As the second episode of Hotel Portofino begins, Cecil (Mark Umbers) wakes up in Bella’s bed and asks if they’re friends again. Bella (Natascha McElhone) says yes as Cecil urges her to say it. He can’t stand it when they’re at odds. When Cecil tries to smoke a cigarette, Bella asks if he has to so he puts it back. She says it was nice. Cecil wonders why she looks like such a wet weekend then. It is about money and Cecil doesn’t like the unpleasantries that come with not having enough of it. He believes there is an easy solution, but Bella isn’t eager to ask her father for money again. Although Bella says he has been more than generous, Cecil says he has paid out what was agreed in the marriage settlement and nothing else. He goes on to say everything will go to Lucian in the end. Bella isn’t sure he’d want to go back though. Cecil explains her father has money coming out of his ears and he wants her to be happy. He believes that justifies asking for more money.
Cecil says she is already indebted since her father has paid for everything in the hotel. Bella reminds him she has promised to pay everything back. Cecil doesn’t think her father expects to see a penny of it though. Anish (Assad Zaman) goes down to the beach where he finds Claudine Pascal (Lily Frazer) doing yoga. Claudine says namaste and hopes she says it right because it is the first and last Hindi word the brother of the Maharaja of Jaipur taught her. She didn’t go to Jaipur. Instead, the brother came to see her show in Paris. Neither has been home since the war. When Anish asks how she finds Italy, she responds by saying Italy would like to arrest her on the spot. She goes on to reveal that the Maharaja’s brother is the one who taught her yoga. He offered her a pearl as big as a duck egg, but she wasn’t able to oblige him. He settled for teaching her yoga. Although he doesn’t seem eager to do so, Anish is forced into doing yoga with Claudine.
Lucian (Oliver Dench) arrives with Rose (Claude Scott-Mitchell) and they contemplate joining the yoga session. When Julia (Lucy Akhurst) screams for her daughter, Rose realizes she better not before taking off. Claudine tells them she’ll be here every morning if they change their minds. Bella takes Constance March (Louisa Binder) into the Drummond-Ward room to clean it since Julia wants to move. When Constance compliments the room, Bella hopes she is right and the Wingfield couple will agree. Paola (Carolina Gonnelli) enters and learns Constance is going to help her clean the room. Although Paola doesn’t speak English, Bella says she might understand some. When Bella leaves, Paola surprises Constance by speaking a little English. Paola explains Lucian has been giving her lessons just like he has been giving Constance lessons. When Paola hears that, she gets mad and snatches the blanket from Constance’s hands.
As Lucian returns to the motel, he stops outside to tell Julia and Rose that he was doing yoga which he describes as stationary gymnastics. He goes on to say that Mrs. Turner was teaching them. Lucian was hoping Rose would accompany him around town and go to the beach after for a painting lesson. Julia insists on joining them. She believes he’ll be wasting his efforts on Rose because she is devoid of artistic talent. Rose reminds her she always says she should take every opportunity to improve herself. When Lucian tries to retrieve his art supplies, he drops them on the ground. Cecil enters to say this will have to stop one day since it isn’t worth anything. Lucian says it is worth something to him and he thought about giving Rose a painting lesson anyway. He thought his father would be pleased. Cecil says it is something before urging him not to keep the lady waiting.
Meanwhile, Betty (Elizabeth Carling) tells Paola and Constance that she is using veal tongue for her next meal. Betty asks Constance if she is excited about the beach, but she says she is only there to fetch and carry. Constance believes Julia will keep her too busy to dip her toe in the water. Betty calls Julia a proper little dragon and feels bad for Rose for how Julia treats her. Alice Mays-Smith (Olivia Morris) walks in as Betty jokes about the tongue. Once she leaves, Betty claims Rose will be the boss of them all before too long. She insists Rose is going to marry Lucian. Then, they’ll be plenty of time to worry about love.
It isn’t all agreed to yet, but it will be before summer is over if Cecil has anything to do with it. Cecil goes into town to see if he can find a telephone. Danioni (Pasquale Esposito) notices and asks him if he needs assistance. He says they’re poor Italians and marvel at the English and their inventions. Cecil argues he should say that to Marconi. Danioni takes him inside where Cecil sees a picture of Mussolini who he calls a great man. Cecil asks if he’d lend them to us so they can crack some English heads together, but Danioni doesn’t seem to like that. He takes Cecil to his phone and agrees to let him use it without paying. Once Danioni steps out of the room, Cecil calls his brother Edmund to make sure he got his telegram. Edmund says yes and confirms they still have grandpa’s Rubens. Cecil asks his brother to send it to him because he knows someone who might be interested in buying it. As the conversation continues, Danioni eavesdrops around the corner.
Alice confirms to Bella that the Epson suite is ready and the Wingfield couple could be arriving at any time. Lucian causes a scene when he drops his easels and supplies once again. Lady Latchmere (Anna Chancellor) is invited to the beach, but she doesn’t like sand. She also turns down Alice’s offer to go to church on Sunday. When Mrs. Turner enters, she is asked if she is a regular church goer. She says nothing about her is regular. Seconds later, Pelham (Dominic Tighe) and Lizzie Wingfield (Bethan Cullinane) arrive outside. Lucian tells the others that Pelham is a terrific tennis player and nearly won the Davis Cup last year. Julia asks Rose if that is the outfit she is going to wear. When Rose says she thinks so, Julia agrees they can wait five minutes for her to change. Bella takes the Wingfield couple inside and tells Pelham it is a pleasure to have a tennis champion stay in the house.
Pelham says it is his pleasure before Bella notices Cecil with Danioni. She gives him the winning racquet. Then, she follows Cecil outside where he introduces her to Danioni. Bella takes Cecil inside to ask what he is doing there. Cecil says he has been obliging so he thought they would offer him some hospitality and let him think he is an Englishman for an afternoon. She questions whether Danioni has asked for anything before warning her husband he is a fascist. Cecil says better them than the damn reds although they originally agreed to stay out of local politics. He believes Danioni might be useful. As for Bella, she is worried Lady Latchmere might run into him. She admits she has forgiven him before agreeing to ask Count Carlo Albani (Daniele Pecci) to join their conversation. Lucian shows Rose and Julia around the town while Constance and Paola transport the painting supplies to the beach.
After spending some time in town, Lucian takes Rose and Julia to the beach. Lucian gives Rose pointers for painting while Julia gets a glass of lemonade. They see Billy Scanlon (Louis Healy) fishing for scallops on a boat with another man. Lottie asks Lucian to take her swimming, but he is too busy. Constance offers to take her paddling instead. Meanwhile, Bella steps outside the hotel to find Cecil sitting with Danioni and Count Albani. Danioni says the food is delicious. Cecil tells Bella that Danioni thinks they can make a bundle by selling afternoon tea to the locals and he agrees with him. Bella insists Betty is too busy already so it isn’t a good idea. Back at the beach, Julia asks to borrow Lucian’s binoculars. When Constance looks at Lucian’s painting, he says it is nothing to look at just yet. However, she admits she’d die happy if she could do anything half as well as that. He offers to let her try before giving her a notepad and telling her to have a scribble.
Julia stares at Mrs. Turner through the binoculars until Lucian looks through them. He asks if she needs rescuing. Julia says no and jokes she’ll be selling tickets in a minute. She seems to cause quite a stir among the locals. She gives a little boy money to buy them a lemonade each. Back at the motel, Bella hears her husband talking to Danioni about bringing guests from the council. The Count steps aside once he realizes Bella doesn’t care for Danioni too much. He encourages her to tolerate him because men like Danioni enjoy making a perfect nuisance of themselves. When Cecil returns, he tells Bella they should hold their first tea party on Thursday with Danioni’s offer to drum up some custom. Carlo believes the whole town will beat a path to their door despite the Italians pretending to despise the English. Cecil leaves. Carlo asks Bella if he said the wrong thing, but she says no because it is a lovely idea. He offers to help her with the project. He believes he can plan the menu with Mrs. Mays-Smith.
Bella agrees that would be perfect before excusing herself. Paola pays close attention to Lucian as he tells Rose that her perspective is spot on. Constance’s sketch of Lottie looks great as well. Rose begins panicking when she notices blue paint on her shirt. As Julia approaches, Lucian blames himself saying her blouse touched his palette. He believes he can dab it and remove it though. She sits down and refuses to let Lucian try while complaining she feels faint. That convinces Julia they should go back immediately. Lucian tells Constance it seems like a lot of fuss over a little paint. He asks who wears a silk dress to the beach although Constance says she just wanted to look her best. Lucian is worried he’ll be in the doghouse with his father. They agree it’ll be quicker to walk than wait so Lucian carries Lottie and Constance handles everything else.
Back at the motel, Lucian tells his mother it wasn’t a great success. Bella says they’ll have to get Paola to work her magic and clean the dress. She also tells him that Cecil hasn’t said anything since he has been drinking with Count Albani. Lucian is told not to worry about what his father wants. She says what matters is whether he and Rose can be happy together. Lucian confesses it is hard to make an impression on Rose when her mother keeps hanging over them all the time. Bella agrees that Julia is difficult to shake off while Lucian finds it surprising that Cecil and Julia were an item at one time. Although Lucian thought they were engaged, Bella says they were too young for it to be serious at the time. Lucian suggests they’re trying to right the past by getting them married so they can link to the two estates by marriage. Bella insists Cecil has never told her that, but she thinks Lucian should give Rose a bit more time. She shows him Constance’s drawing believing it is Rose’s. Lucian doesn’t correct her.
Later that evening, Pelham tries to get his wife to try and put on a good show. As Constance and Billy serve drinks, Billy says this is how the other half lives and he’d give his right ball for one of those fancy drinks. Lucian tries to get another drink only for Bella to step in and take it. He walks over to Pelham and introduces himself. They talk about some of Pelham’s games. Lucian says he barely missed a ball. Lizzie quickly responds by saying he rarely hits them now. While Pelham tells Lucian about his upcoming games, Lizzie belittles him and suggests he’ll lose quickly. Cecil catches up with Jack Turner (Adam James) to invite him out for a nightcap later. When Jack turns him down, Cecil says it can wait. That interests Jack who asks what can wait. Cecil says it is the store of grandpapa’s Rubens. When Jack asks if he is sure it is a Rubens painting, Cecil confesses he was hoping Jack would tell him. The next day, Lady Latchmere yells for Melissa De Vere (Imogen King) to bring her because she is packing her bags.
Melissa tells Bella that she is unhappy so Bella says they’ll see if they can resolve the issue. Bella steps into her room before Lady Latchmere complains about the inedible food that nearly chipped her tooth. Bella promises to get her another tray. Melissa checks on the tooth for her and hurts her. When Bella runs into Lucian, he asks if there is a problem because there isn’t any breakfast. She goes to the kitchen where she finds Betty crying. Constance says it isn’t Betty’s fault since she can’t make breakfast from thin air. She learns the food was never delivered. Billy rushes in with it seconds later and explains nobody would sell him anything. He had to beg to get what he could. Bella wonders if there was a misunderstanding, but Billy doesn’t think so since they shut the door in his face.
Danioni greets Count Albani and the other guests when they arrive at the church. When Anish enters with Claudine, he tries to ignore them. He sits down in front of Bella who tells him not to worry because she won’t make a scene. She restates that by saying not before mass. Instead of going to church, Jack meets with Cecil to see if he’d like to join him for a spin. Alice apologizes to Anish and Claudine for not giving them more notice. She is surprised Anish would like church since Lucian has become so anti all of this. Anish admits Lucian claims God died in the trenches and many they served with say the same. Anish served in the Indian Medical Service. Alice asks if he thinks God failed to return from the war. Anish says English’s God might’ve, but not his. Meanwhile, Cecil tells Jack that his fighting days ended in Africa at the end of the last century. Jack hasn’t served. Cecil shows him a picture of the painting that he pulls out of Lucian’s artbook.
While it isn’t the exact painting, it is similar. Cecil explains his painting isn’t titled or signed. Jack admits that is common for the period so there is no way to know for sure until his guy looks at it. Cecil says the painting is being sent over because he is always serious when it comes to making money. Jack says it’ll be a lot of trouble to go through if it isn’t what Cecil says. Cecil believes they can find a way to make it worth their while though. Alice sees and calls for Lady Caroline only to be ignored. Seconds later, she tells Bella that she has been snubbed by Lady Caroline Haig. Claudine learns she is the Earl of Harborne’s daughter. After Claudine hopes it isn’t because of her, Bella insists there is a perfectly innocent explanation. The Count joins them and reveals he knows Caroline because he went to Oxford with her uncle. Bella excuses herself to ask Danioni if he is responsible for her surprise this morning. She hopes they can find a way to resolve this since she can’t run the hotel without the town’s supplies or goodwill.
When he spots his wife, Bella asks if his wife knows he is blackmailing her. He doesn’t like that ugly word and claims they don’t believe in blackmail in Italy. Instead, they like being shrewd. He notices her sapphire ring and points it out. Once Bella returns to the hotel, she learns that Billy and some lads he knows helped catch a bunch of fish. She confirms normal deliveries will resume tomorrow. Then, they joke about one of the ugly fish in front of them which Paola says is a gurnard. She recommends preparing a fish stew with it. While Billy goes out, Paola gives Betty advice for preparing the fish for dinner. We jump forward to dinner and some of the guests are hesitant to eat the dishes. They’re surprised that it tastes so good though. Billy hangs out with his friends drinking. Betty tells Paola that she did them proud tonight.
Once Betty is gone, Paola turns around and sees Lucian. She says he frightened her before he begins kissing her. He puts her on the table as one thing leads to another. Billy and his buddies run into a group of fascists. Billy calls them filthy fascist scum before throwing the wine bottle at them. The group chases Billy and his friends. While the chase continues, Constance writes a letter to her mother telling her about her job and Italy. Billy hides as one of his buddies is beaten by the gang. Constance goes on about how nice everyone has been to her. Betty is warm-hearted despite the losses she has suffered. Billy is a comfort and a worry for her. They’re already dear to Constance even though she has only known them for a short time. Bella starts writing a letter to Henry. However, she stops and questions who she should confide in now. She hears something downstairs before deciding to check it out. Bella finds what looks like blood on the floor so she grabs a makeshift weapon. She looks around the corner where she finds Billy with his friend. He asks her not to be angry because he didn’t know where else to take him. He says the fascists have beaten him senseless. Bella begins trying to help.
Hotel Portofino Review
Now that the second episode is over, the stories of Hotel Portofino are starting to come together. It is easy to see where things are going and what conflicts each character will face sooner or later. The performances from everyone have been great. The beautiful scenery is covering up some of the unsavory characters and their actions.
Each episode is crammed full of meaningful scenes that will likely matter in the end. One could say the episodes are overloaded, but everything is presented in a way that makes it easy to understand and digest. The only thing I could possibly say negative is that the show is somewhat slow. I hope the motives of the menaces are explored a little better because some of these characters seem over-the-top right now.
Also, I’d like to know more about Claudine Pascal or Mrs. Turner. I am not sure how to address the character since everyone is calling her Mrs. Turner, but she is called Claudine elsewhere. I am sure this will be covered in time. The second episode was good so it scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Hotel Portofino can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
