shallowness: Kira in civvies looking straight ahead (Wives and Daughters Molly/Roger)
shallowness ([personal profile] shallowness) wrote2017-07-19 06:52 am

Amphibians

Poldark 3.5

I was reminded of Downton by how much this episode was about toads. So many actual toads and so much talk about them.

I spent even more time than usual thinking ‘you stupid kids’ at Morwenna and Drake. I’m too old to find endangering yourself to put toads in a pond to make your ladylove laugh romantic, and they were as stupid as Romeo and Juliet at times, in different ways. They were also rather unlucky in getting spotted this episode, be it the shirtless nuzzling or receiving messages. But with John-Daniel having been made to look a mug, and with George Continually Thwarted, it was always going to go badly. Morwenna got forced to make her heroic sacrifice (and the trailer shows that she isn’t likely to give Whitworth the sleeping tablets I suggested, so her life will be miserable).

Nice little moment of ‘Betrayed by you, mum’ face from Geoffrey Charles over Harrow. Nice moment of Ross espying Valentine, and of course Agatha didn’t tell him George was back. She really has reached peak elderly relative who you let do exactly what she likes because she’s so old (except for George, because he is George.) I mean, I get annoyed with her more than half the time, but her assessment of why George never got the respect he thought he deserved, i.e. because of his attitude towards his grandfather’s occupation, was spot on.

I winced throughout Caroline and Dwight’s scenes, as her upbringing, expectations and reaction to the last few months (years, seriously no idea how much time passes on this show, despite their attempts to signpost for us) made her completely unable to deal with his PTSD. Which none of them really had the words for. Still, when Ross brought Armitage to Dwight, hoping to help, he could have explained a little more to Caroline about it. I thought there’d be more fall-out from her overhearing ‘vacuous’ and not what came after, but, influenced by Ross, influenced by his own marriage, Dwight did start to try to explain himself. Myself, I think he probably needs to stay with Caroline until he’s eating and a little more stable mentally, and just to give them a chance to know each other and build some sort of foundation for their relationship before he rushes back to the nave. I’ll be disappointed if they magically resolve his trauma.

Zachy getting made mine captain was lovely.

What I like to think of as Demelza’s Anne of Green Gables hat made a reappearance.

I joined with her cynicism about Ross being done with his derring-do, but hello, what did she do when her (little?) brother was in danger? Good job Prudie did tell Ross, as it turned out. Drake caused a lot of worry, being So In Love and stupid withal, about it. The gift wasn’t his fault or Geoffrey Charles’ s either, I know.

Ross was relatively sensible, so Demelza didn’t need to check any bigheadedness over being the hero of the hour, and although she cast up the fact that he’d turned down being a magistrate and here was George being unjust and threatening to hang her brother, Ross accepted that and like her, moved on to what they could do about it. He deserved applause for not laughing in George’s face about the toads, and doing his best to influence him.

A few other Ross/Demelza moments I was more !?!? about, but I think that’s me being coloured by the trailer for next week.

Some day, I will post more often and it won't just be episode responses.