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shallownessHotel Portofino 3.5 - Revelations
I felt rather sorry for Antonio, the young blackshirt who got dropped off in the streets after being tortured at the start of the episode and then was brought before Danioni, who reminded him that he was paying for Antonio to support his Italian Mama before finding out what he’d blabbed.
I sympathised with Marco’s flare of class rage at Count Albani and the upper classes (no idea if that’s a fair assessment of their role in Mussolini’s ascent). Obviously, he was also jealous of Bella turning to ‘Carlo’ for advice and help, but he did admit as much, and apologised for it.
Bella possibly overpromised in an attempt to make things up with her father (a man who thought he knew better than a doctor about how to deal with a dicky heart). Amelia was vaguely threatening about the money, but the throughline was that Bella talked to her about her revelation about subconsciously blaming her since childhood for their mother’s death. (You’d have thought that Bella might have gained this insight when…her children were children, but no wonder she believed her mother was playing favourites, because she does.) They started getting on better, with Bella showing off her wares, Amelia being somewhat impressed, then with Bella asking Amelia for help naming the brand – and then coming up with a name on her own! Bella introduced Marco to Amelia without quite saying ‘Here is my fancy man,’ and as the actress had no lines, she had to do major silent acting in response.
The ladies were prepping for Claudine’s launch party, the men were brewing revenge. Cecil went back to visit Jack. At first, I was: WHY!?!? But I suppose a bit of rest had given him the idea of explaining to Jack that Danioni was really his enemy and getting him in on a plan to avenge himself on him.
Lucian, feeling bad (AS HE SHOULD) for the torture, took a gun to a hunting party for Nish’s body. They didn’t quite believe they’d find it, but find it they did, with Varun giving a howl of outrage. Danioni, blackshirts and dogs were after them, Marco dropped Chekhov’s sweaty handkerchief, so even though they got away, it wasn’t for long. Marco and Lucian told Bella, who tried to mother Varun in his grief. Turned out the boy had lost his faith after what had happened to his brother.
Bella wanted to ask Carlo for advice in the vain hope of getting justice. Marco went off in a huff. Lucian went off to the kitchen of charged encounters where he found Constance, who had already stopped Vito from trying to propose to her – which is fair enough, it is too soon. She confessed to Claudine she didn’t love him, Claudine started arguing Vito’s case, because she’d been burned by men that she thought she loved, then stuck with the good advice to Constance to follow her heart.
Well, her heart is still with Lucian’s. Ditto, although he was apparently fighting with the idea of him being poison. Passionate kiss, she pulled back, saying she couldn’t – he was proposing they left together, with Tommy, because he had something to do and then he had to leave.
Later, she’d find out that he was planning to kill Danioni (‘planning’ is doing a lot of work there, because whenever we saw Danioni this ep, he was in public or surrounded by blackshirts.) She told him she couldn’t be with a man who could kill in cold blood. I thought there was a lot of hot blood coursing through Lucian at that point, not that I supported his plan for vengeance or thought that it was a very clever plan. (Really loved the way they’d used the sea coming in for that scene.)
I liked Paola seeing Lucian and Constance together, and clocking that there was something between them. Nice continuity to her response. Also it hasn’t occurred to Lucian that Constance might deserve for him to want to be with her in front of his family – he offered to be a father figure for Tommy, but nothing so definite as marriage.
Not that I think Constance should marry Vito if she doesn’t want to. Nice and understanding as he is, he is Italian in a clearly increasingly fascist Italy. I’m all for the Brits getting out rather than further entangled there.
Cecil thought he had a very clever plan for Danioni’s fall. Mainly, I was cringing in advance for Claudine finding out that Jack (cut off by his wife, good for her) was back. Somehow, he convinced Jack to say he was in, and prove it by giving Cecil the ring Danioni wanted.
We saw that Alice had overcome her fears and could ride horses, and was so buoyed up that she went to Albani’s and suggested they rode together. It all went very well, until it didn’t, and she fell off. Albani was worried sick because she lay still for a while, but she was all right, and then they made out, and I idly wondered about his creaking knees.
When they stopped making out, she said she had to collect the horse, strode over (over)confidently, the horse wasn’t having it, Albani gave some advice and…compared her to a high-strung horse. She took it badly (and proved his point.) She was still sulking when he saw her later at the hotel.
I’d like Alice better if she suggested teaching Lottie to ride. Not that they showed Lottie, and, as ever, I thought they missed out on a lot of potentially interesting interactions in this episode. As for Albini, he’s a grown man, if he wants to keep chasing a woman of the same generation as his son when he’s seen what she’s like for nearly three episodes now…
The episode ended with Danioni, some dogs and blackshirts advancing on Marco's place, where he was sleeping.
I felt rather sorry for Antonio, the young blackshirt who got dropped off in the streets after being tortured at the start of the episode and then was brought before Danioni, who reminded him that he was paying for Antonio to support his Italian Mama before finding out what he’d blabbed.
I sympathised with Marco’s flare of class rage at Count Albani and the upper classes (no idea if that’s a fair assessment of their role in Mussolini’s ascent). Obviously, he was also jealous of Bella turning to ‘Carlo’ for advice and help, but he did admit as much, and apologised for it.
Bella possibly overpromised in an attempt to make things up with her father (a man who thought he knew better than a doctor about how to deal with a dicky heart). Amelia was vaguely threatening about the money, but the throughline was that Bella talked to her about her revelation about subconsciously blaming her since childhood for their mother’s death. (You’d have thought that Bella might have gained this insight when…her children were children, but no wonder she believed her mother was playing favourites, because she does.) They started getting on better, with Bella showing off her wares, Amelia being somewhat impressed, then with Bella asking Amelia for help naming the brand – and then coming up with a name on her own! Bella introduced Marco to Amelia without quite saying ‘Here is my fancy man,’ and as the actress had no lines, she had to do major silent acting in response.
The ladies were prepping for Claudine’s launch party, the men were brewing revenge. Cecil went back to visit Jack. At first, I was: WHY!?!? But I suppose a bit of rest had given him the idea of explaining to Jack that Danioni was really his enemy and getting him in on a plan to avenge himself on him.
Lucian, feeling bad (AS HE SHOULD) for the torture, took a gun to a hunting party for Nish’s body. They didn’t quite believe they’d find it, but find it they did, with Varun giving a howl of outrage. Danioni, blackshirts and dogs were after them, Marco dropped Chekhov’s sweaty handkerchief, so even though they got away, it wasn’t for long. Marco and Lucian told Bella, who tried to mother Varun in his grief. Turned out the boy had lost his faith after what had happened to his brother.
Bella wanted to ask Carlo for advice in the vain hope of getting justice. Marco went off in a huff. Lucian went off to the kitchen of charged encounters where he found Constance, who had already stopped Vito from trying to propose to her – which is fair enough, it is too soon. She confessed to Claudine she didn’t love him, Claudine started arguing Vito’s case, because she’d been burned by men that she thought she loved, then stuck with the good advice to Constance to follow her heart.
Well, her heart is still with Lucian’s. Ditto, although he was apparently fighting with the idea of him being poison. Passionate kiss, she pulled back, saying she couldn’t – he was proposing they left together, with Tommy, because he had something to do and then he had to leave.
Later, she’d find out that he was planning to kill Danioni (‘planning’ is doing a lot of work there, because whenever we saw Danioni this ep, he was in public or surrounded by blackshirts.) She told him she couldn’t be with a man who could kill in cold blood. I thought there was a lot of hot blood coursing through Lucian at that point, not that I supported his plan for vengeance or thought that it was a very clever plan. (Really loved the way they’d used the sea coming in for that scene.)
I liked Paola seeing Lucian and Constance together, and clocking that there was something between them. Nice continuity to her response. Also it hasn’t occurred to Lucian that Constance might deserve for him to want to be with her in front of his family – he offered to be a father figure for Tommy, but nothing so definite as marriage.
Not that I think Constance should marry Vito if she doesn’t want to. Nice and understanding as he is, he is Italian in a clearly increasingly fascist Italy. I’m all for the Brits getting out rather than further entangled there.
Cecil thought he had a very clever plan for Danioni’s fall. Mainly, I was cringing in advance for Claudine finding out that Jack (cut off by his wife, good for her) was back. Somehow, he convinced Jack to say he was in, and prove it by giving Cecil the ring Danioni wanted.
We saw that Alice had overcome her fears and could ride horses, and was so buoyed up that she went to Albani’s and suggested they rode together. It all went very well, until it didn’t, and she fell off. Albani was worried sick because she lay still for a while, but she was all right, and then they made out, and I idly wondered about his creaking knees.
When they stopped making out, she said she had to collect the horse, strode over (over)confidently, the horse wasn’t having it, Albani gave some advice and…compared her to a high-strung horse. She took it badly (and proved his point.) She was still sulking when he saw her later at the hotel.
I’d like Alice better if she suggested teaching Lottie to ride. Not that they showed Lottie, and, as ever, I thought they missed out on a lot of potentially interesting interactions in this episode. As for Albini, he’s a grown man, if he wants to keep chasing a woman of the same generation as his son when he’s seen what she’s like for nearly three episodes now…
The episode ended with Danioni, some dogs and blackshirts advancing on Marco's place, where he was sleeping.
