Poldark season 5: Vincent Regan on big Ned Despard twist

Sunday night’s new episode of Poldark was one for the ages — though we cannot say that it was an especially happy one for a good chunk of its run time. Vincent Regan can speak to that via his performance.

Over the course of this episode, what we ended up seeing is Regan’s character of Ned Despard find himself in a position where there was no easy way out. He had managed to find a way, time and time again, to survive despite being in an England that wasn’t keen on his teachings or some of how he wanted others to behave. Unfortunately, what he came to realize by the end of the episode this time around was that there was no clear escape for him anymore. He was sentenced to a hanging and while Ross has been able to be the hero time and time again on this show, there was nothing that he could do this time around. It was the end of the road for Ned and Ross just had to deal with it. This leaves Kitty a widow, and it also puts Ross in a position where there are a number of different situations and solutions that he will have to figure out from here.

So was Regan aware of Ned’s untimely end at the time in which he took on the role? It seems to be the case, judging from what the actor had to say in a new piece with the Radio Times:

“I knew historically that he did die … So [Ned’s death] didn’t come as a surprise to me. But I think what might come as a surprise to the viewers who watch Poldark is, I imagine after five series, Poldark manages to save everyone. So I think this is a first where his closest friend dies, because I imagine most viewers will be thinking, ‘Oh that’s alright, Ross will save him at the end’, but unfortunately that’s not the case.”

As we get further and further into the final two episodes, we will see what Ned’s death does to Ross. We know that he will be entering these installments in a precarious position, one where he’ll have to work out in order to escape the spot that he’s in. He also has to work to avoid being branded an enemy of the Crown, a label that we saw Ned brandished with at times.

What did you think about the latest Ned Despard – Poldark twist?

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