T E L E V I S I O N / Mr. Selfridge 207

"We only take what we came with. No more, no less." I’ve realized I don’t often write episode reviews because of the sheer binge watches that I participate in. But, perhaps this will not only up the opportunity of me being active blogging wise, but more engaged with the episodes I watch—well, at least for shows that are currently airing. It’ll make much more sense. Anyways, I’m writing this after watching last Sunday’s episode of Mr. Selfridge and I only have one word: sh*t. If you follow me on Tumblr, you’ll know I use more colorful language and much more explosive charged swears, and all of that inner-pirate in me wants to be unleashed as I write this review but, I’ll try to control myself for this. The episode picks up a day after with Harry gone and Henri “escorted” to jail. You can see the distress and worry that the staff is facing. It’s nice to see the growth from last time Harry was abruptly unable to attend to the store in the first series. Grove and Crabb take on the task together rather than Grove’s previous arrogant seize of leadership. As the episode unfolds, we learn what’s up with Henri’s secrecy, we hear of the first employee death who joined the war, we get clear proof of who accused Henri and we see more of Lord Loxely’s sliminess—ugh just thinking about him makes my skin crawl. With the complete absence of Harry—both visually for the audience and the presence for the characters in the show—this episode gave viewers a chance to see how well a show is without its crucial main character. I give a hearty round of applause for this episode of the second series, despite my former wariness. The drama continued, the pacing remained as quick as any other and the characters interacted with each other with the same fluidity. It shows that these characters have been developed well enough to sustain themselves without the critical figure of the main, but also balanced it well enough to point to us how necessary the main character and similarly other characters are to the show. So let’s break it down what the show actually featured or my favorite aspects of Sunday’s episode. First and foremost, let’s talk about all the loveships floating around during this episode. We obviously have the main love triangle: Victor, Agnes and Henri. I grudgingly admit that Victor was more tolerable this episode than his entire run in the show because he finally allows Agnes to be an independent person from himself. He trusts her and that’s quite important to any relationship. However, nothing will sway me away from Agnes and Henri, despite the attempt to drive this wedge between the two by using this Valerie problem and slithering more of Victor in there. I seriously hope the extension of such an engagement in the show means that it’s going to be broken off at some point. I mean, it’s so clear that Agnes is still very emotionally attached to Henri, perhaps more than what a friend would have for another. Next ship is between Miss Mardle and Florin DuPont—the Belgian lodger. My God, I love them. I love them so much because he has fallen in love with her and it feels so realistic that Mardle would be so confused—how could anyone so young love her? It shows how insecure she is as a result of Mr. Grove taking away most of the years of her youth by luring her into an affair that she would not be rewarded in the end. I really want Mardle to find happiness and have life be breathed into her again and I think Florin’s presence does just that. Next we talk about the ladies: Mae, Rose and Delphine. I find it interesting how Mae and Delphine, as the series advances, begin to switch roles. Delphine who we thought was going to be a sincere friend to Rose is a selfish, two-faced, backstabber. And Mae who we assumed as this sort of villainous character in the first series begins to get a much more sympathetic and humanistic light. Though, Mae is not yet the best friend that Rose deserves, she’s certainly growing and hopefully this aspect of their relationship is repaired despite Mae’s discretion about Loxely. And as Harry was completely gone this episode, Rose stepped up, showing her leadership capabilities, which I’m sure was what made Harry so attracted to her. I pray that Rose gets the better end of the stick by the finale because I do love her so much, her warmth, her trust, and her fragile optimism. The last thing that I won’t delve too much on but has to be mentioned is that foreshadow of the bad news about Dave Fletcher reflecting the bad news of George Towler. I have this sliver of hope that the telegram isn’t one sending condolences and that it’s actually something like he’s alive and coming home or something. Because honestly, the death of George would mean the death of Agnes. They’re so interconnected and it’s clear that George represents Agnes’ hope and if he’s gone, that’s gone too. And we simply can’t put Agnes in a terrible situation again. She deserves the world and more goddamnit. Ratings: ★★★★☆ M R.   S E L F R I D G E » SUNDAYS, 9 PM → ITV What did you guys think of the episode? Loved it, hated it, still want Mae to skin Loxley alive as much as I do?