At the beginning of the episode, Madeleine (Olivia Grant) has a dream, which flashes back to a healthy Eugene (Edward Hogg). Her brother promises to build her a palace. Suddenly, she awakes and pays her brother a visit. She discovers her brother lifeless. Meanwhile, Sarah Raworth (Fiona Glascott) spies on her husband, Dougie (Craig Parkinson), and Leena (Amber Rose Revah) at the mission. She grows distraught and insists she has lot her husband. Kaiser (India Nadarajah) attempts to check in on Madeleine, but she refuses to answer the door.

Aafrin Dalal (Nikesh Patel) and Sita (Ellora Torchia) exchange their old belongings. Aafrin tells Sita to keep his, before she calls him out for having an English lady and insists he is in big trouble. Sergeant Singh (Sudarshan Kumar) rummages through Sita’ home and discover Aafrin’s note, which told Sooni to hide the stolen evidence. Next, Ralph Whelan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) speaks with Cynthia (Julie Walters) and ponders why Eugene would’ve moved to the basement, which likely resulted in his death. Cynthia slyly insists Eugene wanted to be there, despite kicking him out in the previous episode.

Next, Sarah speaks with Alice (Jemima West) and threatens her with exposure once more. Ralph has an encounter with Adam, who brings him a letter. It refers to Ralph as Rakshas and reveals that he is Adam’s father. The letter is signed from No Name. Cynthia meets up with Madeleine and attempts to convince her to return to Chicago with Eugene’s ashes. Aafrin eats at home and reveals his plans to have dinner with the Nawab (Silas Carson).

Lord Willingdon (Patrick Malahide) speaks to Ralph and orders him to negotiate with Nawab, once he arrives. Aafrin and Alice share a moment to themselves. Alice asks, if he has ever dealt with anyone, who wished to cause him immense pain. Childishly, Aafrin is dumbfounded as to why anyone would wish to hurt her. Alice is pulled away and Aafrin finds a shed on the grounds. He receives a little and is ordered to meet with Sergeant Singh. When he does, he is handed over to Nalini (Ayesha Dharker).

Nalini attempts to coax Aafrin into helping the Nationalists. He is told to make a decision and give it to Singh. Next, Alice comes clean to Ralph and seeks support dealing with Sarah. The Nawab arrives with about five puppies. At the Royal Simla Club, the “No Dogs or Indians” sign is removed and hid away. Sarah arrives at the club and immediately confronts Alice, before heading inside. Ralph and Willingdom attempt to butter up Nawab, but Ralph is pulled away to deal with Sarah. He offers Matthew a spot at a prestige school, which smooths things over with Sarah.

Alice thanks Ralph for his assistance and tells him about Madeleine’s plans to depart for Chicago. Ralph confronts Cynthia and reveals how he met Jaya. The pair argue back and forth, as Ralph accuses Cynthia of breaking him away from Jaya. He insists he didn’t know he was pregnant and departs quickly. Cynthia screams at him and belittles him about his future wife’s dwindling wealth. A concerned Alice enlists Aafrin’s help in the search for Ralph.

Of course, they make a detour to Aafrin’s newly found shed and make love for the first time. Ralph invites Madeleine outside and shows her his latest construction project, which was taken from plans found in Eugene’s notebook. It perfectly resembles the palace, which Eugene intended to build for Madeleine. He confesses his love for her and encourages her to stay by his side. Aafrin returns home a new man.

 

Next, the Viceroy ridicules Ralph for his insubordination. Ralph comes up with a plan to win over Nawab. He insists the pair should open up the club to Indians. That night, Kaiser attempts to console Cynthia and convince her that everything will be okay in the morning. Ralph pays a visit to Bhupinder (Ash Nair) and discovers that he has given his wife Jaya’s bracelet. Ralph attempts to extract information regarding the bracelet from Bhupinder, but fails. With that, the episode ends.

 

Indian Summers Review

The 9th episode of Indian Summers really unraveled some of the mystery regarding Ralph and Jaya. It also helped to build Ralph into a somewhat likable individual. That puts our good guys to about 6 and our scumbags to about 15. The episode also set up a finale, which will likely lead to chaos. Overall, a good episode with a little bit of everything. I am sad to see Edward Hogg go though. He acted tremendously well, as the sick and feeble, but angry, Eugene Mathers. If you liked his performance, you should definitely check out Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

An 8 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with our previous Indian Summer recaps now!