The Jewel In The Crown - General Discussion

[Milz]

Charles Dance was a hottie as a young man. And very charismatic 30 years later when I watched him on Game Of Thrones still coming across as the smartest man in the room.

 

Yes he was! But there were a number of hot men on JITC, imo.

[magdalene]

 

Yes he was! But there were a number of hot men on JITC, imo

Oh, yes. Like Art Malik, and the actor who played Ahmed. And I always found Susan's doctor attractive in his small role.

 

You guys are so lucky that you can continue to watch this re-airing on PBS. When other folks here said my local station may have just shuffled JITC to a different time I checked the schedule all over - no, they just stopped airing it altogether. So annoying.

[Milz]

Oh yeah, Susan's doctor was cute.  According to his IMDB page, he was on a Prime Suspect (need to put that on the rewatch list).

 

Why would your PBS station do that? Jerks!.

[Milz]

Heh. Merrick's reaction to "Chillingborough" reminds me of that Vaudeville skit, Niagara Falls----"slowly I turn, step by step, inch by inch, and I let them have it!!!!".  And we're beginning to see the evil side of him.

 

Anyhow half-naked Charles Dance was a nice ending to my weekend.

[M. Darcy]

Poor Sarah - having Ronald marry in to her family. Ick.  Oh, Sophie.  Don't be so mean to Guy.  He hates Merrick even more than you do.  But Hari is out of jail!

 

 

Anyhow half-naked Charles Dance was a nice ending to my weekend.

That was a great scene.  Heh, not just the half naked Charles Dance but the way it was done.  And we learned lots of information in just the two of them talking.

[Milz]

Poor Sarah - having Ronald marry in to her family. Ick.  Oh, Sophie.  Don't be so mean to Guy.  He hates Merrick even more than you do.  But Hari is out of jail!

 

That was a great scene.  Heh, not just the half naked Charles Dance but the way it was done.  And we learned lots of information in just the two of them talking.

 

 

I loved Guy's comment that he's afraid to go to sleep because Merrick might be promoted to another rank. I think those promotions reinforced to Merrick what he was doing was the correct thing. But seriously, Merrick is either totally clueless  about or actually liked being a hated man.

[M. Darcy]

 

But seriously, Merrick is either totally clueless  about or actually liked being a hated man.

I think its a combo of both.  He hated (and was so jealous) of everyone so much that he didn't care what they thought and when he knew, he was just enjoyed it.  He was a sadist at heart.   Well, if he had a heart.

[Milz]

Oh yeah, Merrick was a sadist. But was his motivation to marry Daphne to provide him a cover of respectability. In the book and in the series, Lady Chatterjee said that Merrick was the most eligible bachelor in Mayapore and many of the girls were ticked off because he paid more attention to Daphne (who they didn't consider as pretty as themselves). Daphne  was a bit naive, but she wasn't an idiot. Most of her money was to be inherited from Lady Manners.

[M. Darcy]

I'm trying to remember the timeline.  Did he really start to pay attention to her before he noticed her and Hari together talking at that event or after.  Heh, sounds like an excuse to rewatch that episode. 

[Milz]

I think Daphne knew Merrick before she knew Hari. He had her over his place listening to that awful military band record (yeah, listening to an evening of military and not say, Glen Miller, the Mills Brothers, the Inkspots, Crosby, Sinatra, Harry James, etc. is really romantic and a big turn on..........)  before she started meeting Hari.

 

Heh. When I watched the dramatization of Mrs. Gaskell's  North and South, I had a very hard time wrapping my head around the idea that Tim Pigott-Smith was the good Reverend Hale.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Milz

[M. Darcy]

How could she not fall in love while listening to Sousa.

 

Wait....there were other actors in North and South besides Richard Armitage?  I know what you mean.  I've been listening to a BBC Radio Production of Mansfield Park and T P-S is Sir Thomas (and a really much kinder version of Sir Thomas) and sometimes its a bit confusing to hear that voice being nice.

Edited March 24, 2015 by M. Darcy

[Milz]

How could she not fall in love while listening to Sousa.

 

Wait....there were other actors in North and South besides Richard Armitage?  I know what you mean.  I've been listening to a BBC Radio Production of Mansfield Park and T P-S is Sir Thomas (and a really much kinder version of Sir Thomas) and sometimes its a bit confusing to hear that voice being nice.

 

Right and how can she not accept his proposal when she's crying because he finally changes the record to Clair de Lune, which she associates with her dead brother?

 

Yeah, Ronald Merrick, Sarah Hills, Mr. Bates and Elizabeth Darcy had insignificant roles on North and South. I mean, Richard Armitage made that series. Pity MT never picked it up.

[M. Darcy]

Such a silly girl.

 

North and South also has the most romantic scene that has even taken place in a railroad station.  I bought the DVD but I keep checking to see if its for sale on iTunes.  Sadly, not yet.

[Milz]

I wonder how Merrick popped the question to Susan?

 

It's too bad The Carol Burnett Show was off-air when JITC was on. I can see  Carol as Sarah getting the news that Merrick was marrying Susan.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Milz

[M. Darcy]

Probably over dinner with military music playing in the background.   I think we find out the next episode that he had extra help by seeing her medical records and knowing just what to say. He really is an evil bastard.  I wonder if back then Tim knew just how good he was while filming. 

 

Picture of Charles Dance at the Game of Thrones premiere looking better than the youngsters - http://tomandlorenzo.com/2015/03/les-boys-at-the-games-of-thrones-season-five-premiere/

[Milz]

Probably over dinner with military music playing in the background.  

 

lol.  Susan is a daughter of the regiment.

[M. Darcy]

Warren Clarke is the greatest! I love Sophie Dixon.

Awesome - Charles Dance taking a bath. And good for Sarah - a hookup with a guy who's not a cad.

[Milz]

Well, Merrick's begun his transformation from a jerk to a serious Big Bad.

 

Charles Dance as Guy Perron, the little "come hither" looks he gives Sarah are downright sexy!

[M. Darcy]

They fell in love over their mutual hatred of Ronald Merrick.

 

Even though Mildred wasn't too bad last night, it was still a bit strange to watch her be evilish at 7 pm and then wonderful at 8 pm on Call the Midwife.

 

Aw, only two more episodes left.  Though, WETA is way behind MPT so I can always watch the final episodes again.  Especially after Charles Dance shows up.

[Milz]

They fell in love over their mutual hatred of Ronald Merrick.

 

Even though Mildred wasn't too bad last night, it was still a bit strange to watch her be evilish at 7 pm and then wonderful at 8 pm on Call the Midwife.

 

Aw, only two more episodes left.  Though, WETA is way behind MPT so I can always watch the final episodes again.  Especially after Charles Dance shows up.

 

WETA UK is more ahead of WETA  non-UK on sunday. Pledge Decade strikes again!

 

Watching alcoholic, detached, horrible tv mother runner up Mildred Layton immediately before watching kind, but senile Sister Monica Joan is a mind trip.

 

The "I Hate Ronald Merrick" club 1 million members and counting. Aunt Charlotte is the most powerful person in the series, as she was able to get Guy out of Merrick's clutches.

[M. Darcy]

Though, why wasn't she thinking of us!  We don't want Guy to leave!  Heh, though, I think he's back in the next episode. 

 

 

WETA UK is more ahead of WETA  non-UK on sunday. Pledge Decade strikes again!

I think last night MPT was episode 12 but WETA was episode 7.   Silly pledge drives.

[Milz]

Though, why wasn't she thinking of us!  We don't want Guy to leave!  Heh, though, I think he's back in the next episode. 

 

I think last night MPT was episode 12 but WETA was episode 7.   Silly pledge drives.

 

According to the WETA UK April schedule, we'll get JITC on April 4, then they're running a Downtown Abbey Marathon on April 11 and 18. And JITC returns on April 25.

[SFoster21]

OT, but if you want Charles Dance, find the movie "White Mischief."

[Milz]

Nicholas Farrell (AKA Teddy Bingham) was on Call the Midwife, as Sister Julienne's ex-boyfriend, whom she jilted at a Charlie Chaplin movie 30 years ago.

 

Anyhow, last night's MPT episode, it's 1947, Guy returns to India to be a political observer. When he meets Sarah, she's very cool to him. And he's still as hot as ever for her! I wonder if he proposed marriage or proposed to go steady with her in the letter she never replied to?

[M. Darcy]

He looked so old!!  But I'm sure it was makeup.  Sadly, he didn't have any scenes with his former mother in law.

 

Really Sarah - why didn't you answer that letter?!  Do we ever know why she didn't date Nigel?  Was he already married?  Hari is back!  And RIP Ronald Merrick.  You were a bastard but we won't forget you.

 

And, next week is the finale.  Even though I've seen it and I know what happens...I will be crying nonstop I'm sure. 

[Milz]

He looked so old!!  But I'm sure it was makeup.  Sadly, he didn't have any scenes with his former mother in law.

 

Really Sarah - why didn't you answer that letter?!  Do we ever know why she didn't date Nigel?  Was he already married?  Hari is back!  And RIP Ronald Merrick.  You were a bastard but we won't forget you.

 

And, next week is the finale.  Even though I've seen it and I know what happens...I will be crying nonstop I'm sure. 

 

A JITC mini-reunion would be a hoot on CTM.

 

This is one of the series that makes me sad it concluded.

 

I like Guy's expression during Susan's retelling of "Ronnie" and his missing arm, clothes, etc. you could almost hear him say "She's as loonie as a nekkid jaybird in a 12 foot high snow drift!"

Edited April 6, 2015 by Milz

[Milz]

Leslie Grantham (Den on EastEnders) is in the credits for "The Moghul Room" as "Signals Sergeant". Was he the guy who escorts Guy to the processing center after Guy gets his papers?

[M. Darcy]

That was Dirty Den??!!!  I need to watch again tonight. There weren't that many new characters so it should be easy to find him.  

 

Heh, Ronald Merrick and Dirty Den in the same episode.  All the ick. 

[Deanie87]

I've also been watching this on the various WETAs. Does anyone know if they are cutting things out? Barbie dies and I don't believe it is ever mentioned. Then, Susan nearly kills her baby and there doesn't seem to be much follow up regarding the baby. I know that there are huge time jumps so maybe I am just not watching closely enough, but I keep getting the feeling that the things I imagine to be important in the scheme of the show, end up never addressed again. Am I just not getting it lol?

Also, the episode descriptions give just about everything away. I have this problem with The Buccaneers as well.

[M. Darcy]

 

Barbie dies and I don't believe it is ever mentioned. Then, Susan nearly kills her baby and there doesn't seem to be much follow up regarding the baby.

Barbie's death is mentioned at a dinner party (with Mildred making a few bitchy comments) and then Nigel gives Sarah the lace with the butterflies that Barbie left to her.   We see the baby again when Susan and Sarah's father comes home - he has a few scenes with Teddy.  And Susan seems fine with Teddy - like nothing had happened. 

Edited April 7, 2015 by M. Darcy

[SusanSunflower]

Got a notice this is available on netflix streaming !! 

[Milz]

I've also been watching this on the various WETAs. Does anyone know if they are cutting things out? Barbie dies and I don't believe it is ever mentioned. Then, Susan nearly kills her baby and there doesn't seem to be much follow up regarding the baby. I know that there are huge time jumps so maybe I am just not watching closely enough, but I keep getting the feeling that the things I imagine to be important in the scheme of the show, end up never addressed again. Am I just not getting it lol?

Also, the episode descriptions give just about everything away. I have this problem with The Buccaneers as well.

 

The WETAs are on different episodes. Thank Pledge Millennium for messing it up. WETA UK showed The Moghul Room on Saturday April 4 (that's episode 12 of 14). WETA UK won't show another JITC until April 24 (it's being pre-empted for a Downtown Abbey Marathon). WETA non-UK showed The Day of the Scorpion on Sunday April 5. This sunday (April 12). It will show The Towers of Silence (episode 9 of 14). By the end of this month, WETA UK will be 1 episode ahead of WETA non-UK.

 

The positive is that while WETA non-UK is catching up with WETA UK,  we'll get to see half naked Charles Dance again-----twice! :-)

 

Susan's baby drama and Barbie are followed up in the next episodes (The Towers of Silence, and Travelling Companions episode 11). So you'll be able to catch up on WETA non-UK.

 

If you watch it on MPT, this sunday (April 12) will be the last episode.

 

That was Dirty Den??!!!  I need to watch again tonight. There weren't that many new characters so it should be easy to find him.  

 

Heh, Ronald Merrick and Dirty Den in the same episode.  All the ick. 

 

I'm not sure who Den is, because I'm not sure who the Signals Sergeant is. I presume he's the guy who escorts  Guy to the processing center, since he's the only one who has dialogue (other than the NonComs at the hospital billet and the medical officer who tells Guy not to get clap between Pankot and Ranpur). But I'll rewatch on WETA non-UK.....I get too distracted when Guy is taking a bath........

Edited April 8, 2015 by Milz

[Deanie87]

Thanks everyone! I believe that the last episode I saw was 12 and it looks like I missed 13 so maybe I will just catch the earlier episodes. Maybe they will make a little more sense the second go round!

[Milz]

Thanks everyone! I believe that the last episode I saw was 12 and it looks like I missed 13 so maybe I will just catch the earlier episodes. Maybe they will make a little more sense the second go round!

This is definitely a series you need to watch a couple of times. There's so much foreshadowing and the like that one viewing is good but two or three viewing are better. Especially Hari Kumar washing at the pump, Guy Perron washing on the train, and Guy Perron in the bath tub ;-)

Edited April 9, 2015 by Milz

[M. Darcy]

I've solved the mystery of Dirty Den - he's the one that tells Sarah that Guy's jabs are up to date. I watched the bath scene a few times to make sure he isn't there - just to make sure of course. But I really looked at the face of the guy that Guy is talking to after the church scene that passes him off to Sarah and it's Leslie.

[SusanSunflower]

Finished this afternoon ... so very well done -- but somehow I was left emotionally unsatisfied.  As long as Barbie was around I was thinking, "Wow, this is giving Forsyte Saga a run for its money." (Saw JITC years ago, read the books and managed to get the plot tangled up with Passage to India, sheesh, which I tried to watch about 5 years ago and found excruciatingly "suspenseful" and had to bail.  Barbie cared about things and people -- everyone else not so much.  What became of Kumar's daughter and the fine lady of the hats and speeding car?  I feel like I missed an episode in which Barbie died, we found out about the fate of Daphne and Kumar's daughter.  Did Kumar ever know of his daughter?  Is this in the book?   What of Kumar's friend? 

 

There are so many themes ... all of the lies -- so many kinds, so many quickly discovered by the recipient -- and all of the liars. Yes, the mother is the "worst person in the world"  -- a careless and cruel liar whose lies are often so transparently absurd as to sting doubly... she doesn't care, doesn't care, doesn't care.  I feared Susan Layton was following in her mother's footsteps but then she became this oddly mentally ill boxed in creature -- saying "the right  things" in between fits of hysteria and sobbing. I wanted to know more about her marriage to Merrick. In the end, I found Sarah's opaqueness frustrating rather than curious ... what did she think of having that abortion? Where did that man *(character James Clark, played by Stuart Wilson) go?  What became of the majarani who held the party  where they met?  Those were cross-dressers at that party, weren't they?  The whole matter of sexual identities deftly handled but was that an "out in India thing" or more a British thing?  Was the young woman getting swimming lessons in that same villa, that same young girl who called the maharani "auntie"? Rosemary Leech has the perfect face and manner for so many periods, doesn't she? She always adds such a sense of "authenticity" 

 

I found myself wondering if Paul Scott intended to write more books with these characters?  Apparently the racist couple on the train are the main characters in "Staying One"  which I may read next.

Edited April 13, 2015 by SusanSunflower

[M. Darcy]

Ick - I totally forgot they showed Merrick's murdered body.

 

Now for all the emotions.  As soon as I saw the cow tied to the tracks, I started crying and then when Ahmed realized he was going to died, totally sobbing.  And that last scene with Hari writing at his desk with Guy's card and Daphne's picture.  I first saw that 31 years ago and it totally broke a piece of my heart which is still broken.  All these years and I still see that scene in my head.  Sniff. 

 

Luckily, WETA is so far behind so I don't have to say goodbye to the gang.

[SusanSunflower]

It was strange to contrast the open-hearted, outspoken principles of Daphne Manners who really did love Hari Kumar with Sarah Layton increasingly tensely pursed lipped stoicism ... I suppose eventually she ended up in Oxford with Perrone, unless something/someone else came along.  There was also the parallel between Sarah's silent acceptance of her mother and her own role as what I guess we'd call today a "co-dependent enabler" and then Sarah and Perrone's passive acceptance of Merrick, while hating him. Initially I was (briefly and erronerously) relieved to think that Merrick was a "plant" to spy on Merrick to strengthen the case for his prosecution.  To allow Susan to marry the man because it was a lots cause to try to stop him, apparently. 

 

If  Sarah and Kassim were in a "relationship" she chose the very handsome son of a very powerful man who described that son, iirc, as rather empty-headed and slow to mature -- in pursuit of beautiful women and booze -- although he had evidently matured considerably by the time of his death. I was sorry not to see more of his father or an epilogue as to the fall-out of his death. I looked in Wiki to see if these characters / incidents were "based on a real people/true story" and didn't find such references, though I do not doubt they were based on incidents and types. Yes, the horror at realiizing the cow was in fact tethered to the tracks made horrifyingly clear this was an ambush.  And in the end Perrone and Sarah came together as survivors and witnesses to horrors, each I guess admiring the powerful self-control and sense of duty in the other. The older generation -- Sister Ludmilla, manager of the mission, Barbie, Lady Manners,  Auntie Mabel -- all seemed to recognize and mourn the betrayal of India, while the next generation seemed to have developed a hard-shell, to note Arthur Layton's disgust with the "other Staying On couple" in the railroad compartment. Their refusal to recognize that things had changed, were changing and the India was on the verge of an independence that made treating Indians as second-class citizens obstinately fool-hardly, rude, stupid, etc. 

Edited April 13, 2015 by SusanSunflower

[Milz]

In the books, Parvatti Manners (Daphne's daughter) is raised by Lady Manners until Lady Manners dies in 1947 or 1948. Then she is raised by Lady Chatterjee (AKA "Aunt Lili") in Mayapore. She is raised as an "Indian girl" and excels as an singer and musician of traditional Indian music.  Lady Manners and Lady Chatterjee think Hari is her father because she has physical characteristics that resemble him. But they don't allow Hari to be a part of Parvatti's life.

 

My thoughts on Sarah....

 

She's definitely a co-dependent enabler. But with an alcoholic mother, a former POW father and a nutty sister, she's the de facto head of the Layton family. I think her relationship with Kasim was more platonic than romantic, united in their hatred for Merrick. Sarah doesn't strike me as someone with same kind of "courage" Daphne had regarding interracial relationships.

 

What I found interesting about Kasim is that he was the most a-political member of his family. His father was a politician. His brother was in jail for his political leanings. Yet he is the one who paid the price of politics. In that regard, he is similar to Hari.

 

 

I feared Susan Layton was following in her mother's footsteps but then she became this oddly mentally ill boxed in creature -- saying "the right  things" in between fits of hysteria and sobbing. I wanted to know more about her marriage to Merrick. In the end, I found Sarah's opaqueness frustrating rather than curious ... what did she think of having that abortion? Where did that man *(character James Clark, played by Stuart Wilson) go?  What became of the majarani who held the party  where they met?  Those were cross-dressers at that party, weren't they?  The whole matter of sexual identities deftly handled but was that an "out in India thing" or more a British thing?  Was the young woman getting swimming lessons in that same villa, that same young girl who called the maharani "auntie"?

 

In the books, Susan Layton says she didn't love Teddy Bingham but married him because societal pressures for young women to get married (she didn't say that exactly, but it's the gist). So that makes me think, she married Merrick due to those same societal pressures (young widow who needs a husband and father for her child). Merrick read her psychiatric records, so he knew exactly how to manage Susan, which makes me think their marriage was a success. No doubt he was kind to her and a good father to Edward because he had to keep up the appearance of being a good husband and father. AND that family man fascade was a good cover for his homosexuality. In the book, Lady Chatterjee hints that Merrick's intention to marry Daphne wasn't only to up himself from middle class to upper class, but also to provide a cover for any liaisons he would have.

 

Sarah's abortion. She did it out of duty (read: reputation): unmarried, the father probably wouldn't marry her or if he did the marriage would be a flop because neither loved each other or barely tolerated each other.

 

The swimming lesson girl was the niece of the Nawab of Mirat (Dmitri's employer): she wasn't the maharani's niece.

 

I think the Maharanee's party was to show  Anglo-Indian excesses and extravagances. When you see that you forget that it was during WWII and that the people in the UK were being Blitz'd and rationed.

[SusanSunflower]

Thanks for the details.  I found Hari Kumar's isolation -- his school best-friend who simply didn't see him, Perron's half-hearted single attempt. Lady Manner's genuine efforts on his behalf did not include letting him know that he had a daughter. I'm not even sure he knew of her efforts and those of others -- from his point of view, he was utterly alone, utterly abandoned -- unaware of the people who in fact kept him in their thoughts while they worried that making contact would cause him pain (or perhaps that was merely their excuse to not get involved, sully their own reputation, confront the injustice, and worried that trying to get "justice" would just stir things up.  So the file was burned in the end. 

 

Actually, my thought was Sarah and Perron and all of those who knew how fundamentally evil Merrick was -- from terrorizing the very young gay aide, to gaining access to Susan's files (for his own aims), to deliberately "chosing" the Laytons as his stepping stone to greater respectability, to beating and terrorizing "suspects"  etc. etc. -- ultimately enabled him by discretely keeping his secrets, even amongst themselves, strictly need-to-know even AFTER he was dead. for "national security" reasons or this, that or the other of the it's always something/it's never a good time to reveal this. I found myself wondering if Merrick's claim of Pandit Baba's hand in so many incidents in fact was reputation burnishing.  His reputation was made in the Bandighar Gardens case, which he claims was long ago, and yet, he is the "victim" of ongoing attacks resulting therefrom -- even invisible men who scare his horse, sending him tumbling. Reminds me of O.J.'s dream team, each member of which by rights might be ashamed at their theatrics, creation of "jury nullification", and other tactics, but who in reality appear proud-enough at getting him acquitted, proof of their "skill" .. Merrick doesn't care that Hari Kumar and others rot in prison ... their convictions are self-evident proof of their guilt (even if the process was corrupt). 

Edited April 13, 2015 by SusanSunflower

[Milz]

Thanks for the details.  I found Hari Kumar's isolation -- his school best-friend who simply didn't see him, Perron's half-hearted single attempt. Lady Manner's genuine efforts on his behalf did not include letting him know that he had a daughter. I'm not even sure he knew of her efforts and those of others -- from his point of view, he was utterly alone, utterly abandoned -- unaware of the people who in fact kept him in their thoughts while they worried that making contact would cause him pain (or perhaps that was merely their excuse to not get involved, sully their own reputation, confront the injustice, and worried that trying to get "justice" would just stir things up.  So the file was burned in the end. 

 

Actually, my thought was Sarah and Perron and all of those who knew how fundamentally evil Merrick was -- from terrorizing the very young gay aide, to gaining access to Susan's files (for his own aims), to deliberately "chosing" the Laytons as his stepping stone to greater respectability, to beating and terrorizing "suspects"  etc. etc. -- ultimately enabled him by discretely keeping his secrets, even amongst themselves, strictly need-to-know even AFTER he was dead. for "national security" reasons or this, that or the other of the it's always something/it's never a good time to reveal this. I found myself wondering if Merrick's claim of Pandit Baba's hand in so many incidents in fact was reputation burnishing.  His reputation was made in the Bandighar Gardens case, which he claims was long ago, and yet, he is the "victim" of ongoing attacks resulting therefrom -- even invisible men who scare his horse, sending him tumbling. Reminds me of O.J.'s dream team, each member of which by rights might be ashamed at their theatrics, creation of "jury nullification", and other tactics, but who in reality appear proud-enough at getting him acquitted, proof of their "skill" .. Merrick doesn't care that Hari Kumar and others rot in prison ... their convictions are self-evident proof of their guilt (even if the process was corrupt). 

 

I think Pandit Baba was behind the initial harassment: the rock thrown on the way to Teddy and Susan's wedding, the bicycles. Even Hari's auntie showing up at the train station begging Merrick for mercy was part of Pandit Baba's scheme. The cobra was probably Pandit Baba too, but the horse incident, I think was Merrick's imagination (post-temper tantrum that he rode alllllllll the way out there to see Kasim's hawk only to be told the hawk couldn't come out to play because it had , what amounted to, indigestion. One of the funniest things in the series, imo.) The boys was Pandit Baba's doing. In the book, the Bibighar suspects were interviewed during the investigation. And there was another suspect who claimed Merrick had touched his privates during his interrogation. Ditto for Hari, in the book, he claims Merrick fondled him. So, many people saw that Merrick was a closeted gay man, in addition to being a sadist.

 

I'm not sure exactly why Lady Manners and Lady Chatterjee decided against telling Hari that Parvati could be his daughter.

 

But Karma bit Merrick in the butt because his own death is covered up for political reasons, just as Hari's false imprisonment/torture was covered up for the same reason.

[M. Darcy]

 

I'm not sure exactly why Lady Manners and Lady Chatterjee decided against telling Hari that Parvati could be his daughter.

My guess is that they thought she would have a better life in their world then his.  He had to have known about the child though - he knew she died in childbirth and he must have heard she was raising the baby (either through gossip or through working at the paper).

[SusanSunflower]

Had Merrick been invited to join Sarah and Kasim?  I thought Merrick interrupted Kasim and Sarah's ride to prevent them being alone, particularly given their chilly reception. I assumed seeing the hawk was his feeble excuse for barging in on their ride.  His guard-dog bossiness around of Sarah (and Perron, I suspect) really was over-the-top, even for the times, particularly given their relative "station."  Kasim pointedly chose not to "race" him (or rather accept his "order" to race him) which he must have realized just about when/where he fell -- another humiliation.  The horse did fall and he did fall, so again yet another humliiation (for a man who felt slighted so easily) ... the "invisible" threat thereby excused his fall and made him again the "victim" of Pandit Baba's machinations.

I guess I wondered about Pandit Baba's hand in all these events since Merrick had managed to stay alive so long. He was obviously despised and feared by many besides those related to the Gardens Rape case.  I felt frustrated by so many reports of his promotions and the glowing praise he received (repeatedly) for a job well done. How many of his accomplishments were based on unfounded charges, confessions obtained via beatings and/or his classifying his "chosen victims" as political enemies.

For Hari alone in the world, just knowing his daughter survived, I think would have been a gift ... although based on his own experience,  he might have been less convinced than Lady Manners that she was guaranteed a "better life."  -- I wondered belatedly, as so many were returning to England, if Hari -- with the help of friends -- might have been able to return to England or immigrate to some place else to start again. The new university/school seemed to offer some hope, although I'm not sure what qualification Kumar had to teach beyond tutoring ... and/or how his "past crimes" and imprisonment would be viewed in the new India. 

[Milz]

I think it's in the book, The Day of the Scorpion, in the Announcements section of the Ranpur Gazette, there is an announcement of Daphne's death. The following announcement is that of Parvati's birth. And the final announcement is the wedding of Captain Edward Bingham and Miss Susan Layton. All events occurred on the same day. So, Hari would have eventually known about the daughter because it was in the papers. I think Hari's aunt and Pandit Baba would have known too.

 

Merrick probably didn't like Sarah mixing with Kasim (shades of Daphne and Hari), but I think he also wanted to see the hawk do its thing. He mentioned something about never being able to see the hawk. And Dmitri told Guy that he (Dmitri) was trying to get Kasim and the Nawab's niece together. Merrick probably knew this on some level. Since in the 2 years since V-J Day, Merrick pretty much was a part of their circle.

 

Another thing in the books...regarding Teddy Bingham's death. Merrick  had to go "interview" some soldiers who deserted, joined the Japanese and were recaptured. Sarah suspects that Teddy went along because he knew Merrick's "interview" techniques and wanted to be there to ensure Merrick did not use them. Of course, they were ambushed and Teddy died.

 

 

I felt frustrated by so many reports of his promotions and the glowing praise he received (repeatedly) for a job well done.

 

Merrick is the poster boy of promotion for the wrong reasons. All it did was reinforce his bad behavior and sense of entitlement that he could get away with whatever he wanted.

[SusanSunflower]

Just wanted to add how impressed I was with Charles Dance's performance. He could have just been heroic beefcake ... with those long legs and detached air, blue eyes, and great physique... but throughout he really managed to convey the sensitivity public school nutured, university graduate for whom army work was not terribly difficult or interesting ... and anyway the war will be over soon enough and he would be getting on with his "real life" being a professor/historian.  His character's quickness and worldliness really belied the stubborn refusal to see demonstrated by so many. Of course, Sarah was also quick and observant... 

[M. Darcy]

In lobby of my building, there is a bookcase for people to leave books. Yesterday when I got home, of all things -  someone left the box set of the Jewel in the Crown books that they published back when the series first aired.  Including the box!   All the books including Staying On except Jewel itself.  I'll have to keep checking to see if it turns up.

 

Tim is coming to NY!  We so have to have a Jewel Con in NY this fall - http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/king-charles-iii-to-reign-on-broadway-in-october/

Edited April 14, 2015 by M. Darcy

[Sarcastico]

Never thought to look for a thread for this in the MT section until now.  But at least I found it.  In the NYC metro area, we're getting JitC on the New Jersey PBS affiliate and the Long Island PBS affiliate.  I wasn't going to watch, but when I saw how amazing the picture quality was, I jumped back in.  I've got the original DVD set, which must be at least 10 years old.  It's awful.  Everything looks khaki-brownish-greenish, and the skin tones are sometimes almost as yellow as The Simpsons.  Until now, I never was able to see how blue Charles Dance's and Geraldine James' eyes are.  The colors and the details of the interiors are great, particular the railroad sleeping cars, and the Moghul Room.  The Moghul Room was this week's episode, in fact.  Swoon, faint, hit the floor.  Can't wait for the train trip up the Himalayas, and Bacon Sandwiches on Horseback.  I have a bunch of questions I'm working on, so I'll be back.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Sarcastico

[Milz]

In lobby of my building, there is a bookcase for people to leave books. Yesterday when I got home, of all things -  someone left the box set of the Jewel in the Crown books that they published back when the series first aired.  Including the box!   All the books including Staying On except Jewel itself.  I'll have to keep checking to see if it turns up.

 

Tim is coming to NY!  We so have to have a Jewel Con in NY this fall - http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/king-charles-iii-to-reign-on-broadway-in-october/

 

Wow!  My public library has a 'bookstore' where they sell unloved library books and donated books. I've saved some great classics for no more than $2 apiece. Sometimes, after reading a book, I discreetly return it to the bookstore's shelf, for someone else to buy. It's become like another lending library for me.

 

Never thought to look for a thread for this in the MT section until now.  But at least I found it.  In the NYC metro area, we're getting JitC on the New Jersey PBS affiliate and the Long Island PBS affiliate.  I wasn't going to watch, but when I saw how amazing the picture quality was, I jumped back in.  I've got the original DVD set, which must be at least 10 years old.  It's awful.  Everything looks khaki-brownish-greenish, and the skin tones are sometimes almost as yellow as The Simpsons.  Until now, I never was able to see how blue Charles Dance's and Geraldine James' eyes are.  The colors and the details of the interiors are great, particular the railroad sleeping cars, and the Moghul Room.  The Moghul Room was this week's episode, in fact.  Swoon, faint, hit the floor.  Can't wait for the train trip up the Himalayas, and Bacon Sandwiches on Horseback.  I have a bunch of questions I'm working on, so I'll be back.

 

Hi Sarcastico!

 

I have to laugh because the first time I watched JITC, it was on a black and white tv (my parents never invested in a color set until the B&W sets at home broke in the mid 90s.)  And the next time I watched it I netflixed the DVDs, which as you say weren't that great color-wise.

[Milz]

Heeeee heeee! I rewatched A Evening at the Marahranee's. I wanted to slap Merrick for being such an asshat. I loved when Col. Layton says "Ronald's whisky" and Sarah immediately corrects him by explaining the whisky's provenance. Merrick's smug smirk dissolves into a scowl.

[M. Darcy]

I rewatched it also!  Heh, I'm not giving up my weekly fix of Charles Dance.

 

If I had to hang out with anyone from the show, it would so be Bronowsky.  He just always seems to know the best gossip.