‘The Crimson Field’ episode 2 preview: An angry (and most ill-tempered) guest

Last week on BBC One, “The Crimson Field” got off to what was a pretty smashing start. Around 6 million viewers (impressive for a new series in the UK) tuned in to watch a series that was all about World War I and those supporting the front lines. We labeled it as similar in a way to “Call the Midwife,” except in a slightly different era and with slightly different characters. There’s no narrator here, and things have a tendency to get even bloodier.

The new sneak peek that we have for Sunday night’s episode, though, really does not have anything to do at all with the issue of what is happening on the battlefield presently. Instead, it is more about dealing with some of the sudden, scary aftermath of it. This includes trying to deal with the wives of the wounded, and this one had a surprising attitude towards her husband’s devastating injuries.

In a conversation with Grace and Thomas, she actually tried to put the pressure on that rather than try to allow the man she loved to be with some of the other soldiers, she wanted to see him back with his “own kind.” (Presumably, those who also lost their limbs.) She felt like him being with ordinary soldiers could be damaging to their morale, which is really a pretty awful thing to say no matter how you look at it.

Maybe there is a greater historical context here behind the treatment of wounded soldiers, but it feels like this poor man is being treated as damaged goods, which is certainly something that nobody wants to be identified as at all.

What do you think about this sneak peek, and are you interested in watching the rest of this series? Share your thoughts with a comment.