As the finale of Hotel Portofino begins, Constance March (Louisa Binder) wakes up early, decides to put on her swimsuit, and head to the water. When Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone) gets up, she remembers being attacked by Cecil (Mark Umbers) the night before. Cecil looks at the scratch on his arm while leaving the hotel. He is stopped by Lucian (Oliver Dench) who learns he is taking the first train to Genoa for business. Cecil explains he is going to the consulate to file a complaint against Danioni. Cecil doesn’t like it when he learns Lucian is up to work on his art. As Lucian sketches, he sees Constance walking nearby and decides to follow her to the swimming spot. Meanwhile, Bella takes a bath before getting out to try to cover up the wounds on her face. While Cecil waits for the train, he looks at the check he received from Jack Turner. Constance poses by the water as Lucian sketches her and smiles. As they head back inside, Alices Mays-Smith (Olivia Morris) spots them and notice they’re getting closer.
Cecil arrives in Cecil to meet with Signor Fanucci (Rakan Rushaidat). Back at Hotel Portofino, Alice gets suspicious when she sees Lucian and Constance close together once again. Francesco (Petar Bencic) meets with Cecil and Fanucci as Cecil admits he has been a great help when packaging the painting. We see several quick flashbacks of how Cecil managed to steal the painting with help from Francesco. Cecil says Francesco helps make sure the painting was delivered. Fanucci asks if Andretti gave him a message for him. Francesco gives him the note from Andretti confirming the painting was handed over in perfect condition. Cecil tells Francesco he’ll see him when he returns. Fanucci gives Cecil the receipt with a 50,000-pound reserve as they agreed although they’re clearly expecting a lot more. Cecil checks the paper that says The British Italian Art Company. He also receives his advance in the form of a bank check for 25% of a reserve price less their commission.
Fanucci promises the sale will be handled privately because discretion is their byword. He has to remind Cecil to give him the authenticity document. Fanucci is happy with the document and leaves moments later. At the hotel, Alice looks at Lucian’s sketches and finds several of Constance. She sees them playing with Lottie (Maya Ramadan) outside and decides to do something about it. Cecil goes to the bank and asks for the cashier. Alice searches Constance’s room until she finds some of her letters under the mattress. There is a picture of a young child with the stack of letters. Cecil sends a telegram to his brother saying it was a painting from the School of Rubens and not an actual Rubens. He claims it sold for 1,000 pounds anyway and he’ll wire his share shortly. His brother gets angry and calls for Margot because Cecil has done it again. Lucian plays with Lottie while flirting with Constance until Alice interrupts and pulls him aside.
She shows him the letter she found in Constance’s room. When Lucian asks why she is showing him, Alice claims she is trying to stop him from making a bloody fool of himself and the rest of them. Lucian walks away. Cecil returns with flowers. He finds Bella and says he just spoke to Heddon who said the painting was insured after all. They’re going to make a tidy sum from the payout so they can put some towards Lucian’s wedding, pay off some of Cecil’s debts, and give a few hundred for the hotel. Bella is not in the mood to talk to him. Claudine (Lily Frazer) nearly steps into the hallway but stops when she sees them talking nearby. Cecil notices the wound on her face as Bella admits she cannot be happy. She asks whether Billy Scanlon (Louis Healy) was still locked up. Cecil says he is and he will see to that himself while suggesting they can chat when he returns.
He asks Bella how a guy is supposed to react when he learns his wife is carrying on behind his back and the whole town seems to know about it. He confesses he was a little more heavy-handed than necessary. Once Cecil leaves, Claudine takes Bella into her room to help her deal with the cut on her face. Bella tries to make excuses for Cecil, but Claudine knows better. She tries to convince Bella that she is stronger than Cecil by saying everyone here looks to her for guidance, wisdom, and support. Claudine finally tells her that her name is Claudine Pascal. Bella thanks her and says it is terribly sisterly of her. Claudine likes that word. Alice tries to teach Roberto Albani (Lorenzo Richelmy) basic English, but he gets confused and she gets frustrated.
She tells him he is frightfully good looking although he is just a boy. She wouldn’t be wasting her time if there were any decent Englishmen left to marry. He doesn’t understand any of it. When Cecil travels to meet with Vincenzo Danioni (Pasquale Esposito), he finds him with Francesco and learns he is Vincenzo’s cousin so he has been feeding him information. Cecil speaks to Vincenzo in private and tries to smooth things over. He offers him a large sum of money to bring an immediate close to the police investigation and to secure Billy Scanlon’s release. Vincenzo agrees and takes the money. He gives him a bit more as a gesture of goodwill from one dog to another. Vincenzo laughs, they shake hands, and they agree to share a drink. Alice stops with Roberto to chase down her mother. Bella pretends the mark on her face is just a scratch. Once Alice tells her about the letters, Bella doesn’t want to read them and suggests she should put them back.
She knows what type of girl Constance is because she is kind, honest, and conscientious. Alice blurts out that she is a mother of an illegitimate child at 15. Bella wonders where she went wrong with Alice and how she could’ve raised a daughter who is so unsisterly. She grabs the letters and storms out leaving Alice angry in her room. Rose Drummond-Ward (Claude Scott-Mitchell) catches Lucian outside since their trip is coming to an end and they may not get the chance to speak properly again. She thanks for him making her feel at home here. Rose gives him the painting she has been working on in private. Lucian says it is wonderful that she did it for him even though painting isn’t her thing. She confesses it isn’t her thing and it is all just colors and shapes to her. Lucian is glad she was honest and isn’t upset. He’d be more upset if she was just pretending to please him. Rose says that is all she does because she is always trying to please someone.
She isn’t sure she is interesting or likable. Although Lucian says otherwise, Rose knows people don’t warm to individuals who can’t be true to themselves. Claudine sees Anish (Assad Zaman) staring out the window at Lucian before she says she doesn’t think their relationship is going to work. She argues that Rose isn’t his soulmate although she thinks people do have soulmates. Claudine alludes to the fact that Anish is afraid to admit who he is and what he really feels. When Anish asks if it is that obvious, Claudine admits it is to her. She won’t tell anyone since it is only Anish’s business. She questions whether he is going to tell him, but Anish says no and he never will. He is worried doing so would ruin the best friendship he ever had so he is going to let it eat away at him instead. Although Claudine says that is the saddest thing, Anish admits he has come to terms with it. She understands since she wrote the book about loving when it isn’t allowed.
Cecil walks with Billy once he has been released from jail. They turn into an alley as Cecil grabs Billy and pushes him against a nearby wall. He says he paid good money to get him out and he can pay more to have him put back. Since he has Danioni in his pocket, he has Billy in his pocket too. When he says jump, he wants Billy to ask how high. Billy quickly agrees. As they walk away, Cecil slaps him in the back of the head. They return to the hotel where Betty is happy to see her son. Cecil tells Bella and Betty that he was released without charge because they were happy to take his word for it. As for the bicycle, they’re willing to overlook it after a small fee was paid in lieu of its loan. Cecil just wants to make sure Billy’s nose stays clean from now on although Betty is always busy and worried she can’t guarantee that. She offers to hand in her notice and take Billy home, but Bella won’t let that happen.
Bella still isn’t willing to forget what Cecil did to her. He chases her up the stairs until she locks the door on him. Julia Drummond-Ward (Lucy Akhurst) greets him as they step aside to discuss business. As they step onto the balcony, Julia admits she would’ve rather heard less of some of the other guests. She would’ve liked to have seen more of Cecil though. He admits his circumstances have changed so he intends to be in London more often from now on. Cecil also says there is a wedding to arrange now that he has the means to go ahead. She says she has been waiting for so long for him to say I do. He asks if she does and she says yes. Cecil goes outside where he finds Lucian trying to hide from everyone. He reveals that the engagement has been announced, but Lucian isn’t sure he and Rose are going to be a good match. He says they’re not a good match emotionally. Cecil doesn’t care and argues he needs to get over what happened in the military since it has been eight years.
He yells for him to learn to live a little. Cecil explains he is being offered a beautiful girl, a house in London, and an income of 1,500 a year to go with it. Most men with blood in their veins would be chomping at the bits instead of worrying about emotions. Lucian is told the announcement will be in The Times next week so he needs to do his duty like Cecil did his. Anish finds Lucian in his room a bit later. He learns about Cecil’s ultimatum and the fact that Lucian is going to pop the question soon. Lucian asks if he wanted something, but Anish insists it wasn’t important. Anish is questioned whether he’d like to go back to the time they spend after the war in Marseille. They were giddy to know they had survived and times were simpler back then. They were also happier. Anish obviously wants to say something, but he can’t muster the courage to do it.
Constance overhears Lucian and Rose outside so she hides and listens to them. He sympathizes with her because he has also tried to live up to other peoples’ expectations and didn’t like himself much as a result. He suggests they have more in common than they realize. He drops to one knee and pulls out the ring while telling Rose he thinks she is lovely. Constance breaks down as Lucian pops the question and Rose takes the ring from him. Before long, everyone gathers outside so Cecil and Julia can announce the engagement. During the announcement, Constance storms off and Paola (Carolina Gonnelli) tries to go after her, but she is stopped by Betty. Pelham Wingfield (Dominic Tighe) returns to Hotel Portofino and puts a stack of money in the front desk drawer. Lady Latchmere (Anna Chancellor) talks to Melissa (Imogen King) about marriage and whether she has any suitors. Melissa admits there are more things she wants to do before getting married. Latchmere is surprised when Melissa says she’d like to be a writer.
Pelham walks over to Lizzie and jokes that they threw him a victory party. He was beaten by some Frenchie in the third round although he bet on the other guy and won money. He insists they’re going to be okay before Lizzie reveals she might be pregnant. Constance rushes to her room to cry. She soon finds that her letters have gone missing. Cecil approaches Pelham to tell him he was almost implicated in the theft of the painting. Bella finds Constance sitting in her room and learns she is distressed because she lost something very dear to her. Bella didn’t read them, but someone has and she knows about Constance’s misfortune. Constance is worried she is going to be dismissed since they wouldn’t want her looking after Lottie. Bella refutes that while saying she can’t think of anyone better than a mother to look after a child. Bella says Constance hasn’t let herself be defined by not having a husband and holds her son closest to her heart. Bella shows her a picture of Lawrence she has been wearing around her neck.
He was Bella’s youngest who was lost due to influenza. Lawrence would’ve been 14 next month and he is the reason they came to Portofino for a new beginning. Bella has learned not to judge people since she thinks everyone should have a chance to make amends. When Constance says she doesn’t know where to start, Bella asks her to tell her about her boy. Count Carlo Albani (Daniele Pecci) walks up to Alice outside. They agree Lucian is a lucky man while Carlo says he is leaving tomorrow. She is looking forward to seeing him and Roberto again. Carlo would like to clear up a misunderstanding. He tries to give her the jewelry back and tells Alice she is very pretty. He speaks on his own behalf and insists she’ll grow old waiting for Roberto. He confesses to lying about the jewelry earlier. Alice calls this absurd, but Carlo doesn’t think so and would like to care for Alice and her child. Rose and Julia prepare to leave Portofino.
Anish has the pamphlets while wondering what he’d do in Turin and Gianluca telling him he’ll learn to resist. When Rose and Julia join him, he reveals he is going to Turin so they won’t be traveling back together. As Lady Latchmere and Melissa leave, Bella tells them they have a party of eight coming from Zurich. Latchmere isn’t sure they’ll see her again because of her age. Alice promises to write to Melissa. Bella tells Latchmere she wants to thank her for being so understanding. Latchmere says she wouldn’t miss it for the world and compares it to being in an Agatha Christie novel. Once Bella goes back inside, she finds a check from Cecil to her. Cecil says he thought it’d help make them friends again. Bella says she doesn’t want to be friends and she won’t take a penny from him. She insists she has lived by his rules long enough and it is time to start making some of her own. She closes the door on him before sitting by the window.
Hotel Portofino Review
Hotel Portofino has been a pretty good series overall although some of the episodes were better than others. Most of the characters were compelling even though many were unlikable. In many ways it turned out to be a bleak affair with so many characters being pushed in directions they would have rather avoided. It would be a shame if the series didn’t get renewed for a second season because we deserve to know what happens next.
The finale had some genuinely good moments and revelations. Sadly, it had to end at this point when the show finally reached its peak. We can only hope Hotel Portofino is renewed because it has more to offer with the potential to get even better. The finale scores a 7.5 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.
I like the show a lot but Bella needs to leave Cecil.
Totally agree. It seems like she is getting closer to doing that, but we likely won’t know unless the show gets renewed for a second season. Crossing my fingers.