We open with our hero rising up out of the sea like a mythical god, wearing only his breeches, his beautiful chest heaving as he reflects on Demelza and Hugh and what he imagines them doing! (You will remember last season ended with Demelza returning from her tryst with Hugh and telling Ross to ask her no questions) His reverie is interrupted as his wife and children join him on the beach.
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Ooh-la-la
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Meanwhile, back at Trenwith, George and Lizzy are getting along fine since she swore on the bible that Valentine was his son and threatened to leave him; Hugh is still writing poetry to Demelza; Zacky Martin's boy, Jago arrives only to find out grain (that the starving people need) is being shipped off to Lisbon.
Jago Martin is pissed that the grain is not going to the people at home who need it and takes off to the docks to see what he can do about it. Sam and Drake follow him to try and stop him from doing anything stupid, which of course, they fail to do. Jago and others start rioting and the Carne boys try to stop him. A merchant is killed. Unfortunately, Tom Harry is there to witness things and runs off to tell George what he saw. Naturally George sees a great opportunity to put the screws to Ross, so he rats on them. Ross has the unhappy duty of arresting them but assures them it will be fine and he will do what he can. (Seriously? when is it ever fine where court is concerned? lol )
As expected, things don't go well. George sneakily moves the trial time up so Ross isn't there. Several men are pardoned, some are transported, and poor Jago, Drake, and Sam are sentenced to be hanged! Ross tries to help, all the while making sure Demelza knows nothing about what is going on. In the end, however, it is Jago who insists Sam and Drake are innocent and after an impassioned plea from Ross, they are released. Jago is not so lucky and hangs for the crime of murder. Zacky is inconsolable at the loss of his son.
On a high note, Dr. Ennis finds out he will be a father!! He's so happy, which is short-lived, as shortly after his little girl is born, he realizes little Sarah has a heart problem and will not live very long. He keeps it to himself for awhile, but eventually tells Ross.
Hugh is supposed to run for Parliament, but his failing health prevents him from doing that. Ross is convinced to stand in his stead and much to the chagrin of George, wins! He is still worried that Demelza is seeing him as a second choice (as if...) to Hugh and thinks a little time and distance will help. Hugh does not survived his illness and Demelza is crushed, though her true abiding love is for Ross, Hugh had a special place in her heart.
Morwenna is still miserable and is forced back into bed with the odious Ozzie, who we all know is a disgusting toe-sucking monster. At the same time, he hooks up with her sister again. He eventually gets caught in the act by Rowena's husband and pays the ultimate price for his philandering! But not before a dying man confesses he lost a great deal of money investing for Pascoe's bank. He tells George, who then hatches a plan to bring down the bank, which also leaves Ross and Demelza with no savings. Such a bastard.
Drake is still in love with Morwenna, but has been pushed into marrying sweet Rosina. He finds out Ozzie is dead and breaks off the engagement only to find out Morwenna will not have him! She is pregnant. He is heartbroken yet again. Rosina's family gets back at Drake for dumping Rosina and burns down his business. Morwenna loses the baby and goes to Drake to tell him why she rejected him. He sees hope that they will be together after all.
Ross does a lot of speechifying in London and tries his best to rally support to help the poor. He returns home to face a flooding disaster in the mine. While he is home, Dwight and Caroline's little baby, Sarah gets sick and dies. Everyone is heartbroken. Ross stupidly asks Demelza if her extreme reaction to Sarah's death is not somewhat because of Hugh's. He can be so dumb sometimes. Anyway, it was a reminder of losing Julia, not Hugh and it really hurt her that he could think that. Caroline decides to move to London to try and recover and does not want Dwight to go with her. Ross goes back to Parliament. While in London, He spends some time with Caroline and Geoffrey Charles and meets Monk Adderly, a new character to hate! Worse than George, as bad as Ozzie, he oils he way around looking to make trouble.
It was a delight to see Ross and Demelza cavorting and kissing in the bedroom, effectively putting the past behind them. Naturally, these happy things don't last. Demelza is a bit overwhelmed by life in London society and not sure how to act when she and Ross go to a ball put on by the Warleggans. Creepy Capt. Adderly makes a bet with George he can get into Demelza's knickers and goes after her full speed ahead. Demelza is not sure how to handle his advances and Ross doesn't step in and tell him to get lost, even though he is clearly jealous. He has an altercation with Monk at parliament, who responds with a request to settle the insult with a duel. Against Dwight's advice, he agrees and ends up killing Capt. Asshat, while getting wounded himself. Punishment for dueling is hanging, but before he dies, Monk says he injured himself which lets Ross of the hook (even though everyone knows the truth, there is no proof). Demelza is so upset about the whole thing, she goes home, leaving a note for Ross to find when he wakes.
When Ross gets home, they have a heartfelt conversation which helps to further heal their relationship. Caroline and Dwight also work things out. However, things are not so good at Trenwith. Geoffrey Charles remarks about how much Valentine looks like Uncle Ross.... OH-OH - George does not take this very well. Elizabeth, desperate to convince him Valentine is indeed his, goes to the apothecary to get something that will bring on premature birth. She eventually takes the drug and has a baby girl. This makes George believe that Val is his son. Shortly after the birth, Elizabeth becomes very ill and painfully dies!! George is devastated as is Ross. There is a beautiful yet heartbreaking scene with Ross overlooking the sea and remembering Elizabeth when they were first in love.
Ross tells Demelza he at last realizes how she felt when Huge died. She tells him, it's not the same, as their relationships with these other people were very different. She also assures him that while Hugh had a piece of her heart, Ross is the only one who ever owned it.!!
The series ends with a very happy Morwenna and Drake leaving the church a married couple.
I'm sure I missed a few things, some of the nuances that are important to the story, but this is what stood out the most in my mind. What will season 5 bring us? I'm so looking forward to it and I hope it's fabulous.
