In keeping with such plots, the villain prevails, but only by cheating (eye-gouging, to be exact!). Should Sam win, Blondie will come to church with him (why is he so good?) and also George will donate to a worthy cause (Ross to donate if otherwise). Speaking of fruitless endeavors, Sam Crane gets to have his own heart toyed with by a beautiful lady (a blonde who we suspect is no better than she ought to be, especially since she’s hanging out with that crooked violent gamekeeper of George’s, Tom). It’s the prejudice, you see! People hate him not because he’s a terrible person and a cruel magistrate, but because he’s new money! Surely, they will grow to see his true worth. Poor George couldn’t believe it was happening until it was over. Seeing the writing on the wall, Lord Falmouth asks Ross to be his new candidate, pledging that Ross will have the freedom to make whatever moves necessary for the improvement of the lives of the poor and the powerless.Įven with Lord Falmouth’s backing, Ross would have failed had Sir Francis Basset not switched his allegiance to him from George Warleggan at the 11th hour. To no avail, of course, but that’s brain fever for you. To Lord Falmouth’s credit, he called Dwight back into service just after the doctor got to trepanation. It was tremendously sad! Demelza was by his side, shooting down his final requests for some hope that they might be together (I think that was the right thing to do but I would be very conflicted in the face of a dying war hero who worshiped me).Īs Hugh weakened, Lord Falmouth decided that Dwight’s more modern approach to medicine wasn’t cutting the mustard, and instead brought on a More Traditional Old-Timey Cornish Doctor, who immediately ran through the Prestige Drama Checklist for bad medicine: leeches, purging, cupping, vomiting, sweating, and, should we have time, trepanation. What about Hugh, you may be asking? Well, it will come as little surprise to you that Hugh spends the vast majority of the episode on his deathbed, with the exception of the rest of the episode, in which he is simply … dead. Political machinations everywhere! George (eventually, after much fluttering and suspense) loses his seat in Parliament to one Captain Ross Poldark. Elizabeth can be a fool, but she’s very good at accepting things as they are and making the best of them.Īh, yes, the setback. In this most recent episode, when George’s greatest-ever setback at Ross’s hands could have thrust a new wedge in between him and Elizabeth, you can tell there’s a new strength between them. windswept warm earthy peasant girl,” you know? There’s only so far you can go with “aristocratic classic beauty v. And it’s making Poldark darker and twistier and more enjoyable, at least for me. If Dwight and Pug Lady do have children, they’ll be next in line. We’re watching Ross and Demelza fumble their way through this transition now, just behind George and Elizabeth. People are connected in marriage by shared responsibility, honor, commitment, children, and a heap of other things besides infatuation. I didn’t say it was more fun, mind you, but it’s what two people are left with when they have gotten to know each other well enough to realize that the person they’ve signed on for is not really the same person who wakes up next to them every morning, but they still keep going. Marriage is a lot more interesting than falling in love. Photo: courtesy of Mammoth Screen for MasterpieceĪfter a few seasons of push-pull, will-they-or-won’t-they romantic plots which haven’t particularly elevated the caliber of the show (as opposed to our blood pressure), we’re finally starting to see a more mature and more interesting set of marriages take shape.