'Belgravia' Episode 3 Somehow Makes Bribing & Blackmail Boring

Part of the reason the third episode of Belgravia feels a bit lackluster is simply the fact that the series’ two best characters are largely absent from it. It’s not that Caroline and Anne are particularly heroic or good people. But they’re at least complex enough to make good television. However, Lady Brockenhurst only appears briefly, having tea with Charles and providing grist for the high society rumor mill about who this random cotton merchant might happen to be. Any episode in which Harriet Walters only gets roughly two scenes is offensive to me, mainly when she plays the character that holds a large piece of this plot together.

Anne Trenchard also gets very little to do this week save to give her husband a small fraction of the dressing down he deserves for keeping his relationship with their grandson a secret. It’s an intensely satisfying moment to watch, though it doesn’t go on quite long enough for my taste, so hopefully, that is something we’ll get to come back to at some point. Specifically, James still has yet to apologize for what may be up to a decade’s worth of lying to his wife or even admit that seeking out and befriending Charles was maybe something he shouldn’t have done and was, at its heart, a profoundly selfish action.

Maybe it’s just me, but watching him throw the potential ruin of Sophia’s reputation in his wife’s face is utterly infuriating, as is his “a relationship with our grandchild for me, but not for thee” attitude. Shut up, James. You’re only saved from being the worst character on this show by the fact that John Bellasis exists.