'Gentleman Jack' Season 2, Episode 3 Recap: "Tripe All Over the Place, Presumably."
It’s morning, and Ann has a dreamy smile as the sunlight makes the red bed curtains glow. At breakfast, the Lister family is in cracking form. They’re discussing that newfangled fad, the railway. Marion is convinced the railway is unhealthy, causing headaches and biliousness with its outrageous speed of 15 miles per hour, and she adds that a cow exploded. Their father, Jeremy, wants details. A cow alone? Or the member of a herd, and if so, why that cow? “That must have made a mess,” Aunt Anne Lister comments, and after Lister condemns the story as tripe, he adds, “Tripe all over the place, presumably.”
It’s becoming clear to everyone that the railway will revolutionize the country and impact the future of England’s canal system, the primary system for the distribution of goods and raw materials. Not only that, but it looks like a general election is coming up. But today is when Lister and Ann visit all of the Walker family. They are both beautifully dressed for the occasion. Ann’s outfit, with a stupendous bonnet, is particularly delicious (and blue, the traditional color for brides of the period). Throughout this episode, Lister sports several gorgeous waistcoats and cravats. Similarly, the interior settings are carefully chosen, from the light, bright drawing rooms of the Halifax nouveau riche to the opulent luxury of Mariana’s home.
The two women regale the family with tales of foreign travel, particularly how Lister outwitted the French. She comments that if England’s radicals could see the misery and problems caused by the 1831 revolution in France, they might think twice. The pair visit another elderly, outspoken aunt, Mrs. Rawson (Sylvia Sims). Both women assure Mrs. Rawson that rumors about them have been greatly exaggerated. Lister is cheerful and charming and ignores her rudeness, inviting Shibden. But she is distracted as the visits wear on and consults her watch as they board their carriage. She is beginning to think very seriously about the railway.
