A Very English Scandal: Season 1, Episode 3 (B+)
This was by far the least entertaining of the three installments, and understandably so, with even the show’s cheery theme slowed down to feel more dramatic as the trial went on. Though this story was framed as a comedy, it was actually a serious ordeal, one that demonized homosexuality and which, at least the way it’s portrayed in this realization, didn’t serve justice at all for the man whose life was nearly ended by order of one Jeremy Thorpe. The most poignant scene was when Thorpe’s lawyer sat with him and told him that he had similar indulgences but couldn’t understand why he’d go for a man like Scott and we saw flashes of the instances in which Thorpe wasn’t the one in power but instead the victim of violence and abuse. Watching his career slowly tank with his second-place finish and gradual removal from politics demonstrated that this case really did ruin him even if he was found innocent and celebrated it like a major victory. This project clearly aimed to show Scott in the more positive light, with the real Scott appearing at the end, still without his national insurance card. Going into this show, I knew nothing of Jeremy Thorpe’s career or this very scandalous affair that led to the trial that ended his career, and in just three hours this show managed to both inform and entertain me greatly. Ben Whishaw and Alex Jennings were both superb, but it’s Hugh Grant who deserves the most praise for a tremendous performance as Thorpe.
Series grade: A-
Series MVP: Hugh Grant
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment