Poldark: Episode 3

Previously: Ross Poldark convinced a bunch of guys to open a mine. Some other stuff happened, too.

It’s morning.  Ross is going over the mine at Wheal Leisure, which looks to be in good repair. He sort of tentatively rings the bell, and workers begin streaming out of their houses and coming to work.  THE MINE IS OPEN!  “I never thought this day would come! Expectations are high!” says one of the other investors. “Pray god we don’t disappoint them.” Ross says, with classic British pessimism.

The workers gather, and Ross begins his speech. “Friends! When my father closed this mine 20 years ago, he little thought it would have a future. Today, with your help, labor, and good wishes, we aim to prove him wrong. Gentlemen, ladies, I declare the Wheal Leisure mine open!” D is in the front row, grinning widely.

Ross’ boys are thrilled to have work, and D serves Ross and the other investors wine. They other men eyes her speculatively, as she tells Ross that it’s kind of both their necks on the line- “What shall I do if you come to grief?” She grins and Ross is like, welp, that is sort of true. “Are the rumors true, do you think?” One investor asks. “He’s a damn fool if they’re not.” They nod.

Charles and Francis are on horseback, watching all this activity from a ridge. Charles has forgiven Ross (for what? His role in Verity’s grab for freedom from her shitty family?) because he did save Francis’ worthless life. Also, Charles says, Francis should try doing something with that worthless life. “I have no mine to resurrect” Francis pouts. “No, you have one to manage.” Workers from Charles’ mine have been defecting to go work at Wheal Leisure, so Francis should get his shit together and start learning how to manage his inheritance. Francis pouts more.

At Trenwith (Charles’ house), Elizabeth is SUPER pregnant. She’s reading, and then gets a backache.

In the Leisure mine, Ross and the Investors (WORST BAND NAME EVER) are looking through the tunnels, and they find a vein of copper!  Yay!

At Ross’ house, Jud and Prudie are having a knock down drag out fight, and D breaks it up (“OH JUDAS AGAIN”). Jud and Prudie got into Ross’ rum (a better band name) and during the fight, Prudie’s wrenched her foot, and she won’t be able to stand on it to cook the food. D’s just going to have to do that too. D’s like, well what the the fuck. “Oh don’t worry! Prudie will instruct you!” Jud snorts in disgust and wanders out, “It’ll be the blind leading the blind” and D gives an epic eyeroll.

At the end of the day, one of Ross’ boys mentions Jim (Ross’ field hand), and his daughter is in a bit of a pickle. Ross finds Jim plucking a pair of pheasants (dry, which is not how I was taught to pluck chickens, and maybe pheasants are different, but chickens you scald for about 90 seconds in boiling water to cook the skin a bit and loosen the feathers and it makes it way way WAY easier to pluck, so…. I mean it’s not as aesthetically pleasing on screen but still… sorry I’ll get back to the show now). “Poaching is a capital offense,” Ross says, and Jim’s like it’s for my mother and sisters. Also Jinny is pregnant. “Why didn’t you come to me?” “What could you do?”

Cut to Jim, Jinny, and Ross coming out of a cottage. It needs some repairs, but it’ll do! Now go speak to Jinny’s father, stop keeping her waiting, and also get rids of the nets. It’s very simple, Jim. “And lets have no more poaching!”  How will that go, I wonder.

D is making a pie (with a leaf decoration on the top), and serves it. Ross takes a bite (with D anxiously awaiting his verdict), “So Prudie’s recovery may take some time?” “A month or so, sir.” “Have it delayed as long as possible.” D grins. It does look like a good pie.

Ross and D ride to Jim’s wedding, and there’s music and dancing and happy people and sunshine. Back at Trenwith, Elizabeth and Verity are silently embroidering (Elizabeth is still super pregnant, so I guess the previous backache was Braxton Hicks or something). “I wish you could forget him, my dear” Elizabeth said, trying to be kind. “It’s not so easy to forget” snaps Verity (well, snappish for Verity which is neutral for anyone else). Elizabeth tries to apologize, “I didn’t mean to suggest…” but a contraction stops this awkwardness and Verity leaps in Helper mode, calling for the doctor.

Back at the wedding, the vicar (I guess?) is talking to Ross about matrimony, and if Ross will ever enter into that happy state.  “I dare say I shall!” Ross says. “Always remember the purpose for which it was ordained!” the vicar says. That being to avoid sin.  Namely, fornication. Ross is like “…” but Jim and Jinny are SO happy.

Elizabeth is in genteel labor. Nary a bit of sweat to be seen.

Dancing! Happy D! Ross watches D with a fond smile on his face, and then either realizes that he’s spending a lot of time staring at her, or got a boner.  Or both.  Exuberant happy dancing.

Charles is tickled pink. He’s got a grandson! The line continues and Francis did good work. Francis tries to give credit to Elizabeth, what with the carrying and the birthing and all, and Charles and the doctor are like “eh whatever” and they toast to the new Poldark, now about the size of a pie.

Going back to Ross’ house, D is dancing along and singing. They come into the kitchen to find Jud and Prudie drunkenly sleeping off more rum. Prudie wakes up enough to give Ross a letter that announces that the baby was a boy, and he stalks off (with booze).

At Trenwith, a number of Society is there to greet the baby or something, and Ross is awkwardly there, and sure enough, the damn Warleggans are there. “We were just saying that any man opening a mine these days must be exceptionally brave or exceptionally foolish.” After all these dire economic times… “which might be less dire if it weren’t in the hands of those who’s only purpose is to make a profit.” “What other purpose is there?” the Elder Trump Warleggan smarms. “Perhaps you should ask those who subsist on starvation wages.” Trump Warleggan snits that maybe Ross should just spend less time with the lower classes.

Ross’ great aunt asks just who the fuck he is- not because she’s got dementia, but in that “you fucking ungrateful miscreant you should visit more often” guilt-trippy kind of way.  Charles says the Verity is well rid of that scoundrel Blamey, and oh Ross, what do you think of “my grandson?” Elizabeth is holding what is either a baby or a well-wrapped loaf of bread while Francis puffs and struts beside her.

Ross congratulates both of them and sits down to admire the baby. “You look pale” he tells Elizabeth. “I’ve been stronger. I’d hoped that you would be named godfather, but Francis and George are inseparable.” The baby fusses a bit and Elizabeth says that “he’s smiling at you” (no, he’s not) and they laugh and Francis looks back at them with growing possessive alarm.

Francis calls Elizabeth over so Charles can make a self-aggrandizing toast about the future of the Poldarks and this loaf of bread (seriously, the fake baby is so fake and she’s not holding it like a squishy baby) named Geoffrey Charles is now the heir to the Poldark name and Francis is going to teach him everything he (Francis) knows and Trump Warleggan snarks “shouldn’t take long” and I agree, and Charles is rambling a bit and grabs at his chest and falls over.

He is brought to bed, where Verity is being Caretaker and Francis is quietly freaking out. Once it’s clear that he can do nothing more, Ross rides away. In her room, Elizabeth puts the baby the bed. Francis comes in, and tells her that Charles is “rallying” and then- AND THEN- starts kissing her. because fucking five minutes post-partum is def a thing she’s into (it is unclear how long it’s been since she gave birth, but it’s in the realm of a few weeks, I’m pretty sure). “Perhaps another time,” she tries, “I’m still a little weak.” Francis snits that she was super animated talking with Ross, so she should totally be into banging him right then.  “That’s not fair.” He mimics her: “‘Ross look at my baby, see how he smiles at you, don’t you wish he were yours?’” She kicks him out, because jesus christ, dude.

Verity happens to be walking down the hall, and Francis accuses her of listening at keyholes. Verity’s like I was just walking here, and Francis yells that if it were up to Ross then Verity would be off with that scoundrel living in shame and misery. Verity wisely points out that it says rather a lot about Francis that he considers marriage to be a misery. “That’s because you have yet to experience it.” WHO’S FAULT IS THAT FRANCIS. Asshole.  Verity still has a locket with Blamey’s miniature in it.

Out in the woods, Jim is out poaching, and Jinny isn’t happy.  In the morning, Jinny finds D working out in the fields, and asks her to ask Ross to make Jim stop with the poaching. In the house, D looks for Ross, and goes into the library. He’s not there, but the ore is, along with papers, and ledgers and a trunk. D opens it and finds a beautiful teal silk gown, and is entranced.  Ross comes home and she hurriedly puts it away.

At Trenwith, Charles is feeling his mortality and says that the doctor is an idiot and his time is limited so this is Francis’ chance to get his shit together. “You do recall we have a mine? It requires leadership!” Francis is like I don’t know shit about mines. “Take a leaf out of your cousin’s book? Does he keep his distance? Or does he roll up his sleeves and toil alongside his men? Which do you think will yield the better result?” Insert scene of Francis on horseback, greeting his miners while they look at him like “Wtf are you doing?” Francis pouts and rides away.

So that’s going well.

At Ross’ house, he asks how much longer before we eat (as D sets down the plate of stew), and maybe some bread (as D sets down a plate of bread) and maybe some (D pours a glass of ale) ale? Competent servants are not a thing Ross is used to. D has not eaten (she forgets sometimes, which I can relate to. I can relate to that right now), and Ross has her sit and eat with him. She’s finished the upper field, and will start in on the lower field tomorrow, and Ross is just flabbergasted. “You get through more in a day than Prudie does in a month.” Welp, D says, I’m young and strong and also not a fucking drunk, so….

“I heard Jinny was over, how is she?” “She’s that worried. About Jim and his poaching.” D posits that maybe Ross could tell him to stop? Ross can do better- he can give Jim the job as assistant purser at the mine. D thinks this is an excellent idea.

At their cottage, Jim is leaving to go poaching again, and Jinny’s like idiot, you don’t need to go poaching, you’ve got a job now! Jim has one last job planned and then he’ll stop and it’ll totally work out fine. He’s still got his mother and sisters to worry about, so, really, it’ll be fine, I’ll be back in the morning

Ross calls for some “brandy, sir?” Ross thanks D for hiding the brandy from their resident lushes, and also would appreciate it if she could avoid the inference that he’s “utterly predictable.” D’s like sure “I’ll try sir”, but her face says “you are super predictable.” Ross sighs, but it’s a smiling sigh.

In the woods, Jim and another dude are out with their nets.  They stalk and skulk but somebody spots them. They run, but are snagged at rifle point. SHOCKED BY THIS TURN OF EVENTS.  In the morning, Jinny knocks on the door and falls into D’s arms.

Ross stomps off to the local magistrate’s house.  A hunt is being prepared, and the magistrate asks if Ross is there to join the hunt, but no, Ross is there to plead Jim’s case. The magistrate already sent Jim to Truro jail at 8 am. “You are in haste, sir!” Well, the hunt started at 9, and these poachers have been taking all the game there’s barely anything for rich sportsmen to kill that they don’t need! Hanging’s too good for them.

Ross stops by the cottage to grab Jinny so they can go and plead Jim’s case together, but she’s in labor and obviously can’t go.  Her father asks Ross to bring him safe home, and Ross says he’ll try.

In Truro, in the court, the judge is pontificating at some poor dude who is sentenced to transportation. “What was his crime?” Ross asks the doctor in the audience. “Poaching.” Well, fuck. He asks the doctor if he would be willing to testify to Jim’s weak lungs (as a result of working in the mines at an early age), since they doubt he would survive a stint in prison. The doctor won’t- no good comes of concerning yourself with the lower classes. Ross looks disgusted. The bailiff calls in Jim. Jim sees Ross and is mildly heartened.

At the Red Lion Tavern, George asks Francis to join him, and Francis tries to adult for a minute “I have an estate to run.” “One pint won’t hurt” cajoles George, and Francis slooooooowly walks away for five steps, before turning around and going into the tavern. Oh, Francis.

“He was caught red handed” intones the judge while Jim looks at the ground. And there is scarcely a pheasant left in the woods. Ross wishes to give evidence of Jim’s good character, as Jim is his servant. Ross points out that hunger, poverty and sickness are endemic among the poor, so… “keep to the evidence, sir.” Well, Jim fell in with an older man and… “evidence in the case” He’s ill and is going to become a father for the first time… “Was he ill when he went poaching? Was his wife with child when he went poaching?  It seems to be that if a man is well enough to commit the crime, he is well enough to accept the consequences, whether or not it adversely affects his wife and child.” The judge is smirking through this speech. Ross has no answer to this.

Jud, Prudie, and D are leaving the fields, with Prudie giving a list of things D is to do once they get back to the house. D’s father comes across the fields, in clothes and looking more or less like a reasonable person. He’s married a widow who’s brought D’s father to the Lord. He wants to D to come home and leave this house of temptation, away from the gossip about loose morals and whatnot. D snaps, “Since when were thee so tender with me?” (which is a GREAT line) “Since the Lord raised me up.” He’ll be back in a day or so to take D home, and she’s got nothing she can say about it.  She cries.

Back at the court, the judge admits that Ross paints a vivid picture of the hardships endured by the poor, but still, beggars ought not be thieves. But they’ll take a more lenient view-Jim is sentenced to two years imprisonment. Jim starts coughing and can barely stand up. Ross snaps that god help him if he ever require the leniency of the court. “Have a care, Mr. Poldark, such remarks are not entirely outside the court’s jurisdiction.” Ross yells about justice and mercy and how the Bible says that man should not live by bread alone and now you’re demanding that they don’t even live on that. The judge warns him that his remarks are getting real close to being committed for contempt of court. Ross snipes back that “I can assure you that such a committal would be an entirely accurate reading of my thoughts.”  BURN.

In the tavern, Ross is sullenly drinking, and the dark haired prostitute offers to console him, but no, she cannot “no one could.” She leaves to find other companionship, and as Ross leaves, he sees that she did- with Francis.

At Ross’ house, D is looking at the pretty teal dress again.  At prison, Jim is put into his cell and looks like he’s about to shit his pants (if he hasn’t already). Ross finds Jinny and her new baby and apologizes for not being able to do better for Jim, and Jinny’s father tries to absolve him- one man against a terrible justice system isn’t going to fix anything- but Ross is deep into his self-flagellation.  Jim tries not to cry.

D has gone so far as to put on the dress, and is saying goodbye to the things in the study, and finally says “I can’t leave him, I can’t I can’t- I must….” and he Ross comes home. Oops. He calls for her, and he’s in the dining room staring at the fire. She tries to quietly sneak in and put down his dinner, not letting the dress rustle, and he’s not looking at her. He asks her to close the window and get the rum. Finally he admits that Jim got 2 years and it was his fault- he yelled and raged when he should have groveled. Finally, he turns and she’s that she’s got this dress on, and things go rapidly awry.

She found it in the trunk- what were you doing there- well, I was just looking – that was beyond your role, you’re employed as a maid and you’ve been a good one – I thought maybe you’d just let me wear it- “TAKE IT OFF NOW” he leaps up from his seat by the fire, “you can take it off this minute and pack your things and go back to your father.” She bursts into tears and he immediately apologizes- it’s been a hellish day and he’s not himself… they look at each other, and she kisses him.  He kisses her back before backing off and she’s like what’s wrong? “I didn’t take you from your father for this.” “What does it matter what you took me for?”  He tells her to go to bed and leaves the room.  She clutches her head in misery and thinks for a second, before blowing out the candle and following.

In Ross’ room, he’s down to his shirtsleeves, and there’s a knock. It’s D, and she tells him that she needs his help unfastening the dress down the back. She turns, and he unlaces it. transfixed by the site of her back. “You know what people say of us” he whispers. “If we behave like this, it will be true.”  “Then let it be true” D says, and he slips his hand in the dress as it falls, she turns, they kiss and fall into the bed.

In the morning, D wakes up, and pulls on the dress enough to get down to her room. Ross opens his eyes as she leaves.

D and Garrick are laying in the grass, and she has the look of a well-pleasured woman.

At Trenwith, Elizabeth is practicing the harp,when Charles slowly comes in, leaning on Verity’s arm. Francis did not come home last night (and great-aunt snaps that Francis was totally hanging out with that upstart George). Has Francis been going to the mine? “I’m sure he has!” Verity says too quickly and too brightly. Has Francis been attending his duties? TOTALLY Elizabeth says, also too quickly and too brightly. These girls need to practice lying.

Ross and Jud are in the fields, scything or whatever, and Ross politely is not wearing a shirt. Jud is predicting that Jim would die in jail, but still, if Ross hadn’t spoken up, then he’d be in for 7 years of transportation. D is watching Ross scythe, and enjoying the view. Ross sees Elizabeth riding for the house, and grabs his shirt.

She is waiting in the drawing room, and Ross enters, buttoning up his waistcoat (DAMMIT ELIZABETH). She expresses her sympathy for what happened to Jim, but maybe if Ross had approached George, since the judge hangs out with the Warleggans “…something might have been arranged?” “Is that how justice works?” Well, yeah, sadly.

How’s the baby? “he’s my joy. …our joy.” Elizabeth asks about the mine, and while Francis thinks it’s unladylike, she does want to know about the industry that supports the family. D tumbles in, with a handful of wildflowers. She offers to serve them, but Prudie’s done so. Elizabeth compliments the flowers, and D’s like “do want them?” “Oh, they won’t last. Look, they’re fading already. Cornflowers are like that.”  D obviously knows what’s between Ross and Elizabeth, and Elizabeth can sense that there’s something between D and Ross- she’s heard the rumors of course, but something has changed. Elizabeth excuses herself, Ross gets up to show her out, and D, with her tumbledown hair stands there rethinking her choices of the night before.

It’s SO AWKWARD.

Later, D is contemplating her life and her choices (past and future) on the cliff, while Ross is in the kitchen with Jud and Prudie. He asks where D is, and Jud says he’s left with her stuff with “that blathering dog at her heels.”

Ross finds her, heading to her father’s house, and says that she was engaged for two years and doesn’t she like the house and hasn’t she grown to like everything, and gotten used to his moods? She stammers that after what happened, maybe… “You thought you’d no longer be my servant.” Well…. yes…? “Well, you’re right. You can no longer be my servant.”

Smash cut to the church, where the vicar is intoning “Dearly beloved….” Ross and D are in front him, D, holding a bunch of flowers and in a pretty red dress. Jud and Prudie are the only witnesses, and they both look like they think this is a terrible idea. The vicar asks if Ross will take this women to be his lawfully wedded wife, and D looks at him, and he looks at D. Before he can answer, we get the credits.

CarrieS:

Fanservice Alert! Sweaty shirtless Aiden Turner in a field of flowers!  Thank you, BBC! May I also say that I appreciate that our Aiden is not waxed. Am pretty sure there weren’t a lot of waxed dudes threshing fields in the Days of Yore.

The theme last week was, in the words of Prudie, “Gentle folks be strange” and the theme of this week is “Gentle folks be arseholes” (my words, not Prudie’s). This was a hell of a mood swing episode. Am sort of reeling from it. Slightly incoherent observations:

• DAMN, AIDAN. Never wear clothes again.

• I have one single goal for this series – I want Demelza to be happy. Ross, if you treat her badly because you carry a torch for Elizabeth, I will mess you up no matter how pretty you are.

• Ross is at his best when he’s involved with his tenants and not his love life. I adore the way he notices other people. “Have you eaten?” He always notices who needs care and he always assumes that it’s his responsibility to provide that care, whether it’s a huge issue like his tenant being arrested or a small thing, like his kitchen maid maybe not having eaten dinner.

• I love when Elizabeth and Demelza are discussing flowers and Ross looks so confused, like “I know something important is happening but I don’t know what.”

• Once again Frances is doing his, “I’m going to be a good guy and tell you to interact with Ross in a friendly way but as soon as you do I’m going to totally punish you for it” schtick. Pull yourself together, Frances. You started off as a decent guy and now you’re a douchebag. Get a grip.

• See, shows, this is how you do sexual chemistry. Once again I say, “DAMN, AIDAN.” The way he looks at Demelza when he unlaces her dress is so intense, I’m a little concerned that just the look might have made her pregnant. Hell, it might have made ME pregnant. I do feel pretty cheated by the fade to black, though

•  Everything that happened in the courtroom was utterly unbearable.

 

RHG: You knew we’d have a fade to black because this is PBS.

I feel like this poaching storyline is super timely (although to be fair, it’s basically never not timely) because we having increasing awareness of income inequality, and the shit poor people have to go through to get enough calories to get through the day. Food deserts, people not believing that food stamps and like programs are difficult to impossible to deal with unless some celebrity or politician does a SNAP Challenge, and general shaming of what poor people decide to do with their money- these things have all been in the zeitgiest in the past few years.  And here we are, seeing similar bullshit play out, where bankers control commerce and have been fucking over everything and everyone else when it doesn’t maximize profits.

It’s disheartening.

And the criminal justice (“justice”) system is even more of a joke than it is now. It’s frustrating and makes me sad but that’s… fairly representative of what you’d face if you were poor. No advocate, no time to make a defense, no one would have to prove that much of a case against you, and there wasn’t much in the way of mitigating circumstances.

Being poor sucks.

Ross gets that, as well as he can. Sure, he has no money, but he still has his name and his rank. He’s a gentleman. He can get away with shit. He tries to use his privilege for good, and maybe, MAYBE if he had approached the court in a more ingratiating manner, maybe he could have done more for Jim. I doubt it, honestly. Getting in the way of rich people and their hunting? Never ends well, does it?

Lets talk about Demelza, though. I mean, it’s clear to me (and it’s in the book) that she didn’t really need his help getting out of the dress. She got into it just fine. So there was some planning involved. And that was hot. Super super hot. (THEY’RE BOTH SO PRETTY)

This whole cross class thing? I predict there’s going to be some ramifications for this pretty, pretty couple. It’s better than D going to her father’s house, though. And how many romances have we all read that were based on “welp, I compromised you-” “WE COMPROMISED EACH OTHER” “-so that means I have to marry you to save your honor because I am scum.” “WE COMPROMISED EACH OTHER.”

So this could work.

(SO PRETTY)