"My true, real, and abiding love is not for her. 'Tis for you.
She will never come between us again."
Hello everyone!
This weekend saw the end to the second season of Poldark, and I have to say I'm going to miss these ridiculous people from Cornwall. Not only did they give us heaps of entertainment, they've also managed to tug on everyone's heart strings along the way and for me, personally, the fervent wish to bash my head against the wall a couple of times.
Ahem.
That being said, the last five episodes of the season were a whirlwind of emotions, jagged edges and reality checks, which I did applaud and exult over.
After all, you can't necessarily live in the 18th century and act the way you do without some form of consequence, even if you aren't expecting it! Right?
Still, it's now time to hang up our tricorns and wait for season three to premiere, but to tide us all over there are eighteen episodes from start to finish of Poldark so far, and a preview of what's to come. For those even more impatient, you can read the books to find out what happens.
In the meantime, on to the review!
As with the previous five episodes, I won't be going into too much detail with this blog post since if I did, it would probably be ten or more pages long. You could write novels about a single episode alone!
Furthemore, the link to the previous recaps, as well as the books which I have already covered in my blog posts can be found at the bottom of the page.
Onwards!
To briefly sum up season two: Ross and George are bickering, as always, Elizabeth is quite useless in all her loveliness, Demelza has had it up to here with Ross and his indecision, and Nampara Cove is now Smuggler's Cove.
Which is precisely where we're at in episode 6, when Ross realizes he needs to go and find the ex-miner Mark Daniels who had previously hinted at a rich lode in the mine they're working, but they have yet to find it, which means Ross is on his way to France to figure it all out. On the other side of the board, Dwight Enys and Caroline Penvenen hatch a plan to elope since her uncles will never allow her to marry a penniless doctor, although said doctor isn't all too sure about this plan and has second thoughts - but he does love her, so.
Unfortunately, things don't go according to plan as Ross and the smugglers are ambushed at Nampara Cove, warned just in the nick of time by Dwight himself who ends up arrested and as such can't elope with Caroline. Thus ends that particular romance, while Ross faces the noose, yet again.
In episode 7, we see George's diabolical plan to win Elizabeth's hand unfold (by making her scared, natch), which sends her to Ross, who is, in fact, from home. Demelza might have been her better bet for protection (what with her hacking at firewood with an axe) but the two women clearly realize at this point they are both fighting for the same man, and really, if looks could kill, one of them would probably be dead. So while Elizabeth is too busy with her own issues (as per usual), Demelza is worried about a thousand different things at a time, most notably her own husband.
On the bright side, Caroline has bought the debt Ross ows, aka 1,400 pounds, which leaves George with a sour taste in his mouth since he can't actually do anything about the legality of that one.
Booyah.
Things start gearing up in episode 8 with a cave-in at the mine, Caroline's cold dismissal of Dwight's further letters, and George's campaign finally paying off as Elizabeth agrees to become his wife. To be fair, she does have to think of herself and her son, and especially with her mother bed-ridden, but Aunt Agatha (who's probably my all-time favourite meow) points out that she can't rely on Ross all the time since Ross has his own house and family to look after.
But I mean, in this episode ... THAT happens.
Poldark fans will know I'm referring to the rape-turned-consensual sex at the end, which has thrown an H-bomb into the whole series.
In an episode which begins with Demelza giving her husband a black eye after he gets back from his night with Elizabeth, it's made abundantly clear that forgiveness won't come cheap, or easy. She's pissed off, and rightly so, which does however lead to some rather questionable decisions as she goes and attends a party thrown by one of her neighbours where we're treated to the hilarity of not one, not two, but THREE men trying to get into her bedroom! Luckily for us though, Demelza has a touch more class than her husband.
In other news, Ross and the mine finally start to prosper as tin is found, but that falls short of the mark since his personal life is shot through hell - Demelza hates him, Elizabeth goes through with her marriage to George, and the couple moves into Trenwith.
This leads us into the season finale where the drums of war are beating ever closer - even for Ross, who debates re-enlisting. Dwight Enys has no such scruples as he does, in fact, sign on the dotted line, while his best friend heads off to London to repay Caroline (and also to inform her, among other things, about what her ex-lover is doing and that her uncle is ill). This leads to a sweet reunion between my favourite couple, which I loved, and another high point to accompany the birth of Verity's baby.
Because elsewhere, it's not so hot: George is barricading himself into Trenwith and shooting at people trying to cross his land, to the shock of Tankard who tries to warn him this will backfire (you don't shoot your neighbours if you want to eat dinner in peace). Things escalate when Demelza is shot at after a discussion with Elizabeth, which gathers the miners who set the ring around the estate on fire. And while George might try and dismiss Demelza's warnings, fire and a mob are a little difficult to miss.
Luckily, Ross rides in after not joining the army, and manages to peacefully settle the situation, but not without giving George a very heavy reality check: if he wants to be a landovner here in Cornwall, making enemies out of miners isn't going to work.
And while George can materially have everything, Ross commands the respect of the people - something we can see his nemesis realize, along with the red alarm that he has lost the most important battle with the Poldarks.
Ross finally mans up and tells Demelza she's the only one, while George decides to send his godson away to have Elizabeth all to himself, much to her horror - on top of her not knowing if the baby she's carrying is actually his, or if it belongs to Ross. Aunt Agatha is not pleased with being surrounded by idiots.
And that's a wrap!
I have to say I loved the second half of the season a bit more than the first, but the finale has to be my favourite episode. While I have come to love Georg Warleggan, he really has no clue about the reality that can't be bought with money: aka, that he'll get lynched soon.
It was a heartbreaking moment to see the tears in his eyes when he figures out he has not, in fact, beat Ross at all, not where it matters.
But I was disappointed that after promises which I'd spied online that 'something major' would be changed from the books, they still went ahead with the rape ... then again, I also commend the show for keeping Ross as an anti-hero rather than a traditional hero, as it is a brave thing to do in an era wher we expect the main characters to be pretty much perfect.
I honestly can't wait for season three, because it promises to be even more spectacular!
Also, allow me to leave this little present for you all, because I can:
xx
*images and video not mine
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