Okay, I now have two episodes to go of season 1 of Gentleman Jack. I'm enjoying this series as much as thought I would when I watched the first episode back in November of last year.
I've seen a number of clips on You Tube including the final scene of the season. But the journey through the actual episodes is no less fascinating to me.
Anne Lister, the titular Gentleman Jack, has a lot on her plate. Her efforts to seduce Ann Walker and convince her a woman can love another woman moved quicker than I expected with the two women falling into bed by the 3rd episode.
But the romantic journey of these two women is still fraught with peril. Ann Walker's extended family seeks to poison the well as it were with malicious gossip about Anne Lister. And to add to the pressure, Rev. Thomas Ainsworth comes calling.
Thomas' wife and Ann Walker were close friends, a friendship that the "good" reverend manipulated to satisfy his own carnal desires with Miss Walker. When his wife dies and before she is even buried, Thomas is putting the moves on Ann Walker.
With her friend dead, her very creepy, rapey husband putting his unwanted attention on her, her own family making her live a living hell over the one person she truly loves and trust, Anne Lister, it is no wonder than Ann Walker is heading for a nervous breakdown.
Meanwhile, Anne Lister has her hands full with coal.
Lister's land is loaded with coal but it's being stolen right from under the ground beneath her feet by the unscrupulous Christopher Rawson, a rich pretentious bastard of a man who thinks he's better than everyone and answers to no one.
Anne Lister's pursuing two tracks to get Rawson to pay for what he's doing. One is to negotiate for Rawson to legally buy her coal but he's unwilling to pay her price. Lister is factoring in a bit of a mark up to get repaid for the coal Rawson has already stolen.
The other track is for Anne Lister to mine her own damn coal but that takes more money than she actually has. Maybe Ann Walker can loan her the money but well, that presents it's own problems.
By the end of episode 6, Anne Lister is a position she most emphatically does not like: back on her heels in a defensive position. Unable to negotiate Rawson into a corner and unable to fund her own mining operation, Lister appears unable to stop Rawson from stealing her coal.
And Ann Walker has left to go stay with her sister in Scotland which is where people in the 1830s go when they're having a mental breakdown.
I am grateful that the ending is spoiled for me because otherwise I would be a nervous wreck myself waiting to see how this plays out. But even knowing the ending, I am still anxious to see how this plays out.
Next week I catch up on The Flight Attendant.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
No comments:
Post a Comment