S02.E01: Capital R Rake

[awaken]

IMO Benedict and Anthony look too similar. It’s hard to keep their storylines straight because of that. 

[magdalene]

21 hours ago, awaken said:

IMO Benedict and Anthony look too similar. It’s hard to keep their storylines straight because of that. 

I think that's a plus, makes them believable as brothers. And they are quite different in temperament.

[Enero]

On 3/26/2022 at 6:05 AM, andromeda331 said:

I love Kate knocking Anthony down a peg. He really needs it. I loved their first scene together. Kate clearly attracted but then crushed when she overheard him talking about what he wants in a wife.

I’m rewatching the season and when watching this episode I noticed that Kate and Anthony were inevitable. Well obviously per enemies to lovers trope. Lol. But even before Kate overheard Anthony’s discussion with his gentleman friends, there was an attraction there. Anthony was obviously intrigued when he ran into her in the park that morning and even “wondered” if he’d run into her again after that encounter. He was practically giddy when he saw that it was her on the terrace at the party. And she of course secretly watched him dance at the party and after seeing him head outside, she casually made her way outside too, following him, I think, perhaps with the hopes of running into him? 

So, I think if  things had not gone south after she heard his comments about love and marriage, they would’ve likely started seeing each other immediately. 

[A.Ham]

22 hours ago, awaken said:

IMO Benedict and Anthony look too similar. It’s hard to keep their storylines straight because of that. 

I know people complained las season but I had no problem because of the hair and even facial hair styling. This season, though, I struggled on the first episode because they no longer had those differences. There was something about Anthony’s face, though, that reminded me about one of my own cousins so I latched onto that.

[Lady Whistleup]

I fired this up tonight while doing my taxes. 

A few thoughts:

I still love this show unconditionally.

I thought Eloise looked beautiful in her season debut.

I'm really distracted by all the makeup the actor who wears Anthony works. If I can see the contours, it's too much.

I like Daphne in the background. I don't think the character was strong enough to devote a whole season to her, well, season.

I like Kate so far. I like the concept of an older single woman for Anthony. 

The Sharmas' Corgi is everything.

[Cetacean]

Need help with understanding the whole scandal sheet finances.  Pen writes it and takes it to a printer.  He prints it and gives it to the newsboys who run around town passing it out, apparently for free but Pen references giving the kids money to do it.

How is Pen getting paid?  She obviously has to pay the printer to do his work.  I am flummoxed by money situation.  Pen is hiding it under the floorboards but where does she get it?

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

Need help with understanding the whole scandal sheet finances.  Pen writes it and takes it to a printer.  He prints it and gives it to the newsboys who run around town passing it out, apparently for free but Pen references giving the kids money to do it.

How is Pen getting paid?  She obviously has to pay the printer to do his work.  I am flummoxed by money situation.  Pen is hiding it under the floorboards but where does she get it?

The Ton is paying for Lady Whistledown's scandal sheet.  We see scenes of money changing hands with the boys hawking it.  For the scenes where it is brought to a character, a servant would have paid for it out of the household account.  Pen gets all the money leftover after the newsboys get paid and the printer gets his cut.  When she drops off the new edition,  he gives her the profit.

[Cetacean]

8 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

The Ton is paying for Lady Whistledown's scandal sheet.  We see scenes of money changing hands with the boys hawking it.  For the scenes where it is brought to a character, a servant would have paid for it out of the household account.  Pen gets all the money leftover after the newsboys get paid and the printer gets his cut.  When she drops off the new edition,  he gives her the profit.

Thanks for that.  I have only seen this first episode and honestly can't remember from the first season.

[PatsyandEddie]

I believe Lady Whistedown’s paper stated out being free but as demand rose, Pen started to charge for it. 

[sas616]

On 3/31/2022 at 8:02 PM, magdalene said:

I think that's a plus, makes them believable as brothers. And they are quite different in temperament.

Big difference is Benedict smiles.   (He's my favorite brother!)

[Conotocarious]

Benedict is a bit taller and larger framed and has a much different face. Honestly, just because two people have dark hair doesn’t make them similar.

[Enero]

On 3/30/2022 at 10:27 PM, awaken said:

IMO Benedict and Anthony look too similar. It’s hard to keep their storylines straight because of that. 

It was difficult for me to distinguish between the brothers last season. Even still Anthony stood out most amongst the three. However, this season he stood out even more IMO. I don’t know what JB changed, but when he first appeared in this episode I was like whoa. Very attractive. For some reason his good looks just didn’t register to me last season but this season they did. I will say, I can now distinguish between the brothers very easily unlike last season. 

[awaken]

On 4/2/2022 at 5:45 PM, Conotocarious said:Honestly, just because two people have dark hair doesn’t make them similar.

Thanks so much for letting me know! I hadn’t realized. All this time I thought people who looked alike were all similar!  

[anniebird]

On 3/27/2022 at 12:21 AM, magdalene said:

Well, I am not missing Simon one bit. But then I always thought that while Daphne and Simon had a lot of sex, they didn't have the kind of intense chemistry that I want in my romantic pairings. To this day I think Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle  are an ideal example along with that North and South couple.

I think Kate and Anthony have promise and I love that adorable dog of hers.

Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle were a couple in real life during the filming - I would imagine that makes a big difference in their onscreen chemistry.

[GaT]

On 4/3/2022 at 4:49 PM, Enero said:

I don’t know what JB changed, but when he first appeared in this episode I was like whoa. Very attractive. For some reason his good looks just didn’t register to me last season but this season they did.

Anthony season 1

Anthony season 2

They updated his hair & sideburns. That was one of my biggest concerns about season 2, all the White guys had Regency hair in season 1 & did not look good to my eyes.

Edited April 5, 2022 by GaT
just added a little clarity

[bijoux]

It really is a shame photographs didn't exist then so Kate can't make fun of him for this. Although the family paintings are incredibly realistic so she'd have some Material.

[smartymarty]

On 4/2/2022 at 5:45 PM, Conotocarious said:

Benedict is a bit taller and larger framed and has a much different face. Honestly, just because two people have dark hair doesn’t make them similar.

Of course, being taller only helps when both A & B are in the same scene. I can tell them apart then just by the dialog. It's when only one is on the screen that I am sometimes confused if what is happening in the scene does not provide any clues.

Though I enjoy this show, I was disappointed that the plot is basically the same as the first season's, same as any Jane Austen book -- the two who hate each other at the beginning (possibly only by a misunderstanding!) are fated to be be together by the end. (And I write this not having seen all the episodes yet, so I'm not spoiling, I'm just confident I know where this is going, unless they pull a Sanditon on me.)

Edited April 12, 2022 by smartymarty

[WatchrTina]

Man, this show requires SO much effort to figure out who all the characters are and how they are related.  

Specifically I find I am STILL confused by the two Sharma sisters and how they are related.  They have the same father and different mothers, right?  And London was shocked by the father's decision to marry the first wife, who was of lower rank, right?  And that's why the elder Miss Sharma was never presented at court?  But the father remarried after Miss Sharma's mother died and now her younger half-sister IS being presented at court because SHE had an acceptable mother.  Have I that right?  (Her mother must also be dead, otherwise the mother would be supporting her daughter in her debut year.  And was the late, second Mrs. Sharma somehow related to Lady Danbury and that's why SHE is sponsoring Edwina in her debut year?  I SWEAR I am paying attention -- I watched the episode twice -- but it is all SO confusing.)

That being said, what a beautiful show.  It's a delight to the eye, even as it cofounds my brain.

[Llywela]

22 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

Man, this show requires SO much effort to figure out who all the characters are and how they are related.  

Specifically I find I am STILL confused by the two Sharma sisters and how they are related.  They have the same father and different mothers, right?  And London was shocked by the father's decision to marry the first wife, who was of lower rank, right?  And that's why the elder Miss Sharma was never presented at court?  But the father remarried after Miss Sharma's mother died and now her younger half-sister IS being presented at court because SHE had an acceptable mother.  Have I that right?  (Her mother must also be dead, otherwise the mother would be supporting her daughter in her debut year.  And was the late, second Mrs. Sharma somehow related to Lady Danbury and that's why SHE is sponsoring Edwina in her debut year?  I SWEAR I am paying attention -- I watched the episode twice -- but it is all SO confusing.)

Not quite. Kate and Edwina's father was of lower class. Kate is the daughter of his first wife, who was also lower class. Lady Mary then fell in love with him and married him against her parents' wishes, which is why her daughter, Edwina, is eligible to be presented at court, whereas Kate, the stepdaughter of lower class, is not. None of them are related to Lady Danbury, she chose to sponsor Edwina because she knew Lady Mary from her girlhood, had kept in touch, and sympathised with their plight.

[LilJen]

I love Newton.

I’m sick of Penelope fawning over Colin.

[andromeda331]

On 4/16/2022 at 6:58 PM, LilJen said:

I love Newton.

I’m sick of Penelope fawning over Colin.

So am I. She can do better. 

[Scarlett45]

On 4/28/2022 at 3:07 AM, andromeda331 said:

So am I. She can do better. 

She can, but I guess the heart wants what it wants.......at least she isn't acting ridiculous, but its so obvious she cares for him deeply. How is he so blind?

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

She can, but I guess the heart wants what it wants.......at least she isn't acting ridiculous, but its so obvious she cares for him deeply. How is he so blind?

I don't know. Or why he's still hung up on Marina. 

[katha]

Colin is not the sharpest tool in the shed, at least on the show. ;-) Or at least he comes across as still very naive and unobservant, to be more generous about it. So I guess that explains his obliviousness in part. And to be fair to the character, if you know someone from childhood/for a very long time, it's often difficult to get beyond the first impression you had of them. And then they stay that childhood friend in your perception, even though they have developed further. 

That said, I'm very interested how they will work out that dynamic on the show. Penelope comes across as so much more mature and life-hardened than Colin, in good and bad ways. I don't see them as a good fit at the moment tbh. 

[wanderingstar]

I've started my re-watch, and Mrs. Varley is even more delightful than I'd remembered. Her shade is epic and I am here for all of it.

[Camera One]

I finally decided to start Season 2.  Season 1 was very pretty and stylish, but I didn't find it easy to root for the main coupling.

So far, this season seems like it could be a pleasant diversion, but not much more thus far. 

The trope of two people who start off on the wrong foot has been done so many times, so I will need to wait to see if this will pay off.  I did feel some chemistry between Anthony and Kate.  But Anthony was still sleeping around, and annoyingly judgmental with his interviews.  Kate was a tad abrasive and ungrateful to Lady Danbury, but I did feel more for her after the scene with Danbury revealing their financial situation and wanting the best for her sister.

Penelope as the secret writer felt out of the blue at the end of last season, but it was sort of interesting to see her at work in this one.  How she could write an entire pamphlet AND sneak off to the printer during a ball was still ridiculous, though.

I like Eloise but I'm not sure we got anything new.  I do like watching the family together, and the show is still as pretty and stylish as ever.