S01.E01: The Blackwater/S01.E02: Matters of the Heart

[blackwing]

Is anyone watching this series?  Just started airing this past Friday May 13 on Apple TV+. Three episodes dropped and I believe remaining episodes will be released once a week on Fridays.
 

Synopsis:

Quote

Newly widowed Cora, having been released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to a small village in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.

Starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston.  Based on a novel.

I watched the first episode and I’m so confused.  I feel like we got dropped right in the midst of an ongoing story with very little exposition or background.  I get that it takes time to learn about characters but it’s almost as if this show expects us to know them already.  Which makes for a bit of confusion.

They don’t explain who the people in the marsh at the beginning was… I thought it was Claire Danes but I don’t think so.  They don’t explain exactly who the woman with her is.  Is she the maid or governess or friend or sister?  I’m not sure who this doctor is or why we are supposed to care about him.

Still, I like period pieces and the story seems like it can be interesting.  I hope it picks up more easily in subsequent episodes.  

[Spartan Girl]

How hot is Tom Hiddleston in this show? Because he’s the only reason I’m even considering watching this.

[Rickster]

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

They don’t explain who the people in the marsh at the beginning was… I thought it was Claire Danes but I don’t think so.  They don’t explain exactly who the woman with her is.  Is she the maid or governess or friend or sister?  I’m not sure who this doctor is or why we are supposed to care about him.

We watched the first three episodes. Without giving anything away, the people in the marsh are just two local girls, one of whom disappears and is believed by the locals to have been taken by the serpent.

I agree Clair Danes’ companion is very puzzling and it’s not explained. She’s very “familiar” to be just a servant or nanny, yet she is treated like a servant at times.

We are enjoying it, but it is slow moving.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Rickster

[blackwing]

15 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

How hot is Tom Hiddleston in this show? Because he’s the only reason I’m even considering watching this.

Hah.  I'm not sure what the standards are for "hot", but from a male perspective, he looks like a worn-out version of Loki, a bit older and tired, with his scraggly hair but it's the actors natural light/medium brown and not the very dark brown / black from the MCU.

He plays the village vicar, and so far he seems to be in a tough spot.  His entire village believes that this serpent is real, he is about the only one that thinks it is a myth, and doesn't seem to be able to change anyone's mind.

[pezgirl7]

19 hours ago, blackwing said:

They don’t explain exactly who the woman with her is.  Is she the maid or governess or friend or sister?  I’m not sure who this doctor is or why we are supposed to care about him.

I think the woman is her maid, maybe with benefits. The way the maid kissed Cora on the neck, I got the impression that the maid is in love with Cora, although I'm not sure if the feeling is mutual.

The plot line with the doctors is odd. Does the one doctor really fancy Cora? I find him creepy and lacking empathy. Does the other doctor like the maid? Or does he just like being around her because she's showing him a world that he's not familiar with?

As far as the serpent, the opening scene confused me, because it definitely looked like there was a creature that attacked the girl. Unless her sister was imagining it. I don't know of any living animal that would move that quickly and would live in that environment.

I'm guessing Cora and Will might have an affair, but I hope that doesn't happen. Will's wife seems pretty awesome. I'm not sure of the exact year this takes place, but I was bit surprised at seeing the women being so independent, traveling around on their own, and being so free with their thoughts. I'm not sure if that is historically accurate. Maybe it was, I honestly don't know.

 

18 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

How hot is Tom Hiddleston in this show? Because he’s the only reason I’m even considering watching this.

As a fellow Tom Hiddleston fan, I'd say he looks pretty hot. He has a nice blue scarf which really brings out the color of his eyes. lol

Edited May 16, 2022 by pezgirl7

[Scarlett45]

22 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

I'm guessing Cora and Will might have an affair, but I hope that doesn't happen. Will's wife seems pretty awesome. I'm not sure of the exact year this takes place, but I was bit surprised at seeing the women being so independent, traveling around on their own, and being so free with their thoughts. I'm not sure if that is historically accurate. Maybe it was, I honestly don't know.

1893 I believe is the year.
 

Cora is a widow- and a widow with money, she’s pretty free to do what she wants, she just can’t vote, and she would usually have her lady’s maid with her out in the city, but in the countryside it was more common for her to just be walking about. 
 

Cora and Will are being set up to have an emotional affair. His walks alone with Cora in the woods weren’t exactly appropriate- she’s unwed and no one else was there (if her son had gone on the walk it would’ve been fine). 

[blackwing]

On 5/15/2022 at 9:56 PM, Rickster said:

We watched the first three episodes. Without giving anything away, the people in the marsh are just two local girls, one of whom disappears and is believed by the locals to have been taken by the serpent.

I agree Clair Danes’ companion is very puzzling and it’s not explained. She’s very “familiar” to be just a servant or nanny, yet she is treated like a servant at times.

We are enjoying it, but it is slow moving.

On 5/16/2022 at 1:59 PM, pezgirl7 said:

I think the woman is her maid, maybe with benefits. The way the maid kissed Cora on the neck, I got the impression that the maid is in love with Cora, although I'm not sure if the feeling is mutual.

The plot line with the doctors is odd. Does the one doctor really fancy Cora? I find him creepy and lacking empathy. Does the other doctor like the maid? Or does he just like being around her because she's showing him a world that he's not familiar with?

 

Finished Episode 2 last night, and I agree that this show is particularly slow moving.   I'm still trying to figure out what the deal is with Martha.  Cora decided to stay in Essex so Martha offered to go to London and fetch some things.  Martha said she needed money for the train which Cora gladly provided and then was going to give her additional money for expenses, but Martha said no.  If she was a servant, then there wouldn't even have been a need to ask for money, she would just have a stash of money and ready access to it and there would have been no mention of expenses, it would have been assumed that everything was paid for by Cora.

Then when she is in the carriage with the two doctors, the one that is not Luke Garrett asked her if the servants would still be awake and waiting for her, and she says something like "I am the servant.  Just kidding."  Which I interpreted as meaning there are no servants in the house.

So I think I agree that she is just some kind of companion and possibly Cora's lover.  Cora didn't want to enter into the marriage with her abusive husband.  Maybe Martha was always the maid and became something more, and now that the husband is dead, she is still the maid but no longer has to hide the relationship from the husband?

It seems obvious that Cora is the central character of this story, but I am finding her particularly unlikeable.  I get that she is some kind of biologist with a particular interest in natural history, but if I were living in that village I would just find her damn annoying.  Why is she still around, poking her head into everybody's business.

I truly don't care about the two doctors at all.  Luke likes Cora and the other one likes Martha, but I'm finding them useless and extraneous.

I think I would have preferred a story where the story focused on Tom Hiddleston trying to convince his flock that the serpent isn't real.  I don't really need the Claire Danes character at all.

 

[AngieBee1]

So far I am really enjoying it. I hope it doesn't spiral wildly in the final few episodes.

This is by far the most I have enjoyed Frank Dillane. He almost always plays jumped up characters, but there's at least a bit of charming mischief behind Luke instead of full-blown arrogance and smarm.

I like the dynamic between Cora, Martha, Luke and George - I think they are all better suited as friends than potential partners (though I gotta love George and Luke both subtlety shooting their respective shots with the women.

The scene where Cora and Martha were discussing how they wouldn't be welcomed in the profession and Luke gestured to Spencer replying, in essence, "Who says we were welcomed?" Made me think that it was in reference to them all being radicals - Cora with being a naturalist, Martha a socialist and Luke and Spencer doctors trying to forge a new path for medicine, but I also felt it could be read as Luke acknowledging that he and George are bi-racial and probably did face some pushback to joining the medical field.

I wish Apple+ had gone the two episode drop route because this episode was mostly filler. Enjoyable filler, but filler, nonetheless.

[Scarlett45]

On 5/20/2022 at 12:09 PM, AngieBee1 said:

The scene where Cora and Martha were discussing how they wouldn't be welcomed in the profession and Luke gestured to Spencer replying, in essence, "Who says we were welcomed?" Made me think that it was in reference to them all being radicals - Cora with being a naturalist, Martha a socialist and Luke and Spencer doctors trying to forge a new path for medicine, but I also felt it could be read as Luke acknowledging that he and George are bi-racial and probably did face some pushback to joining the medical field.

Yes - I saw that was a direct reference that George (played by Jamael Westman, he’s so handsome!) black and thus faced a lot of discrimination in joining the profession.

I knew Frank Dilliane was multi racial but I wasn’t sure if his character was supposed to be if that makes sense. 

[HelloooKitty]

Well I didn’t get that either if the Doctors were biracial. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention. I’m sorry Clair Danes was married to an abuser, but she’s still annoying and boring in turns. 
All I can think when I see Stella is “look, it’s Fleur!”

I like Tom Hiddleston a lot but he needs a good scrubbing. I know regular baths weren’t fully a thing yet, but you’d think the clergy would keep a bit neater. 

[chediavolo]

What happened to Claire Danes nose? In the scene where they found the dead body the camera angle couldn’t be more unflattering!  
Her son is quite the little brat.
It’s ok so far. I’m convinced the vicar knows more about this serpent/devil than he is letting on. If it weren’t for Loki, I’d be out!