Gentleman Jack sees business and relationship dilemmas come to the fore as the second season of the period drama continues this week.
While Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) is perturbed by the coming of the railway, she also faces trouble from her jealous ex, Mariana (Lydia Leonard).
Here’s what happened in episode 3…
*WARNING - spoilers for Gentleman Jack season 2 episode 3 below*
Off the rails
When the railway arrives in Yorkshire as the Leeds-Selby line opens, the news receives a mixed reaction at Shibden Hall as Marian (Gemma Whelan) is concerned about the dizzying speeds that the trains can reach and has even heard of a cow exploding when one passed by!
Anne’s concern, however, is purely financial as she is a major shareholder in the local canal network, which could suffer if the railway proves to be a quicker and cheaper way of transporting cargo and passengers.
As well as taking a trip on the railroad herself, Anne goes to visit Mr Waterhouse (Nicholas Farrell), the chair of the local navigation committee, to find out more about the potential threat to the canals and what investment is being made to keep them going. But at a meeting of the committee, there is much debate concerning the canals’ future and whether it’s worth spending to improve them.
Old flame
Meanwhile, as Anne and Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle) continue to try to appease Ann’s moody relatives about their relationship, Anne Lister’s ex Mariana Lawton still isn’t taking their romance well either. She tells Anne in a letter that she is ill with the stress of it all and she wants Anne to come and visit her at Lawton Hall to talk things through, but Anne is unsure.
Anne eventually speaks to Ann Walker and asks if she minds her going away to see Mariana, to make sure that she is OK and Ann agrees. But before she goes, Anne’s aunt (Gemma Jones) warns her to be cautious and not make a fool of Ann Walker.
As Anne arrives in Cheshire to see Mariana, it’s clear that Mariana is still deeply distressed about Ann, who she sees as ‘insipid’ and accuses Anne of not really being in love with her, so expect plenty of fireworks to come...
Family secrets
As if estate manager Mr Washington (Joe Armstrong) didn’t have enough on his plate, he has two upset children to deal with. Daughter Eliza (Emma Wrightson) is upset because her friend Henry (Dexter Hughes) has been banned from hanging out with her and we subsequently find out that it’s because Henry reported back to his mother that he and Eliza spotted Anne Lister and Ann Walker kissing and his mum was concerned there might be repercussions.
Meanwhile Samuel's older daughter, Suzannah (Amy James-Kelly), is still unhappy about living with her in-laws, the Sowdens, as her husband Thomas (Tom Lewis) hasn’t been able to get his creepy uncle Ben (Anthony Flanagan) to move on. But later on, Ben is nowhere to be seen and Thomas appears to be cut and bruised. Has Ben met the same grim fate as his brother Sam and been fed to the pigs?!
Gentleman Jack season 2 airs on Sunday evenings at 9 pm on BBC One and iPlayer. The US release date is set for Monday, April 25 on HBO. It's eight parts long and new episodes will premiere each week.
