With
the country at war within itself and all her old safety nets taken from her,
Angelica has to grow up with a steep learning curve. Though she’s earned a reputation as an
impudent woman who doesn’t know her place, she still has a way to go, and her
attempts to make her own way in the world proceed by fits and starts.
Fortunately
for her, she makes her way to the Levellers, the faction of rebels with the
furthest-reaching aims – among others, their numbers include John Simm’s Edward
Sexby and Michael Fassbender’s Thomas Rainsborough. Not only do the Levellers want to unseat the
king and root out the corruption in parliament, but they seek suffrage for all
Englishmen, regardless of property ownership.
Because of their extreme views, their dealings with the more moderate
Cromwell are uneasy, and you get the feeling that the alliance won’t last for
long. But while the politics are tense,
Angelica is in a great position. I
hesitate to say “she has her pick of hot, strapping proto-feminists with a passion
for social equality,” but that’s kind of what happens. I admittedly don’t know a huge amount about
this period of English history, so I’m not sure how anachronistic these
attitudes would have been among this movement.
Charles
I has fled to Scotland by this time, so PC only has a few scenes. I have to say, I kind of like the way he’s so self-deluded and cocksure. Surrounded by men who loathe him, he never
quite loses the bemused expression in his eyes, as if this is all just a little
tantrum that will subside soon enough.
PC seems to be playing Charles I as equal parts Patronizing Father and
Slippery Weasel, in an entertaining way.
I’m guessing episode 3 will give him a bigger chance to shine.
There’s
a few more Who veterans to report,
two guest stars from series 4. Tim
McInnerny from “Planet of the Ood” (though I’ll always love him for his work on
Blackadder) plays a suitably
loathsome baddie. Also, I spent a good
part of episode 1 trying to remember where I’d seen the actor playing Leveller agitator
John Lilburne. Lo and behold, it’s Tom
Goodman-Hill, who was the vicar in “The Unicorn and the Wasp.” As if the 17th-century clothes,
scruffy hair/beard, and Northern accent don’t make him unrecognizable enough, I
can’t see a trace of his Who character in Lilburne. Great performance.
Oh, and
I should make a quick clarification – I found this series online under its
given name, but in the U.S., it’s actually called The Devil’s Mistress. Just
for anyone who might want to seek it out on DVD and wonder why they can only
find a similarly-titled miniseries that seems to employ the exact same actors.
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