Poldark: Episode 1.8
April 28, 2021 3:41 AM - Season 1, Episode 8 - Subscribe

Ross faces ruin as, along with the rest of his collective, he must sell copper to the Warleggans' company at a nominal price. When an outbreak of diphtheria leaves Elizabeth, Francis, their son, and all their servants ill, Demelza goes to Trenwith to care for them, with disastrous results for her own family. The Warleggans' ship wrecks on the rocks near a Nampara beach, and Ross rallies the villagers to salvage its cargo of food.
posted by orange swan (2 comments total)
 
I had to wonder who was taking care of the Trenwith servants, but maybe Demelza checked in on them too -- and it certainly isn't all on her to look after ten people. I would hope there would be neighbours and family (the servants must have had some family) who would come in to help out.

Poor little Julia, and her heart-broken parents. Who can't even take time to grieve without Ross getting arrested. The plotting in this show is fast and furious, but I suppose when you condense twenty years into 42 hours of TV, you have to move from event to event.

There's something deeply twisted in George Warleggan. He actually does have some capacity for compassion and love, so he's not a sociopath, but he is very dysfunctional. It's not money he wants so much as acceptance and respect, and he thinks he can get it by becoming wealthy and powerful and beating other people into submission, but he doesn't seem to realize that the vindictive tactics he uses are only going to make people hate him. No one will ever have the kind of love and respect for him that Ross gets from most of the people he knows despite his hot head and heedlessness. George thinks it's because Ross was born a gentleman, and that people look down on him for his family's origins, but of course that isn't it at all. My guess is that George's uncle, who probably is a sociopath, and who seems to have raised George, did a number on him, instilling false values and a sense of grievance in him. England's class system was pretty brutal too, of course -- there was enough truth in his uncle's worldview to make it seem reasonable to George.

Well, that's the first season's posts done, and in eight threads there are only two comments not posted by me. I don't want to do a rewatch all by myself -- it's the conversations that make it worthwhile -- so I think I'll hit the pause button on the Poldark rewatch for now. If even a few more people get on board, I'll continue, so MeMail me if you'd like to join in.
posted by orange swan at 11:24 AM on April 28, 2021


For what it's worth, orange swan, I have really enjoyed reading your summaries, and commentaries, even though I never got around to rewatching. Thank you got posting these and I hope people will discover them and comment in the future.
posted by bleep at 6:41 PM on April 28, 2021


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