Poldark Series 1, Episode 6: Recap and Review

The snakes and ladders of social climbing. As snake in the grass George Warleggan sets his sights on Elizabeth, actress on the make Karen brings the metaphor to life by climbing a ladder to the roof of her cottage – only to throw herself off it.

This is in a bid to ingratiate herself to "highfalutin' scholarly chap" Dr Enys. Fortunately this perilous act results only in a sprained wrist, so she is still able to muster a flirty scuttle up to his front door and bang on it with wide-eyed requests.

"I couldn't sleep. All night long I was thinking of you giving me something to ease the pain."

Methinks Verity's possets are not what she has in mind. In the face of such persistence poor Enys is a rabbit in the headlights, and Karen's husband Mark Daniel – "old tripe for brains, moping and moaning" – can't face the thought of asking to her about it.

Talk about marry in haste. Could the same be said about Francis and Elizabeth?  Reduced to rolling up their sleeves and toiling the land they look more like Marie Antoinette courtiers playing at peasants at Hameau de la Reine. Threshing the grass Francis, shirt on, scythe in hand, does not cut quite the same dash as Ross.

Speaking of whom, Ross continues to have a lot on his mind, not least news of typhus in Bodmin gaol, where Jim Carter is serving his sentence for poaching . Riddled with fever – the real death sentence – the prison glowers amid tendrils of clutching ivy and death tolls. "You have a plan?" asks Dr Ennis. "None whatsoever," replies Ross.

Hmm. Unperturbed by the lack of inconvenient plot necessities, the two gain entry into the gaol's squalid interior, which reeks of degradation and inhumanity. Delirious on the floor Jim is a almost unrecognisable, his arm a piece of rotten flesh. "Is it gangrene?" Ross asks Ennis. Having recently fought in the American War of Independence Ross has the facial scar to prove it, but his experiences appear to have left few other marks. This war veteran needs to knock back the whiskey before Enys performs the amputation.

Afterwards it's bonfire time as Ross takes his top off on the beach at dawn. His shirt may be contagious but his trousers appear not to be so. Glaring at the fire from beneath his exquisitely-tousled locks, Ross tries to out-do it in a smouldering competition, and spends the rest of the episode stuck in that expression, and with a glass in his hand.

"Ross, where are you going?" asks Demelza. "To acquaint myself with as much brandy as George can supply," he replies. They are at a ball and chez Warleggan the chandeliers glitter surreally.
Addled by drink, traumatised by Jim and tortured by the world's injustice, Ross is, in the words of Verity, a "powder keg".

Pouring alcohol on smouldering embers, Ross is an explosion waiting to happen. "Look at them all," he says of his fellow guests. "Over-painted, over-dressed, over-stuffed." But this ball is not just an opportunity for Ross to express his loathing for his own class. The Warleggans want to find out who's behind the mysterious Carnemore Copper Company, a mining co-operative set up ensure fair copper prices. This intelligence gathering involves the Warleggans scheming in the shadows, explaining the plot to themselves.

The ball also marks Demelza's official entrance into society.  It wasn't that long ago that she was a gawping, gormless kitchen maid with wonky curtseys. Now she can read, write, dance and – hurrah! – play the piano: her transformation into Tori Amos is complete.

Ross buys her a beautiful mustard-coloured gown and it is a veritable Cinderella moment. "Who is that young person dancing with Sir Hugh?" asks Elizabeth's mother. "She's quite lovely, don't you think?" When Elizabeth explains who it is, Mrs Chynoweth expresses her incredulity at "the scullery maid." But the younger generation are warming to Demelza – even Francis admits he likes her.

Except Cinderella's handsome prince isn't quite so charming tonight. Both Demelza and Elizabeth berate their husbands for neglecting them at the ball in favour of gaming. "What is the matter with the women in this family?" asks Francis. "The men," replies Aunt Agatha. And she's right: they all, including Ross, are a motley, shabby bunch right now.

Apart from Blamey. He and Verity dream of eloping to Lisbon, only Verity can't find the right moment to break the news of their reconciliation to Francis, who, when he sees Blamey at the ball, spoils for a fistfight. Blamey knows how to handle himself, but after he storms out Verity blames herself for him leaving – she was too timid, a weakness Blamey cannot tolerate.

The ball ends with Ross exposing "the infamous Matthew Sanson", he of the "extensive influence", as a fraud. His invincible success at cards was down to slight-of-hand. Perhaps it was he who was responsible for the mysterious disappearance of Jim and Jinny's baby, who makes an appearance at Jim's funeral.

As Ross and Demelza lay flowers at Jim's grave, it appears that that galloping binge I predicted last week has turned into a different one. Ross says he's not been sober for five days.

It is a strange line to end on. I think, like Ross, I too need one of Verity's possets and a lie down.