Ah, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", now here is an episode that is very underrated.
Del Boy's old school friend Jumbo Mills is back in London after emigrating to Australia in 1967 with Del's last £200. As his way of paying him back with interest, Jumbo offers Del the chance to help run his new car business - but that means a move to in the Land Down Under for the Trotters.
But soon, things go awry. First, Albert decides to stay in Peckham, since he's tired of travelling around the world with the Royal Navy his whole life. Rodney is also unable to go after he's refused his immigration visa because of his criminal conviction for possession of cannabis. Regardless of all this, Del is still keen to go, and hands ownership of Trotters Independent Traders over to Rodney. The two brothers then have a fierce row, ending with an angry Rodney leaving the flat in tears.
That evening, after thinking things over and receiving some advice from Albert about taking up the offer while it's still there, Del calls Jumbo on the telephone to confirm when he'll be arriving. But instead, Del turns him down, reluctantly admitting that he can't leave his family behind. As Albert goes to bed, an apologetic Rodney returns home to apologise to Del for their earlier argument, and the Trotter Brothers make up after talking about how Rodney was right when he told Del during their earlier argument, "The real opportunity lies here!", because of Britain being in a bad way, people want a good bargain, and they turn to blokes like the Trotters. This country is on the eve of a golden age in the black market, and the Trotters will be there, because this time next year, they'll be millionaires! After Rodney goes to bed happy, Del secretly laments his lost opportunity for wealth by singing "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" However, the Trotters would eventually realise their dream ten years later in the 1996 Christmas trilogy.
This was a really great episode, both hilarious and heartbreaking. The first half was flawlessly executed comedy, with the whole sequence of Del yanking off Jumbo's wig played brilliantly by David Jason and Nick Stringer. The second half features some of the most intense drama since "Strained Relations" from Series 4. In scenes reminiscent of that episode, Del and Rodney both angrily reflect on their conflicting lives since they were left alone when their mother Joan died and their father Reg ran away - Del claiming to have done his best, and Rodney lashing out at a parental upbringing he clearly feels he was robbed of. In the end, Del was at a fork in the road in choosing to either become a millionaire in Australia or stay with Rodney. Del eventually makes the right choice by staying with Rodney to make up for squashing his younger brother's every chance at being a success. In a truly heartwarming moment, Del and Rodney talk about how the best business opportunities are at home, even though they know their best chance of escaping a life they hate had just escaped them by a whisker, and Del choking up while singing "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" tells us just how hard it was for him to give that golden opportunity up. All in all, a superb episode.
On a side note, this was originally planned to be the very last Only Fools and Horses episode with Del definitely leaving for Australia after David Jason told John Sullivan at a dinner that he wanted to leave the show, resulting in a spin-off entitled "Hot-Rod", which would've been about Rodney and Mickey Pearce taking over Trotters Independent Traders, as well as feature all the other OFAH regulars, yet leave open the prospect of Del's return. The final scene of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" was never actually written though, as Jason changed his mind and decided to stay on. However, Sullivan had already written most of the episode, so he just changed the ending so that Del turns down Jumbo's offer.
Finally, I'd like to talk about the ending of Del turning down Jumbo's offer to stay with Rodney:
Clearly the only reason Del decided to stay in England was for Rodney. On all other counts, going to Australia would have been the best decision for Del. But Rodney threw a huge tantrum when Del considered going without him, and this was when Del realised how important their partnership was for Rodney.
Rodney acted in a completely unreasonable manner in this episode. He needs to decide between one of two options:
1. Rodney is a mature grown-up person who can take care of himself and stand on his own two feet without Del holding his hand.
2. Rodney is still a kid and needs Del to hold his hand and support him.
Rodney doesn't choose between Option 1 and Option 2, but rather he picks either one when it is convenient for him. Rodders wants to have his cake and eat it too.
When Del wants to go to Australia, Rodney chooses Option 2 and gets angry at Del for even considering leaving him behind.
But when it suits his convenience, Rodney also chooses Option 1. He frequently claims that Del is holding him back and that if it weren't for him, Rodney would be doing so much better with his life. Rodney even attempted to break up the partnership and start something on his own back in "Healthy Competition" from Series 3.
Rodney ultimately needed to choose between one of the two options rather than wavering between the two to suit his present convenience.
On the other side of the coin, I believe Rodney's reaction stems from the complexity of the sibling relationship. While Del and Rodney are frequently at each other's throats throughout the series like many brothers, it is always evident that they share a strong brotherly bond.
The fact that Rodney was devastated at the prospect of he and Del being thousands of miles apart merely proves how strong that bond actually is.
Finally, another thing I ought to bring up is that it's Del's business "brilliance" that always kept the Trotters going. Lots of people think Rodney couldn't make it on his own because he'd never been taught how to be independent.
Del might've sent him the money from Oz, but things could've just as well gone wrong. He couldn't risk it and leave Rodney helpless if something bad had happened to him. After all, Del did promise their mum he would look after Rodney.
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