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shallowness1.7 Engine of Change
I did watch this not long after it aired, but the computer ate my reaction (or probably I didn’t keep track of the document where I’d saved it). So, I thought I’d do a rewatch. (As I’ve said previously, oh, the hardship!) But it's all taken longer than I intended, so it's been a while.
This episode was as much about Victoria and Albert’s relationship with Peel and progress as anything. Hovering in the background was that Victoria and Peel are equally stubborn. Some of the lines were tart – ‘Laughter is bad for baby’!? And I did like that someone snarked right back at the still grumpy Wellington that he was already being ruled over by a German in the discussions about Albert (the baby’s father) being made Regent if the worst happened to Victoria.
Underneath it all, Victoria was understandably terrified about childbirth and touched on quite a few pregnancy anxieties (because she’s just like all women, except when she isn’t).
Meanwhile downstairs, Skerrit the super-taster was coming up with modern food for Chef Moustache and the Queen.
So, Victoria’s Entourage went on tour to the north and Victoria realised she’d married a train enthusiast. Just so that we were in no doubt about what we were meant to think about the hosts, they were rude about their queen’s height.
Good to see that Jenkins had taken on Albert enough to warn his man off the butler’s leg-pulling advice (CARSON WOULD NEVER…) so that he could show off the scientific method of shooting birds in a non-ridiculous outfit.
Either Albert only knows the one English adjective, or he puts his pregnant wife on a par with a train.
Although it was nice to have Jenkins speak for a wife’s equal need for a break in the marriage, Albert’s man did seem a little thick falling for the same nonsense from the butler twice.
So, Albert and Peel bonded, Albert and Victoria had another fight, but she listened to him – and made him feel worried in her absence (ha!) And she was scared, until she turned out to be a relative speed freak too.
We has some lavish table laying if that's your kind of thing…
Watching Victoria’s setdown of her horrid hosts was less satisfying the second time around.
But after all the weird advice, Victoria’s mum was suddenly transformed to give supportive advice. I think that was more the plot needed it than earned.
I only really took in that Peel, who had seen the Albert effect, echoed ‘There it is’ as he bossed his party in the rewatch. But the bark of laughter suggesting an affinity with Victoria too was nice.
1.8 Young England
No need to ponder too much about how a now heavily pregnant Victoria was feeling, because she kept telling us, and Coleman did her best with how they tried to slip in ‘we are not amused.’
Blah blah conspiracy worries and the return of Ernst.
Tensions downstairs with Skerrit (but more Nancy) being urged to think of her future just in case the birth killed mother and child, and Penge arguing with all the women. I’ll just note that Mrs Jenkins was the Voice of loyal Sense downstairs this episode. We learned that Skerrit’s old friend, abandoned by her babydaddy, hates men more than Penge hates women.
Firth did some more good sneering work.
Albert started getting more worried about Victoria’s security – I’m not sure how you can get something more hard than violence which Cumberland threatened. I know he was alluding to death, but it was clunkily worded. Then we had the attack I half-remembered happening in The Young Victoria and it was all very dramatic, and the slight tension between the royal couple melted for now.
Heh, all the toffs turned their backs on Cumberland and he was affronted. I did like how Victoria’s response to the possibility that Oxford (er no, your name didn’t go down in history) wouldn’t be hung spoke again to her childhood and how being ‘kept safe’ by her mother had meant confinement. Otherwise, her grouchiness at losing her sense of self and freedom felt like the same old.
Oh, Skerrit-as-was Nancy, I don’t care over-much what you do about Francatelli’s offer, which up until he proposed marriage could have been construed another way, but make your own choice, not your chum’s.
Yes, Victoria delivered an excellent snub to her tyrant uncle, but the show overdid how much of a crowning moment it was. Still, it led to her moment about lawfulness with Peel and Albert, and Albert getting that he’d been a tad unhelpfully overprotective, while Victoria’s instinct about going back out for a ride was right. And Oxford wasn't going to be walking around freely any more.
Blah, blah Ernst and Harriet’s ‘harmless flirtation’ led to a night time assignation, but I thought that it was always going to be a lock of her hair. He wasn’t as noble in his love as he’d claimed – if Albert had heard he’d been seen, he’d besmirched her reputation.
I thought the Shakespeare-loving footman’s candlelight dash with the news was a nice moment and then we had payoffs in the labour, as Victoria bellowed for Albert and the Duchess, and the Baroness got to be there too.
The montage of with-holding our seeing Victoria after the birth was less successful. I think it was a little too confused, even if they were trying to give us a clip of how everyone felt – I daresay there will be people who will be gutted we didn’t see Sewell’s Lord M – and where they were at. The fact that there will be another series makes all of Albert bigging up Victoria as queen felt just a little too contrived.
I did watch this not long after it aired, but the computer ate my reaction (or probably I didn’t keep track of the document where I’d saved it). So, I thought I’d do a rewatch. (As I’ve said previously, oh, the hardship!) But it's all taken longer than I intended, so it's been a while.
This episode was as much about Victoria and Albert’s relationship with Peel and progress as anything. Hovering in the background was that Victoria and Peel are equally stubborn. Some of the lines were tart – ‘Laughter is bad for baby’!? And I did like that someone snarked right back at the still grumpy Wellington that he was already being ruled over by a German in the discussions about Albert (the baby’s father) being made Regent if the worst happened to Victoria.
Underneath it all, Victoria was understandably terrified about childbirth and touched on quite a few pregnancy anxieties (because she’s just like all women, except when she isn’t).
Meanwhile downstairs, Skerrit the super-taster was coming up with modern food for Chef Moustache and the Queen.
So, Victoria’s Entourage went on tour to the north and Victoria realised she’d married a train enthusiast. Just so that we were in no doubt about what we were meant to think about the hosts, they were rude about their queen’s height.
Good to see that Jenkins had taken on Albert enough to warn his man off the butler’s leg-pulling advice (CARSON WOULD NEVER…) so that he could show off the scientific method of shooting birds in a non-ridiculous outfit.
Either Albert only knows the one English adjective, or he puts his pregnant wife on a par with a train.
Although it was nice to have Jenkins speak for a wife’s equal need for a break in the marriage, Albert’s man did seem a little thick falling for the same nonsense from the butler twice.
So, Albert and Peel bonded, Albert and Victoria had another fight, but she listened to him – and made him feel worried in her absence (ha!) And she was scared, until she turned out to be a relative speed freak too.
We has some lavish table laying if that's your kind of thing…
Watching Victoria’s setdown of her horrid hosts was less satisfying the second time around.
But after all the weird advice, Victoria’s mum was suddenly transformed to give supportive advice. I think that was more the plot needed it than earned.
I only really took in that Peel, who had seen the Albert effect, echoed ‘There it is’ as he bossed his party in the rewatch. But the bark of laughter suggesting an affinity with Victoria too was nice.
1.8 Young England
No need to ponder too much about how a now heavily pregnant Victoria was feeling, because she kept telling us, and Coleman did her best with how they tried to slip in ‘we are not amused.’
Blah blah conspiracy worries and the return of Ernst.
Tensions downstairs with Skerrit (but more Nancy) being urged to think of her future just in case the birth killed mother and child, and Penge arguing with all the women. I’ll just note that Mrs Jenkins was the Voice of loyal Sense downstairs this episode. We learned that Skerrit’s old friend, abandoned by her babydaddy, hates men more than Penge hates women.
Firth did some more good sneering work.
Albert started getting more worried about Victoria’s security – I’m not sure how you can get something more hard than violence which Cumberland threatened. I know he was alluding to death, but it was clunkily worded. Then we had the attack I half-remembered happening in The Young Victoria and it was all very dramatic, and the slight tension between the royal couple melted for now.
Heh, all the toffs turned their backs on Cumberland and he was affronted. I did like how Victoria’s response to the possibility that Oxford (er no, your name didn’t go down in history) wouldn’t be hung spoke again to her childhood and how being ‘kept safe’ by her mother had meant confinement. Otherwise, her grouchiness at losing her sense of self and freedom felt like the same old.
Oh, Skerrit-as-was Nancy, I don’t care over-much what you do about Francatelli’s offer, which up until he proposed marriage could have been construed another way, but make your own choice, not your chum’s.
Yes, Victoria delivered an excellent snub to her tyrant uncle, but the show overdid how much of a crowning moment it was. Still, it led to her moment about lawfulness with Peel and Albert, and Albert getting that he’d been a tad unhelpfully overprotective, while Victoria’s instinct about going back out for a ride was right. And Oxford wasn't going to be walking around freely any more.
Blah, blah Ernst and Harriet’s ‘harmless flirtation’ led to a night time assignation, but I thought that it was always going to be a lock of her hair. He wasn’t as noble in his love as he’d claimed – if Albert had heard he’d been seen, he’d besmirched her reputation.
I thought the Shakespeare-loving footman’s candlelight dash with the news was a nice moment and then we had payoffs in the labour, as Victoria bellowed for Albert and the Duchess, and the Baroness got to be there too.
The montage of with-holding our seeing Victoria after the birth was less successful. I think it was a little too confused, even if they were trying to give us a clip of how everyone felt – I daresay there will be people who will be gutted we didn’t see Sewell’s Lord M – and where they were at. The fact that there will be another series makes all of Albert bigging up Victoria as queen felt just a little too contrived.
