At the start of the episode, Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) and the kids meet with Ross (Aidan Turner). Together, they visit Ned (Vincent Regan) who hasn’t been out of jail very long. Ralph (Peter Sullivan) spots Cecily (Lily Dodsworth-Evans) with a book and asks her what she is reading. He doesn’t like the subject matter. Ralph also lets his daughter know that George (Jack Farthing) has invited them to dinner. He wants to know if she is going to join them. Cecily doesn’t seem too interested in seeing George again. Meanwhile, Ross discusses strategy with Ned. He believes that they need to find respectable people to speak out on Ned’s behalf. Ned suggests that his secretary Bannantine would be willing to speak out for him.

Ralph meets with George and Cary (Pip Torrens). He explains to them that they would need more slave labor. George doesn’t seem to have a problem with that. He is told that they’ll need a lot of money but the rewards will be well worth it. Ross is unable to track down Bannantine. We see that the relationship between Cecily and Geoffrey Charles (Freddie Wise) is budding. Valentine (Woody Norman) waits at home for his father to return. He asks the maid about his father as if he is bored and yearning for attention. Sam Carne (Tom York) spots Morwenna (Ellise Chappell) and suspects that she might be pregnant. Drake (Harry Richardson) tells him that it would be a fairy child since they’re not intimate with each other.

Back at home, we see that Prudie (Beatie Edney) and Tess (Sofia Oxenham) aren’t getting along together. Ned complains to Ross about being stuck in a cage with nothing he can do to help himself. They decide to go out for some entertainment. Ned is harassed by the locals before they run into Ralph. A confrontation begins and Ned nearly punches Ralph. Kitty (Kerri McLean) manages to calm him down and stop him from doing something stupid. After that, Ned and Kitty decide to return home for the night. Geoffrey Charles and Cecily speak about women being forced to marry who their parents think is right. She encourages Geoffrey to tell her father that she should be allowed to choose who she wants to marry.

Geoffrey tries to do that but Ross interrupts and stops him. He tells Geoffrey that Ralph is not someone he wants to bother. In the morning, Ross and Ned meet with Joseph Merceron (Tim Dutton). They ask him about Ned’s secretary. Ned and Ross fence after that and it is clear that Ned is far better. George continues seeing Elizabeth. He seems legitimately happy to see her. Caroline (Gabriella Wilde) listens to Dwight (Luke Norris) speak at the Royal College of Surgeons. Dwight begins talking about insanity and he draws a man’s attention. We find out that the man in the audience is an attorney for the assassin James Hadfield (Andrew Gower). He wants Dwight to testify on behalf of his client.

It seems that Dwight might be willing to go along with it. Ross gets a letter from Bannantine (Norman Bowman) and decides to meet with the man alone. Ross learns that Bannantine wants to help Ned but he is worried about speaking out against the others. Ross visits with William Wickham (Anthony Calf) next. Wickham is worried that Ned could’ve been involved in the assassination attempt or something worst. He tells Ross about Dwight agreeing to testify for Hadfield. Demelza catches Geoffrey and Cecily together. Initially, she wants them to stop seeing one another but she relents and agrees to keep what she saw a secret. Later, Ross and Demelza begin worrying about the shady individuals are them. Tess plays around with Demelza’s clothing back at home until Garrick barks at her.

In the morning, Tess flirts around with Sam. Prudie is worried that she is up to something no good. Morwenna and Drake go for a walk. Morwenna nearly falls but Drake catches her. She doesn’t seem to mind being touched by her husband this time. They’re interrupted when they spot Valentine in the distance. They speak with the boy and learn that George told him that he’ll bring Elizabeth back. The boy is returned home by the maid a short time later. Morwenna grabs Drake’s hand and they walk away together. Ross speaks out for Ned in chambers but he doesn’t get a lot of support from the other members. When he returns to Demelza, he gets a letter from the secretary. That letter gives Ross something to defend Ned with.

Ross produces pamphlets for them just before Dwight prepares to testify during the assassination trial. With Dwight’s testimony, the court decides not to try Hadfield for the assassination attempt but he will not be allowed to leave either. He will be put in Bedlam or an asylum of sorts. Demelza shows the pamphlets to Kitty. Ross shows the pamphlet to Ned and they agree to hand them out to the other members of Parliament. Meanwhile, Demelza and Caroline hand them out too. Ross runs into George. They get into a slight argument about Geoffrey. Elizabeth is brought up. George tells Ross that he needs to accept what he did to bring about Elizabeth’s demise. George claims he has already accepted what he did.

Geoffrey thinks about his mother and cries before Cecily arrives. They speak about not having mothers and agree to keep one another content. Ralph discusses the pamphlet with Cary and George. Ralph insists that they might be able to frame Ross for the assassination or at least link him to it. George prepares to sign the business agreement but stops when he sees Elizabeth. He refuses to sign it after Elizabeth speaks to him before Ralph is forced to leave empty handed. Ned is getting more support from the locals now. Demelza and the girls believe that they’re responsible for the change of opinion. Geoffrey tells Cecily that he will be leaving tomorrow. She pretends that she will not miss him.

Ross and Demelza speak about what they’ve done. Ross confesses that it leaves the government with nowhere to hide. Ross is convinced that the government deserved to be exposed no matter the repercussions. Ross is forced to meet with Wickham who has the pamphlet sitting on his desk. Wickham makes it clear that he is becoming suspicious of Ross. He learns that the government may have let Ned have his post back in time but Ross’ pamphlet might stop that from happening. The Crown wants Ross to make amends for embarrassing it. Ross tells Demelza that he is going to be required to spy on Ned and Kitty. Ross seems convinced that they’ll be fine when they return for Truro. Ralph invites Cecily to go with him.

Everyone returns to Truro. Valentine is there to see his dad return. Drake and Morwenna sit by the fire. Drake talks about how well Morwenna did with Valentine that day and how he would like kids one way. Morwenna wonders if something might be broken beyond repair. Drake convinces her to hold his hand as a way to show her that things can get better. The Poldarks go to the Red Lion with Dwight and Caroline. Geoffrey is surprised to see Cecily there with her father. Ned tries to go after Ralph but he is stopped once again. Bannantine is shown and he appears to be scared of what might be coming his way. George wakes up in the middle of the night and asks Cary is she is here.

George sees Elizabeth again and speaks to her in front of Cary. The following day, the Poldarks and others have a picnic on the beach. A body floats in water before it is pulled to land. It appears to be the body of James Bannantine.

 

Poldark Review

I am really glad that everyone is back in Truro. I hope things slow down a little bit and stop jumping around so much. I’ve enjoyed these two episodes but I am not sure they’re as good as some of the earlier episodes. Since this is the final season, I am expecting a lot more and I am hoping it is going to get better from here on out. We’ll see what happens. The episode was okay but I am somewhat bored with Ross and the conspiracy storyline.

The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Poldark before you go!