Beecham House episode 2 review: Who is August’s mother; is John lying?
After last night’s premiere brought you the first opportunity to see John Beecham himself and also his mother Henrietta; meanwhile, tonight offered up an introduction to Beecham’s brother Daniel. He is a soldier, someone who has been away from the family for ages. When Henrietta saw him, it was one of the most wonderful reunions. That humanity was nice to see given how rude she’s been to virtually everyone else. She’s looked down on Margaret consistently, as she views her as beneath the family. There’s also still the question of August and whose child he really is.
Is Chandrika the secret mother of the baby boy? That’s what Henrietta wants to know — heck, that’s what Margaret wants to know! To us, it’s the nature of the parentage mystery that is interesting more so than the mystery itself. Why do this to the extent that John is? It’s pushing Margaret away from him and it feels like she, more than Violet, is the woman destined to be with him. Violet did make it clear that she was open to a romantic pursuit, but that’s all we have to go on there. (We don’t see anything happening there — no real chemistry.)
Near the end of the episode, Beecham tried to go to Margaret and make it clear that she is welcome … but she is still contemplating heading back home to the UK now that she’s saved up the money for passage.
Elsewhere within this episode, Beecham found himself working in order to acquire the right gift for an Empress. This was him acknowledging that he has a larger role that he’s trying to land for himself within the community and these things take time. He was in the process of trying to figure out exactly what to do when he had to break up a confrontation between Henrietta and Chandrika. It was at this point that he went ahead and told his family that Chandrika was August’s aunt and he was working to raise this baby in the way in which the mother would have wanted. That apparently includes having to band together as a family to make it happen.
Here’s the thing, though: We believe that Beecham is lying about John being a widower. We think there’s something still out there, a larger secret that he is working to keep. Whether or not we get that answer anytime soon ll remains to be seen, but it seems like this show isn’t happy to just be a dramatic period piece. They also to make it a mystery! (If he’s telling the truth with Chandrika, there are still other mysteries … including why he can’t seem to head home.)
CarterMatt Verdict
Two episodes in and it’s clear that Beecham House is a fantastically enjoyable show — even if it is a bit predictable at times. Does Henrietta have to be so offensive and judgmental every single second? Do we really need to spend so much time discussing the parentage mystery?
What Beecham House does have is a magnetic sense of storytelling and a way to make you feel like you’ve been watching these characters for some time, even if you really haven’t. At least we have a great two-episode foundation for whatever is next.
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What did you think about tonight’s Beecham House episode? Be sure to share right now in the comments. (Photo: ITV.)