Poldark episode 7, PBS Detoit

I held off commenting on last Sunday's airing of episode 7 of the Poldark series here on PBS.  I wanted to think about it for a bit and I wanted to find out what was cut from the final scenes first.

 

Having read the books, I knew that at some point, Elizabeth would agree to marry the upstart George Warleggan and that Ross would have a melt down and take his anger out in a most unbecoming way. 

In an earlier post about the book, I was really hoping Debbie Horsfield would not make Ross look like a rapist and yet, after the show was over, I was thinking that was too much the other way.  The look of desire on Elizabeth's face practically challenged Ross to take her. She didn't seem to fight him off all that much while in the book she clearly says No and even slaps him before he carries off to bed.  That had me wondering what was cut.  

I posted on facebook about it and one of my fellow fans posted a link to You Tube showing the scene and I have to say, it was much more forceful, more in line with the book.  I have to wonder why our area PBS felt it they had to show the watered down version (with a viewer discretion warning at the beginning)  Maybe because of the time slot at 9 p.m.?  Over here, racier things are usually shown at 10 p.m.  - I'm talking about network TV not cable, where anything goes.  At any rate, I can remember seeing more shocking things on I, Claudius years ago than what was in this episode!  Go figure.

Was it rape or not?  This has been heavily debated all over the net and basically, it's up to the reader/viewer to decide if it is or not.  For a lot of us, No means No, however Elizabeth's protests, which at first seemed sincere, died quickly and she was clearly wanting him as much as he wants her. 

Does that make it OK? Of course not as we see when Demelza knocks him on his butt when he comes home the next morning.  

So Ross has fallen from grace.  Can he get back his self-respect and his true love?  Well, I know since I have read all the books, but for those who haven't - my mips are smealed.  LOL

Here is a link to the uncut scene for those who want to watch it.:

Can You Offer Me Anything Else?

 

One last thought, even if Ross would leave Demelza for Elizabeth, would she have been happy being penniless?  I don't think so.  Demelza came from nothing and knows how to survive hard times.  Elizabeth is used to a certain standard of living.  Ross could not give this to her - George could, and even more.  So even though she denies it, George's money has to be a large part of her decision to marry him.  I don't really fault her for this, but I do for keeping Ross dangling on the edge of her feelings instead of cutting him loose completely.  If she can't have him, then nobody else should.  I hate that.