Poldark finale
A return to form, just in time for a fond farewell
Well, bless my soul. George Warleggan has a heart, or at least a conscience, after all. Even more unexpectedly, the final episode of Poldark (BBC One) proved to be a gut-tugging emotional rollercoaster that, happily, waved goodbye to this hugely popular drama series on an appropriately high note.
After a distinctly sub-par fifth series, and an absolute mess of a penultimate episode, it was almost as much a relief as a joy to see it end so well. At the close Ross (Aidan Turner) and Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson), having survived everything the world could throw against them, again, reiterated their lifelong commitment to each other high on a windy Cornish clifftop,
before he marched off, coattails flapping, to board a ship for France and who knows what further adventures.
“I swear to you, my love, I will return,’ were Ross’s final words. No doubt causing many a heart to beat quicker at the prospect of a series revival further down the line. Even now it seems only sensible to take the BBC’S repeated insistence last week that this would be Poldark’s “last ever” episode, with a pinch of salt. In a world of Netflix, Amazon and other rival streaming platforms, a well-loved drama can find all sorts of ways to survive a broadcaster’s axe. Especially with five of Winston Graham’s novels still left to be adapted. Even Debbie Horsfield, the series’ driving force and screenwriter, has said “Never say never”. For now, though, Poldark is overdue a rest after a fifth series that despite a promising start often seemed as exhausted of ideas as it was of spirit, spinning out a dull, repetitive tale that seemed more concerned with wagging a finger at 21st-century concerns than doing its job and sweeping aside our cares with some timeless romance. As a result, the final episode felt like a separate event. Here heroic Ross was back again, doing what he does best. Not running around like a puppy behind a ranting pub bore – but out there, risking his life and the love of his beloved wife in an irrational act of high loyalty and courage. Namely, secretly infiltrating a dastardly plot to support a French invasion of England and, despite the best efforts of naysayers, cowards, traitors and worms, eventually winning through after some nail-biting moments of jeopardy.
Admittedly, the jeopardy veered closer to parody on one or two occasions.
Notably in Demelza’s implausible efforts to convince a French general to kill her husband by means of a of sword rather than a pistol. Even the normally flawless Tomlinson couldn’t make such absurdity work, and it almost killed the episode stone dead. Happily, though, it was quickly cancelled out by the life-affirming sight of Ross’s enduring arch-enemy George Warleggan (the fabulous Jack Farthing) coming to the rescue, saving the day with his newly discovered conscience and a pair of smoking guns. A moment for fans to savour, especially the subsequent exchange in which they agreed not to get too sentimental over the favour, and to “revert to our usual animosity”. Nice. Of course, it wasn’t all about derring-do. There were lashings of what the series originally won so many viewers’ hearts with: winningly written, beautifully acted, totally escapist romance. Long in the tooth fans of the BBC’S vaunted Seventies Poldark even got to enjoy their own special moment when Turner and Robin Ellis (who back in the day, and without ever removing his shirt, won as much fame for his portrayal of Ross) engaged in a face-to-face moment of actorly mutual tribute. Not everyone will miss Poldark. For many it clogged up Sundays for weeks on end with hopelessly old-fashioned tales of swashbuckling and over-egged emotion. But there were millions of us, too, who appreciated the occasional respite it offered from TV’S sometimes relentless diet of gritty thrillers and gloomy cop dramas. And the opportunity it offered to be swept up, and away, by the scenery, the stout-heartedness and the unapologetic high romance of it all.
Here heroic Ross was back again, doing what he does best ... risking his life and the love of his beloved wife