As the second episode of A Very British Scandal begins, Ian Campbell (Paul Bettany) leads Margaret (Claire Foy) with his hands over her eyes to her surprise. When he removes his hands from her eyes, he shows her the Spanish Armada cannonball they pulled from the ship wreckage. It has been buried under the seabed for centuries and it is now her paperweight. Margaret is confident they’re getting closer to obtaining the treasure. Once he says they’re in the right place, Margaret reminds Ian that she told him he would do it and promised it. Yvonne MacPherson (Amanda Drew) enters with one of his sons and interrupts their make-out session. Ian admits he forgot about the boy and needs to get him to school. He tells Margaret he asked Yvonne to do some secretarial work for her because she is excellent and her husband died. Margaret says she could use the help before Ian leaves with his firstborn.

Yvonne says their great fortune is about to be restored and that will be wonderful for the duke, but Margaret believes it’ll be wonderful for both. When the boy returns, Yvonne agrees to wave him off and discuss her duties with Margaret after that. Margaret says goodbye to Ian Campbell Jr (Daniel Burt) although he doesn’t return the favor. Later, a postman on a bicycle delivers a few letters to the castle. Yvonne distributes them to the right people while they have breakfast and instructs them they’ll need to leave soon. Margaret watches patiently as Ian begins opening the letters and eventually reaches the one she wrote pretending to be Louise. Margaret asks what it is to which Ian responds he doesn’t know. She walks over and looks at it over before throwing it to the table and calling it a crank. She urges him not to brood on it and throw it in the fire, but she agrees not to say anything about it when he requests it.

After the brief intro, Ian goes to Louise ‘Oui Oui’ Campbell (Sophia Myles) to ask about the letter. She promises she never wrote it and never stayed at the motel mentioned at the bottom of the letter. Louise wishes she had an affair so she could have some happy memories from their marriage. An enraged Ian screams demanding to know whether the boys belong to him. She swears on their lives that he is the father although he doesn’t deserve them. Before leaving, she calls Ian a piece of crap. Later that night, Ian pleads with Margaret not to leave him tonight during the party. He can’t understand why someone would send him that letter. Margaret insists it isn’t anything to worry about because she gets nasty letters as well. She reassures Ian that the boys are his since Louise is too boring to have an affair. She promises to stay by his side and believes they’ll have fun since it is his daughter’s birthday. When they arrive, Margaret briefly speaks to Jeanne (Albertine Kotting McMillan) although the girl is standoffish.

Margaret smiles at Janet (Sophie Ward) as the party continues. Later, she runs into Maureen Guinness (Julia Davis) who points out that Ian is hanging out with wife number one Janet. Margaret thanks her before sulking in the bathroom. Janet and Jeanne join her until Janet asks Jeanne to return to her friends. She would prefer to listen to their conversation, but Janet makes her leave. When they’re alone, Margaret reminds Janet that she paid for the party so she could at least not humiliate her. Janet insists it has nothing to do with humiliating her. Instead, it is about doing what Ian wants because it would cause a scene otherwise. Margaret suspects Janet can’t handle it that she succeeded where she failed. Janet tells her about the first night of their honeymoon when Ian took her to a brothel because she had a lot to learn and she was only 17. Margaret listens as Janet says Ian took everything she had before moving on to Louise and taking everything she had. She warns Margaret that the campaign to remove her will begin as soon as her money runs out.

Margaret fires back saying they’re sniveling little girls and she doesn’t need or want their advice. When Margaret returns to the party, she learns that Ian left with her car and driver. Peter Combe (Timothy Renouf) offers to give her a ride in his Volvo covered in dog hair. Yvonne believes she is above it, but Margaret loves dogs so she decides to go with him. She makes sure she says goodnight to Janet before leaving with Peter. When she gets home, she finds Ian passed out in the bathroom and decides to make him more comfortable. In the morning, Ian complains about the bathroom before turning his vitriol to the whole house. Ian accuses her of kicking a man when he is down when she says he slept in the bathroom although she denies it.

She complains that he took her car and driver without her. He tells her she is fine, delicious, and hungover. Margaret asks him not to treat her like his other wives. He hopes she hasn’t been talking to Janet. Once she says she hasn’t, Ian tries to convince her to give up the house because it would save them money. She counters by telling him to get the shipwreck out of the water so they can have as many houses as they want. He complains that he can’t raise the ship or father his own children. Again, she tells him to ignore the letter. She denies acting like a nanny and promises she wouldn’t have invested so much money into the shipwreck if she didn’t think he could raise it. He offers to take her out to dinner for being such a horrible bastard, but still thinks she should consider selling the house. Margaret visits Dr. Ivor Griffiths (Miles Jupp) who checks her spine and finds something new.

She says it is just a twinge and she sometimes has headaches. She surprises Ivor by saying she wants to have a baby. He warns her against it because it could possibly kill her in the long run. Ivor says she was lucky to have two children before her fall, but it is too risky now. Later, she gets a visit from Diana Napier (Camilla Rutherford). In private and after Diana swears to secrecy, Margaret asks her to buy her a baby boy. They need a newborn baby boy and she believes Diana can help because she is married to a Pole. Diana can’t believe she is serious about this and wonders if she is having a nervous breakdown. Margaret explains that both of Ian’s children are illegitimate. When Diana learns about the letter, she suspects it is extortion. They need an heir since Ian can’t leave anything to Louise’s children now. Diana suggests otherwise since the British aristocracy turns a blind eye to such things. Margaret lays out her plan of padding her waist to spread rumors, going to a clinic in Switzerland, and letting Diana bring her the baby.

Diana refuses and encourages her friend not to get involved in this. Margaret says this has everything to do with her since she and her father saved the castle from becoming a ruin. Diana tells her to go on a long holiday somewhere sunny before she leaves. Margaret sits around and thinks about her accident. She writes the letter V in her diary. When Ian returns home, she complains that he lied about taking her out to dinner and went to the club instead. She knows better and knows he has been drinking again. She tells him he smells like other women before he gets loud and screams that she is so boring. Ian says she had to spoil his wonderful day while shoving his hand into her face. He says he is going to sleep at the club and they’ll go back to the castle the next day, but Margaret says no. When he says she’ll do what he says, Margaret suggests he is confusing her with one of his other wives. Once he is gone, Margaret goes outside, gets into the vehicle with Peter, and says she wants to go drinking and dancing.

She parties throughout the night. Then, we jump forward to the funeral of her mother. George Whigham (Richard McCabe) says he loved his wife so much. Margaret assures him that she’ll always be there for him. Later, Ian complains because Margaret let Yvonne go. She explains she got her another job and is giving her lunch to make up for it. She goes on to say they didn’t have enough money or work for Yvonne. Then, Ian says he doesn’t want to debase himself advertising Argyll socks. To save money, he recommends giving up the house. Margaret believes giving up the treasure hunt would be a better move. The photoshoot begins seconds later. Yvonne goes to dinner with Margaret. Yvonne was sorry to hear about the passing of her mother and her new employer is very generous. Margaret insists it was difficult to let her go.

Soon, the conversation turns to Ian with Margaret asking if he was always so impossible. Yvonne says the Duke has a lot on his mind and she is surprised Margaret knows since they’re never together. She recommends spending more time with Ian and being at Inveraray Castle instead of hanging out with men half her age. Yvonne accuses Margaret of not trying hard enough before ridiculing the sock advertisement. She knows Margaret invited her there to agree with her. She says Ian deserves better. Margaret claims she helped Yvonne keep her job because Ian wanted to get rid of her sooner although Yvonne knows better. Before the meeting ends, Yvonne tells her to make sure Ian packs everything he needs for Scotland and he needs a wife. Meanwhile, Ian learns they’re going to stop the shipwreck expedition. He pleads with them to continue, but the crew is finished. He has difficulty accepting that.

Dr. John Petro (Tim Steed) visits Ian at his residence. Ian complains that he failed and tells his wife that he wanted to do it for his boys. He says they’re his boys and Margaret agrees with him. Once Dr. Petro enters the bedroom, he asks Marg for privacy. Later that night, Margaret looks at the pill bottle her husband was given. She confronts the doctor about prescribing the Duke amphetamines. He claims it is going to boost his system, but Marg doesn’t believe that. She says her husband can be very volatile and wonders if he has boosted her husband before. Petro claims he is only there to treat Ian’s pneumonia. A bit later, Ian asks Marg which one of her lovers she is going to see this time. When he asks whether it is Peter, she says he only escorts her and he already has many girlfriends. She has a meeting with the bank. Ian believes she likes it like this and the fact that the shipwreck is still buried under the mud. He says it means she can still prance around calling herself the Duchess with his balls in her handbag.

She jokes that they wouldn’t take up much room. Marg says he is taking too many of those pills and they’re not doing him any good, but he says they stop him from shooting himself in the face. They briefly spar over their other boyfriends and girlfriends. He contemplates shooting her in the face, but she says she’d win once he was hung for murder. She asks him what he is going to do about Louise and the letter. Since he has taken professional advice from a detective on Scotland Yard, Ian has decided to do nothing at all. Marg is glad he talked to someone although she wishes he would’ve told her. Ian says they’re not her kids before asking whether she is going to talk to her father about money. She admits she didn’t want to ask him for money while he is grieving. Before Marg leaves, she tells Ian she loves him despite everything and she’ll keep his balls safe. Later, Marg learns that her father is going to remarry again.

Maureen listens as Margaret claims she knew and didn’t want to steal the bride’s spotlight. She laughs and calls George a sly old dog because his new wife is younger than his daughter. Peter agrees to come comfort Margaret who promises she is alright. When he arrives, Peter wonders if she should just tell him another night. He offers to take her to dinner instead, but Marg apologizes for ruining his dinner and gets out of the car. In silent scenes, we see Margaret meet with a man with a camera as he begins showing her how it works. Later, she takes provocative pictures with a naked man. She gets the pictures in an envelope later and smiles as she looks at them. She hides the pictures in her desk drawer along with the other items she wants to keep secret. Later, Marg and Ian get a visit from George and his new wife. He jokes about her stutter when she asks him to behave.

Ian offers to take Jane (Katherine Manners) to the garden so they can talk later. In private, George admits he should’ve told her, but he had been swept off his feet. He says Ian drinks for oblivion and she knows it. He refuses to give her money saying he won’t throw good money after bad. Marg understands and just wants her father to be happy. Ian asks his wife about that conversation later and gets angry when he learns George isn’t going to give them more money. He says Jane is wasted on George so Marg slaps him across the back of the neck. Ian gets violent with her and begins choking her on the bed. He only stops when one of the staff members breaks into the room. Later, Margaret meets Dr. Petro and threatens to report him to the police. She wants him to stop seeing her husband and stop giving him amphetamines. Dr. Petro agrees to do as she asks. As she walks home one day, she is asked about the Duke taking residence at Claridge’s, but she says they’re wrong.

She is also asked about their divorce although she knows nothing about it. When she tries to visit him, Yvonne stops her and tells her that Ian doesn’t want to see her. As Margaret storms out of the building, she tells the press not to believe anything Yvonne says because she is a liar and that is why she didn’t want her working with her anymore. She calls her a deeply troubled woman who threw it back into her face when she tried to help her. Dr. Petro tries to visit Ian, but he isn’t home. Later, Margaret gets a call from a distraught Ian who pleads with her to come back. She goes to Paris and meets her husband at his motel. He is in terrible shape so Margaret tries to nurse him back to health. She takes care of him until he admits he doesn’t know why he went to Claridge’s. Margaret confesses that he frightens her sometimes and hurt her. He whines that she wouldn’t give him money and he kept thinking she had gone behind his back and was lying.

Margaret believes they can make it work between them although they’ll have to be kinder to one another and stop doing terrible things to each other. When Ian asks what terrible things she has done, she says nothing. Margaret says she was in London too much even though that isn’t as bad as him humiliating her in public. She instructs him he’ll have to stop using pills and alcohol. In the middle of the night, Ian gets up and looks through Margaret’s diary. He learns that his wife was at the motel that was listed at the bottom of the letter about his children. He goes to her desk and begins ransacking through it before he finds the key and unlocks the drawer. He finds the papers from the L’Hotel Saint Mariette that she used to create the fake letter from Louise. He begins drinking heavily and removes his rings before looking through the desk again. He eventually finds the pictures of Margaret with the other man.

 

A Very British Scandal Review

While the episode was a bit slower paced than the first, it was a necessary evil since we needed these key aspects of the story. It did a pretty good job of setting up the finale because it is clearly all downhill from this point forward. It is difficult to really analyze and review a show like this until you’ve fully consumed all three episodes. Regardless, there are things to like about the series and things to dislike about it. Claire Foy and Paul Bettany are great in their respective roles adding more credence and authenticity to their on-screen relationship.

The story is relatable since this type of thing happens so frequently but without the titles, riches, and popularity. The finale should pull everything together and make the series worthwhile although it seems like there should be more to the story. With three episodes, the story could’ve easily and more effectively included more about the Duke and Duchess as they grew up, Margaret’s fall, and other things.

There was obviously plenty of material to work with here so it is a bit disappointing that we still know very little about either Ian or Margaret. If the backstory was more comprehensive, we may have a better understanding of the characters and their half-cocked decisions. Still, A Very British Scandal is a good exploration of Margaret and Ian’s marriage and divorce. It has been interesting enough to hold my attention and intriguing enough to make me want to research it a bit more.

The second episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. A Very British Scandal recaps are available on Reel Mockery here.