If I had to pick a theme that best summarised what was going on in this week’s Mr Selfridge, it would be ‘how the war has changed people’ as this episode’s main storylines are drawn from everyone finding their place in a post-war society.
A major point in the story is the letting go of the women from Selfridges in an attempt to get things back to normal, at least financially. Harry doesn’t want to do it, but it’s for the long term best of the store.
However, the main reason is that with the war hero men returning to their jobs, it feels a tad unfair to cut the women off, given the effort they put into their jobs throughout wartime. “I loved this job…and I was good at it,” one redundant employee complained to Mr Selfridge. It’s to the episodes credit that it explores how everyone, even those at home, are affected by the move and how this leads to repercussions later.
Henri’s condition continues to be explored but is, interestingly, told a lot from Agnes’ perspective rather than Henri’s, as she struggles to cope and understand with what is happening to her husband. Aisling Loftus puts in a lovely performance here, displaying a building sense of frustration as she witnesses her partners mood swings, temper and emotional withdrawal.
This culminates in a genuinely affecting, blazing row in the display window at Selfridges, heightening the drama by making it a public spectacle. “Tell me what you want,” Agnes begs Henri, “because I don’t know what you want… you barely say a word to me.” It’s an incredibly tense scene and highlights how good the interplay between Loftus and Gregory Fitoussi can be.
The auction sequence is another of the episode’s must see moments as the reappearance of Lord Loxley (Aidan McArdle) throws the cat amongst the pigeons and forces Harry to spend twice, at £30,000, what he was planning to pay for the field for the veteran’s homes.
“In business, never let your heart rule your head,” Loxley spits at Harry. “You got what you wanted…and so will I.” Jeremy Piven is excellent here and in the follow up confrontation with Sergei (Leon Ockenden) who seems intent on getting what he wants despite his new wife’s upset and his mother’s warnings not to rock the boat at the Selfridge townhouse.
Harry appears to be getting in over his head and Loxley is using that to his advantage. After failing to secure a board loan last week thanks to Mr Crabb, his finances are somewhat undermined by the bank manager and he is forced to take out a personal loan for the costs of the land at auction. This leads both to more frictions for Harry but also his continuing closeness to Nancy Webb.
Writer Helen Raynor (Doctor Who) provides some lovely comic touches in amongst all the chaos and genuine emotional drama. Commenting on the “lovely chops” after Connie and Kitty have an argument at the dinner table or having Violette simply break the tension of the Harry / Sergei argument with “we should do these family dinners more often” adds a nice lighthearted touch to what could have been a very dark episode. With a few sepia toned shots to depict the time and some lovely tonal contrasts, it’s a really beautiful looking episode as well.
Mr Selfridge continues to deliver high class, quality drama that appeals on many levels, but there is a feeling we’ve only just scratched the surface on the problems that have arisen: Harry’s financial woes, Henri’s shell shock, the Loxley involvement and, in the episode’s final moments, Kitty’s confrontation with the ex-servicemen and her brutal attack.
Season 3 seems to be the show’s best run yet.
Aired at 9pm on Sunday 8 February 2015 on ITV.
> Order Season 3 on DVD on Amazon.
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