As the first episode of The Confessions of Frannie Langton begins, Frannie Langton (Karla-Simone Spence) lays in bed with Madame Marguerite Benham (Sophie Cookson) on February 17, 1826. Men storm into the room and tell Frannie to get downstairs now. When she asks why, the sheet is removed revealing that Madame Benham is covered in blood. She is told that her mistress and master are dead before being accused of killing them. Frannie is taken to the body of George Benham (Stephen Campbell Moore) so she can see what she has done. Frannie is slapped and ridiculed outside. She is taken to a cell with other women. Frannie makes sure to tell them to keep their hands to themselves. Once she falls asleep, she dreams about being with Marguerite before being awoken by a man shouting her name.

He introduces himself as William Pettigrew (Henry Pettigrew) and explains he is her brief. The Society has taken an interest in her case. Frannie wants to know whether he wants to tame her or rescue her. William urges her to speak to him because double murder would be a hanging offense. Once she does, he brings her drugs but won’t let her use them until they’ve spoken first. Frannie suspects laudanum will be more useful to her than the law. She claims not to know what happened and says she slept in her mistress’s bed. Frannie insists she didn’t know she was dead and they loved one another. William is going to need something so he can help her. She remembers that Marguerite wasn’t up to hosting, but Mr. Benham wanted a party anyway. When he said jump, everyone in that house said how high and Marguerite went. Then, Frannie and Marguerite had a set-to.

William reveals there is a long list of witnesses claiming she threatened the Benhams in front of their guests last night. They have a statement from the victim’s cousin, Miss Hephzibah Elliot, who said Frannie formed an unnatural attachment to her mistress. They also spoke to Mr. Olaudah Cambridge. Frannie wants William to ask him where he was when she was dying. The housekeeper said she had to be locked in the attic after threatening the mistress. Frannie denies that and says they think George was some kind of God and great scientist. When she says he had them fooled, William says that is quite a thing to say about the man who took her in and gave her shelter. Frannie says he doesn’t know a thing about George before William asks if George took her in after John Langton brought her here from Jamaica. She argues that John gave her to George.

William refuses to help slander George Benham since a juror won’t be persuaded by it anyway. Instead, he thinks he can set up a proper argument in mitigation, but they should weave her history into it. William believes they can use her enslavement in Jamaica to their advantage. She questions if he wants her to say that she did it. William suggests they can also argue that she was so addled by laudanum that she wasn’t aware of what she was doing. Frannie takes the drugs before telling him that she is fed up with people like him deciding who she is or what she is. She refuses to confess to something she doesn’t believe she has done. Once Frannie goes back to her cell, she says her story is a story of love even though everyone thought it’d be a story of murder. Twelve months earlier in February 1825, Frannie helps John Langton (Steven Mackintosh) shave while on a ship.

He wants to take the papers to George as soon as he gets off the ship. John is going to Benham’s house and he wants Frannie to come too, but she says she doesn’t want to go there. He urges her to get dressed before his hand begins cramping up. Frannie massages his hand while he tells her that she’ll go wherever he tells her. Frannie doesn’t think anyone would believe that she followed him and didn’t run once she set foot on English soil. There was nowhere else for her to go. Once they reach George’s house, the housekeeper insists this won’t end well since it didn’t end well for the boy either. When John tells George that his house burned down, George says he’ll take the girl but John will have to find somewhere else to go. John gives him papers and asks him to read them. The housekeeper informs Frannie that she’ll have to scrub her hands first. Linux tells her to watch herself if she knows how because she won’t tolerate bad smells.

George throws the papers back to John before asking what happened to the little albino boy. He asks if the boy was another casualty of his fire. Frannie storms in to complain about being treated like a servant here only for John to tell her that she is a servant here. He leaves her there to work as a servant. Linux complains downstairs as she argues that those people think they can just come here and snatch the bread from an Englishman’s mouth. She doesn’t like the arrangement either, but they serve a common master now. Many English girls would their eye-teeth to serve as housemaid to George Benham. Frannie learns that she will sleep in the scullery. In a flashback, a young Frannie tries to get close to her mother Bella (Lou Broadbent) who is standoffish. When she wakes up, she thinks she is locked on only to find that she isn’t opening the door correctly.

She joins the others and receives food and an outfit. Later, Pru (Lydia Page) asks Frannie if she really didn’t know that she was going to be left there while cleaning the steps. Frannie doesn’t respond until she eventually argues that she cannot stay there. Pru gives her advice for staying out of trouble before telling her that Madame is very beautiful. Since she is French, Mrs. Linux can never forget her. They’re fine on their own, but marriage seems to bring out the worst in them. Frannie is introduced to Madame Marguerite as she leaves. They briefly talk about the book she is carrying. When Frannie goes back inside, she learns that Linux has been going through her belongings and reading what John wrote. While looking through the books nearby, Frannie remembers John making her eat pages because she wanted to read the book. George enters and asks her to stay before revealing her education was his idea.

He wishes he had known what Langton had been up to in terms of flogging her. George explains that their original intention was to engage in a study of the natural mental endowments of each race of men. He was sponsoring John for science and not savagery. Now, his name is being dragged into all of the gossip and speculation concerning him. Until she had sat face to face with George, it hadn’t occurred to her that he would simply lie and pretend not to know what Langton had been doing. George claims he wants to know the truth about everything that happened. Frannie lies too when she says she was only his scribe. George asks if she’d mind taking down her hair because he’d like to study it. For many years, Frannie told herself that she’d make sure George felt it if her path ever crossed his, but her courage failed her when she had the chance.

Everything he had been through and everything that she had done had been because of George Benham. At times, it was more than she could bear to sit there while George toyed with her. Sal (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) visits and asks what she has done to herself. She reminds her that she’ll have to look presentable when they take her to court. Sal was always rescuing her and this time was no different. Frannie questions what she is going to do. As Sal fixes her hair, she says George finally got what he deserved. She knows hell would have to freeze over before Frannie could kill her. Frannie confesses that they argued and said some truly awful things before the guests arrived. Sal urges her to stop using the drugs and try to remember what happened. Frannie thinks they’re going to kill her anyway and love talk is all she has left. In a flashback, Marguerite tells Frannie that she has trouble reading without scribbling her thoughts alongside the words.

Frannie says she does that too. Marguerite thinks everyone should be prescribed a poem a day. As they continue talking, Frannie reveals she has always wanted to write. She thinks men write to separate themselves from the common history while women write to try to join it. Mrs. Linux comes in and scolds Frannie for talking to her, but Marguerite thinks she should decide who she gets to see and her in her own house. She also decides to let Frannie sleep upstairs with Prudence. Linux reminds her that she hasn’t responded to her inquiries which Marguerite calls tiresome. That is why she didn’t come down. Linux mentions the matter of the portrait since the master wonders why it is back on display. Marguerite says she put it back because he made the boy disappear and wants the painting to disappear too.

Linux wanted to give her fair warning that she has asked Charles to see to it. Later, Marguerite comes downstairs with a drink and tells Mr. Casterwick to keep playing. He thinks it is a fool’s errand to try to find her husband after nightfall. Marguerite suggests having a dance before she dances with Frannie. Sal tells Frannie that love did nothing for her back then and it’ll do even less for her now. Frannie thinks they’ll believe them when they point the finger at her. She goes on to say they cannot tell her what she feels. Frannie claims it was love and all the things they’re not supposed to feel. She let herself want something and let herself imagine she might want it too. Linux sees Frannie outside of Marguerite’s room as the episode ends.

 

The Confessions Of Frannie Langton Review

The opening episode of The Confessions of Frannie Langton quickly set up the characters and story which follows Frannie Langton who is accused of murdering her mistress and master. The episode detailed how Frannie was raised, studied, and abused by John Langton at the behest of George Benham. Eventually, John took her to George’s residence where she would work as a servant and where she would meet Marguerite Benham.

Frannie will fall in love with Marguerite who ends up dead with Frannie being accused of the murder. The show does a good job of recreating the time period since it looks and feels mostly accurate. Certain performances are better than others with Sophie Cookson being particularly captivating as Marguerite Benham. The narration is probably overdone because it feels like the show is trying to specifically tell everything to the viewer without showing them.

The pacing was a little slow early in the episode, but it got better towards the end. The source material is obviously fine, but some viewers may question what it brings new to the small screen. Despite the topics being nearly exhausted, The Confessions of Frannie Langton could easily become a touching, emotional ride as it digs deeper into the source material.

The opening episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Confessions of Frannie Langton are available on Reel Mockery here. Reel Mockery is an independent entertainment site that depends on the support of its visitors. If you’re interested in learning how to support us, click this link.