It’s nice
to report that Peggy, Jodie Whittaker’s character, does get quite a bit less
milquetoasty in the second half of series 2, which is a relief. While she’s still not a character I have a
huge amount of interest in, it does make the whole thing a little less trite,
less one-note love interest who’s beloved by the dashing young man Because
Reasons (a few spoilers.)
Surprisingly,
the hubbub over the railroad has pretty much completely vanished since Part
One. William, Peggy’s would-be beau, is
still obsessed with trains and the future, but everyone else in town has moved
on to more pressing matters, like the arrival of an aristocrat and the effect
that will have on their social circle (or not have, if the lady’s hostess has
anything to say about it.) Meanwhile,
William’s father is appalled at the thought of his son wanting to marry someone
who isn’t from an old well-to-do family, and all the expected
keep-the-lovers-apart dramatics ensue.
Peggy and William, however, aren’t giving up without a fight.
That
fight is where we see more of Peggy’s personality. It’s a sort of strength that fits with her
character as we’ve seen it, more of the Fanny Price variety – timid but
resolute, standing up to a man of a considerably-higher class. Mr. Buxton tries numerous tactics to get
Peggy away from William, but while Peggy has no intentions of dragging William
down to ruin if that’s the situation Mr. Buxton is trying to force, she doesn’t
let him strong-arm or try to scare her into giving up the man she loves.
There are
still a ton of clichés here: the
roadblocks thrown in the path of the young lovers, the handsome heir having to
choose between his money and his lady, the quiet dignity of the young heroine
standing up to the classist antagonist, and so on and so forth. Nothing that we haven’t seen executed far
better in a Jane Austen novel, and as such, the plot doesn’t hold too much of
my interest, but I am still pleased to see Peggy being less of a wet
blanket. She strikes a good balance
between fighting for what she wants and being realistically cowed by Mr.
Buxton.
Also, I
was really charmed here by Erminia, the Buxtons’ ward played by Michelle Dockery. It would’ve been super easy to paint her as
Peggy’s snobby rival, a father-approved choice for William to have to
resist. However, the moment she hears
Mr. Buxton suggesting William would be better off with her, she shuts the idea
down right quick. Not in a mean way
exactly – not looking down on William as not good enough/handsome enough/rich
enough/whatever for her – but in kind of a delightfully dry way, ironically
pointing out that neither should be forced to inflict themselves on the
other. A wonderful little scene, and I
love it.
It might
seem silly to repeat my wrap-up info, since Whittaker’s part here is only two
episodes long and I just did all this last week. But, first- and last-episode wrap-ups are the
way I do actors’ TV reviews, so here we are.
Accent Watch
Northern.
Recommend?
In
General
– Not necessarily. Masterpiece/ITV fans
will probably enjoy it, but there are plenty of better options for getting that
fix.
Jodie
Whittaker
– Again, not necessarily. Although Peggy
does get more interesting in the second half, there just isn’t a whole lot to
this character worth checking out.
Warnings
Brief
violence and some drinking.