softschofield - Tumblr blog

softschofield · 3 years ago

Text

a list of every time george’s first instinct was compassion, empathy, and justice, often quite naïvely and childishly, but he forced it down and repressed it to fit in, be accepted, and be the person his parents and uncle raised him to be to advance the family name - and the few times the kindness won out:

“you know, the ironic thing is i don’t have an opinion either way. i was just following instructions”

“burying his daughter”

“do you think we’re actually going to wait for evidence?”

“won’t it reflect badly on us that his pleas fell on deaf ears”

“you can’t expect them to celebrate the closure”

“all men created equal” - doesn’t nod along or agree with the next lines of it being preposterous; also doesn’t agree with the need to keep the distinction between the gentry and the vulgars - he does later on, but for now he’s painfully aware that if that distinction had been kept absolutely rigid, he and his family would never have been given the chance to rise in the world and they would still be considered vulgars. as it stands, he’s a parallel to demelza - betwixt and between, neither one nor the other; too fancy to skivvy, too common to curtsy.

sentencing the girl to prison for perjury. judging by his reaction to first being told of who’s nephew the assailant was - realisation, guilt, sadness - you know that if this case were brought before him at any other time, he’d sentence the man and protect the girl. he knows what he’s doing is wrong; he knows he’s being used to free a guilty man; he’s uncomfortable and upset about it; but he does it, because it’s the way to get ahead, and he has to do favours for powerful men.

“so these experiments do happen?” - he’s in over his head, he’s overwhelmed, he’s gotten in with these bad men who are more violent and extreme than he is and now he’s caught up and having to play along when really he’s frightened and horrified

george’s whole character arc really is just repressing his first instincts of compassion, empathy, and justice, which are often surprisingly naïve and childish given he was never properly socialised or raised and taught to force down his emotions to further the family name, and getting himself into situations where he’s in over his head and surrounded by men who are far more violent, twisted, and extreme than he is and having to play along because now he’s stuck in this dangerous situation where he’s frightened and often horrified by their opinions and actions but he can’t get out. like, george is petty, conniving, and he can be violent through hired assailants - but most everything he does is small scale. when he was trapped in deep with hanson and merceron, he was terrified.

2 notes · View notes

softschofield · 3 years ago

Text

y’all: george hates women

george:

states multiple times that it is a personal point for him that elizabeth must be consulted about business decisions, even the ones that won’t directly impact her, and that her opinion is important to him

allows her genuine freedom in their marriage, is happy to hear that she has an active social life and friends in london, and, rather than being threatened by her sexuality and the effect she has on men, proudly boasts that she has “charmed the breeches” off his business associates for their own ends and of her own accord

involves her as an equal in his schemes and values her ideas and thoughts

genuinely recognises how harmful his jealousy has been, apologises to her and holds himself accountable instead of pulling a “i’m too good for you” psychological manipulation guilt-tripping trick a la ross, and actually changes his behaviour - and, after her death, realises she had died trying to recreate the conditions of the first birth and holds himself fully responsible for putting her in a position where she felt she had to do that

recognises her intelligence, business sense, political adeptness, and humour - something none of the other male characters have ever done

is consistently shown to admire her - but not to put her on a harmful pedestal

is physically affectionate in public, but not overbearing or smothering - and in private, he mostly waits for her to make the first move so she doesn’t feel uncomfortable

ardently hopes for a daughter, despite the fact girls held little worth, and is joyful when ursula is born

never once puts a female servant in an uncomfortable or threatening situation, and is consistently shown to treat bessie with genuine respect, friendliness, and kindness

is utterly faithful to elizabeth - the only husband in the show to be so

when he’s courting elizabeth during her marriage to francis, he doesn’t pressure, threaten, or try to force himself on her - he simply puts it on in the open that he has feelings for her and leaves it to her to follow him up on it if she so chooses

during her second pregnancy, far from being the average husband who took a hands-off role and chalked it up to women’s business, he tells elizabeth he’ll be at her beck and call for anything she needs or desires

is shown to be regretful and physically upset by the fact he has to sentence a girl to prison for a crime he knows full well she didn’t commit and allow a man he knows is guilty to go free. george gets himself into these situations with bad people where he’s in well over his head and can’t back out, we know this, he can’t say no - but though it by no means excuses it, he clearly felt guilty about it and knew what he was doing was wrong. same thing with the bet he placed on whether or not monk could sleep with demelza - it was a classic “you’re popular and i wanna be popular so i’m gonna put myself into positions i’m not comfortable being in and laughed along with stuff i’m actually disgusted by so you’ll like me and think i’m cool”

his relationship with elizabeth slowly evolves from her being so reluctant and so unhappy that she numbs herself with drugs just to cope with being married to someone she doesn’t want and doesn’t love and only accepted because she was sacrificing herself for the good of her son - to a healthy, genuine love where she is respected, where she feels genuinely attracted to george and freely initiates sex (something we’ve never seen her do because her past experiences with sex have been so unpleasant and usually forced on her) (because she’s a mirror of everything men want her to be and what they project onto her, not ever herself - until george), where she smiles more than we’ve ever seen her, where her talents and mind are being appreciated, where she can finally blossom and feel valued, where she is happy. she’s a female character who is happiest when she’s in a romantic relationship, who craves intimacy and companionship, who wants to be domestic - and that’s valid. but not only does george give her all of that, but with him, she’s also made to feel important and considered - she’s in a powerful position where she can finally let her own mind shine and speak up; she has her freedom; she’s given a voice. not only does she get what she’s always wanted - she gets more, gets things she never even allowed herself to wish for. it’s a beautiful depiction of slowly falling in love and it’s the most healthy, equal, and functional romantic relationship in the entire show - and this is coming from someone (me) who suffered through an abusive relationship that was founded on unfounded and destructive jealousy and possessiveness.

y’all: unlike ROSS

ross:

took sexual advantage of the power imbalance between a 13-year-old girl who was his servant and himself as her master, and married her. demelza was 13 when he took her on as his scullery maid, and barely any older when he slept with her. i cannot empathise that enough. he calls her ‘child’

raped elizabeth, and directly caused her death because of it

gaslit demelza for being understandably hurt and angered by him cheating on her, and framed it as being her fault for over-reacting

doesn’t consult demelza on anything, even things that directly effect her life and the lives of her children, and frequently underestimates her capabilities and intelligence, to her detriment

“your place is where i say it is”

“you’re not required to understand it [their relationship], you’re required to accept it as a fact of life”

brings up hugh when demelza is grieving for julia after sarah’s death

uses tess for his own personal gain, never apologises to demelza for cheating on her a second third time, and cruelly blames tess for falling for him when the ruse is over and he no longer needs her

unhealthily idolises elizabeth solely for her looks and the image he’s painted of her in his mind, and never sees or appreciates her actual personality and mind

instead of recognising that demelza is silently begging to be rescued from this social situation because she feels frightened and threatened, he blames demelza for leading monk on and putting herself in a situation where she could almost be sexually assaulted. he literally says it was her fault that monk got the wrong idea

he literally gaslights her again and tells her it was her fault for how she was treated in london because she’s an uncultured country girl, i cannot make that any clearer

is literally never there for his wife and children when they need him

helps a man who murdered his wife out of jealousy flee the country so he won’t go to prison

blames keren for being murdered

like francis made elizabeth miserable by placing her on an unobtainable pedestal and thinking her so out of his league, only reachable by ross, despite the fact she was his wife and she was ready to care for him (side note: in the first season, before and just after her marriage to francis, elizabeth has hobbies - the harp, reading, needlework, walks; she quickly loses them after her marriage), ross made her miserable by simultaneously worshipping her for superficial reasons as this idol he’s created in his head rather than the person she actually is, and condemning her for qualities he’d projected onto her (“she saw his house, his name, his mine”). george alone sees her true personality and character and values her for it

makes demelza miserable with his constant jealousy and mistrust

causes a huge fuss whenever they go to a party or social gathering that demelza wants to go to, asks to leave even if she’s having fun and clearly wants to stay with her friends, and takes it for granted that they won’t go in the first place even if she clearly wants to. make no mistake: that’s not cute, relatable introversion - that’s abuse

george: you’re a goddess and if you never anything whatsoever during your pregnancy i will do anything to get it for you, you deserve the world, please let me get you some cake in bed. ross, after bringing up a plate of breakfast to demelza once while she’s heavily pregnant: is there anything else your ladyship needs

also ross’ entire classism where he can get away with things commoners would hang for and act out and show no remorse because he has an ancient family name and an unshakeable position in society, and the fact that his interest in the peasants is just a hobby and he treats them like pets, and he bullied the grandson of a vulgar who was daring to try and rise above his station and make something of himself, while simultaneously raising a common girl into the position of a lady and giving demelza everything he condemns george for

there are just so many times my jaw dropped at the screen because of ross’ blatant misogyny, i genuinely cannot remember them all. but they’re disgusting

1 note · View note

softschofield · 3 years ago

Text

honestly, i think people don’t give cary warleggan and his relationship with george enough credit

like, lemme rant:

when george was born, cary was 19. he was a child, a younger brother. now, their relationship seems to me like george fell into george’s care at some point in his childhood/adolescence - george’s mother was alive until he was at least nine years old, at which point cary would have been 28; so, by the time george was presumably orphaned, cary would have been anywhere between that age and his 30s. he never married, he never had children of his own, he was in his older brother’s shadow in relation to the running of the bank and inheritance - he was never expected to step up. he was never put into a position where he had to care about anyone but himself - and i don’t mean that in a selfish way, i mean he literally had no one in his life he had to take care of.

and now, suddenly, he had this nephew he had to raise and care for. maybe he’d had a positive relationship with george before then, maybe they’d always had a stiff and aloof relationship - cary certainly doesn’t seem comfortable around children, or around emotions and intimacy in general, so i’m willing to bet it was the latter. “ah, here, boy, happy birthday [awkwardly shoves a poorly wrapped present at little george without looking at him” kinda relationship.

and now, he was his sole carer. now, he had to step up and be a parent. and i’m willing to bet cary did step up - that he genuinely tried. george hadn’t just lost his parents, he’d lost his brother - they were all the other had left. we’ve seen cary around a child with valentine - and even though he was mostly gruff and grouchy and dismissive, there was one scene where we saw a hint of begrudging tenderness and care: when george is hallucinating and cary intervenes, takes valentine’s hand, and leads him up the stairs to bed. it’s gruff, it’s stiff, it’s grumbling - but it’s love.

and that’s most likely what his relationship with george was like. he cared for him, he loved him - but he didn’t know how to raise a child, didn’t want to raise a child, didn’t know how to show it. but he would have tried to be good to him and for him - doesn’t mean it worked, doesn’t mean he was good, but he would have tried, much as emotionally-repressed-uncomfortable-with-feelings cary warleggan could have. they probably had this strange, semi-equal relationship where they would have been sitting together on the couch awkwardly watching tv and eating microwaveable dinners in silence if this was set in modern times. because cary is scheming, he’s clever, he’s quite alright in social situations when it comes to adults - but he’s unbelievably awkward with softness and feelings.

i can absolutely imagine him having some tender moments with george when he was a child - stiffly patting his back when he was grieving for his parents, making sure the cooks know george’s favourite foods (i can absolutely see cary’s love language being making sure george is comfortable and cared for and giving him things, because he can’t do the physical or verbal affection thing but he can make sure he feels like he belongs here), awkwardly pointing out the deers in cardew’s gardens to george because they’ve gone for a walk together but cary doesn’t know how to speak to children, playing with him when he was a baby but in a really stiff, uncomfortable way like “uh, how are you today, nephew?” and holding his hands and helping him do that baby walk - but mostly it would have been i do love you and i expect you love me too but i don’t really know how to be around a child and also i’m uncomfortable with mourning so even though we’re both sad we’ll have to cope.

and far from seeing cary’s arc in season 5 as cruel, i see it as incredibly tender - he just didn’t know how to express it, didn’t know what to do. he was panicked. he trusted a doctor because doctors are experts and doctors are supposed to know. he was genuinely trying to help george, seemed genuinely concerned and sickened by and uncomfortable with the doctor’s methods (“this is inhuman”) - to the point that he fired him, sought dwight’s help despite his close association with ross, and fully endorsed and allowed his recommendation of kindness and patience. he didn’t want his nephew to suffer - he loved him. he just didn’t know what to do - and when he was finally offered a solution that was kind, he leapt at it, gave dwight free reign, because he was relieved his nephew didn’t have to be in pain anymore.

george and cary’s relationship is one i love very, very deeply - because they’re different personalities from different eras, because cary’s accent is still a cornish peasant accent (side note: and since george’s cousin, the son of george’s mother’s sister, has the same accent, we know both of george’s parents had it too, so it’s even more remarkable that he’s managed to curate the accent he has), because he’s still rough around the edges where george is polished and refined, because they irritate each other endlessly, because, at the end of the day, there is genuine care there. but rather than it being the father-son relationship that we’re more familiar with, it’s a sort of strange, mismatched older brother relationship - because cary isn’t a parent, he’s barely even an uncle: he was a little brother who was suddenly handed his older brother’s son and forced to raise him. and he did, as best he could. he gave him love, as best he could.

he was a bachelor, a second son, no prospects, just looking out for himself and living his own life - and now suddenly he was moving into cardew and being given a whole estate to look after and being handed a child to raise to adulthood. and i love that strange relationship. i’ve never seen it in any other piece of media. they don’t fit each other at all, if george’s parents had lived cary would have just been this bizarre uncle at christmas dinners who didn’t understand children at all - but they were forced together, and they tolerate and care for each other in this odd, incredibly complex way that only the two of them understand. and i love it so much.

and, the way they interact? without words? the way cary gently nudges george’s arm with his finger during ned’s trial to share a little look with him? that’s what i live for

and cary carried that final season. to me, he was a truly standout performance. those panicked attempts to keep the relationship with hanson afloat while george was talking to bessie like she was elizabeth, while george was scraping furniture around and screaming upstairs? absolutely fucking magnificent. the devil works hard but cary warleggan works harder. forgetting how upsetting and traumatic the whole plotline actually was, cary’s performance was equal parts genuinely touching - “nephew, it’s your uncle” - and hilarious. as far as i’m concerned, he was the star of that season, and he outshone even george. it was wonderful to see him finally have to step up and take over the business again when he’d gotten so used to letting george take the reins.

i also love that the warleggans seem to have a much more friendly relationship with their servants than any of the other upperclass families. we know them all by name - cardy, bessie, lucy - and george and cary are both consistently lovely and respectful to them, even in that panicked moment where cary guides lucy away from the front door. he could have called her “girl”, could have just said “more” or “off with you” - but his voice is kind, he calls her by her name, he handles her gently, i just. i love it. it would be so easy for the warleggans to be twice as dismissive of and cruel to their servants because they’re trying to overcompensate and assert themselves and distance themselves in every way possible from the lower classes, and instead they’re genuinely kind. it’s fucking heartwarming.

anyway, tl;dr: i love cary and george’s relationship and it’s valid.

7 notes · View notes

softschofield · 3 years ago

Text

Broke: George warleggan is a bad guy because hes rich and powerful.

Woke: George warleggan suffers from the rigidly enforced class system in 18th century England just as much as everyone else does. hes shunned by the upper class for not being born into it as they were and hes shunned by the lower class because he doesn’t face the same struggles they do. much like demelza he is betwix and between because dispite having wealth he will never belong with the rich in their eyes. but unlike demelza the viewers are expected to hate him for trying but demelza’s same struggles are praised for her efforts. the show has a problem of depicting people who arent as noble as ross almost deserving ridicule for trying to fit in with the much hated aristocracy, as in the case with Georges bullying by ross as a child. George does not have the choice ross does; if he doesnt fit in perfectly he’ll be a pariah, where as Ross old name gives him leeway to disregard social rules and still come out on top. this isnt to say that George isnt a classist man, rather he cant get away with it in the viewers eyes in a way that ross can. Ross himself calls george an “upstart” but its never addressed or talked about even though were expected to see ross as the most moral character in the show. its very unfair to tar George with the classist brush without addressing ross’s own classiest notions towards the aristocracy . good and bad exist in all classes (ie mercron and hanson, jacka and Tess) and i feel the show missed a golden opportunity to dispel some notions in both George and ross mind about what the lower and upper classes are really like.

#yes!!!!!!!#ross loves the peasants - so long as they stay true to their own class and don't try to rise above their station. then he'll turn on them #he preaches that he's the friends of the masses and so above the vain flippancy of his own class #and yet if any peasant starts to get airs he'll strike them down #and honestly so much of it is for show and so that he can feel good about how superior he is - which is perfectly demonstarted #*demonstrated by the fact he never once talks to a servant except in an aggressive and condescending way where he is clearly above them #he treats peasants like his pets and dolls so he can feel good about being so loved by the illiterate and uncouth masses #but god forbid they should aspire to something more than a life of scraping by and servitude - then he'll put toads in their breeches #he can break the law and insult who he wants and fuck up a thousand times over - and he'll never face any real consequences because of #his family name. and yet he never once recognises that - and if he's given the chance to use that family name for the good of the lower #classes he'll shun it and let them suffer just so he's not tainted by the brush of the aristocracy from which he benefits but which he #thinks himself so above #his hypocrisy is incredible #i am so so happy this post exists because i've been thinking it the entire time THANK YOU OP #poldark #anyway ross is sullen garbage and a rapist and i hate him more than i could ever say #and also he married a 13 year old and took advantage of the disgusting power imbalance between them as her master #and his whole 'you know i could call them back in an instance' threat to george - he uses them like attack dogs #he knows full well he wouldn't be the one to hang - it would be all of them #*instant #IN CONCLUSION: GOOD POST OP

69 notes · View notes

softschofield · 3 years ago

Text

things i would have added to or changed about poldark:

george gutting trenwith and transforming it into the light, airy, gilded, sunshiney aesthetic he clearly loves (cardew, warleggan bank). make it yours, honey

demelza making a move on george at that party after ross cheated on her - what better way to get back at him than by fooling around with his sworn nemesis, and, in george’s case, his wife? one stone, many birds. it would have been iconic. like, i love that part of george’s character is his faithfulness, but nonetheless: iconic. and he’s beautiful. get it, sweetie

verity in lisbon. how hard would it have been to have one scene of her writing a letter or arranging flowers in her room, or walking with her stepchildren through a harbour-side market and smiling and laughing and chatting with them? it’s what she deserved

a big reveal that george’s accent is actually lower class cornish and he’s just been faking the posh one. where did he learn the posh one anyway??? uncle cary certainly doesn’t have it and i doubt his parents did either. just let it slip, or have him drop it when he’s talking to cary. what a character building twist

consequences for ross’ fucking actions. when will you learn!!!!!!!!!!

the entire last season, and especially the finale. but to start with: the final season. if they wanted the slavery plot, brilliant - put kitty and cecily centre stage and cut ned entirely. i think it’s fairly safe to say very few people gave one single fuck about ned, and he took up so much time that could have been used for giving caroline a worthwhile plot that wasn’t some vague jealousy, and concentrating more on george’s mental illness. if they were absolutely determined to put ned in it, they should have swapped the timelines and put the final season plot into, say, season four. the entire last season felt rushed and messy and inconsequential, and honestly? cary carried so much of it.

poldark’s formula was that every season was essentially insular and self-contained - new characters were introduced in the first episode of the season, a villain was vanquished by the last, and one or two of the new characters stayed on, so that every season we collected new people who then became series regulars. it was a wonderful, fun formula, and it worked well. in the final season, there should have been no new characters introduced. we already had all these lives we’d collected over the seasons - ross, demelza, george, morwenna, caroline, dwight, drake, sam - and the last season should have been about them. about giving them a fitting plot and a satisfying ending. a final episode should mirror the values, sentiments, and aesthetics of the very first one, either in parallel or in contrast. and what makes poldark poldark is: cornwall, love, friendship, mining. it should have been about that. it should have tied in with the rest of the show. it should have been relevant.

instead, we got a french plot in the second to last episode and a dozen loose ends that had to be tied up in one single episode - which was mostly taken up by a sword fight, ross cheating on demelza but it’s okay because it’s For England even though i’ve always been a renegade and never particularly patriotic aside from being a soldier for what i assume are personal reasons, babies, napoleon, and 1801 MI5. the last episode was absurdly bad - because it had nothing whatsoever to do with the four seasons that had come before it. i mean, george appears in the barn a la t-rex in jurassic park, unseen and unheard, and hits both targets with two pistols - despite the fact ross said in a prior episode that he had always been a dismal shot, despite the fact he’s just had an injured arm, despite the fact he’s left-handed. every single character arc ended on a depressing or just entirely unworthy note. george leaving trenwith and seeing elizabeth going inside? is that supposed to be anything but achingly, horribly heartbreaking? is that supposed to be anything but “george is still struggling with his mental illness, but in a misguided attempt to move on he leaves the woman he loves in the house neither of them were ever supposed to be in and moves forward into an unhappy, broken future”? that scene where he “thinks aloud” and the audience is meant to be “ooooh my god is he still seeing her”? sickening. demelza being hurt for the thousandth time and then just immediately forgiving ross because it was for england? fuck that. fuck that so much. she deserved to be hurt and angry and move on from him, she deserved MORE. and ross leads tess on for six months, starts an affair, lets her fall for him, knows full well what he’s doing by using her - and then when she’s understandably wounded, he’s like “YOU STUPID THOT YOU BROUGHT IT ON YOURSELF STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY” AAAAAAHHHHHH

when george came to nampara the second time, after valentine asked him yet again about having his own mine, i thought he was going to ask ross to teach him about mining so he could bond with his son. adorable. sweet. when that didn’t happen, i thought he was going to tell ross and demelza that they were right, trenwith had always and would always be a poldark house, and now that he’s settling in truro and london (not cardew, for some reason), they could live at trenwith, where they were always supposed to be. when that didn’t happen, i thought he was going to relent and give permission for ross to have a relationship with valentine. but no. all we got, for the thousandth time, was “stay away from my son.”

i won’t even get into the female characters. they were done so dirty. when the show made the point of having the grandmother watching wenna saying goodbye to her son and smiling sadly, i didn’t think it was actually a goodbye - i thought she would show up at wenna’s cottage and grudgingly say she can come visit on weekends. but no. so what was the point of having the grandmother overhear at all??????? cecily loses her fortune, is forced back to the place she said she would rather die than return to and where her mother died, has her reputation in tatters - and geoffrey charles gets to have a happy ending and go back to military school. speaking of which, when he said that, considering a past plot point had been his lack of funds and the fact that he was attending on credit, i thought they were going to have a little scene where geoffrey charles admits george is finally paying for his studies, because they’re starting to build a relationship based on their mutual love for elizabeth and their loneliness, but no. again, i hoped for too much. i assumed they were actually trying to give an ending that made sense, that left characters with a brighter future, and that made audiences happy.

but, okay, let me spell out what i wanted for the final season - and, more importantly, the final episode:

the final season: cut ned, put kitty centre stage for the slavery plot, and cecily centre stage for the woman’s emancipation plot. that takes place in london. back in cornwall, go back to the show’s roots and return to mining. cut tess and any sort of human villain, and have the characters battling against the natural elements of the county. focus more on truro, on the red lion, on prudie, on jeffrey and clowance, on pascoe’s new baking venture - and have the peasants more spread out like they used to be, just not on one small set by the coast. amp up the fond nostalgia. bring all the old sets and locations back into it, including cardew. have a scene where someone sets flowers by henshawe’s grave. reopen wheal leisure. when we’re in cornwall, make it feel like it. take it all back to its roots. give demelza a worthwhile plot, and reunite morwenna with her son. take more time with her trauma plot in general - a promise by drake that he’ll never want a carnal relationship with her followed up a day later by disappointment on his part that he hasn’t gotten laid doesn’t cut it. so, that’s cornwall.

in london, put caroline to use. she knows everyone there is to know in high society; she’s independently wealthy; she’s cunning, articulate, strong-minded, and unbelievably powerful. use it. a perfect example, just for a tiny alteration, is the scene where a man spits at kitty - it wouldn’t be seemly for dwight to confront him, but caroline could: she, a powerful, untouchable aristocrat, could have cornered him and chewed him out without any repercussions or consequences. she’s the only truly upperclass character who is painted in a positive light - let her use her power and influence for good.

the final episode, but i’m focusing on george because he’s my favourite and also he was done so dirty: george’s hallucinations actually are gone and he’s started the process of healing. he and enys have started a positive, meaningful friendship. george helps ross in some different way - getting his hands dirty and going into a mine for the first time to rescue him, for example; imagine george in a cramped tunnel, covered in black dirt and sweat, terrified, clothes ruined, saving ross’s life: powerful - and their dynamic changes to a strange friendship that stays like that. george is clearly changed - he’s kinder, fairer, more mellow - but they keep up pretences for the fun of it. a scene in the red lion to demonstrate this - they have a confrontation (”oh, hello, ross - [bitchy comment]”), turns into a bit of verbal sparring, they clearly still hate each other for old time’s sake but there’s a hint of a smile and they both know they’re secretly fond of each other. they don’t go so far as to actually sit down for a drink together - they still go to their separate tables and their separate lives - but you know. it’s a healthier relationship.

a scene in the graveyard - geoffrey charles is leaving flowers, george comes up behind, hesitates a moment, then finally joins him; it’s awkward and they’re both bristling for a little bit, but finally george begrudgingly tells him he’ll fund his military training. cut to another scene - they’re both in trenwith. it’s still awkward, they’re still expecting something bad from the other, but their hackles aren’t quite so raised. finally, bessie enters the drawing room with francis’ portrait. george has it hung back in its old place above the fireplace. it’s a soft moment between george and geoffrey charles - the beginning of a reconciliation, an understanding, an apology. they both gaze up at the portrait for a moment. finally, george offers him a drink. geoffrey charles accepts. it’s the beginning of a gentler relationship and the ending of a mutually painful animosity.

george goes to nampara and asks to be taught about mining; ross agrees. when george leaves trenwith, it’s a quiet, joyful, powerful moment of healing and moving on. in the carriage, he has ursula on his lap and valentine sitting beside him with the miniature portrait of elizabeth. george puts his arm around him, a little uncomfortable at first with the tenderness but settling into it, they smile at each other, he starts to talk about mining. as they drive away from trenwith, george and valentine are too absorbed in their own newfound closeness and gentle conversation to look back. from the upstairs window, elizabeth watches them go with a smile.

in the truro townhouse, the household is busy preparing to move to london. suddenly, a knock at the front door. it’s demelza, dishevelled and frenzied and smiling - they need all hands on deck to bring in the harvest. george resists at first (“me?”), valentine begs to go, he finally relents - and it’s a throwback to the harvesting scene in the beginning of the show. the final scene: music over a montage. all the main characters are helping in the wheat field. it’s soft, sunny, and beautiful. george, in just his shirt sleeves and breeches, is laughing and free, helping pile wheat onto the cart and playing with valentine - chasing him around, picking him up and spinning him around, both of them are smiling. caroline and dwight are throwing stalks of wheat at each other and laughing, caroline’s hair a mess and she’s pretending to care about it, demelza runs up behind her and showers her in wheat, caroline is melodramatically incensed, demelza is laughing, caroline swears revenge and chases after her, female friendships deserve the world. demelza and ross have some stupid romantic moment, like kissing with the sun as a halo behind them. morwenna, her son, and all the school children help (morwenna and her son share a sweet moment), as does rosina and prudie and kitty and geoffrey charles. cary watches at the edge of the field with his arms crossed and a disapproving (but secretly fond) sneer on his face. all the characters are together - draw back to show the cliffs and the sea in the background - fade to black. everyone is set on their path of healing. everyone is where they should be. the french don’t exist. also squeeze george meeting harriet in there somewhere, and for the first time in two years he feels soft and healed enough to begin to love again, slowly, patiently. EVERYTHING IS GOOD, EVERYONE IS HAPPY, GIVE ME A SIMPLE, ORDINARY ENDING INSTEAD OF SOME SORT OF CHAOS WHERE TOO MANY SENSELESS, MEANINGLESS SUBPLOTS WITH NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST OF THE SHOW OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS ARE CRAMMED IN. I’D RATHER BE UNDERWHELMED AND DISAPPOINTED BY THE SIMPLICITY THAN OVERWHELMED AND GIVEN A HOLLOW, FRENZIED, OVERDRAMATIC NOTHING - but, better yet, give us happiness by giving the characters happiness. thanks for coming to my ted talk

10 notes · View notes

softschofield · 3 years ago

Text

reasons i absolutely adore cary warleggan:

he is ready to switch his allegiances and his opinions and his direction in an instant if it’s what’s best for george and their little family. does that make him disloyal, dishonourable? no. it means he puts george ahead of everything and everyone, and will cut ties with someone he personally likes and believes in or a cause he’s backed for years if it will give george the best advantage and keep him safe. george always comes first - and rather than that turning him resentful or bitter, he seems utterly accepting of it

he never tries to push his own agenda, and never once uses george’s power, wealth, or influence for himself and his own gain. his pursuit of betterment is purely for george and his children. with the level of influence the warleggan name now yields, cary could find himself a powerful young heiress; could live lavishly and squander their money away; could be a drain on george and his resources; could push for a title of his own and his own position of power in parliament or otherwise, could make a nuisance of himself, could use george as a puppet for his own means and direct him towards decisions that will favour him, could try to unseat him and become the head of the family - but he doesn’t. he’s more than happy to wear dingy clothes and a threadbare wig that went out of fashion thirty years ago and hang around truro and waste away his own life, so long as he helps to advance george for his own future and the future of his family, for his happiness.

we never once have a scene with cary that doesn’t also include george, or which doesn’t happen in reference to george - if george doesn’t have a personal life, cary has even less of one. george is his life. before george came under his protection, cary was the second son, five years younger than his brother, unmarried and without issue, raised in a blacksmith’s hovel, never expecting to amount to anything or be someone - and he still isn’t. he isn’t expecting a knighthood or an illustrious future: all he can do is ensure that george has one, that george has something better than he started with. having george gave him purpose, gave him a mission, and he won’t stop until his nephew’s happiness and future are ensured

he’s more than happy to let george take the lead, because he recognised long ago that he’s the one with the brilliant mind. his support and guidance are still there whenever george falters and feels the need to look to him, but otherwise he utterly trusts george’s capabilities

he laughs at every single one of george’s jokes when no one else does, and whenever george needs reassurance he’ll look at cary and cary will have that big half-smile on his face. and the times that there’s obvious pride in those smiles are the best

adding on from that, whenever george glances at cary in a social situation, cary always looks back. doesn’t matter if his attention was elsewhere - if george looks his way, cary senses it and meets his gaze, whether it be to just share an understanding glance, or smile back at him, or silently laugh along with him, or offer an assurance that he’ll close ranks with him. and, really, his attention is hardly ever elsewhere because it’s always on george to start with

he instinctively offers george things like drinks on his left side, because he knows he’s left handed. everyone else, even ross, always directs things towards george’s right side. it’s just those tiny little things, those silent expressions of intimacy and understanding and affection, that kill me

that bit in season 5 where cary cracks the joke about george’s marriage to cecily hopefully being less bloody than ned’s execution and george just looks over his shoulder with this slow, reproachful “uncle” sort of look. and that bit in season 4 or w/e where cary has his wig on george’s desk at the bank and is noisily picking his teeth and george is just glowering at him with this quiet, seething rage. they’re moments that can only come from a close relationship - that ability to be annoyed with each other for stupid, petty reasons but still put up with it because you love the other person - and i adore it

cary is so often willing to make a fool of himself and paint himself as the out-of-touch blacksmith’s son of poor breeding to position george in a more positive and refined light. like that bit during geoffrey charles’ christening celebration where cary makes the loud comment about whatever it is and george reproaches him equally loudly for it not being elegant talk - they clearly know ross is standing three feet away and you cannot convince me they hadn’t planned it all before they arrived, like “okay, you say something rude and i’ll call you out on it so everyone will think i’m a cultured gentleman, especially ross” “got it”

they have this unspoken understanding of each other that outshines any close relationship in the whole show. all the looks they share with each other in every single scene they’re in together with other people. that scene in london in season 5 where cary is finishing each of george’s sentences, and they’re looking at each other with this... conniving sort of affection, like they’re enjoying this closeness just as much as they’re enjoying the prospect of what they’re envisaging? that scene in the same season, after george’s reputation has taken a tumble, when cary picks up on george’s unspoken discomfort and suggests going back to cornwall, and george looks up at him, so relieved, like there’s a physical weight off his shoulders, and goes, “today?”

despite it all, there’s still this tangible hierarchy in their relationship - not in the sense that cary has power over george, because he doesn’t (at least not after season 2 when george really begins to come into his own confidence and he no longer shrinks and submits to cary as he did in the early seasons whenever cary called him “boy” and reminded him he was still an inexperienced child however much he liked to believe otherwise), but because he’s still clearly the protector. despite everything, no matter how grand and powerful he becomes, and though he might pull a little at the reins every now and then, george still looks on cary as his guardian and both of them know that when push comes to shove, cary’s going to be the one to step up and defend his nephew. because as ill-suited as he might have been to raise a child, he did it, against all odds, and george is his boy.

#poldark #also so many feelings over the fact george just wanders back to talk to cary after he's spoken to francis at the christening celebration #in 1x03. like there's so many people he could be speaking to - ruth first of all - and instead he just trots back to his uncle #both because he's so shy and awkward and has been so badly socialised #and also because he genuinely enjoys his uncle's company and likes to gossip with him and is comforted by his presence #and i LOVE THEM #and in 1x04? during the 'you consider yourself above the niceties' interaction between ross and george #cary is standing a foot away 'subtly' listening to his nephew drive the knife in #i... adore them

15 notes · View notes