Indian Summers - General Discussion

[Kitla]

 

Wait so nobody actually researched whether Madeline had a fortune or not? Seriously? I mean it was easy for Sarah to find out about Alice, and nobody cabled any friends in America?

Please.

 

Yeah, Cynthia investigated her "plumbing" to the extent of getting her medical records from some shipboard doctor (WTF?  medical ethics, anyone?), but not her money, which seemed be of far more importance to Ralph (and Cynthia) than whether she could actually produce a son and heir. 

 

[skyways]

PBS may have cut some scenes but I'm not certain. I thought the costumes of Ralph and Madeline were mostly about the theme of 'prepare to eat cake'?

Now I know where Aafrin got his 'sabo' tendencies - like father like son. Why can't he be more like Mr. Sood?

I agree the episode had great color and much to look at - the garden was especially nice.

I still don't know where Leena? belongs in the grand scheme of things.

 

Now I remember why the series disgusted me from this point on - that mad woman with the skin disease UUURRRGGHHH! Why would anybody come near her let alone touch her? When Ralph did it I wanted to vomit and that feeling stayed.

[Constantinople]

Wait so nobody actually researched whether Madeline had a fortune or not? Seriously? I mean it was easy for Sarah to find out about Alice, and nobody cabled any friends in America?

Yeah, Cynthia investigated her "plumbing" to the extent of getting her medical records from some shipboard doctor (WTF?  medical ethics, anyone?), but not her money, which seemed be of far more importance to Ralph (and Cynthia) than whether she could actually produce a son and heir.

It doesn't make a lot of sense, particularly since Ralph's financial situation doesn't seem all that great. In this episode, he mentions the need for a loan and Cynthia responds, "another one?". In the premiere, his sister seems surprised that he bought rather than rented in Simla.

It also doesn't make much sense for Eugene to blurt out the truth before the marriage.

 

I think one of the problems with how this show plays in the U.S. is that it assumes a level of familiarity with Indian history/society that even most educated Americans lack.

 

 

Most British people lack it, too, including the writers of the show, as they seem to demonstrate in every episode.

To be fair, the writer appears to be just as ignorant of British history/society as Indian since his characters continually refer to a married woman passing herself off as a widow as "Miss Whelan"

[Kitla]

 

To be fair, the writer appears to be just as ignorant of British history/society as Indian since his characters continually refer to a married woman passing herself off as a widow as "Miss Whelan"

 

Yes, that's just weird and seems like a huge faux pas.  It's as if the writers want her to play the ingenue role, but she was (actually still is) a married woman with a child and simply would not have been treated socially the same way a young unmarried woman would have been treated.   

[magdalene]

Leena might want to leave India  and go to live in England. She is beautiful, graceful and educated and might fare better there. From what I understand Anglo-Indians were barred from certain positions in India because of some stupid British law but they could do well in England. There was a famous Anglo-Indian beauty who became a celebrated debutante in England and married high up into the British upper class. I can't remember her name right now. And then there is this guy, also famous: James Skinner

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Skinner_(East_India_Company_officer)

 

I really don't understand why Alice is letting herself be blackmailed by that pathetic ninny - she should just own up publicly that she left her husband. She is hardly the only British woman to be estranged from a husband. Unless of course she's killed him and hid his body in an attic or something.

Edited October 26, 2015 by magdalene

[Renee in CA]

I really want to love this show, but between the obscure plot points along the way, the obvious tropical environment standing in for the hills of India, or the strange (cheap) way of showing Louis XV  court party theme* by having only two people in costume - it is not quite up to the mark.

 

* If you want to know why the rest of the party was likely not in costume, check out this blog post by the costume designer for the Outlander TV Show, Terry Dresbach, who had to portray scenes at the Paris court for the same era, on why that probably would never happen on most shows: http://www.terrydresbach.com/modern-history/

[magdalene]

Ralph and Madeline were in costume at their engagement party because the eccentric seeming wife of the Viceroy wanted it to be a "Let them eat cake" themed party and she had those two costumes to give to them and the event had flowers and decorations like at a ball at the French court shortly before the revolution. The whole idea by Mrs Viceroy struck me as funny - and wildly tone deaf - considering where they are, when they are and the fate of the royal couple Ralph and Madeline were dressed as at the hands of the oppressed masses. Off with their heads indeed.

[AuntiePam]

I'm done with this show.  They're trying to tell too many stories and not doing very well with any of them.  There's no one to care about, because we don't know enough about any of them to be invested. 

[Renee in CA]

Ralph and Madeline were in costume at their engagement party because the eccentric seeming wife of the Viceroy wanted it to be a "Let them eat cake" themed party and she had those two costumes to give to them and the event had flowers and decorations like at a ball at the French court shortly before the revolution. The whole idea by Mrs Viceroy struck me as funny - and wildly tone deaf - considering where they are, when they are and the fate of the royal couple Ralph and Madeline were dressed as at the hands of the oppressed masses. Off with their heads indeed.

I see this as a writer's trick to make it work for production, rather than the other way around. The Viceroy's wife happens to bring just two costumes??? When the engagement had not been made at that point? A costume party is for everyone to dress up, not just honorees. They could not afford to make enough costumes for everyone to wear (and what were the Indian's supposed to wear to it?) Just my take.

And this is by no means a knock on the costume department for the show, the costumes are one of the highlights for me. The women's dresses in particular have been stunning!

[Constantinople]

I really want to love this show, but between the obscure plot points along the way, the obvious tropical environment standing in for the hills of India, or the strange (cheap) way of showing Louis XV  court party theme* by having only two people in costume - it is not quite up to the mark.

 

I've decided I'm watching this out of a misplaced sense of nostalgia.

 

Not nostalgia for the Raj or the Empire or any of that, but nostalgia for the 80s.  There were several films and television shows such as Gandhi, A Passage to India and The Jewel in the Crown, that were released at the time and that were set, like Indian Summers, during the sunset or eve of the Raj.

 

My high school, I think in conjunction with others, arranged a field trip to the local theater to see Gandhi.  I remember watching A Passage to India with some of my best friends from school (this time as regular customers at a regular showing).  I'm only watching The Jewel in the Crown for the first time now, and I'm surprised some of those same friends and I didn't watch it together when it first aired (or at least watch it separately at home and then talk about it afterwards).

 

So I guess I'm watching Indian Summers, in part, because it reminds me indirectly of old friends, most of whom I haven't seen in a long time.

[Kitla]

I see this as a writer's trick to make it work for production, rather than the other way around. The Viceroy's wife happens to bring just two costumes??? When the engagement had not been made at that point? A costume party is for everyone to dress up, not just honorees. They could not afford to make enough costumes for everyone to wear (and what were the Indian's supposed to wear to it?) Just my take.

And this is by no means a knock on the costume department for the show, the costumes are one of the highlights for me. The women's dresses in particular have been stunning!

 

The idea of those two and only those two being in costume was just weird and pointless.  Like too much of the series, it just seemed so RANDOM. I think the writers are 14-year-old crackheads. 

[Milz]

Yes, that's just weird and seems like a huge faux pas.  It's as if the writers want her to play the ingenue role, but she was (actually still is) a married woman with a child and simply would not have been treated socially the same way a young unmarried woman would have been treated.   

 

Well, since we haven't seen the kid since episode 1, are we sure he's still around??? ;-)

 

I really want to love this show, but between the obscure plot points along the way, the obvious tropical environment standing in for the hills of India, or the strange (cheap) way of showing Louis XV  court party theme* by having only two people in costume - it is not quite up to the mark.

 

* If you want to know why the rest of the party was likely not in costume, check out this blog post by the costume designer for the Outlander TV Show, Terry Dresbach, who had to portray scenes at the Paris court for the same era, on why that probably would never happen on most shows: http://www.terrydresbach.com/modern-history/

 

It's really lame to have 2 characters dress in costume at a fancy dress party due to budget issues. The premise of a "let them eat cake" theme party wasn't integral to the overall plot anyway. If they wanted the viewers to see opulence, extravagance and excess, it could have been done without a fancy dress ball wherein only 2 idiotic characters are in fancy dress.

 

It's to the point that I'm only watching this show because I'm too lazy to flip the channels after Home Fires.

[pasdetrois]

Little orphan children secretly weaving fabric and making an outfit for their teacher? Really? I mean, I assume tiny children were forced to weave and sew in sweatshops, but this was bizarre. (There were a couple camera shots of cloth that was being woven.)

 

Not to mention all the couples smooching in the bushes outside the viceroy's residence.

 

And Lady Macbeth (missionary's wife) having her dastardly way so easily with a aristocratic lady at a fancy dinner?

 

I could go on with the show's idiocy, but let's just say I think the Drunk History writers have wandered over to Indian Summers.

[Milz]

Little orphan children secretly weaving fabric and making an outfit for their teacher? Really? I mean, I assume tiny children were forced to weave and sew in sweatshops, but this was bizarre. (There were a couple camera shots of cloth that was being woven.)

 

 

Doncha know? They met a little man who offered to spin thread out of straw in exchange for something (we'll learn what later in the series.) Then they and elves worked in shifts to weave and sew.

 

I predict they will eventually meet another little man who will trade magic beans with them, or after a school trip, they'll return to find that someone's been sitting in their chairs, someone's been eating their food and someone's been sleeping in their beds.

Edited October 27, 2015 by Milz

[attica]

I had a laugh at my own expense with this ep. All the characters were so sure that 'prepare to eat cake' was a tantalizing clue, but I was all 'party=cake, duh!' And of course it was a clue. 

 

I also may have actually snorted when in response to the Maharaji greeting the doctor, the other hindu people actually sniffed in disapprobation. If only they had actually said 'harrumph!'

 

Points to Sooni's 'earth, swallow me!' moment. We've all been there, honey.

[candall]

Yikes, I binge-watched Eps 2-5 so I could catch up with this thread and the tide has turned; people are abandoning ship!

 

Well, I still love it.  I'm fascinated.  I'm interested in learning all the secrets.  I fall right into line--baaa--liking the people I'm supposed to and opposed to the bad guys.  (I don't have nearly the sympathy expressed here for the petty Mrs. Missionary and I can't wait for karma to bite Ralph squarely on his duplicitous ass.)

 

I don't have much problem with the Viceroy/reine bestowing the "favor" of costuming the bridal couple for their party--seems like a peculiar thing that might have happened during a time when people acted out little dress-up plays to entertain themselves.

 

I'm more curious why Aafrin and Sita are suddenly comfortable parading up and down the boardwalk in broad daylight.  And why Aafrin would have a bonding moment with Dr. Kamble and then immediately betray him by vouching for Ralph's integrity?  Tsk.

 

I love equanimous Dr. Kamble.  I had the impression he didn't dine out of courtesy--like maybe he thought they'd have to throw away all the silverware if he handled it or the other (fucking rude) Hindus would be compelled to stop eating if he partook.  You know, I can grasp the concept of ingrained antagonism generated by the caste system--but it's astonishing to have people speaking as though the man were literally grimy and crawling with lice when he's standing right in front of them in his dazzling white sherwani (?) and sporting a doctoral degree.  The dance scene after dinner was quite gratifying.

 

I also like Mr. Sood; expect he's doomed.

 

For me, Julie Walters goes all the way back to Educating Rita, so I wouldn't have thought she'd ever be able to make me despise her.  What a talent!

[izabella]

I really don't understand why Alice is letting herself be blackmailed by that pathetic ninny - she should just own up publicly that she left her husband. She is hardly the only British woman to be estranged from a husband. Unless of course she's killed him and hid his body in an attic or something.

 

This is a big mystery to me, too.  Why did Alice feel the need to lie about her husband being dead in the first place?  Why not just say she'd left him, so none of this lying and hiding is necessary.

 

I don't think she killed him, because Mrs. Missionary would have heard, "...and Alice's husband was never seen again..." from her spy.

[magdalene]

I am not abandoning ship, candall. I find the show flawed but very beautiful to look at and quite watchable in its crack way.  And this series isn't nearly as predictable, twee and conventional as the one preceding it in my area. Home Fires, which I did give up on.

[sugarbaker design]

Why not just say she'd left him, so none of this lying and hiding is necessary.  I don't think she killed him,

 

 

I think the hiding is necessary.  She's terrified of her husband.  Whether he's a physical threat or otherwise remains to be seen.  The possibilities are countless.  Blackmail, revenge, Alice may have tried to kill him for all we know.

[izabella]

I think the hiding is necessary.  She's terrified of her husband.  Whether he's a physical threat or otherwise remains to be seen.  The possibilities are countless.  Blackmail, revenge, Alice may have tried to kill him for all we know.

 

Alice hasn't hidden her identity, though, and she went right back to her family (brother) which is probably the first place a husband would look for his wife.  So she isn't hiding from her husband by pretending he is dead as much as she is hiding her husband from the people in India.

[proserpina65]

 

And why Aafrin would have a bonding moment with Dr. Kamble and then immediately betray him by vouching for Ralph's integrity?  Tsk.

I think Aafrin actually believes what he told Dr. Kamble.  He probably thinks Ralph had nothing to do with the fake Congress membership certificate.

[AuntiePam]

 

Little orphan children secretly weaving fabric and making an outfit for their teacher? Really? I mean, I assume tiny children were forced to weave and sew in sweatshops, but this was bizarre. (There were a couple camera shots of cloth that was being woven.)

 

That was puzzling.  It fit with the Cinderella story that she was reading to the children, but I expected that the kids were making something for her to wear to the party, or remaking that silver dress that she was given by the dear departed sister.  But no, they made her something quite pretty, and then she wears that boring silver dress to the party. 

 

I think the doctor didn't eat that concoction because he didn't know how.  How would you attack something like that?  I looked like one of those fruity sculpture things I see advertised on TV.  What the hell was it?

[Milz]

This is a big mystery to me, too.  Why did Alice feel the need to lie about her husband being dead in the first place?  Why not just say she'd left him, so none of this lying and hiding is necessary.

 

 

 

Dramatic plot devise.

[JudyObscure]

I binge-watched Eps 2-5 so I could catch up with this thread and the tide has turned; people are abandoning ship!

I'm still here and still clueless. For example:

I thought Eugene was telling Cynthia that, yes, his father did manage to escape the crash with all his big bucks, but only just recently his factory went bust. In other words, they are brand new broke and Madeline may not even know about it.

I thought Adam's mother was all scarred up from a beating or something. Did she say it was a disease? Why was she poking Adam? What is going on there? If she's "mad," maybe she'll find that fairy spun red dress of Leena's and wear it everywhere. I would like that.

[editorgrrl]

I've handwaved Alice being known as "Miss Whelan" because a woman might continue to use a higher status name. For example, Gloria Vanderbilt or Elizabeth Taylor.

Wait, so nobody actually researched whether Madeline had a fortune or not? Seriously? I mean it was easy for Sarah to find out about Alice, and nobody cabled any friends in America?

Why wouldn't the untouchable guy eat at dinner?

In the first episode, Cynthia said of Madeline, "I know a chap on Broker Street. Says the father got out before the crash. Consequently, he's worth half the steel in Illinois." So she tried to do due diligence—but she's losing her touch.

I assumed Dr. Kamble was being polite by not eating. Another guest had said it was "like pollution" for Hindus of higher castes to eat with an untouchable, and Dr. Kamble had told someone (Aafrin? Ralph?) he's not a fighter like his father was. (And his father's act of civil disobedience got him killed.)

As an American, lots of stuff goes over my head. But I squeed a little when they mentioned bara brith—a Welsh fruit bread I'd recently seen on The Great British Bake Off. (Ronnie offered some to Alice.)

I thought Adam's mother was all scarred up from a beating or something. Did she say it was a disease? Why was she poking Adam?

I thought Adam's mom is a cutter (self mutilator), and punishes Adam with pricking. In an earlier episode, Adam was pricking himself.

Edited October 27, 2015 by editorgrrl

[skyways]

Yes she's mad and abuses her son. And yes she has skin disease yuck! There was a scene in one of the earlier episodes I think PBS cut it, where that boy was basically cutting himself the same way his mother did. I don't remember it much but I remember that one.

Edited October 27, 2015 by skyways

[ComeWhatMay]

Miss Whelan is odd, but perhaps Ralph instructed everyone to address Alice that way rather than by the name of "that so-called husband." Different time & place, but I have seen the eraser situation occur even with a young child involved. It was as if the marriage never happened, the husband & father vanished from the picture & the child took the mother's name.  

 

As I understood it, Eugene & Madeleine's dad's company relied heavily on government contracts. There was something about their dad having to essentially buy back his own company. Eugene kept saying he is not a businessman so he was not the one to explain the intricacies to Coffin or to us. I come away from the conversation that the dad is cash poor at present, which is a problem for cash poor Ralph as Madeleine's dowry to settle his debts is nonexistent.
 

The scar looked like a burning or mauling. Unmarried & pregnant in that time & place? I shudder to think how she suffered or what led her to madness. Absolutely no excuse for abusing Adam, but the woman is clearly disturbed & that horrible scar helps me understand how it came to be. 

Edited October 27, 2015 by ComeWhatMay

[proserpina65]

Yes she's mad and abuses her son. And yes she has skin disease yuck! There was a scene in one of the earlier episodes I think PBS cut it, where that boy was basically cutting himself the same way his mother did. I don't remember it much but I remember that one.

I definitely saw a scene where Lena found Adam in the jungle, and he'd been stabbing himself with a sharp object.

 

I couldn't tell whether the mother had a skin disease or not.  It looked more like scar tissue from burns to me, but my tv isn't high def so I wouldn't swear to that.

[Milz]

I would think that the major skin disease of the infectious type in that time and that place would be leprosy, which is highly contagious.....dum dee dum-dum dummmmmmmmm!

[candall]

I am not abandoning ship, candall. I find the show flawed but very beautiful to look at and quite watchable in its crack way.  And this series isn't nearly as predictable, twee and conventional as the one preceding it in my area. Home Fires, which I did give up on.

I watched an episode of Home Fires while I was waiting for this show at 2a.m.  Eugg, looked boring and frustrating--the powerful lording it over the powerless. The whole fascination of Indian Summers are the multiple layers of power all shifting around based on any two character's ethnicity, caste, aristocratic degree, gender, reputation.  (Which makes Adam's mother a five-time loser, except she might pull in ahead of Dr. Kamble since the overseer dismissed her as Tamil but didn't specify Untouchable.  Win!)  

 

Always interesting to me, Modern American, when bank is somewhat of a second-tier factor.  Didn't Cynthia go all intense and ferret-faced when hearing about that reversal of fortune, though?  Eek.  I think he revealed that to spring his sister from a marriage he knows she'll regret about five minutes in.

 

Question:  What's "Colonel Coddington"?  Is that somehow the area of town where the Dalal family lives?

[editorgrrl]

What's "Colonel Coddington"? Is that somehow the area of town where the Dalal family lives?

Aafrin & Sita's secret meeting place is at the grave of Captain Codrington.

Edited October 27, 2015 by editorgrrl

[JudyObscure]

Watching with the closed captioning, I see Dr. Kamble telling Ralph that the Untouchables were Hindu but a different sort of Hindu because they had to eat carrion, things like eyes and ears, and so were considered filthy by the high caste Brahmin Hindu who could afford to eat only fine vegetarian dishes. The untouchables were considered so unclean based on what they ate, that they were not allowed to enter the temples. This idea of being unclean based on what you eat is not that different from some Orthodox Jews and how they feel about those who eat non-kosher food. So the way the other Hindus treated him was partly prejudice and partly religious rules. No matter how long I looked at the dish put in front of him, I couldn't tell what it was, so I wonder if it was "eyes and ears?"

Adam's mom showed him her side and said, "I got this for you." So I'm thinking voting with burned or beaten as punishment for having a baby out of wedlock.

Didn't Cynthia go all intense and ferret-faced when hearing about that reversal of fortune, though? Eek.

She's so over the top, and we've seen her be really good in other parts, and Alice is either seething with squint eyed disdain when she talks to the people she doesn't like, or gushing with love and kindness if it's someone like Leena. I think this lack of subtlety must be the director's choice.

[editorgrrl]

Watching with the closed captioning, I see Dr. Kamble telling Ralph that the Untouchables were Hindu but a different sort of Hindu because they had to eat carrion, things like eyes and ears, and so were considered filthy by the high caste Brahmin Hindu who could afford to eat only fine vegetarian dishes. The untouchables were considered so unclean based on what they ate, that they were not allowed to enter the temples. This idea of being unclean based on what you eat is not that different from some Orthodox Jews and how they feel about those who eat non-kosher food. So the way the other Hindus treated him was partly prejudice and partly religious rules. No matter how long I looked at the dish put in front of him, I couldn't tell what it was, so I wonder if it was "eyes and ears?"

After Ralph patronisingly said something like "I understand, really I do," Dr. Kamble said untouchables have eyes and ears, but no voice, no social justice, no rights. Not that they eat eyes and ears.

The dish served at the engagement party was seafood. Dr. Kamble said he'd had too much rajma for lunch. According to Google, it's curried red kidney beans—a vegetarian dish.

Edited October 27, 2015 by editorgrrl

[Constantinople]

Miss Whelan is odd, but perhaps Ralph instructed everyone to address Alice that way rather than by the name of "that so-called husband." Different time & place, but I have seen the eraser situation occur even with a young child involved. It was as if the marriage never happened, the husband & father vanished from the picture & the child took the mother's name.

"Different time and place" being the key phrase. At that time and place, the idea of someone of "Miss Whelan"'s position having a child out of wedlock would be a huge scandal, far greater than a mere estrangement from her husband.

[JudyObscure]

I went back and checked my CC and it still said, "We ate carrion, eyes and ears." but then I found a transcript and it had a question mark after carrion which changes things. The transcript says:

 

So many words and promises and committees and commissions... I understand, I do, but this time... Do you know what it is to be born untouchable? Raised on carrion? Eyes, ears? Yes. Voice? No. Social justice? No. Rights of man? No. Hindu? Naturally. But God himself does not want me in his temple, sir.

Read more at: http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=214&t=17156

So the transcript does look more like the 'eyes and ears' goes with the voice not the carrion.

Sorry, my post above looks wrong now.

Edited October 28, 2015 by JudyObscure

[attica]

Cynthia said of Madeline, "I know a chap on Broker Street. Says the father got out before the crash. Consequently, he's worth half the steel in Illinois." So she tried to do due diligence—but she's losing her touch.

 

But as Maddie's brother told the story, the business lull isn't due to the crash -- well, not directly, anyway. He said that the bulk of the business was filling government contracts, which dried up as the depression got worse. Which may have taken a year or two to happen. So Cynthia's info was probably right, just not as current as it should have been.

[albaniantv]

My recollection (too tired to Google) is that India did have the world's highest or second highest rate of leprosy, but that it was later found not to be very contagious. But, anyway,  those scars were very thick and looked to me more like burns, maybe from chemicals thrown at her because she had an out of wedlock or even just unacknowledged son?

 

Thanks Candall, for suggesting Eugene purposely exposed their father's reduced state to the toxic Cynthia because he thought Madeleine was making a mistake. I could not figure why he would air that information, but Cynthia will surely vet it. Cynthia seems to have everyone's number, and everyone seems to need her, if not exactly like her. Wonder why she was rebuffed by Alice?

[proserpina65]

My recollection (too tired to Google) is that India did have the world's highest or second highest rate of leprosy, but that it was later found not to be very contagious. But, anyway,  those scars were very thick and looked to me more like burns, maybe from chemicals thrown at her because she had an out of wedlock or even just unacknowledged son?

 

Thanks Candall, for suggesting Eugene purposely exposed their father's reduced state to the toxic Cynthia because he thought Madeleine was making a mistake. I could not figure why he would air that information, but Cynthia will surely vet it. Cynthia seems to have everyone's number, and everyone seems to need her, if not exactly like her. Wonder why she was rebuffed by Alice?

Leprosy is a communicable bacterial infection spread by skin-to-skin contact, and is more common among very poor populations living in constant close quarters, but it isn't particularly contagious.

 

I thought that what looks like burn scars on Adam's mother tied in with the picture of a child (girl?) in flames found in the would-be assassin's belongings.

[dcalley]

Well, episode 5 was my least favorite, and I'm not sure if it was the episode itself or the cumulative effect.

[proserpina65]

I am rapidly losing interest in this, and am, quite frankly, only hanging on for now to see if my theory about Ralph's inappropriate level of attachment to his sister is ever fully validated.  That, and I am interested in the business relationship/burgeoning friendship of a sorts which has sprung up between young Mr. McCloud and his Indian employer.  So of course we'll spend the rest of the series watching Eeeevil Cynthia scheming with Ralph while Alice and Aafrin fail to convince us that there is actually an attraction between them.

Edited November 2, 2015 by proserpina65

[Marianne]

I agree that Episode 5 was not the best.  There are at least 8 story lines and the program jumps from one 30-second scene devoted to one story line to the next 30-second scene.  Quite fragmented and cryptic (e.g., the Indian landowner's special distress over the theft;  we find out he had a wife he loved; great; is there more to this?)

 

I do continue to love looking at Ralphie and Aafrin, however. :)

 

Can someone explain the dynamic that's going on with Ralph and his sexual appetite?  He obviously still cared for the Tamil mother of his child, but goes back at some point--the cutting from scene to scene often doesn't give any clue as to how much time has elapsed between them.  He uses a ruse to pull his fiancé away from tea so as to have mad sex in his office, while one of the house servants spies on them and then tries to act the lord of the manor with a presumably lower-ranking servant.

 

I also enjoy scenes with Aafrin's family.  The actors are all wonderful.   I enjoyed Sooni's mock invocation of Ahura Mazda to remind us they're not Hindus.

 

Finally, has Eugene, Maddie's brother, gone?  I hope so.  The actor's American accent was so poorly and vigorously overdone that I had to mute the sound every time he spoke.

[ComeWhatMay]

I enjoyed it.

 

I know how gross this is, but the most chemistry & actual feeling I see is between Ralph & Alice. I very much want to find out how the reciprocal attraction between them came to be. I really don't see much there with Alice & Aafrin outside of great looking people. Sita is Aafrin's puppy love/first love. Madeleine is a chess piece. Jaya is Juliet to Ralph's Romeo, but too much happened & Jaya was too far gone for them to ever have been with each other again & now she's dead. Ralph was likely quite horny after seeing Jaya, but wouldn't allow himself to be with Jaya given all that happened to her so he came home & worked it out on Madeleine. The English woman who was the worst of Jaya's tormentors? Dollars to donuts, it was Coffin.

 

Bhupi is quite the creeper. Watching Ralph have his way with a willing Madeleine somehow gave him the notion to go force himself on an unsuspecting lady who seemed to have given him no reason to think she would be receptive to it. Glad the lady wacked him.

 

Loved Ralph knocking Alice's husband's boy around. Ralph is like that song, "I wanna be bad." I can't help but love it & him. I can see why Madeleine is set on saving him. 

[skyways]

I also enjoy scenes with Aafrin's family.  The actors are all wonderful.   I enjoyed Sooni's mock invocation of Ahura Mazda to remind us they're not Hindus.

Agreed. I wanted however to gather all their plates of food and store in my fridge. Ralph and Aafrin really look like brothers. Does anybody else not see this? especially when they were walking together at the beginning. ​

Also agreed about Aafrin and Alice. She is the one with all the advantages and he has much to lose and a native. Seems to me that alone makes the 'attraction' improbable.

Edited November 2, 2015 by skyways

[Brattinella]

That was puzzling.  It fit with the Cinderella story that she was reading to the children, but I expected that the kids were making something for her to wear to the party, or remaking that silver dress that she was given by the dear departed sister.  But no, they made her something quite pretty, and then she wears that boring silver dress to the party. 

 

I think the doctor didn't eat that concoction because he didn't know how.  How would you attack something like that?  I looked like one of those fruity sculpture things I see advertised on TV.  What the hell was it?

 

I only saw it for a split second, and it looked exactly like a bowl full of garbage.  Like RR's Garbage Bowl.

[Milz]

I really don't know why Mom and Pop Dalil don't smack the lips off Sooni's big mouth.

 

Anyhow, at least we learned that Alice's husband has a name (Charlie). I wonder why they named their son, Percy (writers could be Harry Potter fans....).

[lucindabelle]

Betting that Cynthia drowned Chaya, who is clearly insane. And she did steal the sari.

[proserpina65]

I also enjoy scenes with Aafrin's family.  The actors are all wonderful.

 

Okay, I'll admit I've enjoyed the scenes with his parents.  I'd watch a show with them.  But without Aafrin and his mouthy sister.  Don't like either of them.

[magdalene]

Not my favorite episode. But at least we finally learned what the deal is with Alice's husband. Poor Madeline, Ralph cares for his insane former lover and his sister but clearly not that much for her.

[attica]

I enjoyed Ralphie knocking Capt. Farquahr down the steps. I don't think that speaks well of me. But it was so callously murderous, and caught me by surprise. 

 

The actor playing Jaya looks a lot like Rosario Dawson imo.

[magdalene]

I too quite enjoyed Ralphie knocking Captain Sexual Blackmail down the stairs. He really surprised me doing that.  If that's bad of me I don't want to be good.  That guy was creepy and made my skin crawl. When he was hurting Alice I wanted her to retaliate by grabbing his penis and squeezing hard.

 

The sex scenes in this episode were so un-erotic.

Edited November 3, 2015 by magdalene