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S04.E08: Episode 8


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Episode Synopsis:

Elizabeth obtains a tonic designed to induce an early labour, she hopes to persuade George that Valentine is his child once and for all, but the Warleggan's rift is plain as they return to Cornwall. Ross returns to Cornwall to mend things with Demelza, while Demelza helps Morwenna and Drake build a future.

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(edited)

It sort of sucks but I find Elizabeth, George, Dwight and Caroline all more interesting to watch than Ross and Demelza. Ross/Demelza was a snoozefest this season with their constant discussions on how to get over Hugh. I get that they need to discuss this, but the whole season? Meanwhile Dwight/Caroline get two episodes to have a child, lose the child and deal with the consequences. Elizabeth/George was also a far more entertaining dynamic and Elizabeth was more interesting and complex than Demelza.

I will miss Elizabeth. She had her fair share of flaws but I think she did the best she could in a man's world. This was the first time I felt really sorry for George. Jack Farthing was amazing.

Edited by anamika
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21 hours ago, anamika said:

It sort of sucks but I find Elizabeth, George, Dwight and Caroline all more interesting to watch than Ross and Demelza. Ross/Demelza was a snoozefest this season with their constant discussions on how to get over Hugh. I get that they need to discuss this, but the whole season? Meanwhile Dwight/Caroline get two episodes to have a child, lose the child and deal with the consequences. Elizabeth/George was also a far more entertaining dynamic and Elizabeth was more interesting and complex than Demelza.

I will miss Elizabeth. She had her fair share of flaws but I think she did the best she could in a man's world. This was the first time I felt really sorry for George. Jack Farthing was amazing.

Heida really grew on me as Elizabeth, and i must say that I shed a tear over her fate--I am also bored with Ross's "volcano" about to erupt at any moment shtick. 

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I found the scene with Morwenna being chased in the woods by dogs and George's men rather ludicrous.  I felt as if I was watching the 18th century Cornish edition of "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN".

Otherwise, it was a decent episode . . . especially those scenes featuring Elizabeth and George.

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Well, damn. I knew what was going to happen, but that was still hard to watch.

I feel like I owe Heida Reed an apology. When the first season aired, I wasn't convinced of her acting ability, but in the last couple of seasons, she has really impressed me, and she did some fine work in this episode. I agree with the person above who said Elizabeth was ultimately more interesting than Demelza. 

George's bewilderment in his grief freaked me out too. 

I'm pretty over the rollercoaster nature of the Ross and Demelza relationship. I hope (but doubt) the fifth season moves in a different direction with them. I am also pretty over Drake and Morwenna and hope the fifth season also works some different notes into their relationship now that they are together officially. 

On 8/8/2018 at 12:20 PM, CTrent29 said:

I found the scene with Morwenna being chased in the woods by dogs and George's men rather ludicrous.  I felt as if I was watching the 18th century Cornish edition of "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN".

Otherwise, it was a decent episode . . . especially those scenes featuring Elizabeth and George.

Yes, that was over-the-top. I can see them getting away with that with the penniless Carnes, but Morwenna comes from a respected family and is the widow of one of the local ministers. They're not going to chase her through the woods with dogs. That was just dumb. 

I ended up finding the Elizabeth/George dynamic more interesting than the Ross/Demelza one. The main reason is that the shifts and changes in their relationship always made more sense and had a logical cause. Ross and Demelza's relationship seems to nosedive rapidly and rebound just as suddenly, frequently with no rhyme or reason. 

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I'm happy for Drake and Morwenna.  Hopefully next season that awful mother-in-law dies so Morwenna can get her child back.  

George might have loved Elizabeth but I still cannot drum up any sympathy for him.  He's still a nasty little SOB, having his men send dogs out to chase poor Morwenna.  I guess he'll be even nastier since he's lost the woman he loves.

I love Caroline and Dwight together. 

I'm so sick of Ross and Demelza.  They are a toxic couple. 

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On 8/8/2018 at 1:20 PM, CTrent29 said:

I found the scene with Morwenna being chased in the woods by dogs and George's men rather ludicrous.  I felt as if I was watching the 18th century Cornish edition of "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN".

Otherwise, it was a decent episode . . . especially those scenes featuring Elizabeth and George.

Run Eliza run.  Yes, it was silly.  I think they wanted to have Drake save her, so she jumps into his arms, no longer afraid of his touch.

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First of all:

NANA POOOOLLLDDDAAARRRRKKKKKKKK YEEEEEESSSSSS

Back at it with her future sight thanks to her handy dandy tarot cards.

The fact that her words have haunted george all this time...such a queen

RIP Elizabeth. She had her ups and downs but she was fine this season, i think. I think it helped that she was mostly content and settled, instead of being wishywashy with all the boys.

George :'( he wanted to rule the galaxy with her at his side. George and children are my weakness. You can bet your boots he's gonna love the heck out of his kids after this.

Were my eyes just going bonkers or were caroline's eyes brown in the carriage scene and then back to blue later on????

Morwenna and drake are *finally* married so i'm happy we can finally move forward with their plotline. 

The evil lackey dog chase through the woods was wack. He was supposed to make sure she left the premises, not hunt her down with a pack of dogs.

Ross haunted by the duel (and hugh still)...good. He deserves to suffer after being an idiot.

All in all though it felt like not much happened this episode.

The ross/demelza storyline this season was kinda a flop and boring and i felt like half their scenes ended up with them making out or doing the do which I have no interest in. :/

Thst last scene with george...what kinda evil things will he get up to next season, i wonder. 

That small flashback was nice. Seeing nana poldark and francis again was pleasant.

I'm surprised we got so little reaction to elizabeth's death in the case of jeffy boy. 

Edited by HoodlumSheep
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5 minutes ago, HoodlumSheep said:

 

George :'( he wanted to rule the galaxy with her at his side. George and children are my weakness. You can bet your boots he's gonna love the heck out of his kids after this.

 

I thought that might be the one good thing to come from this. Elizabeth at least assured Valentine of some security after she was gone. I suspect Ursula will always be the apple of George's eye, but I would be surprised if George treats Valentine as badly as he has. Geoffrey Charles is probably going to receive no mercy, though. 

P.S. I squealed with absolute delight when I saw Aunt Agatha. I miss her!

Edited by Zella
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Wow. Didn't expect to shed a tear over Elizabeth or feel sorry for George.

I don't know how I feel about this show anymore.  I find Morwenna and Drake boring and Ross and Demelza tedious.  Elizabeth and George were toxic but at least they weren't boring.

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I'll admit, I didn't see that coming. I thought Dwight would find the bottle sooner.

I'll miss Elizabeth. Her and George's actors were fantastic in this episode.

Aunt Agatha!! Miss her so much, but she lives on because she's all up in George's head.

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I felt something besides contempt for George.  Darn you, show.

I'll miss the character Elizabeth, but I won't miss the conflict that followed in her wake.

Can Verity come out to play more often?  I missed her, too!  Valentine and Ursula will need a Cool Aunt on their side.  (Will Ursula live up to the meaning of her name?  Stay tuned!)

Drake and Morwenna looked happy there at the end, but watch for the former mother-in-law to come around and cause hell.  Those two can't be happy for too long, lest the balance of the earth be thrown off.  (Bonus points for Morwenna's son being weaponized somehow.  Wouldn't put it past his odious grandmother.)

Still waiting for Geoffery Charles to do something besides provide commentary to every damned thing...

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I’ve never read the books, so I never saw this coming. I sat with my mouth open even with the dire warning from the herb maker. I seriously am so surprised. At any rate, George should be interesting next year.

im over Morenna and Drake so im glad they’re finally married and hopefully move away. Lol

Ross is a total dolt. 

I thought I was watching a rerun in the beginning when I saw Francs and Agatha. I actually picked up my remote and pressed info. Lol

Edited by TiredMe
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15 minutes ago, howiveaddict said:

Is Demeza's other brother married?  He could marry Rosina.  He is the more religious one, though.

I think it would be better for Rosina to not be a part of that family, although I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.    

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4 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I think it would be better for Rosina to not be a part of that family, although I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.    

Agreed! I think she dodged a bullet and should thank her lucky stars. I don't think Sam would be an intentionally cruel husband, but I think he would be overbearing and humorless. 

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9 minutes ago, TiredMe said:

I’ve never read the books, so I never saw this coming. I sat with my mouth open even with the dire warning from the herb maker. I seriously am so surprised.

I didn't see it coming either.  I read the first two books last year, but stopped after those because I didn't want any spoilers.  What the heck was that stuff she took?

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8 minutes ago, JustDucky said:

I felt something besides contempt for George.  Darn you, show.

I'll miss the character Elizabeth, but I won't miss the conflict that followed in her wake.

Can Verity come out to play more often?  I missed her, too!  Valentine and Ursula will need a Cool Aunt on their side.  (Will Ursula live up to the meaning of her name?  Stay tuned!)

Drake and Morwenna looked happy there at the end, but watch for the former mother-in-law to come around and cause hell.  Those two can't be happy for too long, lest the balance of the earth be thrown off.  (Bonus points for Morwenna's son being weaponized somehow.  Wouldn't put it past his odious grandmother.)

Still waiting for Geoffery Charles to do something besides provide commentary to every damned thing...

Given the laws at the time, Morwenna does not have anything to worry about in regards to her mother in law.   She has no legal rights to her child especially if Ossie left a will stating a guardian.   John Conan is now legally the ward of either whoever Ossie stated in his will or his next living Male relative.  If Morwenna had married a man of means and power,  she could try to fight for custody in the courts.   We know that will not happen next season.   I think Drake and Morwenna deserve some time without any drama. 

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2 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Given the laws at the time, Morwenna does not have anything to worry about in regards to her mother in law.   She has no legal rights to her child especially if Ossie left a will stating a guardian.   John Conan is now legally the ward of either whoever Ossie stated in his will or his next living Male relative.  If Morwenna had married a man of means and power,  she could try to fight for custody in the courts.   We know that will not happen next season.   I think Drake and Morwenna deserve some time without any drama. 

That's good to know!  Fingers crossed.

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Aww shit.  Shitshitshit.

A total shocker for me.  And a disappointment -- much like her first husband, Elizabeth was never so dear to me, right before she dropped dead.

Curious, and I will take my curiosity to the book/previous series thread, because IIRC, the Who's-His-Daddy? sl wasn't a thing in at least one of those.

It felt a little final tonight.  No real cliffhanger, and there were a number of loose ends brought together.  I'll miss it all.

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I loved the flashback. Can’t quite see why all the boys wanted Elizabeth but it’s plausible enough, sometimes it’s an undefinable thing.

ive always thought George did truly love Elizabeth.

but she’s not central to the storylines for me.

i really hope we’re done with they Ross  demelza drama. Let’s have some stories about Cornwall. 

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1 hour ago, Magnumfangirl said:

I didn't see it coming either.  I read the first two books last year, but stopped after those because I didn't want any spoilers.  What the heck was that stuff she took?

From other stuff I've read online: it included ergot. 

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Am I being a meanie for laughing when Morwenna was chased? I found that scene ridiculous.  Hopefully now that she and Drake are married they will fade from the narrative and I won't have to roll my eyes at them anymore.

Dammit! I will actually miss Elizabeth.  I never liked her all that much but she certainly was dealt a bad hand.  First her husband dies tragically just when they have a chance to have a good marriage.  Then she is forced by financial circumstances to marry George.  Then Ross acts like a cad and rapes her and impregnates her.  And now to die so young and like this...

I agree that Jack Farthing was superb tonight. To make me feel sorrow for George is no small feat.

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There's a lot of costume trivia on IMDb about the dresses used in Austen (& other period) dramas being redone and swapped around. Morwenna's wedding dress, jacket, & bonnet pinged something -- it's niggling, but I'm sure I've seen it on another actress, in another story.

I do credit Ross for finally saying to George what the audience has been thinking these past months: What more do you want??  And a sad Dwight, admitting to his wife that the seeds of Elizabeth's demise had been sown long before.

At least Caro has snapped to attention.  Fingers crossed we next find her doing good deeds in Cornwall proper, and letting Dwight chase her and baby Enyses 'round the drawing room.

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What a finale! This was such an engrossing episode.

Elizabeth will be missed - she died so young and lost out on so much life. She was vibrant and complex and intelligent and the show will be far less interesting without her.

It is so tragic how each of the men in the opening sequence contributed to her misfortune. Francis by making the family destitute, George with his jealousy, and Ross most egregiously of all for forcing an illegitimate child on her that roused all that jealousy. She risked everything to protect her living child and got that brief moment of happiness where she thought she'd escaped with the baby and herself intact as well. She could have had a long contented life having won that peace with George.

I kind of hope to see Valentine grow up to challenge Ross to a duel. (Ross will of course throw away his shot - but I hope Valentine doesn't for the sake of his mother)

I don't know why, but I find Morwenna and Drake very endearing and am glad they found happiness. (Though it did seem a bit soon after Elizabeth's death). It seems Morwenna is already coming around to Drake and hope their future will be bright!

Loved Nana Poldark in the opening scene with her tarot cards!

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28 minutes ago, voiceover said:

I do credit Ross for finally saying to George what the audience has been thinking these past months: What more do you want??

A legitimate heir that's his own blood and not that of his greatest enemy. The Warleggans have been expending every effort from the beginning to raise their family and their name to greater wealth and station. That they've produced a fourth generation Warleggan who is actually a Poldark is the worst possible revenge Ross could have on all their scheming. 

I would say George isn't overreacting or being petulant at all when he protests Ross's having stolen the potential life of his flesh and blood heir by keeping Elizabeth unavoidedly occupied during the early years of their marriage.

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I would say George is the author of his own misfortune.  Ross is no saint, but George's Jean Valjean-like pursuit of revenge cost him his wife, and certainly alienated many of his contemporaries (Pitt's granting him a knighthood aside: just proof that anything may be bought, and naked ambition is often rewarded -- but, ugh).

I think of a drunken Rhett Butler, threatening to crush his wife's skull between his hands, if only to finally destroy the memory of her first love.  *That's* what George wanted -- all traces of Ross obliterated from their lives.

Not possible.  It's not just modern thinking, to understand that we have in our hearts, the memories of all the people we've loved before.  Elizabeth made room in her heart for Francis, and then George, but he refused to see it.

Let Ross take a page from that sorry book and STFU about St Hugh.

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2 hours ago, Hyla said:

A legitimate heir that's his own blood and not that of his greatest enemy. The Warleggans have been expending every effort from the beginning to raise their family and their name to greater wealth and station. That they've produced a fourth generation Warleggan who is actually a Poldark is the worst possible revenge Ross could have on all their scheming. 

I would say George isn't overreacting or being petulant at all when he protests Ross's having stolen the potential life of his flesh and blood heir by keeping Elizabeth unavoidedly occupied during the early years of their marriage.

George is overreacting.The only proof he has that Valentine isn't his heir is Aunt Agatha's insinuation and the fact that Valentine was born like 3 weeks premature. Agatha hated George, Elizabeth's family has dark hair, Ross' kids with Demelza don't have dark hair, and about 12% of births are 3 to 4 weeks premature. It's literally nonsense because George has no objective proof that Valentine isn't his. And at this point Agatha jab is less offensive than George's repeated slandering of Demelza to all manner of people. Agatha cruelly taunted George and the only people who truly know about this rumor are Poldarks and Warleggans. Whereas, George has repeatedly insinuated to multiple people in society that Demelza is a low class slattern who will fuck anyone.

So the issue with Valentine's potential parentage is that George either needs to believe Elizabeth and accept Valentine is his son or figure out a way to put Elizabeth and Valentine aside. He can't continue to do this dance where he loves and dotes on Valentine until he's in a fit of pique and decides to treat Valentine nastily. It's immature.

The audience knows that Valentine isn't George's, but George has no proof of this. 

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George never loved Elizabeth, he loved what she represented.  He didn’t even know her.

Elizabeth could have broken her engagement to Francis when Ross came back home.  She was engaged to Ross and only got engaged to Francis because Ross was presumed dead, so since he wasn’t dead...

I don’t think Elizabeth would have been happy with Ross.

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I will miss Elizabeth and what she represents.  Too often the main female characters in historical dramas end up being "not like other girls" like Demelza.  They display character traits that mark them as more modern for the times in an often misguided attempt for modern viewers/readers to relate.  Elizabeth was a traditional female of her time and I was fascinated by how she went about trying to make a life for herself and her children by staying in the confines of her role.    Elizabeth did the best that she could as a poor lady of good breeding.  She had to sacrifice love for security, but she did try to make both of her marriages work when she did not have to.  Most marriages of the time in their class were business arrangements.  Many couples led separate lives usually after the wife produced the heir.  The Warleggans owned (or were entrusted with) enough homes that Elizabeth could have lived away from George.  But, she chose to try to be a good wife to George, a man she married out of necessity.  

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11 hours ago, TiredMe said:

I’ve never read the books, so I never saw this coming. I sat with my mouth open even with the dire warning from the herb maker. I seriously am so surprised. At any rate, George should be interesting next year.

Yeah, I haven't read them either and my gob was smacked when George announced that she died. I should have seen it coming, though, since the episode started with a flashback episode of "Everybody Loves Elizabeth".

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12 hours ago, Zella said:

Morwenna comes from a respected family

Isn't she related to George or Elizabeth? Because doing that to family is heinous. That's George, of course, with his inability to never not take the opportunity to stick it to Ross somehow, but sheesh.

10 hours ago, lucindabelle said:

I loved the flashback. Can’t quite see why all the boys wanted Elizabeth but it’s plausible enough, sometimes it’s an undefinable thing.

I think a lot of it was plain old competition. Elizabeth was pretty, educated, and came with a decent dowry (one presumes), but she was hardly a unicorn. Francis, as the Poldark heir, was the obvious choice, since George was still grabbing his way up the social/financial ladder.

I'm not surprised they killed off Elizabeth. There had to be some big change on the show.

8 hours ago, voiceover said:

I would say George is the author of his own misfortune.  Ross is no saint, but George's Jean Valjean-like pursuit of revenge cost him his wife, and certainly alienated many of his contemporaries (Pitt's granting him a knighthood aside: just proof that anything may be bought, and naked ambition is often rewarded -- but, ugh).

I agree. Devoting so much time and energy to trying to ruin Ross is on George, no one else.

ETA: Was I the only one who was a bit dismayed to see "Poldark Will Return" at the end of this episode? We've already had four seasons of basically the same plot lines; I don't want a fifth.

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Ross and Elizabeth were never formally engaged.  They had an "understanding," in that an engagement was expected but officially delayed because of his scrapes with the law that made his enlistment in the army to clear it up a necessity.  She could have broken her engagement to Francis when Ross showed up very much alive after all, but she was very passive and easily led by her parents and even Charles Poldark's wishes and that set the course for her whole life.  Yet given who Ross is and as Francis Bassett put just an episode or two ago, his "disinclination to accumulate wealth,"  there's little to suggest Elizabeth and Ross really could have been happy together in the long haul.  Ross even acknowledged as much when he told Caroline he had needed a wife who wasn't afraid to dirty her hands.  I love how you can see all the seeds of this in the opening flashback as Dwight commented afterward.

Elizabeth was always the cherry on top for George, the prize for all of his grasping and climbing and trying to make good, and so much of his striving since they married was to "prove" that he was worthy of her.  Jack Farthing was magnificent in articulating this and making it seem like every individual word hurt at the end when Dwight was gamely trying to be consoling.  But George was so unendingly petty and suspicious that he couldn't love her enough to not be swayed by the dying words of a woman who wanted to spite him or not be stoked up by the thoughtless comment of a teenager.   Ross turned out to be sadly prescient that only something so drastic would throw him off that track, and so she risked everything to protect her child from a lifetime of George's resentment and lost.

The "fungus that grows on rye" the shady doc was referring to was likely ergot.  Most midwifes and herbalists knew about its use in inducing miscarriages but it could have the nasty side effect of cutting off blood flow and causing gangrene, which is why shady doc told Elizabeth to immediately tell whoever was attending her that she'd taken it if things went sideways.  I honestly have no idea if it would have made any difference had she informed Dwight, but we can probably assume she was so caught up in her happy moment of believing it had worked and they could move forward now she finally had a daughter that by the time they realized something was wrong she wasn't thinking clearly about it anymore.

Leave it to Ross to think it's at all appropriate to push his way into the house demanding to see someone else's dying wife.  If they never mention Hugh Hugh Hugh ever again, it will be too soon, but Ross at least gets points for finally being self-aware enough to realize that's what his dumb fuckery in London was really all about and Demelza for finally understanding that her brief fling with Boy Band was not the equivalent of a 20-year love/obsession/whatever you want to call it and that it Wasn't. About. Her at that particular moment.

Morwenna being chased through the woods by snarling dogs was a level of gothic melodrama nonsense even this show is generally better than.  Caroline always rocks the gorgeous purple gowns.

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Ross Ross Ross.  It's always about him.  Way to barge in on George literally minutes after Elizabeth passed...  way to force your way into the home and the bedroom so that you can have your moment...  Even Dwight knew he shouldn't be there...  insufferable man.

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Kind of a bittersweet ending but I really loved the moment on the cliffs where Ross remembered a young and happy Elizabeth (I think that was footage from season 1? - not sure, it's been a while).  After all she went through, that was a lovely last image of her fading away into the sunset and the sea.  I had mixed feelings about her, but I agree she was interesting and will be missed.

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2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Isn't she related to George or Elizabeth? Because doing that to family is heinous. That's George, of course, with his inability to never not take the opportunity to stick it to Ross somehow, but sheesh.

Yes, she's Elizabeth's cousin.

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Quote

RIP Elizabeth. She had her ups and downs but she was fine this season, i think. I think it helped that she was mostly content and settled, instead of being wishywashy with all the boys.

 

Wishywashy?  It sounds to me as if you're actually talking about Ross, not Elizabeth.  He has always struck me as the inconsistent one who wanted the best of both worlds - Demelza and Elizabeth.  And it was his arrogance and selfishness that led to Valentine's conception and Elizabeth's eventual death, some six years later.  To me, Ross was the wishywashy one.  To me, he is a patronizing, slightly bigoted and over-privileged rapist.  Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Why is it that unless it's about Demelza being "hurt", so many people want to absolve Ross of his mistakes and crimes?

Edited by CTrent29
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I was so-so about Elizabeth, and wasn't all that gutted when she died.  Honestly I don't care what happens to Demelza either.  I do hope that nothing happens to Caroline and Morwenna because I like them as well as their husbands. 

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16 hours ago, Driad said:

Ross is decorative but tedious. "Chicken for supper? When it died, did you think of Hugh?" If I were Demelza, I'd be thinking of a cleaver and a taxidermist. "Ross is so pretty ands quiet now."

OMG! I am rolling on the floor over here-- laughing like a fool!

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