S02.E02: Season 2, Episode 2

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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While Charlotte struggles with horribly divided loyalties, the community gathers to share its grief. Tempers flare and the women rally against the injustice of the judiciary, with devastating consequences for Nancy.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I had to laugh at Lucy being a typical big sister in this short exchange:

Margaret: Take Jacob home, Lucy. Now!
[Lucy takes ten steps]
Lucy: Go inside, Jacob.

Lydia's self-righteousness and justification about selling Margaret's virginity at the age of 10 made me want to vomit. She would have died a diseased child in the gutter if Lydia hadn't taken her in? Maybe that's true, but that doesn't mean Lydia had to start pimping her out at such a young age.

Poor Nancy!

[abbyzenn]

Surprised that there's so few comments on the new season.  That was a pretty tough episode (I watched right after watching episode 1).  I too had forgotten about the serial killer stuff.  I should have watched the last episode of season 1 just to remember everything that's going on.

Some general comments:

Margaret seems to be losing her grip.  She was much nicer in season 1.

Liv Tyler looks like a giant compared to Lydia and Charlotte.

Charlotte seems lost trying to keep in both worlds (her mother's and Lydia's.)  

Lucy seemed much more mature than last season.

Jessica Brown Findlay is absolutely stunning.  Somehow the makeup and clothes suit her.

[nodorothyparker]

They're really not messing around this season, are they?  Nancy has been one of my favorite characters on this show as she's every bit as bloody practical as Margaret is but tends to be much more sardonic about it rather than turning into a Lydia Quigley lite on those who have even less power than she does.  So that flogging was damn brutal to watch even as it illustrated a truism Margaret voiced last season that men don't respect other people, particularly women, they respect property.  Justice Hunt was basically shrugging off Kitty's murder as a too bad so sad what are you going to do about a dead whore thing but charge up to his house and break one of his windows and suddenly someone must be punished this instant.   Justice must be done.  The entire crowd turning their backs was a great visual of just how much contempt they had for him for ordering that and you could see that it registered with him, even if was to only double down on trying to strangle business at Quigley's house.

It's interesting to watch how Quigley's "kindness" in buying 10-year-old Margaret and pimping her out echoes.  So at some point Margaret and Nancy got her punished enough she also earned a flogging and she still blames them for it.  Years later, Margaret is still trying to take her down even if it means destroying her own family and business in the process by driving everyone away.  Meanwhile, Charlotte is independently trying to punish Quigley and risking permanently alienating herself from her mother and their community to do it.  That fight with Margaret where Charlotte called her a pimp not a mother was everything.  Charlotte understands what made Margaret and wants to avenge that, but she's not letting Margaret off the hook for all the damage she did to her and Lucy as well.

Don't ever change, Emily Lacy.  She continues to be a hoot on every level, but she's not a fool even if she's increasingly seeing that Charles is.  Loved Harriet looking around her gaudy house where she apparently hasn't managed to employ or keep anyone yet and commenting that maybe she can manage to give it some class.   

The scene of Lydia Quigley relieved to finally be home and out of jail only to realize that Charles and Emily were throwing parties in her absence was a great one for Lesley Manville in both showing her dejection that no one had cared at all and the kind of unhinged rage that has Margaret and Nancy perpetually insisting that she's a murdering monster.  Often Quigley comes off with all the subtlely and shading of a Disney villain, so I'm glad the actress is getting more to work with this season.  Whatever she's got on Liv Tyler's character must be a doozy.

Fanny is kind of breaking my heart.

[fresiaa]

11 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

Whatever she's got on Liv Tyler's character must be a doozy.

Mrs Quigley said "your mistake is growing bigger every day" so I presume she had a child. As the Lady Fitzwilliam said it would upset the world order (oceans bubbling over the towns, or something like that) my guess is it is a royal child. Quick look on Wiki learns that "now" in 1763 King George III is 25 years old, and his heir just one year old.

 

So the new magistrate is easy to manipulate. Sweet Amelia warms his heart and he does her bidding. Amelia's mother is getting quite a number of punch lines, and I enjoy her being around delivering them.

Is the guards on Mrs Quigley's door step a concession of the magistrate after the flogging, or is it Fanny's police officer that organised it? I wonder what she will do now because she is broke and this way no client is coming in. 

I am not a fan of the serial killers story line. I am more interested in how the three whorehouses survive amongst murder, mayhem and the magistrate.

[snowwhyte]

It was really difficult to watch Nancy brought low. She's a great character and while it's obvious she's been through some stuff she has shown compassion and strength of character. She found a way to take control and assert her power in a world that routinely victimizes women. As a dominatrix she is accustomed to using the whip to assert her dominance and now the symbol of her power has been used against her. 

[tennisgurl]

Poor Nancy, that was awful to watch. Of course the magistrate has a "yeah sucks whatever" reaction to poor Kitty being murdered, but when he gets a rock through the window? Oh my good golly gosh, must deal with this injustice immediately! Sounds like that kind of person alright. 

Looking forward to seeing Harriet with Emily and Charles, that sounds like it would be an interesting match. Emily is always so Extra, even by Regency standards, I love watching her hustle. And her collection of giant hats. 

Fanny is making my heart hurt. Its sweet seeing how much she cared about Kitty though, and seeing Lucy being a supportive friend. Lucy generally seems a lot more mature and with the program this season. Glad she has finally dealt with her PTSD from hanging out with that murder couple last season. 

[aradia22]

Lucy looked like a high fashion historical version of Snow White in her first gown.

Someone needs to slap the stutter out of that awful justice. At least Amelia convinced him to make Violet his housekeeper.

I feel like plot contrivances kept Lydia alive but I'm okay with it because Lesley Manville is acting the hell out of this part and I'm starting to get interested in Charlotte's plotting. This is much better than her hanging around with George and Haxby and Daniel.

I did not see this proletariat rebellion coming.

I'm glad at least Fanny remembered Kitty's daughter.

NONSENSE. Where did Fanny pull that button from?

Violet's housemaid dress isn't really... respectable. Half of her breasts are out.

On the one hand, I thought they were going to burn Nancy at the stake... On the other hand, JESUS CHRIST. Poor Nancy. 

And why is Harriet still around? I've had enough of her.

Jacob needs to stop sitting outside by himself. It's not safe and I don't want anything to happen to him.

Oh, shut up. Emily Lacey and Harriet Lennox can stuff it with their whinging about Margaret. She's not the cause of their problems.

I appreciate that the Wells women have earned their screaming matches. They're not whining over false grievances or misplaced blame.

Good lord, why is Scanwell back to being a jerk? You're going to pray to purify the charitable food someone gives you.

Still, Lydia is the worst. Diseased child in the gutter. smh

[aradia22]

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Mrs Quigley said "your mistake is growing bigger every day" so I presume she had a child. As the Lady Fitzwilliam said it would upset the world order (oceans bubbling over the towns, or something like that) my guess is it is a royal child.

This is genius guesswork.

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Poor Nancy, that was awful to watch. Of course the magistrate has a "yeah sucks whatever" reaction to poor Kitty being murdered, but when he gets a rock through the window? Oh my good golly gosh, must deal with this injustice immediately! Sounds like that kind of person alright. 

I think it's also that for all the talk about the morality of prostitution and defending vulnerable women, the real threat to the powers that be is always going to be an uprising of the lower classes or anyone who has been made to feel less than when they really have strength in numbers. He needed to shut that down before people really starting taking Nancy's words to heart.