S02.E03: Warp and Weft

[Meredith Quill]

Episode Synopsis:

Discontent is growing in the country, and upon hearing the pleas of a silk weaver of Spitalfields, Victoria decides she must help. Against Peel and Albert's advice, she hatches a plan: a fantastic medieval ball at the Palace, where the attendees have to wear costumes made from Spitalfields silk.

Important Note:

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Thanks.

[mmecorday]

If I cried this hard when Victoria lost Dash, I'm going to be a mess when she starts losing people near and dear to her.

Albert's crown at the costume ball made him look like he had been to Burger King, but maybe that was the desired effect.

[TexasGal]

I was getting weepy when Victoria was talking to Lord M, and then Dash.  Oh my.  Rufus and Jenna killed that last scene.

Good call everyone last week asking about how old Dash must be getting.

[Zella]

Tornado warnings in my area omitted some of the stuff on the silk in the beginning for me.

The double-punch of Dash and Lord Melbourne made me ugly cry. That was a lovely goodbye scene between Lord Melbourne and Victoria. 

[voiceover]

My new cast villain: the yet-unseen, infrequently quoted Lord Portman, or whatever the hell his name is, who  told his wife -- the exquisite Lady Emma -- that she was "too old to dance".  Hey! Portman!  Blow it out your ass.

Peel is not one of my PM faves (I'll take the rest to the spoilers thread), so I wish someone had answered his gospel quote (rich man, kingdom of heaven, camel, needle, etc) with another one: "You will always have the poor among you..." (Matthew 26:11).

Not Melbourne's biggest fan, but I found myself weeping during that last exchange with Victoria.

Baby Vicky: what a dollbaby!  Baby PoW: I see you began as you intended to continue...a pain in the ass to your mum.

[CousinAmy]

Edited due to spoiler policy, regarding a lapse in chronology. I added it on the History thread.

Edited January 22, 2018 by CousinAmy

[locomoco]

Poor Dash... Every pet owners fear/regret to not be there when they pass

[twoods]

Those scenes with Lord M, and then Dash, made me a sobbing mess. Poor Victoria.

I liked the juxtaposition with the frivolous ball and the angry mob outside of the castle. Skerrit's cousin (Eliza) is so unpleasant. I know she's mad that she's living her life, but she irritates me.

Edited January 22, 2018 by twoods
Mob, not mom. Angry moms would have worked too because of lame ass Eliza

[TaurusRose]

Poor Dash! The tears were a flowing when Victoria found that precious little dog stretched out on the floor. I agree with everyone that Rufus and Jenna killed their final scene together. Good episode.

[humbleopinion]

Bravo to the doggie who played Dash...in a convincing "play dead" scene with Jenna.

The last tweet of the mechanical bird...so sad...Rufus' eyes conveyed his dying so beautifully.

The death of Albert's and Ernst's dad...guess that's the way you want to go...out with a bang...so to speak...

Too bad Leopold didn't drop dead before revealing  the bombshell he laid on Albert.

[locomoco]

7 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Too bad Leopold didn't drop dead before revealing  the bombshell he laid on Albert.

Between Victoria and The Crown, Alex Jennings, who plays uncle Leopold gets to play all the seriously fun royal jerks... 

[humbleopinion]

Tom Hughes is not my favorite Albert (hello...Rupert Friend) but he did a good job acting with Alex Jennings last night....

Had to laugh when Ernst II said he wasn't going to marry that "thistle."

Move over, Rufus...Tom Oakes, in the role of Ernst II is going to steal the hearts of those missing Lord M

The fake playing piano by Albert at the end of the episode bugged me but hopefully that was Jenna Coleman singing...and not a stunt singer dubbed later in post production.

Edited January 23, 2018 by humbleopinion

[vibeology]

7 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Too bad Leopold didn't drop dead before revealing  the bombshell he laid on Albert.

Ambitious Leopold would never risk Albert by even saying that aloud, even if it were true. (And while the dates don't make it impossible, it seems highly unlikely to me.) I don't care what excuse he gave in terms of providing Albert comfort, he would never risk the legitimacy of Victoria and Albert's children and his hopes for a European dynasty.

[humbleopinion]

Uncle Leopold...baby daddy.

[kwnyc]

Quote

Between Victoria and The Crown, Alex Jennings, who plays uncle Leopold gets to play all the seriously fun royal jerks... 

He is KILLING it in both roles. And Dame Diana got to have her sweet scene as well.

[meep.meep]

They were desperate for *another* Victoria and Lord M dancing scene?  Sewell is a great actor, but his dancing is F+ at best, and this was not his best.

Good for Albert realizing that people who aren't being paid a decent wage will have an incentive to steal things.

[iMonrey]

OMG I cried when Dash died. I kind of wish they hadn't shown it onscreen, it wouldn't have been as hard to watch if it was just news that was brought to her or something, but from the beginning of the episode when she remarked about his nose being dry and then later how he didn't want to play, I knew it was coming and I was dreading it. I could care less about Lord Melbourne frankly but there's nothing that gets to me worse than the death of a beloved pet. 

I'm not feeling the history on this one - why exactly are so many of Victoria's subjects starving to death? I know there are poor people, and there have always been poor people, but was the economy especially bad in 1840? Did this have something to do with all the troops they lost in Afghanistan? I think they should have elaborated on that a bit more.

[proserpina65]

2 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Move over, Rufus...Tom Oakes, in the roll of Ernst is going to steal the hearts of those missing Lord M

Tom Oakes is attractive, but he's no replacement for Rufus Sewell for me.  Lord M's gone, and so am I.

49 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

They were desperate for *another* Victoria and Lord M dancing scene?  Sewell is a great actor, but his dancing is F+ at best, and this was not his best.

Well, Lord M was dying.

[proserpina65]

28 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'm not feeling the history on this one - why exactly are so many of Victoria's subjects starving to death? I know there are poor people, and there have always been poor people, but was the economy especially bad in 1840? Did this have something to do with all the troops they lost in Afghanistan? I think they should have elaborated on that a bit more.

This link has info about the economic depression at the time.  A lot of it had to do with crop failures and the long-term effect of the highly restrictive Corn Laws.

http://www.victorian-era.org/victorian-era-depression.html

[iMonrey]

I wanted to point out for those of you who never saw Pillars of the Earth, Rufus Sewell played a builder who dreamed of building a great cathedral. So when Lord M. began waxing philosophical about the desire he had to leave behind some kind of structure as a legacy it almost seemed like a nod to his previous role. 

(David Oakes also appeared in Pillars of the Earth as a sadistic villain, which is the type of role he also played in both The Borgias and The White Queen. It's hard to get used to him as a good guy.)

[tennisgurl]

Dash! Sweet baby Dash! That hurts even more than poor Lord M. My word, what an awful time for Victoria. Her ball is taken wrong, Lord. M dies, and then, to top it all off, her beloved companion Dash died right after her last conversation with Lord M. I knew that Dash couldn't live much longer, but that was a real gut punch. Losing a pet is always awful, but it especially hurts when you've had them for so long. 

Sad to see the end of Lord M, and Rufus Sewell in the role. Even when he was dying, he had so much dignity and intelligence, and his final moments were very well played. His last scene with Victoria was wonderfully played by both of them. I admit, I got rather teary when Victoria was crying, and Albert was trying to comfort her. 

Spoiler

If we get to Alberts death later in the series, it is going to be BRUTAL. 

I liked seeing Albert trying to make reforms around the house, and continuing to find things to do for the greater good. Its an aspect of Albert that I always really like. He clearly wants to use his relative power to do good, both in his household and in the country, and encourage progressive causes and public works. He is also clearly a sharp guy (realizing the seemingly obvious fact that people probably wont steal things if they already have good wages) who has a lot of common sense, mixed with intellectual curiosity. I also thought it was really sweet that he gave a journal to the young servant/aspiring writer. He and Victoria also seem to be in a good place now, which is always good to see. 

I actually liked the downstairs stuff this week, probably because it had less to do with romance and more to do with class issues and the pros and cons of working in the royal palace. Also laughed at the head servant acting like he was the big hero who negotiated with Alfred on the servants behalf, and that it wasn't Albert's idea in the first place. 

The ball might have had bad timing, but it looked really cool with the medieval costumes and such. Everyone looked really nice, and I admit, I am a sucker for a theme party. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by tennisgurl

[Popples]

Ernst looked really hot dressed as Robin Hood.

The Lord Melbourne and Dash scenes back to back were an absolute gut punch.

[TVForever]

I love Dash, and nearly did the ugly cry myself during the "double death" scene. But OMG, that new puppy Isla! I almost couldn't stand the cuteness!

[kwnyc]

Quote

I liked seeing Alfred trying to make reforms around the house

(Alfred?) 

[tennisgurl]

20 minutes ago, kwnyc said:

(Alfred?) 

Heh, I was actually just talking to one of my friends about Batman, and I think my fingers still had Alfred on the mind! Whoops! Granted, I think Albert would be a pretty kickass Batman sidekick. He would organize the crap out of the Batcave and would make the modernization Arkham Asylum his new project! 

[vibeology]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I liked seeing Albert trying to make reforms around the house, and continuing to find things to do for the greater good. Its an aspect of Albert that I always really like. He clearly wants to use his relative power to do good, both in his household and in the country, and encourage progressive causes and public works. He is also clearly a sharp guy (realizing the seemingly obvious fact that people probably wont steal things if they already have good wages) who has a lot of common sense, mixed with intellectual curiosity. I also thought it was really sweet that he gave a journal to the young servant/aspiring writer. He and Victoria also seem to be in a good place now, which is always good to see. 

I can be hard on Albert sometimes but I do love that he wants to be useful. I can imagine for any smart person, it's difficult if your role is mostly decorative. I think he just needs to carve out his place (something he's slowly getting) and he'll be happier and a better help to Victoria.

I will say, for all of Albert's serious business he sure was easily distracted by that fake crown. At the end of the day I do suspect he'll always be a little bit bothered that his wife outranks him and getting to pretend otherwise just for a night was enough to push him into supporting something he knew was a bad idea.

I also think Albert is as attached to Peel as Victoria was to Lord M. Albert is an outsider and we hear him talk of people grumbling about his place but Peel likes him, doesn't care that he's not English and trusts him with important roles. They've become friends and Albert, sadly, doesn't have enough friends in England. Eventually we'll have a new PM and I do think Albert will begin to understand why Victoria held onto her friend long after he wasn't advising her politically. Albert might be more aware of the politics and make the clean break, but I can't imagine he won't get it emotionally.

[Arynm]

I have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels so I was a wreck when Dash died. I mean, crying into my dogs fur rocking back and forth kind of wreck. To my dogs credit she just laid there and took it. They really are such good little dogs.

[CousinAmy]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

OMG I cried when Dash died. I kind of wish they hadn't shown it onscreen, it wouldn't have been as hard to watch if it was just news that was brought to her or something, but from the beginning of the episode when she remarked about his nose being dry and then later how he didn't want to play, I knew it was coming and I was dreading it. I could care less about Lord Melbourne frankly but there's nothing that gets to me worse than the death of a beloved pet. 

I'm not feeling the history on this one - why exactly are so many of Victoria's subjects starving to death? I know there are poor people, and there have always been poor people, but was the economy especially bad in 1840? Did this have something to do with all the troops they lost in Afghanistan? I think they should have elaborated on that a bit more.

Industrial Revolution meant the rise of the great fortunes - while the rich got richer, the poor got poorer. Think about the abject poverty in the novels of Charles Dickens.

[Arwen Evenstar]

27 minutes ago, CousinAmy said:

Industrial Revolution meant the rise of the great fortunes - while the rich got richer, the poor got poorer. Think about the abject poverty in the novels of Charles Dickens.

England was a society conscious of social class and rank. Victoria spent most of her life sheltered and had little idea of the poverty and squalid conditions outside of the palace walls.  She empathized  and her attempts to go good were far more sincere than the noblesse obligée she was accused of. The Dickens novels were not exaggerating how grim life was back then. 

Seeing the madding crowd outside while she wore sumptuous silks and her guests dined on sumptuous food, she realized there was something very wrong with this.

[Kohola3]

15 minutes ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

Seeing the madding crowd outside while she wore sumptuous silks and her guests dined on sumptuous food, she realized there was something very wrong with this.

And I loved the juxtaposition of the camera shots in those scenes.  Quite a stark contrast.

[Caseysgirl]

The ball was another example of " trickle down economics" that didn't work. 

[LittleIggy]

Aw, Lord M and Dash dying in the same episode.? Last week, I was worried about both of them...

Those costumes for that ball were amazing. 

[LittleIggy]

The scene with Lord M and Albert was touching too. They both loved Victoria so much.

BTW, I’ve always thought Rufus would have been awesome playing Lord Byron (remember when he played Will Ladislaw in Middlemarch? So Byronic), so it’s ironic that he portrayed Lord Melbourne, husband of Lady Caroline Lamb.

[Haleth]

RIP Lord M.  RIP Dash.  What a sad episode!  Superb acting all around.

[MV713]

so sad I had to stop after the first hour...

will continue second hour when I am emotionally repaired.

[j5cochran]

16 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Those costumes for that ball were amazing. 

The costumes were a reasonable recreation of the real thing!

[kassygreene]

Those slippers are making my toes hurt.  (changing page now)

[humbleopinion]

Albert has fat ankles?

[Paws]

HE HAS THE LEGS OF A PLANTAGENET!  

 

I love Ernest! 

[elle]

On 1/21/2018 at 9:08 PM, voiceover said:

 Baby PoW: I see you began as you intended to continue...a pain in the ass to your mum.

To be fair, Victoria and Albert were not nurturing parents to Bertie.  Taking this to the history thread.

On 1/22/2018 at 0:09 PM, Popples said:

Ernst looked really hot dressed as Robin Hood.

Yes he did!  Note to anyone planning a Robin Hood mini series or movie remake.

For the dog lovers, especially Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, there is a Hallmark movie to pass an afternoon called "Unleashing Mr. Darcy" .   Taking inspiration from  "Pride & Prejudice," very loosely, the story has the main character Elizabeth (natch!) getting the opportunity to professionally show her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in a fancy New York dog show.  Her dog is a tri color like Dash.  There are also plenty of other lovely looking CKCS and a litter of puppies!

[seacliffsal]

Two words: heart broken.

 

Fare thee well Dash and Lord M.

[Mumbles]

What killed me about the Dash scene was how vulnerable and human Victoria was, dropping to the floor and sobbing without restraint. Especially in contrast to that exquisite but refrained scene with Melbourne, where she was talking around the situation trying so hard to not tip her cards that she knew of his illness (even though Melbourne knew she knew). She’s a queen, but in those few moments she was just a person who lost her beloved dog. Very humanizing.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I agree. That scene was very well done, and the wording was also good. She was talking about Dash, but based on what we had seen  regarding Lord M, she could have easily been talking about him along with Dash. 

[kassygreene]

That scene had nice background detailing - Skerritt saw that Dash was dead before the Queen, took a moment to compose herself, and then ran like hell to get the Prince.

[andromeda331]

The scene with her finding her dog died were so well done. Very sad and painful but well done.  

[Roseanna]

The dog scene showed how lonely Victoria's childhood and youth was - she felt that she was loved only by her dog. And she is still very childish. 

The first season presented Victoria's teen behavior as admirable and this tendency seems to continue. As a constitutional monarch she can't "find her own way" but must follow her duty. 

[Nolefan]

On 1/23/2018 at 12:11 AM, LittleIggy said:

The scene with Lord M and Albert was touching too. They both loved Victoria so much.

I agree. This was a great part of the episode that got very little discussion. There where many layers to it. The discussion about the Parliament building and Lord M saving it from being destroyed and Albert working to rebuild the new building around the old one can be seen as also applying to each man’s relationship with Victoria. Albert’s question to Lord M about whether Parliament would accept a German prince was reminiscent of Albert and Lord M’s first meeting where Albert asked Lord M about the Parliament tour. In the first instance, Lord M never answered Albert’s question about what Lord M thought about a German prince touring Parliament, but this time Lord M immediately stated that he thought Albert was the perfect choice for the job. Again, I think more code discussion about Victoria. In addition, Lord M sharing his secret with Albert instead of Victoria. All the secret letters and conversations between Lord M and Victoria that Albert had not been included in, and with this gesture, Lord M pulled Albert into the circle of his relationship with Victoria, and established a relationship of his own with Albert. Also, I am positive that Lord M knew Albert would tell Victoria about his illness and Lord M set it up knowing that Albert would be there to comfort her when Victoria got the news and was confident that Albert would indeed be there to support Victoria in her time of need. Finally, Victoria would be able to see that maybe Albert and Lord M were not so different in the way they cared for her after all. This scene showed that both men would do anything to protect her from distressing situations by keeping distressing information from her (Albert’s behavior in A Soldier’s Daughter and Victoria yelling at Albert that Lord M would never treat her like a child by hiding distressing news from her, when Lord M did just that). Great scene.

[Nolefan]

On 1/22/2018 at 3:35 PM, vibeology said:

I will say, for all of Albert's serious business he sure was easily distracted by that fake crown. At the end of the day I do suspect he'll always be a little bit bothered that his wife outranks him and getting to pretend otherwise just for a night was enough to push him into supporting something he knew was a bad idea.

I didn’t see Albert as being distracted by the fake crown. I saw it as Albert learning a lesson from the Soldier’s Daughter episode. He gave Victoria his advice on the ball. Victoria disagreed. Instead of getting bent out of shape about her not accepting his advice (like he did when he disagreed with her about doing the ship christening speech and told her he wasn’t going to attend but then thought the better of it and showed up in the end), he accepted her decision and did everything she wanted him to do to be supportive. Victoria seemed like it was more important to her for Albert to wear the crown than it was for Albert. I also thought it was interesting that Victoria specifically told Lord M that she thought Albert deserved his own crown when Lord M confessed to her in the prior episode (Green Eyed Monster)  that  he (Lord M) undermined Victoria’s wish that Albert be made King Consort more than Lord M let on in order to protect Victoria from herself. Made me wonder if Victoria wasn’t throwing a little shade at Lord M with that remark.