At the beginning of the episode, Christine Keeler (Sophie Cookson) takes a dip in a swimming pool naked. She emerges just in time for John Profumo (Ben Miles) to emerge and stare at her from a distance. Soon, Stephen Ward (James Norton) and others arrive as Christine scrambles to cover up. Then, we see Christine running from the press. After the intro, Christine runs back into her room to get money from Johnny (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) but ends up staying around for sex. Meanwhile, Mandy (Ellie Bamber) has sex with her husband. They argue about bread and such. After that, Mandy meets up with Christine and shows her an envelope of money.
Mandy got the money from Peter and she isn’t happy with the way he wrapped it. Christine gets something to eat and Mandy ends up paying for it. After that, Christine is attacked on the street by her supposed pimp. She goes to Stephen Ward after being struck by the pimp. Stephen is worried since Christine has been hanging out with Jamaican men but she believes he is prejudice. They speak about the Cuban Missile Crisis before Christine bums more money from Mandy as she leaves. Meanwhile, we find out that the MI5 has been watching Captain Ivanov. We learn that Profumo who happens to be the Secretary of State for War is the extraordinary one.
Profumo is questioned by the media as he walks down the street with his wife. Then, we jump back again and Christine struggles to get dressed. Stephen takes her away and Christine believes he set her up. He tells Christine that Profumo could be the next prime minister. After that, we jump over to the Daily Mirror newsroom. The journalists there realize that they’re trying to build up Profumo so he can become the next prime minister. Alan is told to begin sniffing around to see if they can find any dirt on the aspiring PM. Profumo is asked about his statements by Redmayne (Tim McInnerny). After that, Christine and Johnny are ridiculed for kissing in the street.
Later at Stephen’s place, we learn that Christine is out of money again. She hopes she’ll be able to pay her debt after she lands a toothpaste advertisement job. Once the call ends, Christine speaks to Mandy about Michael Eddowes (Anton Lesser). Once everyone leaves, Stephen offers Christine a place to stay. Instead, she takes his money, gets a cab, and returns to home so she can see Johnny. Before she leaves, Stephen suggests returning to Murray’s Club and dancing to earn money. Before too long, Christine accepts and follows that advice. Stephen offers to introduce Christine to a lot more fun. Meanwhile, Alan returns to his boss with photographs of Christine.
They wonder if they’ll be able to use her to get a story about Profumo for the newspaper. After that, Christine goes out with Eddowes. Once they prepare to drop Christine off, Eddowes wonders if Eugene might be a spy and he suggests Stephen should be worried about it. When Christine gets out of the car, she is hassled by her pimp who tries to tell her that she can’t trust Johnny. Christine doesn’t believe it. She gets back into the vehicle with Eddowes. That night, she sleeps with Johnny and asks him the truth. He denies everything and promises to keep her safe. Christine asks him to get her a gun. After that, we jump over to Lord Astor’s shoot. Mandy nearly shoots one of the men.
Lady Astor asks Stephen to check on Bill. Stephen does so. Then, we see the MI5 watching Stephen closely. The MI5 intends to take a much closer look at Stephen despite him being a back doctor. The MI5 agents wonder if they should speak with Mandy and Christine. However, the boss doesn’t believe the women will cause any trouble. Johnny gets Christine the girl she wanted and they go out to the pub. Meanwhile, Profumo attends a social event of sorts. Bill seems to believe Profumo has been spending time with Christine but he denies it. Johnny and Christine spend the night making the pimp angry until they get into an argument.
The pimp slings her around and beats Johnny up a bit. Johnny stops it by cutting the pimp across the head. The pimp wants them to go to jail so they make a run for it. Christine runs to a pay phone and calls Mandy. Meanwhile, Mandy argues with her husband before answering. Christine tells her to get Stephen. Mandy tells her that Peter is there so she needs to lay low. Johnny finds her and tells her that they need to run cause the police are coming. They do. Stephen catches up with her the following day. Christine goes to Johnny and encourages him to turn himself in. She is going to go with Stephen. Before too long, Christine is sitting on a couch with Michael Eddowes.
The men chat about the missile crisis and suggest that Profumo will be able to fill them in. We jump back to the pool party. Christine and Profumo speak a bit more. They head inside and things are taken to another level but they’re also caught. Later, Christine flirts with Stephen but he doesn’t sleep with her. She says that spending time with Eddowes makes her feel like she is being molested again. Mandy gets a call and learns that Peter has died. Later, Christine returns home to find Johnny missing. She goes to the pub and finds him with another woman. With that, she returns to Stephen and attends a party he is throwing. There is a lot of sex and other things going on.
Christine and Stephen wake up together and Christine bums money from him. Stephen says nobody understands her like he does. While Stephen is away, Christine goes through his pictures and other belongings. She finds a picture of herself with Profumo. We jump back and Christine tells Profumo he can call her at Stephen’s number. Valerie Profumo (Emilia Fox) finds her husband putting on a new suit. She suggests he might be over confident. Mandy joins Christine and mentions that her pony was hit and killed on the same day Peter died. Johnny arrives outside and pleads with Christine to come home. Mandy tells him that Christine isn’t there.
Christine throws money out of the window in hopes of getting him to leave. Johnny opens fire at the door and window before Mandy calls Stephen and Johnny makes a run for it. Johnny hides the gun in a trashcan and flees in his car. The gun is found by police seconds later. Christine is interviewed while Johnny is arrested. Stephen tells Christine that the poo-poo has truly hit the propeller. Near the end of the episode, the Daily Mirror journalist Alan meets up with Christine offering to pay for her story and photos. We jump forward on year and see Profumo visit Christine.
The Trial of Christine Keeler Review
I was hoping this could maintain the same level of quality as A Very English Scandal. Unfortunately, it is nowhere near as close. The opener was not good in the least. The only thing interesting about the opening episode was James Norton’s character. At times, that character was a bit annoying with the “little baby” stuff. However, I found some of his dialogue to be very humorous there in the end.
Sadly, the rest of the show is pure rubbish. The way they decided to piece the story together makes it difficult to follow. I know 50% of the characters’ names and I am still not sure what is going on. Then again, I could care less at this point. If I continued watching this show, it would be for the Stephen Ward character only. I am thinking they should’ve focused more on him and less on Christine. After all, she is very difficult to like.
The show hid a lot of stuff while running others down the viewer’s throat. Why didn’t they tell us more about Christine’s tumultuous childhood or the abuse she suffered? Why haven’t they shown her abusing drugs? I wish it was good but it isn’t. The show isn’t even mediocre. The opener scores a 5 out of 10.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
