At the beginning of the episode, Kate Bottomley (Daisy Head) has intercourse with a guy she knows. Her family becomes upset and has her put in Bedlam. Isabella (Liv Tyler) and Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay) try to convince some upscale women to give charity to the brothel. While Charlotte is ready to give up, Isabella is not. Fredo (Aidan Cheng) and his mother parade through the streets. They watch as Lucy (Eloise Smyth) plays games with the men who want to lay with her. Isaac Pincher (Alfie Allen) and his men arrive at the brothel. Nancy (Kate Fleetwood) lets them in after seeing that they have money.

Emily Lacey (Holli Dempsey) is now working for Hal Pincher (Ash Hunter). She services a gun maker. Charlotte speaks with Lucy about her man. Lucy admits they haven’t paid enough yet. She runs away and makes one of them chase her. Charlotte returns home. Isaac manages to sweet talk her. They decide to sleep together. Meanwhile, Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville) is put through torture at Bedlam. Hal tells Emily to keep the money she has earned. It is clear that they’re in a relationship. Emily spots Lucy. They chat briefly. Lucy is forced to hide when her cull shows up.

Lucy has no choice but to sleep with the man. Isaac tells Charlotte that he wants a cut of her money. She is not happy that she ended up sleeping with a pimp. Charlotte is forced to accept his offer. Charles (Douggie McMeekin) tells Cherry (Francesca Mills) that he has lost Golden Square. He is forced to run away when the authorities arrive to take him to debtor’s prison. Bottomley is housed with Lydia. Isabella returns to Sophia. She tells her daughter that few people see things the way she does. Charlotte decides to fight back against Isaac.

Elizabeth and Fredo begin soliciting investments from the locals. They intend to set up a brothel of their own. Lydia learns about Kate. Hal admits to Emily Lacey that his brother is reckless. The following day, Isabella is thrown out of a party. She learns that a rumor has been posted in the newspaper. It claims that Sophia is the result of Isabella sleeping with a servant. Harriet (Pippa Bennett-Warner) has found some new girls. Rani agrees to play along. Sophia wants to know more from Isabella. However, her mother refuses to tell her the truth.

Lucy speaks with Nancy. It is clear that Lucy doesn’t have a purpose in life. She speaks about becoming a bawd. Charlotte gets Armitage (Gerard Monaco) to arrest Isaac. Charles goes to Charlotte for help. He explains that he is on his way to debtor’s prison. Charlotte doesn’t want to help. Harriet and her girls impress a few clients. Lydia encourages Bottomley to keep fighting. Fanny (Bronwyn James) runs into Charles near Kitty’s grave. She learns about his troubles. Fredo and Elizabeth bid on the Golden Square house. Lucy does as well. They agree to put their money together. They do so and win the auction. Hal tries to calm Isaac. Nevertheless, Isaac isn’t going to let Charlotte get away with what she did.

He harasses Fanny on the street. Isabella visits Lydia. She quickly learns that Lydia wasn’t responsible for the rumors. Lucy learns that Fredo is a homosexual. Elizabeth calls the house a place of refuge. Her son will be at peace there. They can make double since that type of sex comes with a death sentence. Charles learns what Emily has been up to. Emily agrees to become the gun marker’s mistress as long as he teaches her the art of trade. Isabella tells Nancy about her visit to Bedlam. Nancy tells her that she should accept the rumors and be done with it. Sophia shares a drink with the servant. She seems interested in him romantically.

She kisses him. Charlotte makes it clear to Isaac that he has a lot of competition. The other bawds do as well. Emily tells him that he should look for other ways to make money. She gets into an argument with Hal. Hal tells Isaac to end his feud with Charlotte. Lydia tells Bottomley all about her past. Kate is worried she may never see the world. She wants to hear Lydia’s story. Fanny invites Charles to join the girls for a drink. She gives him a few coins to help. Elizabeth tells one of her investors that she has teamed up with Lucy Wells. The woman is worried that Lucy will cause trouble for them. Isabella visits the gentleman’s club. She tells everyone that she will own her scandal. Lord Leasom wants her to leave.

Charlotte tells Isaac that he could had have everything freely. He admits that the trade turns them into rats. He tells her to fly away home. Lucy tells Charlotte about her day. The brothel catches on fire. Nancy tries to save the baby. Charlotte and the others arrive. They try to save Nancy and the baby. Kitty is saved. Lucy and Charlotte get Nancy out. Isabella returns to a note. Sophia is shown in a carriage with the servant. Charles tries to flee for London. Cherry cries as his carriage pulls away. Lydia tells Kate that she will get her out. She promises that Kate doesn’t have to be a harlot unless she wants to be. Charlotte and the others watch the brothel burn.

 

Harlots Review

I felt that the opener of season three was okay. However, I am a little worried about the new characters. If this keeps up, we’re going to have a lot of new brothels to juggle. It might be too much honestly. I guess a lot of the old characters were disposed of though. Still, I think the writers might be biting off more than they can chew. I hope I am wrong.

Still, I thought that the opener was okay. It did a decent job of setting up the rest of the season. For that, it scores a 7 out of 10. Be sure to check up with previous recaps of Harlot before you go!