'Poldark' Recap: Season 5, Episode 2

Previously on Poldark: Ross’ former Army boss turned governor of Honduras, Ned Despard, is arrested for treason against the crown, because he was giving out land to freed slaves in the colonies and British businessman didn’t like that so much. Ross gets Ned out of jail with the help of both his wife Kitty, whose presence is causing something of a stir in London because she is black, and the British government itself, as a sort of payback for him saving the King’s life during an assassination attempt. (Yes. Really.) Also Ross may be a superspy now? I don’t know. Elsewhere, George is seeing visions of his dead wife, Morwena still fears all men, and the Cornwall locals are pushing for revolution against the rich.

The second episode of Poldark Season 5 reveals something that feels like it could be a major flaw in series’ final season. And that is that is appears to be ignoring the fact that it’s the show’s final season. Maybe creator Debbie Horsfield and I just have different opinions about what this show needs to do before it’s off our airwaves forever (or at least for a while, until they inevitably revisit it with the series’ second generation of characters). Because, this? Is not it.

I'm just going to put it out there - if there are only seven episodes of Poldark to go, I don’t care particularly much about the story of Ned Despard. Sure, his character is an intriguing historical footnote and also provides a brief window into Ross’ past during the war, but as a person, himself, he’s hardly relevant to the story we’ve been watching for the past four seasons. Which is why it’s so incredibly frustrating that the bulk of this episode is dedicated to him, his hatred for racist slave trader Hansen, and his search for the person who had him thrown in jail and nearly hanged.