As the first episode of Anatomy of a Scandal begins, we’re shown glimpses of a sexual encounter. Then, we see Kate Woodcroft (Michelle Dockery) exiting the courtroom, taking off her wig, and sitting down. She says, “funk yes”. Once she leaves, she goes to Wren Court where she tells Brian Taylor (Richard McCabe) she needs a drink but would settle for a towel. He is glad to hear luck went her way in the Butler trial although she doesn’t think it has anything to do with luck. After Brian tells her there is something in her pigeonhole, Kate tells him to have a glorious weekend. Then, we join Sophie Whitehouse (Sienna Miller) as she meets Ellie Frisk (Anna Madeley) who asks about her second half.

Mark Frisk (Edmund Kingsley) jokes he doesn’t like turning 44. Sophie tries to cheer him up by saying he has half a life ahead of him. She steps aside to call James (Rupert Friend) after that. James ignores his wife’s call since he is busy talking to Sibyl Murray (Maggie Steed) about pedestrian crossings. He claims to take the safety of his constituents seriously and wants for her what he wants for his family. A man whispers something in James’s ear that completely changes his demeanor. He asks his driver to take him straight home. Sophie and Ellie discuss the possibility of going back to Corsica. Sophie would go back in a heartbeat since it was the most relaxing holiday in her life.

Sophie gets a message from James asking her to come home right now. She tells Ellie who tries to convince her to stay. Sophie admits she can’t because she just heard from Krystyna. She isn’t feeling well so she has to take over with the kids. As Sophie returns home, she says that was embarrassing since she made up several excuses in less than 30 seconds. James approaches her and confesses he messed up big time. They sit down and James begins telling his wife about Olivia Lytton (Naomi Scott) who is one of his aides. She is relatively new and young. James says it had been going on for about five months until he broke it off two weeks ago after the party conference.

It was just sex even though there hasn’t been anything wrong with that part of their relationship. Sophie believes there is more that he isn’t telling her. He promises she isn’t pregnant. The Mail is about to break the story online late tonight. James explains that Chris Clarke (Joshua McGuire) is coming over so they can get ahead of this, but Sophie is more concerned about protecting their children. Kate calls a friend to see if he wants to get a drink somewhere quiet. They chat briefly with Kate ending up alone. She retrieves the files from her pigeonhole and sits down to look at them. Chris tells James and Sophie that the headline is “Top Tory cheats with aide.”

Sophie listens and learns that the Home Office minister had sex with his aide in a lift in the Commons. She gets upset and storms out of the room. She remembers better times with her husband and children. While James and Chris try to figure out how to handle the scandal, Sophie researches Olivia online to see what she can find about the girl. She finds a picture of Olivia and throws up on her phone. Moments later, Chris asks if she is going to spring any surprises on them like she is leaving or putting out her side of the story. Sophie questions whether he even needs to ask while James is adamant she isn’t going anywhere. They have two children and have been married for 12 years so Sophie isn’t going to throw that away due to a stupid mistake.

Chris reveals the PM will make it clear if he wants James’s resignation, but he usually doesn’t abandon old friends. Sex normally doesn’t kill careers today and he might even gain a few fans from the older male voter base. When Chris says he is trying to help her and James, she recommends not revealing too much of himself in the process. He warns James not to deny anything because denials will come back to bite them in the backside. Instead, he should say it was a brief affair, he deeply regrets it, and he is going to prioritize his family and constituents. They find that their daughter Emily (Amelie Bea Smith) is awake so Sophie takes her back to bed.

Chris asks James why he’d go out for hamburgers when he has steak at home. James sternly reminds him that this is his life and not some jokes. He says he loves her. Chris is only there because the PM told him to be. Before Chris leaves, James asks him to do his job and help him fix this. He goes upstairs where he tells his wife that it is over and it was a stupid mistake. She wants to know where they did it. It usually happened late at night at work. They were careful to make sure the whole office didn’t know, but she says apparently not. James tries to figure out how many times they had sex at motels. Sophie is shocked when James speculates it could’ve been 20 or 30 times. He insists it was just sex. He has been stressed out because of work and the immigration portfolio.

James confesses he was weak and it is a mystery how it even started. Sophie tells him that is enough. After Sophie goes to bed, James has a flashback of running into Olivia and offers to get her a cab. She says yes or he could get her another drink. He goes to bed with his wife after that. In the morning, Sophie wakes up and finds James speaking to the press on television. He says his brief affair showed disrespect to his marriage, family, and constituents. James knows that forgiveness and understanding need to be earned. He asks for patience while he tries to repair the damage done to his family. Sophie meets with Ellie and tells her it is nice that it is not last week.

She apologizes for Mark’s birthday. They agree that they’ll be fine. Ellie sometimes believes sex is the root of all evil although Sophie says sex is great. She calls Sophie a very forgiving person, but Sophie says not really since James just made a mistake. Ellie doesn’t think there would be an intact family in the whole school if infidelity could ruin a marriage. Sophie leaves after her kids join her outside. The PM Tom Southern (Geoffrey Streatfeild) enters James’s office and thanks him for not hanging it out yet. James promises this is the worst of it. Tom wishes she wasn’t on his payroll while James wishes he had a payroll. When they begin discussing Sophie, James reveals this is the first time during their 12 years of marriage.

The past is the past as far as Tom is concerned. James was planning to introduce the amendment to the immigration bill. Tom gives his blessing before encouraging James to be good to that wife of his. Before he leaves, he thinks the public will be looking to her. Later that night, Emily asks her mother what a Libertine is since her dad is one. Sophie takes the paper and reminds her to stay out of the study where she got the paper. As Sophie grabs pizza from the freezer, she tells her daughter that it was a club that daddy was in at Oxford with Uncle Tom. The word is used to describe someone who likes to have a good time. Sophie calls for Krystyna (Violet Verigo) before telling her daughter she’ll call when the pizza is done. She also says she isn’t a Libertine and should talk to her dad about that.

Once Krystyna takes Emily away, Sophie looks at the newspaper article with James in it. In a flashback, we see Sophie hanging out at the pub. Sophie drinks with her friend while seeing a young James (Ben Radcliffe) nearby. Holly (Nancy Farino) arrives and is quickly introduced to Sophie by Alison (Annie Haworth). While they chat, a group of boys begins anal chugging nearby. They say it is a drinking game that the boys like to play. In the present, Sophie puts the newspaper in a drawer. James talks about his amendment to the immigration bill. He believes the amendment represents the most equitable approach to both skilled and low-skilled workers.

Mrs. Addington (Natasha Magigi) stands up and mentions his affair. He makes a joke about her comment. Tom and Chris discuss James being popular and doing well today. Tom believes he is the most naturally gifted politician on their side of the chamber. Chris warns that his loyalty will look ill-advised if James gets caught up in a MeToo type movement. The Prime Minister insists that his loyalty is solely based on history and nothing more complicated. Later that evening, James makes shepherd’s pie for Finn (Sebastian Selwood) and the rest of the family. James proposes a toast to mommy because she is the most wonderful woman he knows.

We see Olivia and James drinking wine together in a flashback before she straddles him in bed. With the wine bottle empty, James jokes that explains how she managed to take advantage of him. He wakes up next to his wife moments later. Ali (Liz White) invites Kate over for a drink, but Kate can’t because she just got pulled into something. Kate learns that Ali’s kids went to a movie with Ed. She invites Kate over again. Kate refuses because she’d be distracted until she looks at the papers. Although Kate says it is high-profile and usual, she doesn’t tell Ali anything else about the case that she isn’t sure she should take. Kenneth drops Sophie off at Westminster.

The press tries to get answers from her as she walks through the halls and enters a lift. As she rides in the lift, she thinks about Olivia and James having sex. Once she gets off the lift, she joins James and Lawrence Hughes-Davies (Clive Francis) at the restaurant. Lawrence has witnessed all kinds of weather during his three and a half decades here. He doesn’t think this qualifies as a squall or a disturbance. It is just a little bit of rain and it has already passed. He admits boys will be boys, but he thinks James has already learned his lesson. Lawrence leaves. Once James and Sophie sit down, she says she thought she was fine coming here but it is all coming back.

It is her fear. She thought they were clear all those years ago that she is not her mother and will not live her mother’s life. She refuses to be the long-suffering spouse. Sophie always thought their marriage was superior and immune. She asks whether she rode in the lift that they had sex in. James quickly apologizes and admits he should’ve found another way. Despite everything, James is grateful that there is the certainty that she is the person he wants to die with. He would die for her. James insists making this right is all he cares about. He offers to give up everything if Sophie asks him to do so. If the future doesn’t include Sophie, it will be shite for James. He walks her outside, they kiss, and she leaves in a taxi.

In a flashback, Sophie cheers on James. One of her friends tells her James has it all including a spot as an Oxford Blue. When Holly refers to him as Adonis, she is told that he is taken. Sophie is adamant she is going to marry that boy one day. Kate goes through the paperwork that includes information about the Houses of Parliament. It also includes pictures of bruises. James gets a note that makes him smile. The paperwork on Kate’s desk says The Queen Vs. James Whitehouse. As James walks outside, he is stopped by Detective Sergeant Willis (Barnaby Kay) and Detective Constable Rydon (Eleanor de Rohan).

They want to talk about Olivia. James is surprised to learn they’re investigating an allegation of rape. He imagines himself being knocked to the ground as the episode ends.

 

Anatomy Of A Scandal Review

We’re only one episode in so it is important to remember that Anatomy of a Scandal still has plenty of time to transform into a gripping drama. In recent months, Netflix has released several British shows with British actors and actresses. In some ways, it feels like these performers are being taken out of their element and thrown into an environment where they don’t shine. These shows have a tinge of unbelievability or sarcasm that goes against the classic British style.

The acting was decent for what it is though. Anatomy of a Scandal doesn’t bring anything new to the table since we’ve seen all of this many times before. Certain lines from the dialogue made me cringe while the camera movements were nauseating at times. So far, I’ve had difficulty connecting with any of the characters including Sophie and James. That could create a problem when I need to be emotionally invested.

Despite all these complaints, the first episode wasn’t terrible. With a few twists, the series could quickly become engrossing and deep. Only time will tell whether this is worth six hours. The first episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Anatomy of a Scandal can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support us by following this link.