The more of Poldark season 3 we see, the more Ross Poldark has withdrawn from opportunities to effect change. Will that stay the same?
Poldark is ostensibly the story of Ross Poldark, at least primarily. But, in season 3, he’s often been removed from the storyline — whether it’s going to France multiple times or refusing to do anything that might even possibly corrupt his newfound disdain for working “within the system,” as Sir Francis Bassett put it to him on last week’s episode.
It’s starting to show, at least, in that Ross is pretty indifferent to Demelza right now, which we also picked up on our review. At some point, one has to wonder how much longer the show can endure its main character choosing to eschew going beyond just owning his mine, helping the poor where he can and at least attempting to be a parent and husband.
Yes, the point is probably to contrast Ross with George in another way. Where George is ambitious, Ross is not. It’s very simple, when you think of it. But eventually, that starts to wear on an audience, because it means that Ross isn’t confronting new challenges or finding new ways to grow as a character.
Right now, it feels like Ross primarily exists as a character in others’ stories — saving and now supporting Dwight through , setting Drake up as a blacksmith, ignoring Demelza, being the bane of George’s existence. This is not particularly a stable way for the show to carry on, and with only a few episodes left until Poldark wraps up its third season, it’s starting to feel stifling and frustrating.
The preview for episode 7 makes it seem as though things might be changing, but is it too little, too late?
In the above trailer, Ross asks, “And how would I do that?” However, that doesn’t necessarily indicate he’s about to take action, politically.
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It could simply be an inquiry, and then he could turn it down later, which would end up being very disappointing.
Hopefully, Poldark pulls things together sooner rather than later.