Death Comes to Pemberley, Episode 1: Recap and Review

Carrie: Summary ahoy! And you can watch preview material and some episodes online at PBS.org!

Two maids meet a ghost in woods at Pemberley. This does not bode well. Darcy and Lizzie are incredibly happy together and have an adorable and conveniently nannied son who they never have to deal with unless he’s being adorable. They are preparing to host a ball. Yay! Lizzie takes a break from coordinating the party to bring a book to a dying guy in the woods. This guy, Will, is the son of the family butler, who is disappointed that Darcy is having someone else replace him (the butler is getting older). Will’s sister is babysitting another sister’s adorable infant. I’m sure there’s nothing fishy about that.

On her way home from Will’s house, Lizzie encounters an absolutely terrifying crazy woman in the woods who runs off, drops her bonnet, and returns for it only to run off again. While she looks quite ghostly, Lizzie in convinced that she’s real. First of all, Lizzie is quite down to earth and secondly, ghosts aren’t usually so worried about their headgear.

Back at Pemberley, Colonel Fitzwilliam is here, and he has a thing for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. He asks Lizzie if Georgiana has spoken of him, and she say, “Nope” and he says, “Maybe it’s better if love comes after marriage” and she’s all “Oh you did not just say that”. I love Fitzwilliam in the books and I’m so disappointed that in this production he’s an intolerable asshole. However I will say that the actor who plays him does “intolerable asshole” very well.

Here’s another party guest – Alveston, who I develop a crush on INSTANTLY. He refers to Mary Wollenscraft Shelley. If Georgiana doesn’t marry him I will. Luckily for my already existing family unit, Georgiana and Alveston are so obviously madly in love that Fitzwilliam can hardly bear not to strangle Alveston with Alveston’s own cravat and Lizzie is one second away from just handing Georgiana some birth control and calling it a day.

The Bennets are here, and Mrs. Bennett is embarrassing everyone like a boss when what should appear racing toward Pemberley but a not-remotely-ominous black carriage, pulled by black horses, and inhabited by a screaming woman! Why, it’s Lydia, who stops wailing just long enough to explain that Wickham and Denny had an argument and she heard gunshots. She then returns to slamming down copious amounts of wine and sobbing, although she and Mrs. Bennet (who is also stricken with “strange flutterings”) pause long enough to chat about what Lydia will wear to the ball. Then they resume wailing. You can actually see Darcy’s migraine crawl across his brain.

In flashback, Wickham and Denny have an argument before getting into a carriage with Lydia. They are passing through the same woods in which we saw Lizzie earlier when their argument escalates, Denny gets out of the carriage, and runs off into the woods, pursued by Wickham, cue offscreen shots.

The men go into the woods where they find the body of…is it Wickham? Nope, it’s Denny. Poor Denny. We continue to be stuck with Wickham, who is covered with blood, extravagantly drunk, and wailing, “I’ve killed him! My only friend! It’s my fault!” Between Wickham, Lydia, and Mrs. Bennet, there’s a lot of wailing in this episode.

Darcy gets the magistrate. It’s Lord Selwyn Hardcastle of the snobby and ruthless Hardcastle magistrate line! Hardcastle’s father sentenced a young boy, Patrick Reilly, to death for poaching. Young Wickham and Darcy saw the hanging and it was predictably traumatic. Seriously, we see it in flashback and even though it’s not graphic the scene is fucking awful. This is why we aren’t nostalgic for the Regency, people. The boy’s mom is said to haunt the woods whenever misfortune is about to occur. No word on what color her bonnet was.

Anyway, after a Regency autopsy Hardcastle arrests Wickham but smells a rat given that so many things don’t make sense – notably, the fact that Denny was bludgeoned to death, not shot, and there’s no weapon at the scene. Lizzie catches Fitzwilliam, who was riding his horse all evening but has since returned, burning a paper in a totally not suspicious way. Lizzie is on the case.

Fitzwilliam visits Wickham in prison and there is tension! Fitzwilliam tells Darcy that he was riding that evening because he had to meet someone in the woods regarding a “delicate matter”! Jane has arrived and she bestows sunshine and calm wherever she goes which a s a great relief to Lizzie. The family goes to church and Darcy’s head almost literally explodes (but not quite). He is so flooded with other’s people’s bullshit that he even withdraws from Lizzie, refusing to hold her hand. When the preacher says, “Let us pray” Lizzie rolls her eyes to Jesus in the funniest way. One can only assume she is hoping that lightning will strike Lydia, who is being especially irritating, right there in the pew, but no such luck.

Georgiana and Alveston reveal their affections to each other but decide to keep it all a secret until the drama of the murder is over. Then they rip off each other clothes and fornicate like bunnies right there in front of the church. No, not really – but they are clearly thinking of it.

Remember Will, the dying guy? Lizzie goes back to see him again and his sister is nursing the baby that is supposed to belong to a different sister. DRAMA. Darcy shows Lizzie a gravestone in the woods and later Georgiana explains that it’s the stone of her great-grandfather, who almost lost Pemberley by gambling until finally he shot himself. This is Pemberley’s great shame and the family’s constant reminder that their life is precarious and that duty is more important that the pursuit of individual happiness.

Darcy visits Wickham in prison in a lovely scene. They start the conversation as adversaries but Wickham mentions seeing Patrick Reilly hung, and for just a few minutes Darcy and Wickham are back to being two little boys who spent all their time together.

RHG: I find it hilarious that my computer knows how to spell Pemberley properly, which I NEVER do on the first try.

Anna Maxwell Martin is simply an amazing actress and I love watching her in all the things.  Have you seen Bleak House?  She’s also incredible in The Bletchley Circle.  She’s a perfect choice for Elizabeth.  I just love her face so much.  And the swooping shot where she’s considering her place while overseeing the preparations for the ball is just…. I can’t.

All the casting is great in this, really, and Jenna Coleman (also a Doctor Who alum- well, almost alum) is PERFECTION as Lydia.  Lydia is a hard character to do right.  She’s flighty and shallow and profoundly frustrating, but she is still the heroine of her own story.  I think The Lizzie Bennet Diaries did an excellent job of humanizing Lydia and making her more than just her author’s frustrations, and I think Jenna does a fantastic job as well.

Why are the slaughtered birds hanging over the prep table in the kitchen?  That’s gross.

I also think Mrs. Bennett is another character that’s hard to get right- in P&P she’s providing for her family and fighting for her daughters in the only way she’s allowed to.  Once they’re all settled- what has she got?  The hope that if Wickham is dead, maybe he died in a duel!  All of her weapons she used in the fight to get her daughters settled are now pointless.  Balls and gowns and such- (Look, I will fight to the DEATH on the quality of the 2005 adaptation.  TO THE DEATH.)  (I think Matthew MacFadyen is a more nuanced Darcy than Colin Firth THERE I SAID IT.)

I love how lived-in the family dynamics are- Lizzie’s barely-held-in-check frustration with her mother, and the shorthand of Looks between her and Darcy are amazing.  Also, yeah, Carrie, Darcy’s In-Laws Induced Migraines are just… endlessly hilarious.  I feel bad for him, but still, the pain, OH THE PAIN LIZZIE SAVE ME FROM THESE PEOPLE.

I just love this so much.  And I want Lydia’s dressing gown.

CARRIE: Yes, love the casting! I expect that some people will think Lizzie isn’t pretty enough, to which I say, “Bite me”. More coherently, one of the nice things about Lizzie is that she’s not the family beauty. Martin is beautiful, but it’s the kind of beauty that isn’t “pretty”. She looks like a real person.

Most importantly, she has “fine eyes”, and radiates intelligence and mischief tempered by responsibility. It’s fun to see how Lizzie has settled into her role at Pemberley. Clearly it’s not all fun and games and she takes her job very seriously. In the scene in which Darcy and Lizzie visit the staff, and more obliquely when Darcy talks to Will’s father and Lizzie visits Will, we can see how not only do Darcy and Lizzie balance each other emotionally but also how they balance each other as benevolent rulers of their world.

The look of the show is gorgeous although the misty moor around the magistrate’s home looks a bit “Gothic Matte Painting”. Pemberley is supposed to be very manicured but with areas that have been allowed to “go wild” in a closely managed way. It’s interesting that this story, which is all about loss of control, takes place in the unmanicured areas (the woods and the grassy, unmowed meadow). “Regency Fashion Queen” award goes to Georgiana for whatever she’s wearing at night.

This Darcy is no Colin Firth, but I like him! Darcy’s withdrawal from Lizzie seemed very much in character. Angry, angsty Darcy is remarkably attractive and you can see how well Lizzie balances him. I didn’t mention the flashbacks in the recap but I thought they were quite effective. He has great chemistry with Lizzie and in the prison scene when he unbends a little he has great brotherly chemistry with Wickham – I loved that moment of recognition that they have a past together as brothers, not just as past in which Wickham torments Darcy non-stop, although now that they bonded for five seconds the torments shall no doubt return in force.

The mystery is less compelling to me than the family drama – I second RHG’s comments about the family dynamics. These people interact as though they’ve known each other for a very long time. Also, I find this version of Lizzie, who is mature and experienced, more interesting than the young Lizzie of Pride and Prejudice. She’s clearly already weathered some stuff, and I like seeing her bring experience and intelligence and warmth to the story. The only thing I hate is the character assassination of Colonel Fitzwilliam. I adore Fitzwilliam in Pride and Prejudice! Frankly, I always wanted Lizzie to run off with him. Where did Colonel Grumpypants come from? Is he uptight because he has PTSD from the wars? Did P.D. James, author of the Death Comes to Pemberley novel, put all the characters’ names on a dartboard and throw a dart to determine who would be the most uptight? WTF?

Elyse: Clara is Lydia? WHY IS CLARA LYDIA?

I just want to tell you that I watched this with my husband who was high as a kite on migraine pills. His contributions:

1. Didn’t Wickham die at the end of Pride and Prejudice?

2. How long have Darcy and Lizzie been married? How old is their kid? Is that how long they’ve been married?

3. Is The Doctor going to be in this? That’d be cool.

I agree that Colin Firth will always be the Mr. Darcy of my heart, but this version is acceptable. Mr. Darcy being sweet and silly with his son gives me strange flutterings.

And I loved Mrs. Bennet and Lydia being embarrassing. “Let us hope he died in a duel.” THANKS MOM. JESUS.

I am intrigued by Will’s ailment and the mystery baby–more so than by the murder but they are obviously connected. I’m guessing it’s Wickham’s baby because you know he’s off inseminating half of England.

Was I the only one who looked at Mr. Hardcastle and thought of Meatloaf in the I Would Do Anything for Love video?

I particularly liked the flashbacks to Lizzie’s early days as Mrs. Darcy. At the end of P&P we all assume Lizzie’s got her happily ever after nailed down, but she would certainly be the subject of gossip. The scene where she feels out of place at a ball, listening to others make snide remarks about her family and standing, was really great. I think it also shows that she’s past the idea of scandal and has no fucks to give. She’s not going to let an innocent man hang for murder even if pursuing it means a stain on the Darcy name.

RHG: I will admit that I bought this book after half-reading the blurb and got the idea that Wickham was the one who was dead. (“YES. SOLD!”) I was so disappointed.

Elyse: Wickham is a pain in the ass, frankly.

Carrie: I read the book when it came out but I forgot how it went. I was sure Wickham was dead. Wishful thinking.

Poor Darcy is all, “Will I never be rid of this man?” Nope. Never.