Victoria: The Clockwork Prince

January 30, 2017 5:13 AM - Season 1, Episode 3

Albert pays a visit against the queen’s wishes and meets royal disdain. The mystery of Miss Skerrett’s past deepens. A walk in the woods leads to broken bones. Dickens is discussed. And there is much shirt-ripping.
posted by Thorzdad (11 comments total)

For as little as I care about the servant plot lines (though eventually they intersect with Albert, Manager) I did enjoy it when Drinky switched to German. Who could've predicted that people who work for the House of Hanover might speak German?
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I wasn't expecting the proposal to happen this episode; Victoria's change of affection seemed too sudden. The AV Club recapper pointed out in the previous episode (I think) that in the actual history Albert came to visit at Victoria's invitation, that having him foisted on her by Leopold as written in the show robs her of agency, and I definitely felt it this episode. Yes, they had her invite him to Windsor, but still.

I do like the chemistry between the actors, but it has more of a generic romance novel feel than I think I want from the series.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

...though eventually they intersect with Albert, Manager...

I, too, am tired of the downstairs drama, but if it eventually comes into play with Albert I guess I'll pay attention. Admittedly, I tend to zone-out whenever the camera moves downstairs.

To the Victoriana experts...Was the whole Victoria/Albert wooing as quick as the show depicts? It makes it seem as if they spend a week together, share a dance and, tah-dah, kissy-face.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:06 AM on January 30, 2017

One quick bit that struck me was during the back and forth regarding Dickens latest tome. Albert inquires to Lord M whether he doesn't feel it necessary to know of the realities of life as a British subject, and Lord M blithely wand-waves it away, opining that his position gives him plenty of insight. It was the first time we've seen Lord M depicted as something less than a white knight.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:17 AM on January 30, 2017

From Wikipedia:

Victoria continued to praise Albert following his second visit in October 1839. Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him on 15 October 1839, just five days after he had arrived at Windsor.[57] They were married on 10 February 1840, in the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace, London.

(Their first meeting was several years previously.) If anything, the show shows her falling for Albert too slowly.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:32 AM on January 30, 2017

To the Victoriana experts...Was the whole Victoria/Albert wooing as quick as the show depicts? It makes it seem as if they spend a week together, share a dance and, tah-dah, kissy-face.

As Huffy Puffy notes, the show has essentially had to invent obstacles to what was an already done deal (the only suspense was when they would marry, not if they would--their mutual interest was quite obvious and well understood).
posted by thomas j wise at 8:48 AM on January 30, 2017

Now that I've actually watched this episode, it's clearer than before that the production team wanted to do a "drama" about someone whose life wasn't actually dramatic--there's so much time spent inventing non-existent conflicts so that the Queen's relationship with Albert can be shoehorned into a conventional romance plot. They might have done better to just focus on the folks downstairs, with the royalty appearing only off to the side...

That being said, I was amused by Mr. Penge's fluent German. Also, oatmeal.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:09 AM on January 31, 2017

What's frustrating to me is that I think there's plenty of drama to be wrung out of the actual history without resorting to manufactured drama. Removing Sir John from her life, asserting her own authority as an adult woman, etc. And just because Victoria and Albert were in love doesn't automatically mean that their marriage would be unending bliss.

I've ended every episode so far wanting to go give The Young Victoria another rewatch.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:46 AM on January 31, 2017

A good episode. Things happened which we knew were going to happen, but it was pleasant enough getting there. A few surprises along the way -- like Lord M's "Oh, I know all about that", the German comeuppance, and yes, dramatic, passionate shirt-ripping -- and it was a quite enjoyable outing. No complaints.

That said, I find the very concept of house uniforms a little weird, but hey -- I'm no royal.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:55 AM on January 31, 2017

That said, I find the very concept of house uniforms a little weird...

I find even weirder that, somewhere in the castle, there's a room full of said uniforms in various sizes to fit whomever is visiting.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:12 AM on February 1, 2017

I was reminded by this FPP that I also enjoyed the scene where Sir Rowland Hill explained how stamps work--because they were introducing the Penny Black, the (probably) first self-adhesive stamp, so this was new to everybody.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:45 AM on February 10, 2017