Still reeling from the loss of one of their own, the Selfridges staff gather round to pay their respects as the death has a profound effect on all concerned.
However, loss – as a key theme of the episode – is something all the characters experience this week in one way or another.
Violette and Victor continue to grow closer, despite the dodgy dealings at Colleano’s. That George has chosen to walk away from Victor and the club only adds to Victor’s burden. However, it’s the loss of Violette that clearly hits him. Their relationship intensifies, even throughout the course of the episode but in the end, Victor chooses to send her away
“My world is no place for you. I’ve tried to find a way to make it work. I just can’t” Victor explains to her. “But I love you,” she declares, only to have the door slammed in her face and be left alone in the rain. It’s a strong scene that benefits from some genuine chemistry from the leads and some lovely period detail adding to the dramatic authenticity of it all.
In the wake of Doris’ tragic death last week, Tim Goodman-Hill, as Mr Grove, is given considerably more to do. Goodman-Hill has been in the background this season so it’s lovely to see him have the chance to shine as his character goes through the emotional ringer from confused and bereft to bitter, hurt and enraged.
“How are you holding up?” Harry asks Roger Grove, who cracks immediately under the sheer intensity of the question. Grove is a broken man, and like so many of us, deals with loss through anger, and since Doris, the person he should be angry with, is gone he forwards that vitriol at Miss Mardle in a dark scene where he equates her meddling and secrecy as the catalyst that led to Doris’ death.
“I thought your actions in these last weeks were that of a true friend….I see now that they were driven by guilt,” states Grove, in an acid-tongued exchange at his friend and colleague.
Sherlock’s Amanda Abbington, while also underutilised this season, gives a poignant and emotionally heartbreaking performance as Miss Mardle. She is weighed down so heavily, both by the secret she continues to keep from her friend and by keeping Billy at bay, as he pushes for access to his biological son.
Nancy and Harry’s relationship continues to develop nicely and we are very aware we are seeing the calm before the storm. Nancy is becoming more confused her actions the more time she spends with Harry, who she genuinely seems to like. Her growing friendship with Violette make this situation more awkward but none moreso than when Harry reveals how he is funding the housing project.
“I’m going to tell you something not a lot of people know. I am no longer the owner of Selfridges,” Harry states, explaining that he has sold vital shares to fund the housing project, putting the long term security of Selfridges at risk. “You shouldn’t have done that” Nancy declares, seeming genuine. She is clearly torn and it’s a shame. Kelly Adams and Jeremy Piven have a wonderful chemistry, but there is a looming sense of dread shadowing their relationship.
In an episode that so beautifully highlights the close knit community that Mr Selfridge has built over these last three seasons (“It only seems like yesterday we were all starting out together”), it’s a shame to see it break down so much by the episode’s end: Nancy is conflicted, Grove is bitter, Violette and Victor feel completely alone and Harry denies his potential failures behind the smiles of an expectant grandfather.
With so much to see, the next three episodes will no doubt be packed full of revelations.
Aired at 9pm on Sunday 8 March 2015 on ITV.
> Order Season 3 on DVD on Amazon.
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