'The Forsytes' Sets Pride to Goeth Before a Fall

The men are not doing okay in the world of The Forsytes, and it looks like they're about to make it everyone's problem.

Technically, the season's fourth episode isn't actually all that exciting for its own sake; it feels more set-up focused than an hour this late in the season probably should. But considering it's an episode that leaves everyone in various stages of precarious near-collapse, both emotionally and reputationally speaking, at least we can all hope that the payoff, when it comes, will be worth it.

That's not just because it would be a good storytelling move, by the way. It's because some of these men really need to be taken down a peg or two, or at least face some consequences for anything ever. Not even Jolyn, Sr., manages to make it through this episode entirely unscathed — what do you mean he and James once fought over a girl neither of them married?? — though he remains firmly entrenched in his position as the best man the Forsyte family has to offer.

(Unless and until that nice Phillip the architect maybe marries into it, I guess.)

The overarching problem with most of these men is fairly simple: Nothing about any of them is nuanced. The show can't seem to view Jo as anything other than an ideal romantic hero, so his actions are treated as correct, even when they are objectively terrible. Soames is so overtly villain-coded that even his most sincere moments automatically feel fake and untrustworthy. As for James... well, James desperately needs a hobby that isn't obsessing over his nephew.