'Mr. Selfridge' Episode 2 Brings a Beauty Product Debate

Mr. Selfridge 's second episode, is stuffed full of debates over beauty products, scandalous affairs, flirting, and all manner of drama. Clearly, Harry Selfridge works fast. Last week, he sent Ellen a key to the new flat he’d gotten her as a “Thanks for having an affair with me” present. (Is there a greeting card for that?) This week, they seem fairly firmly ensconced in it. Our episode opens with Selfridge lounging on one of Ellen’s new sofas, watching her theoretically “rehearse” a song from her show, sporting what appears to be a nightdress and a feather boa. It also seems safe to assume that Miss Love did not achieve her current level of celebrity by virtue of her stellar singing voice.

Ellen prances around, caterwauling some song about honeysuckles and honeybees, and it’s all very double entendre-laden. She pulls Selfridge up to dance with her, and they start chasing each other around her new flat until they end up in bed. Some time later, Ellen’s putting herself back together at her dressing table, and Selfridge – now unfortunately shirtless and reclining against her headboard – is saying how much he loves to watch her do her makeup and asking about her past as a showgirl. Ellen shares a story about how she landed her big break and changed her name, which is somewhat interesting given how calculated it seems. Anyway, Selfridge isn’t interested so much in Ellen’s stories anymore and drags her back to bed.

(Also from the shallow end: Goodness, but Zoe Tapper has the most gorgeous hair.)