As the episode begins, Margaret (Samantha Morton), Emily (Holli Dempsey) and Nancy (Kate Fleetwood) discuss what they want to do to Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville). Nancy promises Emily that they’ll look out for her. Harriet Lenox (Pippa Bennett-Warner) enters so Margaret makes a quick exit. Lydia spends time with her new friend. Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay) listens to the chaos. Margaret makes it home and tells the girls to hunt down Prince Rasselas. Florence (Dorothy Atkinson) doesn’t believe they should let such an unnatural creature into the house. She gives Amelia (Jordon Stevens) a gift to pass along to Mr. Hunt (Sebastian Armesto). Margaret believes Florence is trying to marry off her daughter. Fanny (Bronwyn James) makes a snide comment about it.

Margaret speaks with her in private and tells her not to insult her in front of Florence again. Fanny is ready to leave with her baby. Margaret explains she will not depart them from each other. Fanny asks about Hunt and the button. Margaret finds William (Danny Sapani) sleeping in bed. He offers to sleep elsewhere. They manage to make things right between them. Lydia wants to show that Golden Square thrives one more. She intends to find a real virgin to sacrifice. Charlotte offers to tag along. Charlotte is adamant she has the stomach for it. Charles (Douggie McMeekin) plays with Cherry (Francesca Mills). Two men enters. One takes Nell (Sheila Atim) and the other takes Cherry. Harriet tells Emily to get out of bed. The two clients go nuts.

Harriet sends Charles after William. One client pulls a knife on Nell and tears the pillow to shreds. When the other girls break in, he makes a run for it. Noah (Eric Kofi-Abrefa) joins Charles. Hunt overhears Amelia and Violet (Rosalind Eleazar) arguing about Florence’s intentions. Hunt believes he has hit his limits. Amelia encourages him to continue trying. When Amelia leaves, Violet makes a comment about her liking Hunt. Nancy punishes one of the clients. Noah arrives with Charles. The man eventually admits that Lydia sent them. Lydia and Charlotte go on the hunt for virgins. Lydia encourages Charlotte to give it a try. Lucy (Eloise Smyth) and Lord Fallon (Ben Lambert) speak about Lucy’s sexual past. She claims Fallon is the only man who has given her pleasure. Charlotte continues her search for a virgin.

She begins speaking with a young girl. She turns her down when she wants to be free to go to church on Sunday. Lydia tells Charlotte to lie to them. Lydia agrees to do it together. Lucy tells Fallon she was thinking about Kitty and her killer. Fallon says killing is an art. Fanny passes along information to Justice Hunt. Lord Lidington (Jack Staddon) becomes upset when Hunt confronts him. He causes a scene and rushes off. Lydia manages to recruit a virgin. Outside, Lydia speaks with Florence. Lydia threatens her and encourages her to do as she has asked. She threatens Amelia too. Lydia wants Florence to go to Hunt and tell him Margaret is forcing girls to work in her house. Meanwhile, Charlotte tells the virgin recruit that Lydia is not her mother.

She cannot get her to escape before Lydia returns. Prince Rasselas is tracked down. Hunt visits Amelia with flowers. They go for a walk together. Noah helps Charles take out his frustrations. Emily tells him to stay away from Lydia. Margaret arrives and claims she is there to help. Cherry listens in on their conversation. Nancy suggests getting Noah to protect them. Emily wonders what Charlotte is doing in that house. The virgin tells Charlotte and Lydia all about her life. Lydia gives her medicine in her tea. Hunt tells Amelia about his responsibilities and the law. He believes Amelia could help others like she did Violet. He wants her to be his wife. She hesitates. Noah is given instructions. He flirts with Harriet. Margaret feeds Prince. She wants him to be her eyes in Golden Square.

Amelia is happy to see him. The virgin girl is put to bed. Lydia makes Charlotte lock her in. Lydia says Margaret was never strong enough to help with new girls. Charles visits his mother and complains about her attack. Amelia tells Prince about her dilemma with Hunt. He tells her he always follows his heart. Florence interrupts. She doesn’t want Amelia hanging out with him. She tells Amelia she knows about her secret with Violet. She is adamant that Amelia will marry Hunt. Hunt speak with a higher up about Lidington and the murder. He shows the man the button. He isn’t willing to listen. He tells Hunt he should find plausible evidence. Charlotte tells Isabella (Liv Tyler) about Lydia’s crime. She blames herself.

Isabella suggests going to the justice right now. Charlotte says they should get the girl to him. She wants someone trustworthy to bid for the new girl and take her from the house. Isabella admits she doesn’t trust anyone. Charlotte gives her 100 pounds for the bidding. She tells to go to Margaret to find someone. Charlotte tells her all about the girl Abigail (Isis Hainsworth). The Marquess (Julian Rhind-Tutt) watches as Charlotte leaves. Amelia visits Hunt and Violet. Amelia tells him yes. Hunt is happy with the news. Lord Fallon shows off his daggers to Lucy. Fallon talks about the Spartans. Isabella goes to her brother for help. She wants access to the money her father left her. She wants 100 pounds. He gives her some coins and says he’ll give her more when she tells him the truth. Rasselas goes to Lydia. She encourages him to stay for the communion.

Margaret’s business goes on. Isabella visits Margaret. She tells Margaret about Charlotte’s plan to trap Lydia. Isabella tells her they need to buy a virgin. Nancy enlists Noah’s help for the night. Charles pulls Emily aside and asks why she gave evidence against his mother. She pleads with him to protect her against Lydia. He says he cannot trust her. She reveals she is pregnant with his baby. Noah is dressed up and given the money to buy the virgin. He enters the party and introduces himself to Lydia. Charlotte tells her that he is very rich. Lucy does drugs with Fallon. The Marquess arrives at Lydia’s party. He asks her if she is blackmailing his sister. Charlotte interrupts. Lucy tells Fallon about her demons. She admits she has killed too. He asks who. Fallon mentions George Howard.

Fallon seems impressed. The bidding for the virgin begins. Noah and the marquess get the bidding started. Noah eventually bids 200 pounds. Charlotte stops the marquess from bidding again. Noah wins the virgin. Margaret talks about her excitement to William. Noah offers Lydia more to take the virgin to his place. The marquess asks about the necklace he handed over. Charlotte says Noah won it from his sister. Lydia becomes suspicious. Lydia suspects Noah is a liar and thief. She has him thrown out. She gives the marquess the virgin by default. They both turn on Charlotte. In private, Charlotte admits she doesn’t have the stomach for it. Charlotte promises that Isabella has nothing to do with it. Lydia locks her in a room.

 

Harlots Review

This episode of Harlots was pretty entertaining. Charlotte was forced to help Lydia recruit a virgin. She didn’t have the stomach for it and decided to concoct a plan to bring down Lydia. It didn’t work. Now, Charlotte is probably in big trouble. Lucy told Fallon her secret. There is a good chance that her revelation will come back to haunt her in the future. Amelia has agreed to marry Justice Hunt. It was great to see the return of Prince Rasselas.

There was plenty of scheming and backstabbing in this episode. For that, it scores an 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Harlots now!