As the episode begins, Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) wakes up in a mine. During his stay, Ross becomes convinced that Joseph Merceron (Tim Dutton) is responsible for him being there. Dwight (Luke Norris) and Caroline (Gabriella Wilde) speak with Kitty about her future. They offer to let her stay with them for as long as she needs. Kitty (Kerri McLean) remains adamant that she wants to maintain her fight for justice. Caroline doesn’t seem eager to let them stay with her. Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) arrives moments later and tells them that she is worried about Ross.

Moments later, Joseph visits George (Jack Farthing) and lets him know that they’ve obtained revenge. George seems concerned about what could potentially happen. Ross gets up and begins moving around. He discovers a lantern and attempts to find a way out of the mine. Dwight, Demelza, and Drake (Harry Richardson) have no look tracking down Ross. Geoffrey Charles (Freddie Wise) receives a letter from Cecily (Lily Dodsworth-Evans) encouraging him to make his move as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Ross finds the ore that has been stolen from their mine.

Valentine (Woody Norman) makes a mess and tells George that he is not happy with the current situation. George doesn’t seem too thrilled with what they’ve done to Ross either. George contemplates if he ordered it or even wished it but says that he was only thinking out loud. Ross manages to find a way out of the Wheal Leisure mine and Dwight finds him moments later. Dwight takes care of Ross’ cuts and learns that his friend intends to keep everything a secret from Demelza. Ross is convinced he needs to go back to London to expose Joseph. Ross returns home and feeds Demelza a load of BS. She learns about the French people being in the mine.

Rosina (Amelia Clarkson) becomes concerned with Sam’s relationship with Tess Tregidden (Sofia Oxenham). Drake meets with Demelza and tells her that Jacka and the others are selling the ore to the French for brandy, tea, and rum. Ross and Zacky (Tristan Sturrock) go back to the mine to confirm that the ore is indeed theirs. Drake and Demelza visit at this time too. Demelza stumbles across a bunch of weapons. Ross decides to go to London to see what he can do about stopping a possible uprising. Ross goes to Dwight and tells him about his decision to return to London. When he leaves, Dwight asks Kitty about her desire to fight for justice.

They agree to go to London together. Caroline has a conversation with Horace and becomes convinced she should go too. The trio rides in the carriage with Ross. Once Ross arrives, he meets with Joseph and Ralph (Peter Sullivan). He finds out that they’re half brothers and that William Wickham (Anthony Calf) knew about everything all along. Ross goes to Wickham and is told that Merceron rules the east of London. There is very little he can do. Wickham isn’t willing to do anything about the French and their weapons unless Ross has more proof. Ross returns to Dwight who believes he might have found a better way to bring them down.

Kitty and Caroline take to the streets to hand out pamphlets. Kitty is ignored but Caroline manages to get through to some of the men. Ross runs into George a few moments later. When asked, George says he is surprised to see Ross alive in body but not in reputation. Ross returns to his room and recalls what Ned said. Meanwhile, Tess joins Demelza and the others for dinner. Drake and Morwenna (Ellie Chappell) surprise everything by telling them that they’re going to have a baby. Prudie (Beatie Edney) tells Demelza that she can’t wait until Tess is gone.

Meanwhile, George learns about the pamphlets and the fact that most of the information is true. Joseph tells him about the abuse or experiments going on at the prison. Joseph and Ralph are convinced that they need to stop them at all costs. The following day, Caroline gets a scare when a man runs out and spooks her horse. Kitty tells Dwight that she still has a lot of letters to write. Caroline returns and tells him about the scare. They argue about their reason for being in London. Kitty overhears their conversation so they decide to return to Cornwall. Demelza speaks with Sam and tries to tell him that Tess is no good. Tess interrupts before Sam learns what she is up to. Tess tries to convince Demelza that she has changed but she isn’t buying it. Before Ross can leave, Geoffrey arrives with Cecily and asks for help. George tells Cary (Pip Torrens) that they should begin distancing themselves from Ralph and Joseph. With that, they decide to return home.

Ralph and Joseph put together a plan to stop Cecily from evading them. George arrives home to the baby and barely pays attention to Valentine. Meanwhile, the Poldark family is happy to see Ross and the others. Ross begins scheduling for Cecily and Geoffrey to leave Cornwall as soon as possible. In the morning, he gives them guns to protect themselves and goes about devise the escape plan. Ralph and Joseph learn about Cecily’s escape and plan to put a stop to it. Caroline goes through Dwight’s paperwork and learns about George being treated for lunacy. She is caught by Dwight and scolded.

Ross tells Cecily and Geoffrey the plan he has put together to help them escape. Caroline finds Horace in a pitiful state. The dog has been poisoned but Dwight manages to save his life. Caroline goes to George and threatens to expose his lunacy if he doesn’t put an end to the harassment. George promises to do something about it. Sam continues hanging out with Tess. He tells her that he needs to keep an eye out for people who are lurking around for no reason. Ross gets to the beach to prepare the boat. Caroline returns to Dwight. Together, they learn that Kitty intends to move out pretty soon. She needs their help once more first.

Ross is captured by the French men. Ross is led to the man who ordered his execution at Roscoff. Ross tries to convince him that he would be willing to betray his country. Since Ross isn’t there, Drake agrees to help Cecily and Geoffrey escape. Demelza gets the others but they’re trapped outside the Poldark home. Ross is released and told he could be helpful to the Republic. Prudie finds Demelza tied up and releases her while Geoffrey is being beaten. George meets with Joseph and tries to convince him to stop harassing Dwight, Caroline, his stepson, and the others. Joseph isn’t willing to stop even if George gives him money.

Cecily finds Geoffrey beaten but alive. Ralph tells her that it’ll happen again if she doesn’t stay away from him. In the morning, Ross is released. He meets with Demelza on the beach. Cecily cares for Geoffrey’s wounds. She tells him that she will be departing to the Honduras with her father in the future. She pleads with him not to hate her. Cecily admits she has thought about her life and she doesn’t want to be a wife to anyone. She says that they’re children and could not know anything about real love. Ross tells Demelza what happened but he lies about it. Moments later, Geoffrey arrives and asks for their assistance.

Dwight walks along the dock while Demelza and Caroline speak with Kitty. We see that she intends to go to Jamaica where she’ll buy land and build a house. Ross and Prudie wait with Cecily and Geoffrey. Geoffrey asks if he can write her and she says no. Geoffrey is told to walk away and forget her once she steps on the ship. Dwight tells Kitty that Joseph cannot get her now because they have all of the evidence they need to bring him down. Geoffrey and Cecily share a kiss before she boards the boat. Demelza tries to convince Geoffrey that things will get better. Ross asks Dwight to have a care for Demelza for the next few months.

Ross will be there but he believes his actions will seem strange to her. He is going to be taking the biggest game of his life but he doesn’t see any other way. Ross and George seem to be complementing something. George speaks with Cary and says they saved a fortune but Caroline may not remain quiet. George believes the Merceron devils may be of use to them. Ross meets with the French man. He says that it will be a marvelous site when the French boats approach shore. Ross agrees with that statement before the episode ends.

 

Poldark Review

This episode of Poldark was much better at the end. I am glad that things are finally starting to wrap up and I am wondering why we bothered with the whole Ned thing to begin with. I guess they were trying to show that Joseph and Ralph are the worst villains Ross has ever met. Still, it was a little long winded. This episode was very emotional at the end. I’ve come to like Geoffrey and Cecily so it was sad to see them separate in the end.

Ross has been an unlikeable character this season. At times, I don’t think he remembers his children or his wife for that matter. He is putting them at risk at every step. Dwight got sucked into it this episode and that was disappointing. I like the fact that George has become far more sympathetic this season. I hope the writers don’t mess it up and make Ross the hero in the end. At some point, he has to be punished for this recklessness.

I am not sure where we’re going with the Carne brothers but I am glad to see that Morwenna is finally moving past her trauma. I was starting to get irritated with that. This is likely the only happy thing to happen this season. Sam might be digging himself into a hole with his relationship to Tess and I am worried about that. It would be odd for him to be Rosina in the first place but Tess is likely going to dupe him in the end. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I am eager to see how everything ends. Finally, I love Horace so he cannot die!

This episode was much better than the previous ones this season. For that, it scores a 7.5 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Poldark before you go!