At the beginning of the episode, Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) goes for a swim. As she walks the streets, she passed by Sidney Parker (Theo James) but they do not speak to each other. After that, Tom Parker (Kris Marshall) shows Charlotte and the others around on a very breezy day. They speak about the ball before running into Edward (Jack Fox) and Esther (Charlotte Spencer). Edward makes sure to compliment but Charlotte but she isn’t interested. Edward is convinced that Clara Brereton (Lily Sacofsky) has been spreading false rumors about him. The group attends church. When the session ends, Charlotte is asked what she thought of Mr. Hankins’ address.

She says she didn’t care for it. Esther and Edward speak in private. She wants to know what happened between her brother and Clara but he can’t bring himself to speak about it. Esther reminds him that it was his job to seduce her and disgrace her. Edward claims she proved too much for him. Moments later, Clara picks up a box for Lady Denham. When it is returned to Lady Denham (Anne Reid), Clara is surprised to find a pineapple but she doesn’t know what it is. At first, she suspects it might be a bomb. The lady says she intends to use the pineapple as a way to welcome Miss Lambe into their little community. Mary (Kate Ashfield) and Charlotte learn about Lady Denham’s plans and they’re surprised.

Lady Denham tells Edward that Miss Lambe is a prize worth winning and he needs to win her over. She makes it clear that she will be very disappointed if he doesn’t win her hand. When she leaves, Edward and Esther discuss the prospect of marrying Miss Lambe. Moments later, Charlotte approaches Tom and offers to help him with the bills and other paperwork. He agrees to let her help and she tries to secure her position as Tom’s assistance. She notices his model of Sanditon nearby and says it is beautiful. He shows her what he wants Sanditon to look like in the future. He shows Charlotte how he came up with his ideas.

They head to the construction site moments later. Young Stringer (Leo Suter) is there with them. The men are impressed with the lady architect among them. Stringer helps Charlotte down the ladder before they run into Sidney Parker. Tom tells Sidney that he needs them and wants him to stick around for Lady Denham’s lunch. Sidney is confident that his young ward will settle in a couple of days. Charlotte approaches Sidney and tries to apologizes for the party. Sidney isn’t nice and says he doesn’t care what she thinks anyway. Meanwhile, Esther and Edward see Lord Babington (Mark Stanley) outside. Esther met him at the ball and she wondered when he would come sniffing around.

Babington is allowed inside seconds later and he immediately begins complimenting Esther. Babington is surprised to learn that Edward tends to Esther’s hair. She reveals that Edward is her stepbrother. Before Babington leaves, they agree to see one another at the party. He makes it clear that he is not going to be put off. Next, we find out that Miss Lambe (Crystal Clarke) has locked herself in her room and will not come out. During this time, Sidney boxes a man and wins. After the bout, he finds out about Lambe’s behavior and tries to smooth things over immediately. Miss Lambe doesn’t want to attend Lady Denham’s event because she thinks everyone will gawk at her.

Sidney reminds her that her father wanted this. He wanted her to take her place in polite society. In return, Lambe says she took him from everything she loved. He tells Georgiana Lambe that she’ll have to trust him. Arthur Parker (Turlough Convery) and his wife Diana head toward the party but Arthur is having a tough time making it. Before too long, everyone arrives at the event except for Miss Labme who is very late. Mrs. Griffiths (Elizabeth Berrington) arrives alongside Miss Lambe. Edward tries to butter up to Miss Lambe immediately. Meanwhile, Esther sets his sights on Clara. She threatens to tell Lady Denham about the things Clara has done.

Esther believes they’re both competing for Lady Denham’s money. Lady Denham tries to impress Georgiana but she is rude until Sidney reminds her to be nice. Arthur likes her attitude but the others do not. During dinner, Edward speaks with Miss Labme and compliments her. She suggests he is only after her money. Sidney asks Charlotte what she thinks of their company but she reminds him that he doesn’t care about her opinion. She tells him he should save his unpleasantness for someone else. With that, she turns her attention to Mr. Crowe (Matthew Needham). Lady Denham makes an odd and rude comment about Miss Lambe’s mother being a slave.

Charlotte is asked what she thinks. She says she knows young ladies are not supposed to have opinions but she thinks it is right for Lambe to value her independence. Charlotte claims she doesn’t have any thoughts of marriage and thinks marriage should be based on love and affection. Their conversation is stopped when Arthur begins cutting into the pineapple. Unfortunately, they find out that the pineapple is rotten and full of maggots. Lady Denham sends everyone away a few moments later. She argues with Tom about Lambe. She also complains about Charlotte and Sidney. She threatens to withdraw all of her investments in Sanditon. Charlotte blames herself saying she felt she had to defend Lambe since no one else would.

Charlotte tells Tom she will apologize if it helps the Sanditon project. She visits Lady Denham the following morning. She tries her best to apologize and smooth things over but Lady Denham is hesitant to accept her apology. Denham says Lambe gave as good as she got but Charlotte says she was impolite. She says it was unkind for Lady Denham to make a spectacle out of her. Lady Denham sends her home after saying Tom has nothing to fear from her right now. Miss Lambe tries to take a coach to London but she doesn’t have any money. Everyone laughs at her before she is sent away. Next, Sidney speaks to Babington about his relationship with Esther.

Crowe joins in on the conversation too. He begins talking about Charlotte and Lambe until Sidney gets angry and tells him not to go after Lambe. When asked, Sidney says he is only her guardian until she comes of age. She hasn’t made it easy on him either. Charlotte goes for a walk and notices something in the distance. She walks over and finds Lambe crying near the edge of a cliff. Charlotte checks on her and tries to find out what is wrong. Meanwhile, Edward promises Esther that she wouldn’t have gone through with Miss Lambe. He promises that it’ll all end when they have the money. Charlotte and Lambe speak about their problems.

They chat about Sidney being Lambe’s guardian. They agree that Lady Denham can be a mean woman but Charlotte doesn’t believe she means any harm. Charlotte tells Lambe that they’ll be able to survive this before they share their names. Sidney and the others drink and sing. Tom interrupts so he can speak with Sidney in private. He wants to know what progress Sidney has made for their enterprise. Sidney doesn’t seem as enthusiastic as his brother. Sidney says he is trying his best but promoting Sanditon is a delicate business. Lambe and Charlotte run into Stringer. They say a few words before continuing onward. Lambe and Charlotte wade in the water.

They have a great time until Mrs. Griffiths arrives. She has been worried since Lambe has been missing. She wants Georgiana to come home right now. She tells Griffiths that she was enjoying herself for the first time since she arrived. Once they’ve left, Charlotte picks up shells. Sidney emerges from the water naked and she turns around quickly. She tells him he is the last person she wants to see. She rushes off so he can get dressed.

 

Sanditon Review

There is something missing with Sanditon because I just can’t get interested in it. I am not sure what it is. Perhaps there are too many characters? Or, maybe the story just isn’t that compelling yet? I love period dramas like this but Sanditon just hasn’t impressed me yet. I have been hesitant to watch it. This episode was a bit better at the end though. It might get better as the series continues onward.

I’ll likely finish the season at some point but I am not in a hurry to do that. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of Sanditon can be found on Reel Mockery.