Round Two: The Pursuit of Love (Penultimate Episode)

The Pursuit of Love: Season 1, Episode 2 (B+)

This installment took us away from the large, chauvinistic home where Linda grew up and Fanny spent so much time, showing both women what the world had to offer and how not all of it lasted all that long. It wasn’t a surprise that Linda’s marriage to Tony was a failure from the beginning, but that’s partially because Linda needs excitement, which a life of stability and normalcy didn’t offer. Fighting with Tony over whether their daughter could eat cake was just the start of their problems, and meeting someone new meant an entirely different sort of rebellion. Going to help with the war effort put her in a place she hadn’t been before, and though she wasn’t exactly well-suited for the task, she did bring with it a sort of skill. That relationship didn’t last either, but the nice French man who saw her crying in the train station might have more to offer her now that she doesn’t know what to do with her life. Matthew banning her from the house for getting divorced was typically emphatic and cruel, as was him judging his son for fighting a second-class war when a first-class one would soon be available. I enjoyed Merlin’s description of his horse as being almost domesticated, just like Matthew. Merlin having Fanny give his dogs whiskey rather than water was another great moment, and though her life with Alfred isn’t nearly as fantastical, she still seems to be relatively happy. Seeing Emily Mortimer’s the Bolter again was a wonderful treat too.