And the Irish guy's a harlot and the black guy's married to one and in the business. Yes, I said something similar a couple episodes back. I think the fact that the only decent men are on the lowest levels of the social hierarchy is very intentional on the show's part. Power corrupts. The most powerful men - the…

The reason for Benjamin's hatred of Harriet is racism, pure and simple. Let's be real, there's no other "reason" on earth that would explain his actions in keeping his own siblings enslaved. He feels entitled to keep them as slaves because he's white and they're black and the law and society of the time said white…

Oh come on, Lucy was defending herself from getting raped (again). Let's not call her self-defense "fucking up" or "creating a shitstorm" as though it's somehow her fault. That's coming dangerously close to victim-blaming. I know there are enormous consequences for everyone due to what happened, but let's not lose…

I'm catching up, and man if Violet and Amelia's relationship isn't one of the brightest spots on this enormously heavy show. Their moments together are so sweet. I hope Violet uses her pickpocket $$ to run away with Amelia and set up a cozy little shop where they can live happily ever after gazing into each others'…

I wonder who taught her - Lennox? Slaves were forbidden from even learning how to read, let alone from getting a classical education, so that would have been a pretty big deal. I wonder if that's how he wooed her and got her to trust him to the extent she did (to give her and her children freedom).

Hey, no worries - I was a little snarky in my reply too before I saw your second comment, and you're right I did make assumptions, so peace. Ugh that sucks so bad about the 4 hour traffic jam. I'd be mad as hell too after that.

Ah ok. I believe you, but it sounded the opposite from the context. I'm not trawling through 474+ comments though to view your/anyone else's history. :)

Yes, if this show wanted to explore racism as well as misogyny, it needed to have a woman of color as the main character and emotional center point of the show, like in Underground. You can't do the nuances of racism justice when the show focuses on a white protagonist.

Uh, POC in the US (and other Western countries) know very well the danger we're in. I mean the white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups that helped lift Trump to power and surround him in the White House aren't exactly secretive about their views on "ethnic cleansing". Nor has Trump been the slightest bit coy about his…

So it was like a paramilitary? Scary and realistic - that's how Hitler and Mussolini came to power too - through paramilitary groups of armed citizens.

I am a little relieved - exploring and deconstructing the racism in a nuanced way and juggling it with the sexism is a very difficult thing to do, especially in a show that's centered on a white woman. Especially if such a choice largely excluded POC from the central narrative. It could easily make it fraught and…

Well, no people following a set of traditions is immune from bigotry and intolerance, but I can venture a couple of guesses as to why "we" don't hear as much about fanatics/extremists in Hinduism or Buddhism.*

Yeah, let's not tar "Islam/the Middle East" under the same brush - labels that cover over a billion individual people. That's just poorly disguised racism. What's being criticized by this show is totalitarianism and misogyny, in this case tied to organized Christians, but could be subverted by any organized…

Oh god I can't imagine watching both Harlots and this at the same time - I'd die of melancholy. I'm trying to space them both out.

Yes, by "married", I meant a common law marriage. I agree that theirs is likely the only romantic relationship on the show based on mutual love and trust rather than a contract of some sort. But I guess what I was trying to get at is that their relationship is also one of the few without a huge power dynamic of some…

Yes, Victoria is entirely flattering of royalty and imperialism and their power structures, unsurprisingly. I watched it (and part of Downton Abbey too to my regret) because I'm a sucker for period dramas, but the glossing over of the unsavory aspects of Victoria's reign, the imperialism, the poverty and crime, the…

I love Charlotte's line about how the "most important harloting happens with the clothes on." She's very good at this and knows how to play the game, staying saucy and coquettish while still stroking Howard's ego. It's a delicate balance to play, and one that her sister tried to mimic with Repton but failed at, as…

This episode was hard to watch, but the way they handled Lucy's assault by not showing the act itself, but rather the fear surrounding it and her trauma after it, as Genevieve described, was much more emotionally impactful. I also appreciate how the episode juggled complex interactions of power, gender, class and race.

I definitely believe it, and I'm enjoying the less than rosy depiction of the nobility as well. Maybe our rose-colored-lenses-view and lionizing of the wealthy and powerful, both past and present, is finally losing its sparkle (dare we hope)? It reminds me of that old saying about how you should judge a man based on…

Yeah, I think the level of perceived economic/social threat (and keeping it under control) was a large part of it - and honestly forms a large part of racism and xenophobia to this day - see how higher volumes of immigrants being seen as an economic/cultural threat drove Brexit and Trump for example.