A Sweet Romance Takes Center Stage as 'Belgravia: The Next Chapter' Begins

For some viewers, the idea of Belgravia: The Next Chapter likely arrives as something of a surprise. The next chapter of what, they might ask, having completely missed out on the original Belgravia despite its buzzy behind-the-scenes pedigree. (The series was one of creator Julian Fellowes' first projects after Downton Abbey wrapped.) Even those who saw the original might express some confusion about this sequel, given that Belgravia wasn't especially popular when it aired back in 2020. Its story, about a secret illegitimate child and the families that conspire to keep his true identity from him, was overly convoluted and strangely boring. And while it featured some great performances from its central actresses (Harriet Walter, Tamsin Grieg, Alice Eve), it wasn't particularly compelling television. Mercifully, however, Belgravia: The Next Chapter does its level best to correct many of its predecessor's mistakes and, if its first episode is anything to go by, will be a much more entertaining ride. 

The bones of the original series---secret pregnancies, illegitimate children, long-kept family secrets, and infidelity, all set in nineteenth century London's most affluent district---are the stuff that storytelling dreams are made of, so the choice to skip the drama ahead three decades and try again by picking up with the next generation of characters is honestly a no-brainer. For those who watched Belgravia, there are certainly small connections and callbacks to the original material, but knowledge of the first series is absolutely not necessary. The premiere episode fills in all the backstory about the show's present-day characters you need to know, complete with some handy new flashback sequences. 

Ultimately, that's probably what sets this second chapter apart from its predecessor, at least initially. Its first episode is much more character than plot driven, allowing us to get a feel for (almost) every major player and their relationships with one another before the larger story kicks in. (Save for whaver is happening with the Duke of Rochester's family, which sort of feels as though it's happening on its own show.) And by tightening its focus to a central quartet of characters who already share histories with one another, the story immediately feels much more propulsive too. 

Most of the show's first episode is dedicated to settling up its central romance, between Frederick Trenchard (Benjamin Wainwright) and Clara Dunn (Harriet Slater). He's the product of Susan's (Alice Eve) disastrous affair with John Bellasis (Adam James) in the first series, an illegitimate son Oliver (Richard Goulding) raised as his own despite his objections about the boy's parentage. Given younger brother James's (Toby Regbo) existence, it appears that Oliver somehow did manage to somehow have a son despite his wife's alleged inability to have children, a backstory that, if the flashbacks here are anything to go by, we'll certainly see more of over the course of this season. 

Clara, for her part, is a newcomer to London, still reeling with grief over her father's death as her family struggles to adapt to their new reduced circumstances. Frederick first takes note of Clara after she sings at a party, and he's immediately enraptured with her. To its credit, the show does at least attempt to justify their meet-cute courtship, despite the speed at which it unfolds. While the pair are indeed married within the first episode's first fifteen minutes, we get to see the two of them going riding together, having genuine conversations, and going for long walks (with a chaperone, of course) They seem to actually like one another in a way we rarely get the chance to see in shows like this. And Wainwright and Slater have a sweetly charming chemistry with one another, too.

It certainly doesn't hurt that Frederick is rich enough that he doesn't have to care about Clara's lack of dowry, reduced financial circumstances, or embarrassingly pushy mother, and the pair are almost ridiculously easy to root for. It makes for such a nice change from the original series, which opened with a doomed romance between a young woman and a total dirtbag and featured a central love story that rivaled paint drying. 

It's also clear from pretty early on that although the newlywed Trenchards are quite besotted with one another, they will face plenty of drama in their married life. Frederick is weirdly paranoid and has a surprising controlling streak, judging Clara for accepting a caricature from a cheesy hotel artist on their Italian honeymoon, trying to keep her from walking about on her own, and hiring his own choice for her new lady's maid without asking for her input. Thankfully, Davison (Elaine Cassidy) seems loyal and awesome, but that was more due to a lucky break than Frederick's skill at selecting staff.

The emotional and physical abuse detailed in the first episode's flashbacks goes some way to explaining why Frederick is the way he is. It's clear his father, Oliver, never truly got over the truth of his parentage and spent most of the young boy's life bullying him for it. We see snippets of him being verbally belittled— Oliver calls him unloveable to his face at one point — and physically assaulted, even as his father displays a clear preference for his younger brother. Admittedly, it's difficult to watch in places, but it certainly doesn't excuse the way he treats everyone else in his life. 

Things take a dark turn when Frederick completely loses it over a completely innocuous conversation Clara has with the Marquise D'Étagnac (Claude Perron) during a party. He accuses Clara of laughing at him, of purposefully humiliating him, of trying to ruin the professional reputation he's spent a lifetime trying to protect, and all manner of obvious delusion. She's rightfully furious and storms off, only to fall down the stairs as Frederick chases after her. A doctor is summoned and Clara's ordered to rest and see him again in two days, but something seems broken between the young couple that will likely take much longer to mend.

The future of Clara and Frederick's relationship in the wake of her accident is not the only thing this first episode of Belgravia: The Next Chapter leave us wondering about. There's a subplot about the Duke and Duchess of Rochester (Miles Jupp and Sophie Winkleman), who are trying to hide the fact that their young son and heir has epilepsy is much less interesting and scandalous than the show seems to think it is, and generally feels like the casual abuse that came to color so much of young Frederick's life. Perhaps nice young Doctor Ellerby (Edward Bluemel) will figure out a way to let the poor kid be something more than a prisoner in his own home. 

Clara's sister Emily (Hannah Onslow) has become enraptured by the vicar of her new church, who just so happens to be James Trenchard, brother of her sister's new husband. Determined to ingratiate herself to him, she offers to help a poor young woman attempts suicide by throwing herself in front of a carriage. (Emily, for the record, does not particularly come off as the dedicated church-going type, but I suppose women have pretended to be worse things to catch a man's attention.). 

The show is cagey throughout the premiere about just what drove such a final wedge between James and Frederick, but neither man seems especially keen to talk about whatever inspired the break between them. Though James, to his credit, does at least visit at the Trenchard house to drop off a wedding gift, judging by the reaction from family butler Enright (Gerard Horan) this isn't something a polite present is going to mend. And it's clear that Davison and Frederick's valet Fletcher (Liam Garrigan) share some dark history from a previous place of employment, but beyond a hint that some awful violence befell Fletcher, the premiere doesn't reveal much more about their connection. (Davison promises not to tell his secret, because, again Davison is loyal and awesome.) 

In short, there's a lot going on, and everyone has secrets. Welcome back to Belgravia, folks.