Major Spoilers Ahead
Prudie Revere
“The Frenchies are coming!” Prudie does her best Paul Revere impression, sounding the alarm when a French ship appears on the horizon. Cornwall is ill-prepared for attack. Who better to train and lead the militia than Cap’n Ross Poldark? Ross accepts an offer for a new role! He’s seen what revolution can do to a country and its people, and not allow this fate for his home. Georgie goes whining to Sir Frances, unable to deal with his sworn enemy in charge of something. Sir Frances is dismissive of these trivial complaints. Trouble in paradise for these political allies? George is not the puppet Sir Frances hoped for, voting against the best interest of the commoners. How much longer are the commoners going to tolerate suffering while George is in charge?
Girl Power
The women of Poldark are done suffering, for sure! Demelza is tired of Ross’s cold shoulder when she has Hugh treating her like the sun shines from her as…tute personality. Not for the first time, Ross tells her if she is unhappy she should look elsewhere. Is that a dare? We get it, you’re preparing for battle, but us girls can only handle so much rejection. We knew his little kiss last week would haunt Ross somehow, and we didn’t wait long. If only his confession had been real, but Ross never learns and keeps his secrets. Demelza seizes the moment to make some secrets of her own in the sand dunes by the sea!
Take it easy on Demelza! Let’s not forget Ross cheated last season, and has done precious little to make up for it. Not to mention, Hugh played the whole “I’m going blind” card. Will her dalliance be as fulfilling as she hopes?
Elizabeth is tired of standing aside while her husband dishes out suffering to LITERALLY EVERYONE, but mostly to her and her son. I’m not sure if she got off the sauce or if Aunt Agatha’s death lit a fire in her, but boy did she blaze! The tongue thrashing she gives George is a thing of beauty, even if that tongue is coated in lies. She takes Ross’s advice after their churchyard encounter, and lies about Valentine’s parentage to protect him and save her marriage. It is evident in George’s reaction that he might not love much, but he REALLY does love her and is desperate to keep her. In his breakdown, we get a glimpse of the insecure boy who got toads stuffed down his pants. We now know who wears the pants in this marriage! I hope Elizabeth wields this power over him responsibly in the future!
The girl power continues as Osborne Whitworth is no match for the Chenowith sisters. Rowella has ruthlessly tempted him, much to our disgust, for weeks. However, is she as into him as she pretends to be? Getting a woman pregnant outside of marriage would be quite the blow to the good reverend’s reputation. With a bun in the oven, Rowella has all the leverage she needs to protect her sister and set herself up quite nicely. Morwenna has some leverage of her own. In perhaps one of the most satisfying scenes of the series, she threatens to kill Ossie’s son if he doesn’t leave her room and never return. She does comfort the boy and all of us afterward by telling him she never would really kill him. Fortunately, she is convincing enough for Osborne!
Richies not Frenchies
The townspeople rise up after Drake is nearly beaten to death by George’s manservant, Tom Hardy. Nope! That’s not it, Tom Harry (EVERY FREAKIN’ TIME). Tholly sets off with a mob to make George and the rest of the richies pay. Ross, thinking the French have arrived, grabs his men to defend Cornwall. In a strange turn of events, Ross is forced to protect George and his grain against his beloved commoners. Who will he choose? Will he become the reckless, rabble rouser George believes he is? Will he fire on the townspeople allowing friend to kill friend? When it seems there is no honorable way out of his predicament, Ross finds a third option. He can fight George and save his people with…POLITICS! He vows the next time he is offered a position in public office, he will take it. It’s about time, but are there any positions left?
Belief
The situation in town diffused, Ross chases Demelza (albeit a breath too late). He doesn’t discover Demelza and her lover, but finds George staring out to sea instead.
He asks Ross what he believes: “That belief is a beautiful thing.” Isn’t it though? George can cling to his beautiful belief that his son is his own, his wife loves only him, and he triumphed over Ross at every turn. Ross leaves him to these beliefs, for now. For once, he sets aside his feud with George to focus on affairs of the heart.
Ross waits in an empty bed while we all wonder if Demelza has left him for good, but she returns to her husband. Is that “guilty” I see stamped across her forehead. Was her day of love with Hugh worth it?
“Ask me nothing,” she says to Ross. The look of regret on her face says it all. Ross can’t help but hold her, but will their marriage survive? We’ll have to wait until season 4!
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