As the episode begins, we’re taken to Lydia Quigley’s (Lesley Manville) brothel. Violet (Rosalind Eleazar) gets in touch with a rich man. During their encounter, Violet tries to steal the man’s money. He tracks her down and she is arrested. Margaret gets into an argument with Harriet. The argument sends William and Harriet out of the brothel. We see that Lucy (Eloise Smyth) has embraced her new life. She is shown sleeping with a client. When Margaret returns inside, she overhears Fanny (Bronwyn James) and Kitty (Lottie Tolhurst) talk about leaving the brothel for good.
Justice Josiah Hunt visits Lydia’s brothel. He speaks with Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay). Then, he puts Lydia under arrest for running a bawdy house. Margaret runs into Nance. Margaret admits that everyone is leaving her one by one. They agree to go and speak out for Violet. Lucy tries to convince Will to return home. He refuses. Nance and Margaret speak for Violet. Amelia (Jordon Stevens) speaks for Violet too. It doesn’t do any good. Then, Lydia enters. Margaret and others speak out against her.
She is sentenced to a hefty fine or prison. Outside, Margaret tries to give Holland a new lead for his story. Back at Lydia’s brothel, Charlotte takes over. Nance visits Emily (Holli Dempsey) and Charles (Douggie McMeekin). Nance tries to convince Emily to speak out against Lydia. Emily refuses. Margaret speaks with Amelia about Justice Cunliffe’s death. Violet is thrown in a cell with Lydia. Charles and Emily prepare to take over Lydia’s brothel. They run into Charlotte, who is already working to set Lydia free.
Amelia speaks with Josiah Hunt (Sebastian Armesto) about Violet. He agrees to assess her himself. Josiah speaks with Lydia about the body of the girl found near Bedford Street. She tells him that his bosses often visit her brothel. Margaret visits Lydia’s brother. Emily sends her away. Charlotte meets with Emily. She tells her about her plan to get rid of Lydia. Lydia manages to send out a message. She is forced to humiliate herself to get it out of the jail. Lord Fallon (Ben Lambert) receives a message about Margaret.
He insists that they need to shut her up right away. Charlotte visits Lydia in the jail. Lydia tells her that Isabella Fitzwilliam (Liv Tyler) owes her money. Margaret receives a threatening visitor. She refuses to stop belittling Lydia in public. Charlotte visits Isabella and the Marquess of Blayne (Julian Rhind-Tutt). Isabella doesn’t seem interested in paying up. Emily and Charles allow the girls to have fun at Lydia’s brothel. Fallon and Lidington contemplate striking out by attacking Lucy. Fallon doesn’t like the idea.
Cherry gets drunk and vomits in the street. Margaret finds Harriet (Pippa Bennett-Warner) flirting with William. Outside, Margaret speaks with Prince Rasselas (Josef Altin). He believes he can help identify the murderer. Charlotte talks with William. Emily visits Nance. She agrees to speak out against Lydia. Fallon convinces Kitty to go with him. Isabella encourages her husband to give her the money to pay off Lydia. Nance and Margaret speak about the new evidence against Lydia. A knock is heard at the door. Kitty is found dead.
Rasselas makes a run for it.
Harlots Review
The second series of Harlots has started off pretty good. It was interesting and pretty humorous from start to finish. I enjoyed it. It was nice to see Sebastian Armesto added to the cast. It is clear that Lydia isn’t going to be brought down so easily. She still has plenty of power and Charlotte is helping her at this point. The episode was pretty entertaining. It scores a solid 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Harlots right now!
