'Gentleman Jack' Season 2, Episode 6 Recap: “I Can Be as a Meteor in Your Life”

Episode 6 of Gentleman Jack opens with Anne Lister striding through the streets of Halifax, on her way to visit her lawyer, Mr. Parker (Bruce Alexander). He has been instructed to demand a letter of apology from the editor of the second (and local to Halifax) newspaper who picked up the fake wedding announcement and ran it twice. Lister approves; this will put Ann’s mind at rest. Mr. Parker is becoming nervous about Anne’s ambitious plan to convert Northcote into a hotel and would be far happier if she sold the property to keep her debt manageable. It’s important, Lister says, because her plans will ensure the right sort of people—Tory voters—will move to the town. When he mildly points out that she’s getting into dangerous territory, trying to influence voters, she says without a hint of irony, “How dare anyone speak to me about intimidation.”

Parker also shares the news that the Lister family doctor, Mr. Sunderland, has died. According to Anne, it was gout of the stomach (whatever that is), but his sudden death was caused by being injured and trampled in the recent riots.

Anne returns home where almost everyone has taken to their bed for one reason or another. Aunt Lister is querulous and upset when she meets the new doctor, Dr. Jubb (Tony Turner). Anne’s father demands her presence, and she shuts a door in Marian’s face to deal with him. He has received a letter of congratulation in response to the wedding announcement, and he’s embarrassed and grumpy. It’s Lister’s fault, he says, for being so blatantly eccentric. In response, she gives her usual bracing advice to him to get out into the fresh air.