We’re back, even further back, in 1875, a good 15 years before the main action of The English. I’m not entirely sure it was necessary to set almost all of this episode in the past and it would surely have been more elegant to embed the revelations about the Chalk River massacre into the current-day action. But there’s enough in ‘The Wounded Wolf’ to maintain interest in the final two episodes, even if it’s mostly working out what on earth has been going on in this series.
Near Chalk River, Thomas Trafford (an enjoyably mysterious Tom Hughes) is buying some cattle to raise, though he’s almost swindled into paying a much higher rate by Tobias Biskind (Christian Patterson). He’s accompanied by David Melmont (Rafe Spall, finally making his appearance). He’s quite convincing, if a little obviously evil, as The English’s big, bad villain. While everyone else is pretty good with a gun and a bow, Melmont knows that knowledge is true power. And he knows how to yield it: Melmont announces that he has a man watching Biskind’s wife, and that if he doesn’t get back soon, she’ll be dead. Melmont never reveals whether any of that is true, not even when Trafford asks directly. More of that menacing playfulness might do this series good. We also learn that Trafford, one of this show’s more compelling characters, has made a few bad business choices, and that he’s engaged to Cornelia (in a chilling moment, Melmont lists off Cornelia’s London address).
What follows is a little convoluted. A younger Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer) tells Sergeant Ellroy that Corporal Jerome McClintock has been hunting Indians with Myers and Flynn (two faces we know from previous episodes, though good luck with keeping track). Myers, Flynn and a man called Jerome then run into Thomas and Melmont and they share a tense drink. It turns out the men are on an execution patrol, hunting down an Indian named Running Hawk who killed Myers’ brother. Melmont lets slip that they’ve run across Indians, and, despite Trafford’s attempts, he leads them to the nearby campsite. A little later, Trafford hears gunshots.
Diego Lopez Calvin
Television doesn’t have to shy away from complication – and certain parts of The English benefit from not being immediately clear: sometimes you feel as lost as Cornelia – but the pacing is a little infuriating. And some of those striking, grotesque images, like Melmont’s hunted wolf, or a man hanging upside-down and shot through with arrows, are lost to the plot’s complexity.
Then, we’re in west London, where Melmont pays a visit to Cornelia (Emily Blunt). I’m sure there was some debate about moving away from the Wild West – the show does a good job in showing how all-encompassing that world is – but these London-set scenes really work. These characters’ actions are not isolated to some wild region; they have direct, potentially deadly, consequences on other continents. As Melmont tells Cornelia, the “pretty rooms” of London (a memorable image in a show with fairly unimaginative dialogue) will not protect her.
The two have a back-and-forth; Melmont tells Cornelia about the massacre, and lays the blame on Trafford. He’s in jail now, and Cornelia agrees he should be there. But Melmont has a few facts wrong: Cornelia rejected Trafford’s proposal, though she’s not entirely disconnected to him. She had convinced her father to invest in Trafford’s business. He convinces her to come up with the funds (£2,000) to discharge Trafford.
Later – a day, weeks, months? Who knows – Melmont returns to Cornelia’s house to collect the money. But Cornelia, who’s read a letter from Trafford, now knows that he’s lying. While this show has its flaws, it’s worth watching for these penny-drop Blunt moments. (That’s partly because Blunt is such an enjoyable actress to watch, and partly because there are so few moments of comprehension for the audience.) Melmont, for his part, is unfazed and takes the money from Cornelia. As the episode ends, Cornelia, now also visibly pregnant, stares at a painting of the Wild West. Perhaps, understandably, she is feeling a little bewildered, too.
Henry is a senior culture writer at Esquire, covering film, television, literature, music and art for the print magazine and website. He has previously written for the Guardian, The Telegraph and The Evening Standard. At Esquire, he explores entertainment in all forms, from long reads on Lost in Translation’s legacy to trend stories about Taylor Swift, as well as writing regular reviews of movies and television shows. He has also written many profiles for Esquire, and interviewed the likes of George Clooney, Austin Butler and Mike Faist.
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