As the episode begins, Ross (Aidan Turner) and Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) enjoy their time in London. George (Jack Farthing) and Elizabeth (Heida Reed) prepare for a charity ball. Caroline (Gabriella Wilde) tells Dwight (Luke Norris) that she has found him a tailor. She wants him to look the part. Sam (Tom York) helps Drake (Harry Richardson) settle into his new home. Lady Whitworth manages to find a doctor to say that Morwenna (Ellise Chappell) needs to be put in an asylum. Caroline tells Demelza that she will help her find a dress for the Warleggan party. Before too long, they arrive at the party.

Monk Adderley (Max Bennett) takes an immediate interest in Demelza. He speaks with George about her. Ross is forced to watch as Adderley flirts with his wife. Demelza manages to allude his advances for the time being. George and Adderley make a bet regarding Demelza. George tells Elizabeth that he is having trouble getting Adderley a better seat in parliament. Adderley continues flirting with Demelza. Ross watches from a distance. Ross argues with Demelza about it later that night. She believes that he is still suspicious because of Hugh.

In the morning, Demelza receives flowers from Monk. Ross agrees to let her keep them. Ross heads to parliament while Demelza hangs out with Dwight and Caroline. When Demelza returns home that night, she finds Monk in her apartment. She manages to force him to leave. Morwenna has a miscarriage. Later, Ross and Adderley get into an argument in parliament. Ross makes him look bad. That results in Monk challenging Ross to a duel. Dwight tries to talk Ross out of it. Instead, Ross begins practicing immediately. Dwight will be Ross’s second and John Craven (Charlie Field) will serve as Monk’s second.

Ross and the others meet in the park. They fire their first shots. They both miss. Dwight tries to convince them to stop. They fire again. Both men are hit. Ross is shot in the arm. Monk is shot in the stomach. Ross stays around until the wagon arrives for him. Ross rushes home and soon gets treatment from Dwight. We learn that Monk has passed away. George learns the news and immediately blames Ross. Ross learns about the bet between Monk and George. Monk asks him to pay the gambling loss. Morwenna tells Lady Whitworth that she believes the miscarriage was for the best. She couldn’t have loved the child since it would have been taken from her too.

George speaks with the Attorney General. He tries to convince him to try Ross for Monk’s murder. The man refuses without hard evidence. George immediately goes to work trying to find that evidence. Morwenna visits Drake and tells him why she turned him down before. George learns that the Prime Minister is willing to meet with him. He has no luck obtaining evidence against Ross. Geoffrey Charles (Louis Davison) says that Valentine is the splitting image of Ross. That makes George suspicious once again. He becomes enraged with Elizabeth. Dwight tries to convince Caroline to return home with him.

Later, Ross tries to pay George the money Monk owed him. Instead, George throws the coins in his face. Elizabeth admits there is nothing Ross can do to fix the problem. When Ross wakes up in the morning, he finds that Demelza has already gone. He finds a note saying that they’ll try to patch things up when he returns home. Demelza and Dwight ride home together.

 

Poldark Review

This turned out to be a good episode of Poldark. The first ten or fifteen minutes were a bit dull though. I thought it was going to go around and around in circles. Then, Monk Adderley decided to play the fool and get involved with Demelza. That didn’t end well for him. I am really surprised that Drake is waiting around for Morwenna. There is a good chance that they’ll be thrown together now.

George is again angry at Elizabeth. What will she do to speed up the pregnancy and convince George that Valentine is his child? We’ll find out in the finale. This episode scores a solid 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Poldark now!