#text poldark

[moviestorian]

Finally watched Poldark s4e01!

I’m not gonna lie - I enjoyed the episode. It was a pleasant surprise, and I liked the episode more than any one from season 3. I feel like the showrunners have actually tried to improve things, but have they succeeded? I suppose we will have to wait for the rest of season 4. There are certainly things I am not so happy with, but now I finally have some hopes. However, I feel like, as a result of s3, the show as a whole is extremely messy - if the characters, their behaviour and motivations in s4 were a continuation of s2, then the show would be consistent, but as a continuation of s3...well, there are some problems with consistency, definitely. Nevertheless, I will continue watching the show and play bingo cards will give it a chances.

Now, here are my musings, both pros and cons:

I admit that I could not help myself but started smirking when we got shirtless Ross in the very first scene.

I’m not a huge fan of this entire hallucination sequence.

Jeremy is adorable! But...why the hell is he still not ageing?

That first scene with Dwight and Hugh... My crackship intensifies xD

Loved the exchange between Prudie and Demelza. It’s like getting the characters I once loved back.

I adore Dwight <3

Why...is...Elizabeth literally....drugging George....

The entire riot thing was boring as hell, I’m sure we could do without it.

Also, Tom Harry was conveniently there, right? And why is still working for George? Didn’t Elizabeth want him dismissed?

Morwenna looks absolutely stunning! Also, I like how she manages to stand up for herself.

Dwight, you totally were holding your colouring shampoo a bit too long.

I think we get the glimpse of the old Elizabeth?

Caroline and Dwight side-eyeing each other - priceless!

Hugh...I have a lot of sympathy for you...But please, stop, for the love of God. That’s not the way to go.

I feel I would’ve cared more about Zacky’s son death if we actually got to know him better. Tristan Sturrock’s acting was on point, though.

I wasn’t particularly concerned for Sam and Drake, because it was so blatantly obvious that Ross is going to save the day. He always does.

Horace is a heartthrob!

Now, onto my biggest problem with the episode - George. I don’t like his characterization at all, maybe apart from his conversations with Elizabeth. Other than that, he has completely lost what drew me to him back in series 1 & 2. For me, he is entirely bland as a character now. He’s not interesting anymore. He is a villain like thousands of others. Maybe it will get better, but so far I don’t suppose it will. Jack is good of course, but he has very little to do, with this sort of plotline.

Loved the last three scenes - Roos & Demelza, George & Elizabeth, Dwight & Caroline. That scene with George and Elizabeth actually did make me smile. :)

[moviestorian]

Maaan, Poldark fandom really went viral with the release of these promo pics, right? ;)

[moviestorian]

Oooh taking asks related to George and Elizabeth. George drives me absolutely nuts. You KNOW an actor is really good when the character REALLY makes you angry. Also do you think, if anything were to happen between Demelza and Ross, would Elizabeth ever go back? Or is she forever a bitter Warleggan?

Heeey, yays, a question!^^ Thank you so much!

Haha, yes, I fully agree that Jack does a tremendous job at portraying George, showing both the ruthless and human part of him. Probably majority of the Poldark fandom knows pretty well that I’m a fan of George as a character, but I see where you’re coming from. :) If you’d like to elaborate further about your feelings about George, feel free to do so.

As to your question, I hope I understand you correctly - you mean if something bad happened between Ross and Demelza, would Elizabeth be willing to leave George and elope with Ross? If so, then I’m gonna say no, I don’t think it’s possible. I think it’s very unlikely, for a couple of reasons:

1) At this point of the show (cause I suppose we’re mostly talking about the show? :D) I absolutely don’t see either Ross or Demelza leaving their partners, even after Hugh. There might have been a glimpse of such thought in both of them (I recall Ross, when outraged after realizing there was something between his wife and Hugh Armitage, thinking of leaving Demelza, while in the final scene of s3 Demelza says that for a moment she wasn’t sure if she’s going to come back home), but it lasted only for a short time, I think. Despite everything bad that happened in their marriage, they are going to last. 

2) What happened between Ross and Elizabeth in 2x08. Whether one regards it as rape or a consensual act (I’m not gonna discuss it here, that’s a topic for another post), I think that it brought such a change to their relationship that I don’t see how would they become friends again, not even speaking of marriage. That night, and what came after, was a huge pile of violence, contradicting emotions, misunderstanding, abandonment, and nothing really healthy could be created out of that. The longer that neverending silence on Ross’ part lasted, the more abandoned, used, and bitter Elizabeth must have felt. I don’t suppose the whole situation would be so easily forgettable for her, especially taking into account possible social implications if society got to know what happened. Most importantly, I think that entire situation made them both realize (sadly, in a too blunt and rapid way) that they don’t have any romantic feelings for each other any longer.

3) Children. Somehow I can’t imagine Elizabeth leaving Geoffrey Charles and Valentine, and it would be super unlikely for her to get a custody after marriage. If she ever wanted to leave George and go to Ross, the former would probably simply not allow her to take care of kids, or - in a more extreme case - even see them (such things happened back then, that’s why I think that Demelza saying to Ross that she’s taking Jeremy to her father in s2 was pure bullshit). Since motherhood is an important part of Elizabeth’s character, she’d never take such a risk. And we must take into account Jeremy and Clowance, too - would Ross simply take them away from Demelza? I don’t think so.

4) I perceive Elizabeth as a character with a huge sense of duty. As she put it in a conversation with Verity, she became a Poldark after marrying Francis, and became a Warleggan after she married George. I think she is generally loyal to her family, and at this point of her life leaving her husband would hurt Geoffrey Charles, George, Valentine, and herself. She has enough troubles in her relationship with George related to her trying to hide Ross’ night visit, and it’s not in anybody’s interest to complicate things even further. The moment she said “yes” to George was the point when she made her choice, and she doesn’t change her mind so easily.

5) Ok, let’s face it - living with George is in many ways easier and more comfortable than living with Ross, at least when it comes to predictivness and financial security. George is emotionally a colder person, but he is more stable as well, and I’m not sure if Elizabeth would be happy leading such a risky life with Ross, all of his ideas, journeys, moods, etc. I absolutely don’t perceive Elizabeth as a very calculating person, but this pragmatic reason could be very convincing: for her and her children’s sake. And taking into account women’s possibilities in late XVIII century, would that be so strange? She (and Geoffrey Charles with her) relies on George, and I don’t think she’d risk so much for something so uncertain.

I think that’s all I can think of for now. Hope that answers your question. :) And what do you think?

[moviestorian]

I also had a thought especialy towards the end maybe Tankard was tired of being an errand boy for George (running messages to Elizabeth) or the fact that Georege didn't seem to listen to him, (calling him squeamish and also dragging him into the fray against the same neighbors when they marched on Trenwith)

Hey!

Quite right, I actually didn’t take this into consideration. Well, yes, I think it might be possible and I guess this sort of explanation could have sense and it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to include in the show(tbh it would even be very interesting to see George’s reaction to “squeamish” Tankard willingly ending his service). Again, since Tankard is not the most developed character in the show it’s hard to guess what are his motivations and priorities - perhaps he doesn’t mind whatever George requires as soon as he pays him well? We don’t really know. And I think that’s a goddamn shame, because we’ve had quite awesome side characters with a good potential in s1 and s2, like Margaret, Tankard, Ruth, or Jinny (a lot of female characters, too!) but all of them just perished I guess. Because quite frankly, I’d rather have their storylines developed instead of that introduction of shitload of characters I couldn’t care less about in season 3...

[moviestorian]

Hello! 42, 62, 64.

Hi! 

Thank you so much for these ;)

42.Do you think that Valentine is Ross’ or George’s son?

Wohoho, that’s a question! Obviously, it can’t be said for sure, and the show handled the whole Valentine’s parentage quite awfully and in a ridiculous way. I know that him being Ross’ child is the more popular theory, and I don’t reject that interpretation, but at the same time I think Valentine being George’s son would be actually a nice twist - for many years majority of people have questioned Warleggan’s paternity, and then bang! Turns out Valentine is actually George’s child. I mean, in XVIII/XIX century it would be impossible to 100% prove who’s the father, and Graham left many hints indicating Valentine may be Ross’ son (while Debbie is not very subtle in her storytelling, I think it’s pretty clear she’s for the Ross Theory).

In short: I think Ross’ parentage is more plausible considering the narratives in Poldark, but I’d personally prefer the less likely version, which is the George Theory.

62.What is your favourite of all Demelza’s songs?

Currently it’s a tie between “I d’pluck a fair rose” and “Life is short but love is long”.

64.Drake or Sam?

Another tough question, because I’m almost equally indifferent about both of them and honestly couldn’t care less about their storyline. Forgive me if it sounds blount, but they have very little personality for me. But if I were to chose, I’d probably go for Drake.

Poldark fan ask meme

[moviestorian]

Hello, hello! Number 32 on the Poldark asks, please! :)

Thank you so much! :)

32. A character you feel is strongly overlooked/underappreciated.

No surprise here, I guess, but from the more significant characters plot-wise I’m gonna choose George Warleggan and Elizabeth Chynoweth. I’m talking mostly about their show version (s3 aside), because I don’t really care about them in the books, to be honest. George may not be the best person ever (ha), but he’s extremely interesting as a character, and while you may not like him, you can still understand his actions (where they come from, that is) and sometimes even relate to him. When it comes to Elizabeth, I still stand by the view that she is really unfairly hated by the fandom. I personally love her, although I must admit that I didn’t like her (like, at all!)when I first watched the series. But basically, my second viewing of the show really changed my perception of the characters, probably because for the first time I hadn’t watched the first episode, so I missed the whole build-up and all.

Oh, and Verity. She definitely deserves a bigger fandom! I don’t think I have to explain, why. :) She’s a total sweetheart!

Poldark fan ask meme

[moviestorian]

25, 94, and 99 please!!

Thank you, anon! :*

25. Headcanon about X character?

I’m gonna pick, surprise, George for this challenge. :P I have quite a lot of headcanons related to his character, and I’ve already mentioned some of them in my old posts (like the one about him being a teacher’s pet back in school times), so I’m gonna try give something new. My headcanon is that George, as a teenager, was super shy, especially towards women and girls, and every time he had to encounter them he either could barely say a word, or tried to avoid any sort of confrontation. Balls and public gatherings would give him anxiety, but the older he got, the easier it became to hide his stress, and finally he learned to get rid of it, mostly thanks to his great ambition.

94. Imagine Poldark characters in modern times. What about them would change the most?

First of all, their mentality would have been much different, and perhaps their values, too. Quite ironically, I think the characters that would change the least could be George (apart from that I don’t think he would be very religious in modern times, but you never know), Ross and Caroline. I suppose that the women of Poldark and general male-female relationships would have been totally different, due to changes in terms of gender equality. Most of them could have ended in completely different relationships, job positions, etc., because modern times offer more vast possibilities than late XVIII century. Maybe some of them would make better career, or maybe couldn’t find their place in this world. I feel like my response to this question is rather vague, but I feel like I’d have to think it over or perhaps focus on a specific situation/characters. Anyway, it’s a great fanfiction material, the whole modern au zone. :)

99. What is, in your opinion, Poldark’s most significant message? What can we learn from it?

I would say we can learn from Poldark that we should always be true to ourselves and if we want to change, we shouldn’t do that by diminishing others. That people we care about are gonna hurt us at some point, but it’s our choice how we respond to it. Having said that, I have a lot of complaints about Poldark’s messages, both in the books and the show, especially things related to Ross, but I guess that’s for a separate post.

Poldark ask meme

[moviestorian]

11, 35, 36 and 62! and thanks for coming up with this! 😊

Thank you for the ask!^^ I’ve had this idea in my mind for months, and the actual ask meme was waiting in my drafts for a while, but I decided it’s the right time to finally publish it. :) If I can do anything that the fandom will like, I will do it with pleasure!

11. Best written character.

Book-wise, it’s definitely Demelza. The best developed, most realistic and relatable, likeable but flawed. When it comes to the show… well, I admit it’s a very hard choice to me, because I think in the series all characters are either not developed enough, or inconsistent in one way or another. I really wanna say that George is the best written character (imo Debbie turned him into a super interesting character), but s3 ruined everything and at this point he’s barely anything other than a cartoon villain… Pretty similar thing I can say about Caroline - I thought she was amazing in s2, but s3 was a huge disappointment when it comes to her character. I adore s1 Demelza, but as the show progresses, the less I care about it…

35. Thoughts on Keren Daniel?

I was first introduced to her character by the show, which is… not very favourable for Keren. Honestly, it’s basically impossible to like show!Keren. She’s selfish, arrogant, dishonest, manipulative, entitled… I don’t think the show actually shows even one really good quality of her, and in addition to that we have this whole “femme fatale” storyline, how she’s a great seducer and making all men she’s been with miserable (poor, good Mark tried so hard for her and she was so ungrateful and was flirting with other men on her wedding; and poor innocent Dwight she seduced).

Then I read the books and was honestly surprised. I can’t say I liked Keren per se, but I really, really empathized with her. At least we got to see her thoughts, her point of view… And while I didn’t always agree with her, she’s far more sympathetic than she is in the show. I’d say the book!Keren is, despite still having same manipulative and selfish traits, a lost, idealistic (and actually ambitious, talented and intelligent!)

girl whose expectations has been crushed by life, and crushed in the most brutal way. Had she known love and more understanding instead of hostility, I’m pretty sure her fate would have been different, and Keren would’ve been different, too. Not in everything, of course, but in some aspects, definitely, I’d say.

36. What do you think was Rowella’s main motive for seducing Osborne?

Frankly? I couldn’t say for sure. The fact that we never really get to Rowella: her thoughts, feelings, values, it all makes it extremely difficult to understand the reasons behind her actions. However, it’s really hard to imagine, at least in my eyes, that she genuinely desires Osborne and wants to be his mistress… On the other hand, I too don’t believe that her motives are purely altruistic and she just wants to help her sister. Helping Morwenna is possible one of the factors that pushed her to “seduce” Osborne, but I wouldn’t say it’s the main one.

My take is that she realizes that her marriage prospects are rather poor, and that she really wants to marry Arthur Solway, but there’s no way her family would let her do so, and as a result she sees her chance in Whitworth - by seducing him and making up the whole pregnancy story, Rowella got the chance to get money from Osborne and be with the man she wants.

Let me add at the end that this whole storyline is so messed up and the fact that Rowella is supposedly 14 years old doesn’t help much either… Like, I know Graham decribes her as super intelligent and mature, but it’s creepy anyway.

62. What is your favourite of all Demelza’s songs?

I’d pluck a fair rose from 1x04 without a doubt, it’s one of my favourite Poldark scenes in general, and this song is extremely beautiful (and also, I believe, the first time we got to hear the beauty of Eleanor’s voice - she was humming some happy songs before, but it was hard to judge her vocal skills back then). Life is short but love is long comes as close second.

Poldark fan ask meme