Zella

Yeah around here, the big 3 for a Christian college experience are John Brown in NWA, C of O, and then Evangel in Springfield. For what it's worth, I have noticed people who go to John Brown seem to be more likely to have enjoyed their college experiences than people who went to C of O or Evangel. I actually had a classmate at the University of Arkansas who was an atheist but still had fond memories of her time at John Brown. That was decidedly not the experience of the atheists I knew at C of O. That's good she is at least living in the dorms! I think she dodged a bullet getting out of the Duggar circus.

If she's in NWA, she's probably at John Brown. C of O is near Branson, MO. She'd probably fit in at either place, though. (I've lived in NWA most of my life and spent a miserable 3 years surrounded by Duggar-lite people at C of O.) Edited to add: The MRS degree was popular at C of O. I feel like I'm one of only a handful of people from my class there who is still single.

The scenes between Albert and Ernst were one of the only reasons I initially warmed up to Albert in the first season. Albert's still not a favorite of mine, per se, though I don't mind him anymore, but I feel like he has more of a personality when he's with his brother. It seems like it's the only time he can be himself and be vulnerable. I don't doubt that he loves Victoria deeply, but I still think he's a lot more comfortable actually hanging out with his brother. I honestly cannot see him getting drunk around his wife ever.

Indeed! As soon as they mentioned Ada Lovelace, I was looking forward to how it would be revealed who her parents were. I was not disappointed.

I wasn't familiar with David Oakes before watching this show, though I realized in hindsight that I had seen him in an episode of Endeavour. But I think he's one of the best actors on the show and his portrayal of Ernst is definitely one of the highlights.

Ah okay thank you! I was starting to think they were going to burn through the whole series in about a month.

I think Lord Melbourne mentioned it during the party scene. If my memory serves me correctly, he was talking about how she was like her mother (scientific) and then how she was like her father (likes attention). Victoria didn't know what he meant, and that's when he dropped the Byron bomb.

That surprised me too. Did they combine episodes like this when it initially aired? I first watched the show on DVD last summer, so I watched each episode individually. I don't offhand remember other British series I watched on PBS combining all their episodes together like this. It seems like it is more common to combine the first 2 or last 2 into 1 episode and then do 1 episode a week otherwise.

Thanks so much! I appreciate it! It was just thunder storms where I live, but there were tornado warnings to the north and to the south. Thanks so much for the recaps! I was especially confounded by the first scene since it was obvious something had happened, but it was never quite clear what. I think the only thing I missed with the servants must have been Victoria firing her. I was wondering why Albert intervening would make a difference. I'm hoping I can watch this episode either on Amazon or PBS later this week without any weather interruptions.

I missed more of this episode due to storm warnings. I have no idea what happened when I assume Victoria went on her first official visit and I also missed the scene where Skerrett is fired. I always enjoy any episode that has a lot of Ernst and Albert hanging out together because the show does a good job of capturing a close sibling relationship, so I liked that aspect of this episode. I also had a good laugh at Ernst's efforts to make nice with the "thistle." I thought the reveal about Uncle Leopold was stupid and came out of nowhere, though. I had been planning on rewatching the whole series after this one wrapped up, just because I like doing that. I'll have to keep an eye out to see if they ever foreshadowed this plot twist in season 1.

Tornado warnings in my area omitted some of the stuff on the silk in the beginning for me. The double-punch of Dash and Lord Melbourne made me ugly cry. That was a lovely goodbye scene between Lord Melbourne and Victoria.

In my personal experience, people who have had really controlling childhoods tend to either grow into adults who feel uncomfortable without having their life controlled by another person or they are absolutely opposed to anything that seems controlling, even if it isn't intended that way. I think Victoria definitely falls into the latter category.

I haven't seen The Crown yet--am currently on what seems like the waitlist of infinity at my local library--but everything I've heard about Philip is that he and Albert are very different men! Truthfully, I'm not even the world's biggest Albert fan (I'm much more of a Lord Melbourne and Ernest girl), but I think the show has done a great job of making it clear that he is a good consort and husband.

I've never seen Albert as wanting to be king, even if that is how some of the other characters see him. He strikes me as an intelligent, accomplished, energetic person who is restless and frustrated with nothing to do and that the things he tries to do for Victoria are his well-meaning efforts to either reduce her stress/workload or because they are causes near and dear to his heart. I can understand why Victoria finds that frustrating at times, particularly his efforts to help her that leave her out of touch with what is going on, but I've never gotten a usurper vibe from him.

Yeah I figured that out. I guess that's what I get for only partially paying attention to anything that happens downstairs. :)

Seeing as Victoria picked one of her most senior attendants without ever meeting her, I'm thinking the palace hiring committee for the chef was probably not the most methodical. ;)

I think if the downstairs characters had more developed personalities or better chemistry, it could work, but as is, it really seems like it is inserted to imitate Downton Abbey and it's almost painful for me to sit through. The writing for those scenes is also just bland and hard to follow. I enjoy the show, but I've come to look on the downstairs moments as when I go get a snack, which is a shame because ordinarily it is something I would be interested in.

It might have been! I assumed it was intended for her based on her reaction.

Yeah, I know I am probably supposed to root for Mrs. Skerrit and Francatelli, but I can't. He was such a creep last season and now he's just an asshole. I get why he's angry, but I am not invested in that story line at all.

He told her the pots and pans needed to be so clean that he could see all of the pockmarks in her face. I intensely disliked the downstairs drama last year, and I really am not looking forward to more of it this year.

I agree it's odd it's never discussed. That could have been quite fun. My theory is they're both acting out of spite. Agatha: "That sniveling slime ball probably wants me to leave. I'm staying!" George: "That old bat probably wants to leave. She's staying!"

I think even the sympathetic ones would warn her that she wasn't getting her kid and that she'd likely stay married to Ross, no matter what. I think Ross may have let her go, but I don't know that he'd let her take his heir. I think Caroline can be depicted that way without her offering premarital sex. I think what galls me is there is no acknowledgment that what she is doing is is a serious breach of the time. She acts like it's no big deal. Dwight seems pretty unstartled. I find that unbelievable. They want her to be a thoroughly modern woman, okay, but they shouldn't then pretend like that wouldn't shock the living hell out of most other people at the time.

Agreed! I also thought her inviting herself to his room seemed anachronistic and out of character. She's obviously not an entirely traditional woman of her class, but that seemed to push the boundaries much more than she's been shown to.

Ordinarily, I'd agree that a woman in her situation wouldn't risk endangering that position during this time period. But I think Demelza literally did not give a shit anymore about that position and she's been established as outspoken, so though it would have been highly unusual, I don't consider it impossible--there are always folks out-of-step with their time period--and I didn't think it was really out-of-character. Honestly, I am bothered more in period dramas not when people behave anachronistically, though it can and does irk me, but when people don't call them out on that behavior. So, what I found odd and anachronistic is everyone's response to Demelza's threats. My history degree was not for this time period, but if my memory is right, she would have had no legal right to her son and a divorce would have literally required an act of Parliament. So, if I'm not mistaken, she could have left if she was very adamant about it, but she would still have been legally married to him and she wouldn't have been taking her son with her. Or at least she wouldn't have had him long. I was surprised nobody threw that in her face. From a character standpoint, I thought it was more out-of-character that she threatened to go to her dad. I mean, she doesn't really have options, but I'd think she would know that he isn't really an option, what with his personality and their past history, and that Ross would know that wasn't an actual option for her and consider it a bluff. Though I enjoyed the episode, authenticity-wise, I was much more bothered by Caroline and Dwight's public kiss. That had me rolling my eyes. No. Just, no.

I did too! I had been considering not watching the next season just because I was so bored mid-way through the season, but this episode and the one last week piqued my interest in the way the first season did. Haha I enjoyed that more than is probably healthy. Right before fight scenes and during previews that feature brawls, my relatives and I always joke, "It's not really an episode of Poldark unless Ross is punching someone." We may have to revise that to "It's not really an episode of Poldark unless Ross is trying to cook somebody."