The Devil’s Whore: Episode 3 (2009)

 

Okay, so The Devil’s Whore is odd in the way it mixes history and fiction so thoroughly.  You have the stuff with Cromwell, the Levellers, and whatnot, and you have Angelica and her made-up exploits, but some of the real-life characters are incredibly involved in her plots.  Imagine a book in which a plucky colonist gets to know Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, and they’re both in love with her – it’s a little like that.  Historical fan fiction maybe?  I suppose Shakespeare in Love is similar, in that it’s about the relationship between a historical figure and an invented character, but Tom Stoppard has a far defter hand with that sort of thing than the average writer.

 

Still, I like it.  Angelica has become a clever, strong woman who only occasionally wades too far into anachronism.  For the most part, I can buy her view of the world.  Here, she joins the Diggers, a group that seems like precursors to hippies.  They believe in shared property/labor and celebrate universal love.  If you took a bunch of flower children, dressed them like pilgrims, and threw in a hint of Salem suspicion, you’d have a pretty decent picture of the Diggers.

 

But you’re not here for historical fan fiction or pilgrim hippies – you’re here for PC.  Well, Charles doesn’t have nearly as much screentime as yesterday’s previews suggested, but he is excellent.  The performance is just so interesting to me – the arrogance, the entitlement, the nigh-unflappable belief in his own safety.  It’s a fine example of what must happen to someone’s psyche when they’re groomed to believe that God has exalted them above everyone else in their country, that they’re literally infallible.  He’s accused of being a tyrant who stole from, tortured, and murdered his own people, and he seems hurt that they’d punish him for it.  He’s great in all his scenes, but his final sequence is just stupendous.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

 

I’ll mention that this isn’t the end of the miniseries – the finale takes us up to the ascension of Charles II, and since Charles I obviously doesn’t play a role there, PC isn’t in the last episode.

 

And once more:

 

Accent Watch

 

I like that PC really changes his voice here, even apart from the RP.  Once you look under the funny little beard, you can see that it’s him, but Charles I doesn’t sound anything like him. 

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Depending on the person, I think so; I’m planning to watch the final episode, PC-less though it may be, to see how it turns out.  And that cast is almost too good to pass up!

 

PC-wise – I’d say yes.  PC’s role is fairly small, but he’s very good.  At minimum, I’d recommend episode 3, where he gets the most dramatic material.

 

Warnings

 

Add in a pretty gross-looking severed head (don’t you just love the 1600s?)