The 'Hotel Portofino' Season 2 Premiere Has Lush Landscapes, Troubled Romances & Return Guests

The second season of PBS’s Hotel Portofino kicks off with some stunning news: It seems the marriage of Lucian and Rose is not going well.

I know, I know. Who would have thought that an arranged marriage between two people who have absolutely nothing in common wouldn’t work out? Like you, I’m positively gobsmacked by this development.

But, my friends, things are worse than we could have ever predicted. Lucian and Rose have been married for five whole months and have yet to, how do you say this in a formal British way? “We haven’t been properly intimate. . . .She’s completely terrified. Rigid with fear.”” Lucian tells his mother Bella. Rose’s dastardly mother Julia (Lucy Akhurst) knows this too because she is getting reports from Mary, her “second best” maid that she has sent to work at Lucian and Rose’s house. My guess is that there is more to Rose’s story and her fear of sex.