Returns – As this episode of Hotel Portofino begins, Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone) is in Italy in 1927. In London, Cecil (Mark Umbers) speaks to Julia Drummond-Ward (Lucy Akhurst) about how he’s making money. They talk about Bella. Cecil admits he’ll have to go back. Julia reveals her second best maid is her spy in their camp and she knows Cecil’s son is returning too. Mr. Ainsworth will be traveling alone. Rose (Claude Scott-Mitchell) is too unwell to travel so Lucian (Oliver Dench) is going back alone. Mary told Julia they’ve yet to share a bed so she knows Rose is not pregnant. Lucian speaks to Rose about her migraine and returning to Italy.

Lucian explains he’s going back because his mom needs help with the new spa rooms she’s planning. Rose asks him to remember her to everyone. Bella says hello to Count Carlo Albani (Daniele Pecci) as she returns to the motel. Then, she tells Alice Mays-Smith (Olivia Morris) that she has a gift for her. Bella tells Constance March (Louisa Binder) she got everything she needed. Mr. Thompson called from the Consulate asking for a room for next week for a couple traveling on to Florence. Constance told him they could squeeze them in. Bella forgot to tell her that Lucian is coming. She’s going to put Lucian in the Cheltenham Suite so there will be no room for anyone else. Bella calls Thompson to rectify the situation. In London, Rose watches from her window as Lucian gets into the car.

Alice goes to Paola (Carolina Gonnelli) to ask about lunch. Betty Scanlon (Elizabeth Carling) tells her there won’t be lunch until they get cleaned up down there. Betty complains about the workers leaving dirty footprints in her kitchen. Alice reminds her it’s only a couple of weeks, but Betty argues that’s still too long. Later, Alice asks Constance to help Paola with the tables. Alice complains to Bella that Constance is shirking her responsibilities. Bella asks her to be nicer to Constance because she’s been extremely helpful. She promises that Constance will never replace her. Alice questions whether she should cancel her trip since they’ll struggle in her absence. Bella tries to convince her otherwise. Cecil visits Viscount Heddon (Henry Tomlinson) who talks about his business affairs.

Heddon says Mungo is one of his closest friends and he made the introduction. Cecil claims he’s just doing a little import and export. Heddon says Ross Cannon mentioned Bermuda. Cecil insists it’s all above board. He buys at one price, crates it up, ships it out, and sells it at another price. Heddon is shocked Cecil isn’t thinking about visiting his wife. Constance greets Lucian when he gets off the train. Billy interrupts to take Lucian’s bags. Constance walks away. Billy (Louis Healy) carries Lucian’s bags to the carriage. He admits he’s taken by the idea of marriage, but Constance keeps refusing him. Billy believes she’ll be too busy for him soon since she’s been promoted to assistant manager. Lucian arrives and goes inside to say hello to Bella and Alice.

In the kitchen, Betty tells Constance and Paola about not spending time away from her husband. Betty claims she knew Rose was trouble the moment she laid eyes on her. Lucian overhears her when he enters the kitchen. Constance and Paola leave. Lucian questions whether it was something he said. Betty blames the laundry. He learns Constance is studying Italian. Lucian asks Bella about her new builder friend, Marco Bonacini (Giorgio Marchesi). Bella wants to make use of Lucian’s considerable talents as an architect. Lucian has written to Nish (Assad Zaman) to see if he’d like to join them. He learns Alice has been invited to a house party on the other side of the border by Lucinda Clifford so she won’t be around for much longer. Bella shows him the Ascot Suite.

Lucian hopes she hasn’t changed her mind about him painting a landscape to hang above the front desk. Bella says Alice is in daddy’s room now. They discuss the possibility that Cecil may come. Nish receives Lucian’s letter. Gianluca Bruzzone (Rocco Fasano) asks who knows him locally. He finds out it’s from Lucian. Gian claims Lucian snaps his fingers and expects Nish to come running back. He thinks Nish should go since he can only offer him poverty and pain. Nish chooses to stay with Gian. Gianluca wants him to know that people are being killed during government protests. He admits those people were known to him. Alice tells Lucian about the guests, including the Longsboroughs and Count Albani. She admits she’s trying to avoid another bracelet from Albani.

Alice reveals Bella is happy without Cecil. She doubts he’ll be away for much longer after the last letter she sent him. Cecil receives that letter. Alice writes about the new dishy architect working at the hotel. Cecil is told Julia wants to know if he’s at home. Later, Bella tells Carlo Albani that he’ll be sitting with Lucian. Carlo asks Lucian about his wife. Lucian claims Rose finds the heat debilitating. Carlo is holidaying with a friend who has a villa off the coast. He argued with his son Roberto over politics. Carlo tells Bella in private that he’s spoken to a contact at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about several visa applications on behalf of the Green Travel Guide. He warns her that their purpose is to inspect tourist hotels in Tuscany and Liguria, especially those favored by the British.

Bella tells Betty and Constance about the anonymous inspectors the next day. She thinks they need to redouble their efforts. Betty is told the workers may not be at the motel for much longer. Lucian and Alice go buy sunglasses. Alice tells him they haven’t had any more issues with the authorities. Cecil learns that the Italian gentleman is on the line again. Vincenzo Danioni (Pasquale Esposito) has a message from their friends across the Atlantic. They want to meet face-to-face. Their associates have taken over a casino in Santa Margherita. Danioni urges him to take this seriously. Betty speaks to the other workers about the inspectors. Billy suggests he can find out who the inspector is. Constance thinks they should keep their eyes open for notebooks, typewriters, and stuff like that. Jonathan Bertram (Oscar Lloyd) asks Bella for restaurant recommendations. She gives him advice before leaving.

Rose speaks to Julia about her marriage. Julia believes she’ll be thinking about it all evening. Bella checks on Lucian because she believes something is going on with Rose. He admits the whole thing is a train wreck. Lucian tells her that they haven’t even slept together. Rose denies it when Julia brings it up. Julia asks if Lucian is a homosexual. Lucian claims Rose is completely terrified. Bella gives him advice. Lucian says she starts crying and that leads to another migraine. He doesn’t think Julia should have a work with her though. Julia asks Rose what the problem is. Rose begins crying. In the morning, Betty receives a letter. Constance notices it is her mom’s handwriting. Bella speaks to Marco about the hotel and the latest bill breakdown. She believes she’ll have to postpone until she can get enough money to afford it. Marco admits he doesn’t have other clients and none of them share the same passion for design as Bella.

He has money set aside from the sale of his practice. Marco offers to work for nothing until she has the means to repay him. Bella asks for a few days because they’ll have to come up with another solution. Paola, Betty, and others try to find out who the inspector is. In Southern France, Mitchell (Roger Barclay) directs while Claudine Pascal (Lily Frazer) performs in front of the camera. He complains about the photographer in the shot and the fact that Claudine is fooling around with a man who is supposed to be engaged. Lucian ends up having dinner alone. He watches Constance as she works. Julia barges into Cecil’s residence to see him only to learn that he’s gone. She asks Manners (Sebastian Dunn) about his whereabouts. He tells her that Cecil will be back in September. Julia knocks over Bella’s photo on her way out.

Claudine calls Bella to say she’s in trouble and could really use some help. Nish keeps thinking about the dead protestors. Gian asks him what he just said. Nish says his name is Eduardo Giaconelli. He’s the regional head of the Fascist Party and a friend of Mussolini. Gian knows when he leaves his office. Nish wonders if there’s a better place that is less risky. Gian believes the message will be louder this way though. He wants to show them that nowhere is safe. Nish asks where he got the grenade. One of Gian’s friends fought for the Australians and brought it back from the war. If it doesn’t work, Gian will use a handgun. Betty reads the letter. In it, Constance’s mom says her health is failing. The next day, Alice tells Bella she wants her to come to Santa Margherita. Bella says Constance can keep her company for the whole journey.

Bella needs her to learn how to do the journey anyway. Alice eventually convinces Bella to come with her. She suggests sending Lucian with her. Billy deals with the luggage when they reach the train. Bella tells Alice she wants her to have a great time in Saint Tropez. Alice surprises her by revealing that Cecil is there.

 

Hotel Portofino Review

The opening episode of Hotel Portofino’s second series was mostly enjoyable although it really didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, the episode did a great job of reintroducing the characters and setting up the storylines for the season. The season is going to have a lot of concurrent stories with Cecil’s return, Lucian’s failing marriage, Gianluca’s rebellion, and so much more.

It’s good that Cecil has returned to Hotel Portofino because the episode jumped around a bit too much. That should slow down a bit although Nish, Claudine, and Alice may be elsewhere for the time being. The performances were strong enough in the first episode and the show does a good job of establishing the time period with the scenes and costumes.

The episode was good even though it seems the show is doing every that the others are. The storylines are similar with a soap opera thrown into the mix. It’s just a shame that this wasn’t available for so long and the network didn’t even try to make it successful. The opening episode scores a 6 out of 10.

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