A charity party to raise funds for the Selfridge’s Homes for Heroes Estate is the backdrop to the aftermath of last week’s events, providing even more drama for the staff and family at Selfridges.
Jeremy Piven continues to shine, with some lovely dramatic moments here that showcase how settled he is in the skin of Harry, three seasons in. In light of Violette being caught up in the raid at Colleano’s last week, Harry explains: “You will not leave this house, or speak on the phone…I’m just glad your Mother is not here to witness your shame.”
It’s a particularly cold exchange, but nothing compared to how he speaks to Victor, when he confesses he was with Violette during the raid.
“My children are still reeling from the death of their mother. Violette’s not herself. I will ask you to leave her alone. Am I making myself clear?” Harry declares. “Perfectly clear” Victor replies.
Despite making himself clear though, Violette and Victor are once again pulled together by the end of the episode and it’ll be interesting to see what happens to Victor as a result. Between this and the gambling den now being set up at Colleano’s, Victor is not in for an easy time.
The consistent mentions of Rose are nice, to remind us that the family is still grieving and that Harry is a man unravelling, which is why the Nancy Webb relationship is so gripping. Harry clearly needs someone and it’s a shame he has fallen for the devious Webb, because up until last week we were hoping the two would get together.
Now, with her agenda exposed, the civilities she displayed towards Harry and his family seem tainted and somewhat sinister. Kudos to Kelly Adams who plays Nancy, for putting in such a nuanced performance.
Kitty’s attack storyline is revisited and given a satisfying conclusion as Charlie, the man who assaulted her, is sent down for the attack. “Silas has withdrawn his statement supporting Charlie… Charlie’s had to change his plea to guilty, he’s going to prison,” Frank explains.
It’s been a strong storyline – putting some much needed conflict into the the Frank and Kitty relationship, gaining the best in performances from Amy Beth Hayes and Samuel West – but we are glad, despite the frictions caused, that their marriage is intact.
There is a lot to like in this episode, even down to the smaller storylines: the reintroduction of Monsieur Longchamp as Head of Display, positive developments with Sergei and Rosalie and Gordon & Grace’s relationship.
It’s also an episode that benefits from pairing up cast that are not usually put together, such as Hannah Tointon and Zoe Wanamaker and Amy Beth Hayes (Kitty) and Calum Callaghan (George). All these good things lead us into a false sense of security, as we head into the episode’s final minutes though.
Doris’ death is a jarringly shocking moment, gaining its impact by coming completely out of nowhere, with no build up to alert the viewer that it is going to happen. While her death was fleeting, it’s a great idea to project new stories, for example, to see how Mr Grove (Tom Goodman-Hill) copes as a single father and to see if the relationship between him and Miss Mardle develops as a result. Crace was always a secondary character to the show but that doesn’t mean this development doesn’t have real potential and her death has not been significant.
An interesting thing this season is how the show is dealing with change. They have lost Aisling Loftus (Agnes), Gregory Fitoussi (Henri) and now Lauren Crace as Doris. Yet the stories still feel fresh, heading in interesting directions as a result. However, with only a few episodes left of the season, it’ll be compulsive viewing to see where they go from here.
Aired at 9pm on Sunday 1 March 2015 on ITV.
> Order Season 3 on DVD on Amazon.
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