Everything Is Blue – As the fourth episode of The Essex Serpent begins, Naomi Banks (Lily-Rose Aslandogdu) tries to protect herself and her family from the serpent. When Martha (Hayley Squires) asks if Cora is ready, Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) tells her that a party feels like the old days in London. Martha urges her to be herself tonight because Michael can’t hurt her now. Stella (Clemence Poesy) tells Will (Tom Hiddleston) that they’re going to be late, but he tells her to go without him. She says Cora would be so disappointed and urges him to change since Charles will be here soon. Frankie (Casper Griffiths) wants to visit the goats. Luke (Frank Dillane) and Martha squabble over him eating some of the snacks early.

When Cora comes out, Luke tells her that her dress is perfect. She thanks him for making so much effort for her party. He wishes she was at the Simpson’s. Cora doesn’t think they’d approve of her footwear since she is barefoot. Luke jokingly says he is relieved they’re here. Will joins his wife after getting dressed. Luke surprises Cora with a nice necklace that she claims is too much. He tries to convince her to wear it now, but Martha covers for her saying it wouldn’t suit the neckline of the dress. Luke kisses her on the cheek and tells her happy birthday. He tells Martha to change before he gets the door to let John and the others in. Luke introduces himself to Charles Ambrose who is MP for Limehouse.

Charles goes for the wine while Will speaks to Cora. They all laugh and joke around when Will says she looks clean. Jo (Dixie Egerickx) asks if she can use the piano. Will apologizes to Luke now that his daughter has improved. Luke tells him not to mention it since he and Cora didn’t see any harm. He tells Will how he put Cora under hypnosis the night before after she invited him to do it. Will can’t imagine Cora doing anything she didn’t want to do. Stella tells Cora that she thinks Jo wanted to impress her. Cora says it worked since Jo is very talented. Will asks Luke if he is a genius like Cora says. Luke admits that is what they say because revealing his surgical breakthrough caused a stir. When Luke asks if he has any interest in medical science, Will says human beings are gutted like hens.

Luke believes that is the future. Will says he considers his faith an enlightened one, but Luke claims he privileges belief over evidence. After Will says it isn’t that simple, Luke suggests the Essex serpent has sunk its claws into him. Will decides to have wine after all. Luke has to get the door as Dr. George Spencer (Jamael Westman) and others from London arrive. George tells Martha that she looks lovely. She repays the favor and says they need to nab Ambrose who is likely in the kitchen. Charles confirms he read George’s letter, but he thought this was a party. George asks them whether they’ve been to Ratcliffe. Although Ambrose hasn’t, he has seen the Royal Commission and read Dilke’s recommendation. Cora suggests letting Martha show him around so he can see how poor housing impacts people’s health.

Luke mockingly asks whether Martha is a doctor now. Cora says no and that is why he should join them. Luke agrees because he would like to introduce Cora to the man he saved. Cora says they can all go together. Henry (Gerard Kearns) drinks at home with Naomi next to him. She asks her father whether the serpent took Gracie because of her sins. Henry says she is gone and there is nothing they can do now. Naomi asks what happens if she is a sinner too. Her father instructs her to talk to Will and asks for forgiveness. She walks to the church to look for Will who isn’t there. Naomi sits down and begins asking for forgiveness before Matthew (Michael Jibson) asks her what she is doing here. She wants to talk to Will, but Michael doesn’t know where he is.

As she gets up and storms out, Michael warns her that the serpent will take her if she has sinned. At the party, Stella coughs before checking on Frankie who is playing under the table. He shows her his collection as she says they share a gift of finding beauty no one else sees. Luke asks Charles to say something since he is a public speaker. They roll up the rug so they can begin dancing. While Luke dances with Cora, Will isn’t impressed. As they continue dancing, Will watches and drinks nearby.

Naomi goes to the Ransome house looking for Will only to find that nobody is home. Luke gives Stella a glass of water. She reveals aquamarine is named for seawater and a stone to calm the waves while keeping sailors safe. She believes she is blue more than any other color. Luke checks her temperature since he suspects she might be sick. He tells her that his hospital tests for respiratory diseases. He thinks she knows she is ill so he invites her to London as soon as she can make it. He offers to see her without an appointment. Once Stella nods yes, Luke says good because life is for the living. Moments later, Stella interrupts everyone to say she wants to see her husband dance. Since she is too tired to dance, she asks Cora to take her place.

Stella won’t stop asking until Will and Cora agree to dance for her. They get a little too close and nearly kiss until Luke coughs to stop them. After that, everyone decides it is time to go home. Naomi returns home and finds her father passed out in his chair. He won’t wake up as Naomi removes the cup from his hand and leaves with a cross. As they walk home, Charles tells Will and the others that you don’t see a night shining in London. Some may it is caused by moisture while others say it is the ash from Krakatoa. Stella describes it as like the whole world is blue. Charles encourages them to look after one another. Martha tells Cora to leave the mess until the morning, but she wants to do it now. Cora finds Jo’s coat which she is going to need. She decides to take it to her since she wants to go for a walk anyway.

Will puts Stella in bed and kisses her. When he opens the window for Stella, he sees Cora walking away from his house. Meanwhile, Luke admits it isn’t like he didn’t see this coming. He complains that his name comes up every day while Martha jokes it comes up twice on Sundays. Luke wonders what future there can be with a vicar. Martha claims she is collecting him because she wants to put him in a little glass jar and label his parts in Latin. Luke confesses he is beginning to think he doesn’t understand women at all. She puts on his necklace before asking the vicar to dance with him. Luke mockingly imitates Will by claiming he doesn’t know the steps. Martha asks him to read her the Gospel and mentions a lot of names. She says she is Cora Seaborne and can have whoever she wants.

When she asks what is so hard to understand about that, Luke says nothing. Martha invites Luke upstairs with her where she asks whether he knows how women work. Luke does since he is a doctor. Once they move to the bed, Martha questions whether he is thinking about Cora. Although he says no, Martha tells him not to worry because she is too. Frankie gets up and looks out of his window. He visits Cracknell (Christopher Fairbank) with scraps for the goats. Cracknell has fallen to the ground as he says this smells like death. He claims it is out there crushing him and the water is black. Frankie tells him that the sky is blue. Cracknell talks about the whole universe being alive and him being a part of it. Naomi puts on the cross necklace and walks out into the water. When Martha wakes up with Luke, she admits she feels half dead.

He gives her advice for dealing with her hangover. He has misread a lot of things recently, but he believes they understand each other. Martha says Cora is her friend regardless of whatever she said last night. Luke says Spencer is his friend. Once he leaves, Martha takes off the necklace. Outside, Cora watches Luke walking away from the cottage with his belongings. Cora goes inside to tell Martha that he is gone and that she walked all night. She believes she has made such a mess of things. Martha receives a letter from her new friend Sali. She needs to tell her about Ambrose since there is so much to do. Martha would like to go back to London as soon as Cora can spare her.

Herny gets up and begins yelling for Naomi to come down for breakfast only to find that she isn’t in her room. He rushes out of the house and begins calling her name. Frankie tells his mother how he woke up, saw that the sky was light, and thought it was morning. He explains that he was looking at the sky with Cracknell before he died. Once Frankie got cold, he decided to come home and get into bed. When she asks why he didn’t tell her, Frankie reminds her that she wasn’t here so he couldn’t tell her. A panicked Henry continues searching for his daughter. He finds Cracknell. Stella wakes Will and admits she needs to talk to him, but Henry interrupts before she can tell him. He claims the serpent has struck again and Cracknell is the victim this time. He still can’t find Naomi. Matthew suggests she was taken.

Matthew asks Will where he was since Naomi came to the church looking for him. While Will argues there is no serpent, Matthew argues it has been here and it is feeding off their sins. Cora arrives and suggests that Cracknell had some type of accident. Henry remembers that she was there when they found Gracie and she crouched by his side. Matthew believes they should look at the scriptures since it was a woman who was tempted by the serpent and a woman who ate the fruit. Will refuses to use the Lord’s words for his own ends. The locals want to know where Cora was last night. They begin calling her a witch who brought the serpent here. Matthew claims she put a spell on him before he calls her child a half-wit. Cora pushes him and says shame on him. Will tries to convince her to leave, but Cora says no.

They see the mark on her neck causing them to believe she was marked by the devil. Once Cora agrees to leave, Will orders them to take Cracknell to the church where he’ll administer to him. Henry and the others refuse to touch him. Will rushes toward Cora while Matthew approaches the goat with a horse. Cora tells Will that he had no right to order her away, but he says they were out of control and frightened. She complains that he didn’t take up for her. Will confesses he can’t think clearly when he is around her. Cora refuses to be blamed for their ignorance and his weakness. Will argues that love isn’t a weakness before they begin kissing. By the time Will returns, Matthew has already killed the goat. As he arrives at the church, we see glimpses of him having sex with Cora.

He gets mad and starts bashing the serpent on the church pew. Cora packs her stuff before telling Frankie that they’re all going back to London. Matthew screams for the locals to lock their doors and say their prayers. He makes the doors and windows of the local buildings. As they leave, Cora tells Frankie that they’re not going to sea anymore. Matthew tells Martha he is protecting the village from sin. He blames Cora, but Martha believes he is responsible for scaring people. Cora tells him they’re leaving before the carriage takes them and their belongings away.

 

The Essex Serpent Review

The fourth episode of The Essex Serpent brought some unexpected events while turning Cora into the town’s number one enemy. At six episodes, this doesn’t feel too drug out although it likely could’ve gotten to the point quicker in four or five episodes. The love triangle is in full swing, but it feels like Stella might be preparing her husband for a future life without her. It seems she likely knows what lies ahead for her and is possibly encouraging Will to get with Cora.

Luke and Martha slept together while agreeing that they don’t want to take their relationship any further. Naomi has gone missing while Matthew is convinced Cora brought the serpent and is doing everything he can to protect the villagers. The Essex Serpent may be one of those shows where the quality of each episode varies, but the overall story is satisfying.

The series is moody, the acting is good, and the scenery is beautifully dreary. I do think the series would be more impactful if it was binged instead of watching one episode each week. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Essex Serpent can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.