affair on first viewing because Lorna was so prejudiced against Italians.
• Do we think Lorna was always attracted to Marco and that’s partially why she was so hostile toward him?

Random Thoughts

• “Let me . . . cook . . . for you.” — how Lorna “seduces” the guy to install a phone.
• “He’s a man who hates us.” — about the detective in 2×12, but sounds like Lorna’s faced it before

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