In the 6th episode of BBCs Strange and Norrell, Jonathan Strange retreats to Venice, after his escape from prison. He is now living as a fugitive, as he attempts to call upon a fairy to bring his wife, Arabella (Charlotte Riley) back to life. In the meantime, Mr. Norrell (Eddie Marsan) receives and reads Strange’s book. He grows angry and begins forcing the others to disappear from book shelves and their owner’s hands.

 

Strange manages to summon The Gentleman (Marc Warren), but he is unable to see or hear him. This drives him to become even madder. When out on the street attempting to buy more of a specific concoction, Strange runs into Dr. Greysteel (Clive Mantel) and his daughter, Flora (Lucina Dryzek). The pair, who has just come from visiting a crazy old cat lady, become friendly with Strange and join him for lunch.

 

Flora seems eager to know more about Strange, but her father wants none of that. Meanwhile, Norrell learns about Strange’s attempts and his concoctions and potions. He attempts to use magic to discover Strange’s location, but fails. Stephen Black (Ariyon Bakare) and Vinculus (Paul Kaye) go on an adventure, in order for Stephen to break free of the Gentleman.

 

In order to keep an eye on Strange’s behavior, Norrell has Drawlight released and send to Venice. Meanwhile, Strange visits Flora’s elderly friend and seemingly captures her madness, after transforming her into a cat. With her insanity, Strange is able to all forth the Gentleman. He offers to work together with him. They agree to meet again to discuss terms. Afterwards, Strange enlists Flora’s help picking out a dress for his wife. The Gentleman returns to Stephen angry and insists he will bargain with Strange and use it to defeat him forever.

With a green dress selected, Strange returns him and attempts to call forth the fairy once again. He succeeds and asks for his wife to be returned from the dead, but The Gentleman is unable to do so. During their conversation, Jonathan learns that the fairy was involved in the return of Lady Pole (Alice Englert). Since he is unable to get his wife, Strange pleads with the Fairy to give him whatever is holding Lady Pole and driving her mad.

 

Meanwhile, Stephen Black continues his journey to find the tree that Vinculus continues talking about. Vinculus unveils the Book of the Raven King, which is scrawled across his entire body. The pair make it to the tree and The Gentleman arrives. Vinculus and the Gentleman argue back and forth, as Vinculus insists the Gentleman is going to have a terrible end. After a little dare, The Gentleman hangs Vinculus from the tree.

Strange goes into a rage, after being unable to bring his wife back. He discovers Lady Pole’s finger sitting on his desk. He attempts to track the Gentleman down and ends up in Lost Hope. While there, he runs into Lady Pole and Stephen. He also finally sees Arabella, but she is unable to recognize him. The Gentleman shows up and sends everyone away. Despite Stephen’s pleas, The Gentleman casts a curse on Strange and traps him inside of the Black Tower. As it turns out, the tower begins sucking away his life and energy.

Meanwhile, Norrell and Childermass learn about Venice, which is being overrun by a massive tornado. Flora runs into the tornado and enters The Black Tower. While there, she speaks to Strange, who insists he will need her help later. After her father arrives, the pair embark. Next, it is Drawlight, who is sucked inside. Strange tasks him with delivering three messages. Norrell prepares to return to Hurtfew, in order to combat the evil.

 

Review

 

Another excellent episode, which is pushing us to the brink! With the finale up next, it is fairly obvious that Strange and Norrell must come together, in order to defeat the evil and restore peace from the control of The Gentleman. I am certain there are plenty of revelations to be made. As someone, who hasn’t read the book, I can’t wait to find out. A 9 out of 10 is deserved.