Poldark season 3 episode 6 review: Losing the institution

Poldark dealt blows to some of the building blocks of the whole show up to this point, and somehow, managed not to make things too terrible.

Well, it’s not our pleasure to report that yes, Poldark sent Aunt Agatha off, as we predicted in looking at the synopsis for this week’s episode. Did her manner of death quite make sense? No, but did she go out in a way that will likely make the past five episodes of this season look weak? That she did, and for that, we salute you, Agatha Mary Poldark, who was 97, not 99. Not even Ross could get under George Warleggan’s skin as easily as you generally did, and that’s saying something, because this episode also displays how easily Ross can irritate George even without actually trying.

But Ross didn’t have the opportunity to cut straight at George’s ego over having a son, even a son that has rickets. Agatha does, and in a fit of anger over having her party canceled, she fires that volley right at George. It’s telling that he has no witty rejoinder, or doesn’t even fall back on his favorite insult of “old crone.” He just takes a few distinctly shaky breaths and leaves the room. It’s clear that in her death, Agatha manages to put a large crack in whatever foundation George and Elizabeth Warleggan built their marriage on. Whether or not it can be fixed most likely depends on George.

Elizabeth being the only person to watch Agatha go is a fascinating study. For all that Elizabeth has some affection (note how she says “my great-aunt” to Sir Francis Bassett and earlier calls Agatha “most beloved aunt”) for Agatha, Heida Reed’s acting conveys that Elizabeth is also very afraid of what could happen now that Agatha’s let that little secret slip. Fear of her husband and what he could do ties her to someone else.

That’s Morwenna, whose pregnancy clues us in early on that Poldark has jumped ahead, since she marries Whitworth at the end of episode 5. Even when Rowella arrives and seems aware that the situation her sister is in is not okay, Morwenna still worries that they may be overheard. Is Rowella distracting Whitworth going to end well? Probably not. Put a pin in that for now.

And then we come to Demelza and Ross, the other foundational aspect of the show that looks to be in trouble yet again. One has to wonder if Ross has a point at the end of the episode about her going to find a “pet.” Demelza seems to acknowledge that her dynamic with Hugh is different when she agrees, under her breath, that she could find one nearby. Hugh’s besotted; Demelza’s flattered, especially since Ross is too occupied being noble to notice. The episode sells this last point a little heavily, though, perhaps a little too heavily for my taste.

About the only people who are happy in this episode are Dwight and Caroline, really.

Other thoughts:

• Drake isn’t over Morwenna either. For all Sam’s exclamations that it must be because he’s returning to religion, he knows Morwenna’s pregnant when he casts the Madonna and child.
• Perhaps the biggest question of them all: Is Hugh Armitage good at poetry? Will we get to read or hear “In Praise of Mistress D.P.”? Does he have any better titles?

Next: What we want to see in Stranger Things season 3?

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