What You Want & What You Need – As the first episode of The English begins, Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt) says she would’ve been killed right from the start without him. That is how and why they met. It was in the stars and they believed in the stars. Back then, it didn’t matter where they came from because they were all just English to them. After all these years, Cornelia only has a Pawnee word left. She says the word which translates to “I cherish you”. In between, she wanted to kill a man for murdering her child while he wanted his land back. They had yet to learn the difference between what they want and what they need. Thirteen years before in 1890, two men go hunting in the newly created territory of Oklahoma. Cam McKewan (Jimmy Shaw) is shocked to see that they got the Indian. Grann shoots him several more times to finish him off. Captain Grann (Edward Crook) asks who he is.

The shooter says the man was Running Hawk and he led the Fetterman fight in ’66. He put Lonnie Myers’ eyeballs up on a rock. They promised to do the same someday, but he has blown his face off now. They realize that they have Indians left. A comrade reminds them that they were supposed to round them up and send them on their way. Dutch van de Lote (Ben Temple) isn’t eager to let them go. When he prepares to shoot the woman, Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer) tells them that it isn’t going to happen today. The Indian woman insults Eli by claiming he is one of them. Grann orders his men to round her up and get her out of there. He doesn’t understand how Dutch is going to kill one and follow another. Later, Cam catches up with Eli to apologize for yesterday. He says the man had it coming since he and Lonnie joined together. Eli says he is going to travel North to Nebraska where he was born there. He wants to use the Homestead Act to get more land after being in the army.

Cam warns him that they won’t give him any land. He tells Eli that Lonnie’s brother Billy is up in Wyoming. Cam asks him to look Billy up so he can tell him that they finally got Lonnie’s killer. Eli is one of them, but he is not out there. One week later, Richard Watts (Ciaran Hinds) welcomes Cornelia to the real America. She gets off the carriage in High Plains, Kansas. Cornelia complains about them driving so fast, but Sebold Cusk (Toby Jones) insists it is necessary because of Indians. Richard shows her an Indian they have tied up before revealing Eli walked straight into his hotel and asked him for a drink. He claims he is marked down for the color of his skin. When Cornelia asks who beat him, Eli seems to take credit for it. Cornelia walks over to Eli to ask what she can do. He learns that she is alone so he doesn’t think there is anything she can do since it isn’t her fight. Cornelia tries to pay Richard to cut him down. Eventually, Richard hits her and knocks her to the ground.

Sebold throws her money bag to the ground before Richard asks him to get the carriage turned around. Eli is cut down and told he is going to Ellsworth. Richard wants Cornelia to wear a specific dress. Sebold and Eli eventually find that they’re being followed. Sebold stops the horses since he knows they’re never going to outrun them. Eli thinks Indians would go easier on him if he removes his handcuffs, but Sebold believes it is a ploy. Sebold tells him that he walked with the Pawnee before learning that Eli’s Pawnee name is Ckirirahpiks which means wounded wolf. He was named after Massacre Canyon. Sebold talks about how he picked their side in the long run. Then, they find out that the three men aren’t Indians although they’re still trouble. Sebold reveals he is a bit of a home inventor as he unveils his hidden weapons. He relents and agrees to release Eli’s hands and gives him a rifle with ten rounds. Sebold tells the lead horseman (Cokey Falkow) that they’re heading to Ellsworth.

He lies when he says he is talking the Indian in for killing an English woman. They offer to take Eli to the nearest tree and deal with him. Eli says he didn’t kill an English woman, but the horseman says he didn’t need to. Sebold says this is a commercial business so he can’t have them spreading him all over his prime asset. Eventually, Sebold and Eli kill the men before Eli takes one of their horses. Sebold is happy that his weapons worked. He admits the English woman will be dead and he was going to pin it on Eli, but he didn’t know Eli then like he does now. Eli warns him that his wound is going to kill him. Sebold mentions the name Deborah Crawford before wondering where that name came from. He thinks Eli is right that some things are better left forgotten. As Eli rides away on horseback, he hears a gunshot behind him. Richard tells Cornelia that she reminds him of his wife in that dress. Cornelia suspects he is going to kill her so she begins crying.

She says she is just so angry because someone killed her child and she is going to kill him. Richard doesn’t think that’ll happen. They talk about certain places before Richard mentions how she was moving around with all that cash. They had to intervene several times on her demise. When asked why, Richard says he wanted the journey to end here. He confesses that he hates him too. Cornelia pleads with Richard to let her go, but he is willing to uphold his contract. Once Cornelia asks if he wants to rape her, Richard says he is realistic when it comes to issues of consent. She tells him to have sex with a horse. Cornelia insists she is going to kill him. Richard says she’ll have to come back from the dead to do it. Eventually, Eli shows up and kills Richard from behind. Eli takes Richard’s gun and tells Simon to keep playing. He wants to take care of the other one too. Cornelia wakes the man to tell him that someone wants to see him. Eli begins pulling Drew out of bed.

They hang him upside down before asking where Eli’s bag is. Eli goes inside to see if he can find his bag. Once he gets it, he goes back outside where he tells Drew (John Bermudez) that a Baptist gave him a white name when he was a boy. He called him Eli Whipp because he is good with rope. Eli is going to let the horse decide and see if he gave the horse enough to drink. Cornelia makes the horse walk backwards so Drew’s head will be forced into the bucket. She leaves him there until he drowns to death. Cornelia thanks Eli who says it is no longer his business. He reveals he came back for his horse and his bag which contains medicine. He is only ill without it. Cornelia tells Eli about her son’s hair that she wears around her neck. She believes it got her this far. Eli recommends taking what she needs and riding away on a horse, but she says she needs everything. Eli says the difference between what she needs and wants is what she can put on a horse.

She tells him that she is going west to Caine County, Powder River in Wyoming. Eli corrects her by saying that is north and at least a month’s ride. He thinks she should go back to England. When she dumps out the money, Eli warns her that she won’t make ten miles. Cornelia begins begging for his help. She suggests it was like magic that they were near death and now everyone else is dead. Cornelia doesn’t think he just came back for the bag unless the bag made him do it. A man on Powder River is trying to forget that her son ever existed so she wants to go up there and remind him. Cornelia has seen four killings in two weeks. Eli lived here his whole life and love his father, mother, wife, sons, daughters, and friends. He argues that she can’t expect him to care for one boy. She begins begging again. Once Eli asks if she can shoot, Cornelia says she can if she has to. He thinks she’ll have to. Eli offers to take her to Kearney, but she’ll be on her own from there.

When asked his name, Eli admits he has many although he doesn’t like any of them. Cornelia says she has never been married and she is a Scorpio. Hers is about revenge and she suspects his is as well. They travel together as the episode ends.

 

The English Review

The opening episode of Amazon’s The English established a simple story that doesn’t distinguish itself too much from similar projects. The western drama is led by Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer as they team up to track down the murderer of Cornelia’s son. The concept is likely something viewers have heard of countless times before in movies and television shows although The English takes a modern approach to the unoriginal story.

This isn’t a one-off considering the first episode was full of clichés. While viewers may complain about the dark scenes being a little too dark, The English is mostly gorgeous, especially the prairies and sunsets. It does a good job of taking the viewer and putting them in the middle of the wild west. The main performers were good enough during the first episode so that shouldn’t be a problem in future episodes.

Certain issues stuck out like a sore thumb with the dialogue probably being the hardest to overlook. Some of the lines were strange as if the writers were trying a bit too hard to be clever only for that to backfire. The pacing was slightly slow since everything that happened in the first episode likely could’ve been covered in twenty minutes or less. I am not sure if it was just me but there were moments when I felt like I had to guess what was happening because the characters were just dropped into the middle of scenes and the dialogue was so messy.

There is a tinge of sarcasm in The English whether intentional or not that is off-putting. The biggest concern is the clichés though. Everything in the first episode has been done so many times before that it may be difficult for viewers to justify rewatching this same story again, especially when other projects were more effective. Although The English looks like the wild west, the accents do not because they’re too modern and immaculate.

The Appalachian accents weren’t necessary or even accurate, but it is painfully obvious no one up there understands this or that subset of the American population. With the first episode out of the way, The English may be able to develop and turn into a captivating story. The opening episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The English can be found on Reel Mockery here. Using ad blockers to improve your browsing experience? Consider supporting our work by following this link.

 

The English Cast

The English follows the journey of Cornelia Locke as she travels to the American west to avenge the murder of her son. To reach and kill the man responsible for his death, she will team up with a Pawnee Indian named Eli Whipp who has goals of his own. The Western premiered on BBC Two and iPlayer in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2022. It was released on Amazon Prime Video in the United States on November 11.

Emily Blunt stars as Lady Cornelia Locke while Chaske Spencer plays Eli Whipp. They’re joined by Tom Hughes, Stephen Rea, Toby Jones, Steve Wall, Malcolm Story, and Rafe Spall.

Emily Blunt as Lady Cornelia Locke

Lady Cornelia Locke is a woman on a mission after her son was killed. She intends to track down her son’s killer and avenge his murder. Cornelia travels to America and immediately finds herself in a perilous situation. She will team up with a retired Pawnee scout who wants to claim his birthright. British actress Emily Blunt doesn’t usually grace the small screen so The English is a new adventure for her. She played in A Quiet Place and its sequel as well as The Girl on the Train.

Blunt also has several upcoming projects, such as Oppenheimer, Pain Hustlers, The Fall Guy, and Jungle Cruise 2.

Chaske Spencer as Eli Whipp

American actor Chaske Spencer portrays Eli Whipp who helps Cornelia while also trying to obtain land using the Homestead Act. Spencer was born in Oklahoma but grew up in Montana and Idaho. As a teen, Chaske acted in several productions at the Lewiston Civic Theater in Lewiston, Idaho. His first credit came when he played a teenage Rudy in the 2002 movie Skins.

Most will remember him for being Sam Uley in The Twilight Saga franchise.

Ben Temple as Dutch Van de Lote

Little is known about Duct Van de Lote although he seems to be a crack shot. In the opening episode of The English, he avenged the death of Lonnie Myers by killing an Indian named Running Hawk. It is unknown how he is linked to Cornelia or her son’s murder. The character is portrayed by Ben Temple who recently appeared in Now and Then.

• Tom Hughes as Thomas Trafford
• Stephen Rea as Sheriff Robert Marshall
• Miguel Alvarez as Timothy Flynn
• Valerie Pachner as Martha Myers
• Malcolm Storry as Red Morgan
• Nicholas Aaron as Billy Myers
• William Belleau as Kills On Water
• Steve Wall as Thin Kelly