Has Poldark lost its lustre? The BBC drama's first series was considered the must-see programme of Sunday evenings when it was screened last year. But series two is being regularly trounced in the ratings battle by another period piece, Victoria.
Last week saw ITV's historical tale increase its lead over the Cornish drama by half a million viewers. That might not be so surprising - while Jenna Coleman's Victoria married Prince Albert (Tom Hughes) in a lavish royal wedding, the antics of Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) and his gang proved to be, in the words of the Daily Express's Neela Debnath, "rather dull watching".
However, episode four was a totally different story. "Hold on to your hats," said Jasper Rees of the Daily Telegraph, reviewing an instalment that saw a birth, a narrowly-averted scurvy epidemic, a daring smuggling caper and family reconciliations - all within the space of an hour.
Despite all of this, though, the episode struggled to find its voice, says Rees. The plot meandered "like a boat searching in vain for a meaningful course through storm-tossed waters".
Viv Groskop in The Guardian agrees, saying that while lots of inconsequential subplots whizzed by, there was "nothing really moving" of substance until the end, when Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) gave birth to a baby boy.
"The human moments are when Poldark really comes alive," she says. Less focus on rambling storylines and more characterisation is the recipe for bringing back the show's mojo.
Poldark series two: All the highlights of episode three
23 September
After last week's life-and-death courtroom drama, "episode three proved to be a more sedate and slow-burn affair," says the Daily Express.
However, there was still plenty for fans to enjoy in the latest instalment. Here's everything you need to know about episode three of Poldark.
Ross was a bit of a rotter
"Tonight, for perhaps the first time, we saw a side to Aidan Turner’s hero that we might not like very much," says the Radio Times.
Yes, Poldark has always been more of a smouldering anti-hero than a knight in shining armour, but this week his antics bordered on downright despicable. Selling off Demelza's jewellery to pay a £400 debt was bad enough, but then the poor lass overhead Ross getting nostalgic with his erstwhile love Elizabeth at the harvest festival.
Even though Elizabeth put a stop to the sweet-talk, Demelza was understandably devastated to have her suspicions about the lingering feelings between the two confirmed. Will the baby patch up the rift in her marriage? Does it ever?
There's a new hunk in town
There was good news for viewers put off by Poldark's ungentlemanly conduct, as Ross's old comrade Captain McNeil arrived on the scene. He immediately demonstrated his chivalry by rescuing Demelza from the amorous attentions of the lecherous Sir Hugh.
Neglected by Ross, Demelza was visibly charmed by the handsome visitor and his praise for her "cow-doctoring", but some viewers were distracted by McNeil's… unusual accent. Bristol-born actor Henry Garrett's attempt at a Scottish brogue was variously described on social media as "bizarre", "abysmal" and "excruciating," the Daily Telegraph reports.
Jud came back from the dead
When Poldark's faithful – if perennially tipsy – manservant Jud broke ranks by refusing a payoff from George Warleggan to testify against his master at the Bodmin assizes last week, we knew he was heading for trouble.
After getting a seemingly fatal beating from Warleggan's goons, Jud was laid out for burial - only for the 'corpse' to vanish. The mystery was solved when Jud himself arrived on the scene, not dead after all – the old boy is is tougher than he looks. Turns out he was in the pub all along, highly offended to wake up and find his 'grieving' friends and widow carousing at his expense. "T'aint right, t'aint fair, t'aint fit, t'aint proper," indeed.
Lady Caroline and Dr Enys got a step closer to getting it on
Lady Caroline has always had a taste for double entendre that wouldn't be out of place in an episode of Are You Being Served but her saucy comments are now starting to verge on single entendre. When she spied Dr Enys and promptly started complimenting the Cornish 'scenery' – her eyebrows practically waggling with innuendo – it's hard to believe that even her dopey fiancé Unwin Trevaunance would fail to catch her drift.
Desperate to avoid her bumbling betrothed, Caroline got close to the real object of her affection using the oldest trick in the book: falling conveniently ill.
"I've seen more romantic set-ups than a man pulling a fish bone out of a lady's throat," writes Gerard O'Donovan in the Daily Telegraph, but the chemistry between the pair is undeniable, whatever the circumstances. Sparks flew as Enys rushed into action with his trusty tweezers, before doctor and patient shared a lingering look. But will Dr Enys speak up before Caroline becomes Mrs Unwin Trevaunance?
Poldark series two: Everything we learned from episode two
16 September
What a difference a week makes, at least in the world of Ross Poldark.
Last time viewers saw him, he had been stitched up like a kipper by the nefarious George Warleggan and faced the gallows on trumped-up charges of theft, rioting and murder.
This week's instalment saw Poldark win his freedom with a stirring, if somewhat improbable, courtroom speech that won over TV critics as well as the jury.
"The show belongs to Aidan Turner this week," says Digital Spy, singling out Poldark's "electric court scenes" as a highlight.
Elsewhere, another tragedy was averted as we learned that Francis did not kill himself after all in last week's cliffhanger ending, when he shut himself in his room with a pistol and apparently pulled the trigger. As it turns out, his life was saved thanks to unreliable 18th-century weaponry, his gun misfiring and leaving him sheepish but unharmed.
However, with Demelza's unexpected pregnancy, several dangerous flirtations, and a storm brewing between Poldark and Warleggan, there is plenty of drama on the horizon. Here's everything we know so far:
Poldark is free
Okay, so nobody really expected that the title character of a show already filming its next series would actually go to the gallows, but we did wonder how Poldark would manage to slip out of the noose clearly being readied for his shapely neck.
A stirring speech to the jury was all it took, it turns out. An unrepentant Ross defended the starving miners' plundering of the Warleggans' wrecked ship as a "Cornish tradition", in what The Guardian's Viv Groskop calls "an excellent TED talk on morality and self-belief". The jury were convinced, clearing Poldark of all charges. However, Ross's nemesis George Warleggan is unlikely to take this development lying down.
Francis isn't dead
Phew. Poldark's put-upon cousin didn't actually put an end to it all, despite his best efforts. In classic Francis style, he couldn't even shoot himself properly – the gun misfired, giving the poor lad a chance to reconsider. But now that he has chosen to remain on this mortal coil, he will have to make some difficult decisions, particularly with regards to his floundering marriage to frosty Elizabeth.
There's a baby on the way
Ross and Delmelza have barely buried their unfortunate firstborn when she realises that she is pregnant again - and who should she choose to confide in but Ross's old flame Elizabeth. However, Demelza seemed reluctant to share her news with Poldark himself, who understandably is still grieving for baby Julia.
"This could be the first sign of the much-rumoured rift that's supposedly going to occur between our favourite star-crossed lovers this series," notes Gerard O'Donovan in the Daily Telegraph.
Love is in the air for Dr Enys
Dr Enys may have been busy trying to save his friend from execution by concocting an insanity defence, but the medic still found time for some heavy flirtation with feisty newcomer Lady Caroline Penvenen.
Sparks flew as he traded barbs with the quick-witted heiress, but their snippy back-and-forth barely concealed their blatant attraction.
Lady C might be "written with all the subtlety of a Carry On movie sound-effect", says Cultbox, but who can blame her for being a bit forward when she faces a lifetime with her bratty betrothed MP Unwin Trevaunance.
The course of true love never runs smooth, and fans of the books on which the show is based will know that Lady Caroline and Dr Enys face more than a few obstacles in their path. However, scriptwriter Debbie Horsfield has been known to depart from the source material on more than one occasion, so viewers will have to wait to see how this romance pans out on screen.
Poldark season two: Questions for episode two
9 September
Warning: Spoilers for Poldark series 2, episode one
Poldark's long-awaited second series began on Sunday, taking viewers back to 18th century Cornwall to see what Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) and co have been up to since we saw them last.
After a 16-month absence from screens, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the first episode might break viewers in gently – but you'd be mistaken. The first episode got off to a flying start, galloping through a plot which saw Ross Poldark grieving his baby daughter, getting down and dirty in the mine, and finally being carted off to Truro jail after being stitched up by the villainous Warleggans.
With so much going on, episode one has left viewers with plenty of questions to ponder:
Should we really worry about Poldark?
Episode one was "crammed with suspense and foreboding, and beautifully done it was, too", says Viv Groskop in The Guardian. But how much suspense could there really be about Poldark's fate when this is the first of a ten-episode series? Indeed, he "seems remarkably unfazed by his imminent demise", agreed Sam Wollaston, also in The Guardian. Perhaps this is because no one would "dare to separate Poldark's magnificent head from Poldark's magnificent torso".
Will Elizabeth save Poldark?
Plot-wise, just how is Poldark going to get out of this mess? Could his first love, Elizabeth (Heida Reed), seduce George Wollaston and persuade him to rescue Poldark, as Viv Groskop suggests. "Use your womanly power!" urges Groskop. "What else is the point of your mahoosive hair?" But it's a dangerous game for Elizabeth, who has now succeeded in offending her husband Francis, as well as Poldark, Demelza and George.
Did Francis really kill himself?
Poldark and his impending trial might have been the focus of episode one's drama, but by the end of the hour all eyes were on Francis.
Long-suffering Francis has struggled with drunkenness, gambling and feelings of inadequacy – and who can blame him, with his own wife keeping her distance and clearly still pining for Poldark. At the end of the episode, it apparently all got too much, and shocked viewers saw him shut himself away with a flintlock pistol before the episode ended with a literal bang. But did he really go through with it?
Lets hope not, says Gerard O'Donovan in the Daily Telegraph. Francis is more than just a character, "he is a brilliant dramatic device", serving as "a mirror held up to heroic Ross Poldark (who's flawed in all the right ways)".
Is Ross and Demelza's relationship in danger?
Ross and Demelza's relationship has always been at the centre of the drama, but things have not worked out well for them. The episode set a more sombre tone for the series, with Demelza grieving for her lost child, but the couple do seem to have developed a more tender relationship. So what about the rumours of imminent infidelity and marital strife? We will have to wait and see.
Who has Caroline set her eyes on?
The first episode of series two also introduced some new characters, including John Nettles as Ray Penvenen and Gabriella Wilde as his heiress niece Caroline – along with her Paris-Hilton-style canine companion. There was certainly a twinkle when Caroline swept into town and gave Poldark the once over. But after her encounter with the noble doctor Dwight Enys, perhaps she will be too distracted to give the beleaguered Poldark another thought.
What will happen to the mine?
Speaking of the good doctor, actor Luke Norris, who plays Enys, has dropped a few hints about what's in store for 18th century Cornwall's favourite bromance.
"Some people have said Ross and Dwight’s friendship is very modern," he told the Radio Times. "And I think we were hoping for that."
Besides their very 21st century friendship, Norris reminded viewers that the pair are also united in an important professional collaboration. "Ross's grand project of a self-sustaining mining community requires a good doctor, particularly with diphtheria threatening lives," he said.
Which, of course, leads to another question: with Poldark facing the gallows, what will become of his pet project to restore his mining business and get the penniless locals in gainful employment? Based on Norris' comments, it doesn't sound too idyllic. Disease and poverty are going to make things "pretty bleak" in season two, he told the Radio Times, leaving his character "snowed under" with work.
However, in episode one Poldark proved that he was willing to strip down and muck in at the mine (to the delight of female viewers), so perhaps all is not lost…
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