'Gentleman Jack' Season 2, Episode 5 Recap: “A Lucky and Narrow Escape.”

It's the 1835 national election, and Halifax is in a state of unrest. Despite the passing of the 1832 Reform bill, which expanded the vote and regulated election procedures, the town is in an uproar. Tory (Conservative, "blue") candidate James Stuart-Wortley (Alex Bhat) faces a crowd of protestors who drown out his speech with blaring brass instruments. Lister, old school Tory that she is, sends Shibden Hall footman Matthew to entice tenants to vote Tory. But it's hard times, with freezing weather (we see Lister break the ice in a pitcher to wash her face) and quarterly rents due. Radical sympathies are strong, and their candidate is doing better than anticipated in the election. The Tories are in trouble, as are the Whigs, but win the election*.

(*This is fictional. You can see the 1835 Halifax election results here––the Whigs held their seat, but significantly, the Tories were just one vote ahead of the Radicals.)

At Shibden Hall, Aunt Lister's health is declining, and housekeeper Elizabeth, who has arthritis, can barely cope. After an unsuccessful and painful "manipulation" by their doctor, followed by a castor oil recommendation, Lister advises Elizabeth to visit her sister to rest but not before the housekeeper realizes that she can't afford to laze as others can. This is a reference to her Aunt, but Lister chooses not to take it as such, although both seem shaken and subdued by Elizabeth's rare outburst.