II Seven Mercies – As this episode of Ripley begins, Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) goes to Dickie’s place. On the way inside, he drops the pen on Dickie’s desk. Dickie (Johnny Flynn) tells him Marge (Dakota Fanning) has gone to her place to do some work as a writer. Tom brought him some things from New York. He admits he is there to convince him to come home, but he’s not going to do that now. Tom insists he’ll repay his dad because he’s not the type to take advantage of people. Dickie tells him not to worry about paying him back. He isn’t happy with the clothes Tom brought him. Dickie tells Tom about painting and how he’s gotten pretty good at it. Tom looks at his paintings. Then, they decide to visit Marge so Tom can tell her about Herbert.

Dickie invites Tom to stay with him. Later, Dickie and Tom tell Marge they’re going to Naples tomorrow. She refuses before reminding Dickie they were supposed to have dinner. Dickie and Tom go to Naples. They go inside and check out the paintings together. Once they leave, Tom tells Dickie he wants to see more of his paintings. Dickie offers to take him to Rome sometime. Freddie Miles (Eliot Sumner) says hello to Dickie. Freddie believes he remembers Tom from New York. Tom denies that. Tom learns Freddie is a playwright. Freddie invites Dickie over to Cortina in December. Dickie agrees Tom reveals his last name. Dickie and Tom watch a woman sing. They encounter a woman outside and Dickie agrees to help get her home. Tom watches him count out money. Once the taxi leaves, Dickie tells Tom that the woman said they are the nicest Americans she ever met.

Tom suspects the driver and woman are splitting the money and Dickie got played. Dickie thinks it was worth it to hear that from a pretty girl. On the bus, Dickie admits they might go over to Freddie’s place. Tom argues he’s a fraud because he’s not a playwright. Dickie reveals Freddie only comes from money. Later, Tom writes a letter to Herbert Greenleaf telling him that Dickie is worried about spending another winter there. He claims he is making progress. Tom also asks for more money. While Tom is out and about, he is confronted by a man named Carlo (Renato Solpietro) who sits next to him. Tom goes back to Dickie and says a guy will give them 100,000 lire apiece if they go to Paris and take a suitcase with them. Dickie doesn’t like the fact that Tom brought Carlo to his house.

Dickie questions what’s in the suitcase. Carlo quickly becomes concerned that Dickie is right not for the job. He thinks he and Tom can do business together instead. Once Carlo leaves, Dickie warns Tom that Carlo is part of the Naples mafia. Tom insists he isn’t crazy and he thought it could be fun to go on an adventure together. He asks Dickie not to say anything to Marge because she doesn’t like him already. Later, he goes out with Dickie and Marge. Tom tries to be nicer to Marge who admits her writing isn’t going well. He claims he worked for Random House so he could read her work. Marge gives him her work a bit later. Dickie tells Tom that his actions made Marge happy. Tom reads and critiques her work. Marge admits it was very helpful. She believes she knows what to do with it now.

Next, Matteo gives Dickie a letter but nothing came for Tom. Dickie gives it to Tom and asks him to take it home for him. Tom ends up opening it and finding information about the Wendall Trust Company. The maid catches him looking at it, but she doesn’t say anything. Tom writes down the account number before putting the envelope back. He uses Dickie’s typewriter and notices that the e is slightly out of place. Tom puts on Dickie’s clothes and mimics him. Dickie catches him and questions what he’s doing. He would appreciate it if Tom got out of his clothes. When Tom joins him outside, Dickie tells him he’s not homosexual. Marge thinks Tom is. Tom believes she’s jealous. He goes on to suspect that Marge loves Dickie more than he loves her.

Tom offers to leave, but Dickie says they should just let it go.

 

Ripley Review

The second episode of Ripley was okay as the story unravels at an excruciatingly slow pace. At the very least, there was a creepy scene thrown in at the end of the episode to break up the monotonous moments. The performances are okay, but the accents add a sense of pageantry to the whole series. Marge is captivating when she is actually on screen, but that’s been few and far between so far.

Clearly, this didn’t need to be eight episodes because that has only made the story unfold at a snail’s pace. Regardless, Ripley is watchable if only for the nostalgic black-and-white scenes. The intensity may pick up as Tom’s plan begins to unfold. This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Ripley can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.

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