‘Poldark’ season 2, episode 6 review: Ross and Demelza find a ‘mystery’ savior

The end of last week’s new episode of “Poldark” was a knife in the back to fans everywhere, even if fans of the original likely expected it. The death of Francis changes Ross Polark, his outlook on life, and the importance of his family. It’s almost like we are experiencing the seven stages of grief for the character.

What it does not wash away, however, is the general horribleness of Ross’ financial situation. He owes a substantial amount of debt to George Warleggan, and must get it together for the day after Christmas. In other words, George is making an attempt here to be the Grinch. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and for Ross, this particular “desperate measure” could come via a secret smuggler cache, or him going to prison for a time and getting on the other side.

Herein lies the tension between him and Demelza: He did not want to go to his friends for help, even though he did clearly realize that he would need them in the event he wanted to get out of the debt sooner rather than later. His argument was simple: Prove that he can make the mine profitable, and they will come.

Of course, his ego, and his affection for Elizabeth, got in the way once more when he wanted to give her back the investment that she and Francis once made in the mine. His sympathy for her once again overrode the interest of his own family, which gives you a further sense of where his heart (could) lie. The fact that he put on such a show in front of Elizabeth later to secure the act made this all the more worthy of a personal facepalm or two.

George still is George – This man continues to have no sympathy towards the Poldark family, showing little remorse for Elizabeth and openly allowing her to suffer. Meanwhile, at the same time he openly took offers of female suitors (all shockingly young). Side note: Watching George flirt is one hell of an uncomfortable experience.

Your latest Caroline / Dwight update – The romance between the good doctor and his wealthy younger woman continued, and through their scenes tonight we saw a series of highs and lows. Where there moments of passion? Sure, but there were other reminds of the problems with perception. For Caroline, she wanted him to be more and do more; meanwhile, she wanted him to understand that she was so much more than a vacuous (her word) woman from society.

Caroline’s actions immediately started to cause tension among her family, and her handling of that was further proof that she was not who preconceived notions considered her to be. Meanwhile, Dwight received a warning of his own to stay away from an heiress who was not deemed to be worthy of. Dwight made it clear that he doesn’t care one bit about her fortune, and was making his thoughts clear out of love.

Caroline’s next move – Knowing that the only way she could be with Dwight is to cut herself off from her family, she made quite possibly her boldest move yet: Distancing herself further from the money. She gave Ross and Demelza the money in secret in order to ensure that they could pay off George, even with his “generosity” elsewhere in mind. The look on George’s face was SWEET, and that’s to put it mildly.

Ross and Demelza finally had a happy moment at the tail end of this, where in the midst of doubt of their fiscal and romantic future, he was able to provide her with a gift — one that clearly seemed to reaffirm some of the passion between them. How is that for a happy ending — at least for now? Episode Grade: B+. The show is still sending us an emotional roller-coaster, and entertaining every step of the way. Also, this was Caroline’s best episode, and it is not really even close.

Next week – Ross will have a new mission, but at the same time, he will have to contend with George trying to move in on Demelza / continuing to be a terrible human being. For more on that, head over to this link to check out a preview. (Photo: BBC.)