TV Underdogs: Can ‘Poldark’ season 2 make for a changing tide with Francis?

There are a wide array of interesting characters within “Poldark,” but few are more divisive than Francis. Maybe he has some redeeming qualities somewhere in there, but he’s also a gambling addict who struggles to keep his life together, is dependent on others, and whose only victory seems to have been marrying Elizabeth, who Ross at one point loved earlier in his life. (Their moment in the season 1 finale infuriated fans.)

Is there a way for Francis to start to turn things around, and should he start to turn things around? Can he become a likable underdog on this show over a guy who constantly gets in Ross’ way? This is something that we wanted to investigate in the latest chapter of our TV Underdogs series.

Why he is an underdog – He’s certainly not one in the same exact way that we’ve seen from others in the series. He’s more of a man with the capacity to be one versus actually showing himself to be one through his actions. He has a habit of getting in his own way, and causing problems that cause no one to believe in him.

Why he doesn’t get more airtime – The biggest reason is his habit for continuing to screw things up. It’s hard to put someone in the middle of most of the action that you can actually trust to do the right thing. Also, “Poldark” is the story of Ross first and foremost; Francis is going to have a role to play in that, but unless he gets himself together soon we can see him becoming more and more of a distant memory.

Ways to give him more air time – In the wake of what happened to Julia, isn’t this a way for Francis to conquer some of his demons and become a better person? Will he finally use some of his guilt as a catalyst for change? We’re ignoring the trajectory in the original series for a moment and looking at this character as someone who can formulate his own path. We’d love to be writing about him again in a years’ time, talking about how he is someone more viable as an asset than someone with the same characteristics as an albatross.

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