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Sunday, 30 September 2018

Vanity Fair Chapter 6 "In Which A Painter's Daughter Meets A King" Review

Becky (Olivia Cooke) meets with Lord Steyne (Anthony Head) [or Stain is more apt] and he gives her a diamond necklace to wear for her audience before the king.  Of course there's a price to be paid for this and she also gets money to pay for the rent and servants out of the bargain, which she hoards away into her box and doesn't pay them.  Along with all the shawls she has and even gets a new dress made for the occasion, as well as feathers as the king loves those.  But Arabella (Felicity Montagu) does not leave her side even when Becky hints at making dresses out of curtains.  (Many will see this as a reference to Gone With The Wind and how Margaret Mitchell was said to have based that on Vanity Fair.  Of course there were similarities between characters, I tend not to agree and she also denied that too.)
Obviously Rawdon (Tom Bateman) is too trusting of her and can't see that she has all this money and is a devoted father to Rawdy (Rafferty Railton) whom Becky can't stand.  In stark contrast to Amelia (Claudie Jessie) who dotes on Little Georgie (Arthur Bateman) no matter what she must do for him in terms of making ends meet and selling her shawl to buy him things.

Amelia's mother (Claire Skinner) is upset at how Amelia accuses her of being a murderer when she gives Georgie awful medicine for his upset stomach.  Her father (Simon Russell Beale) has gone from selling coal to selling cheap plonk and they are paid a visit by the Reverend Binny (Oliver Lansley) in order for Amelia to send Georgie to school.  Naturally she refuses and says she will home school him, as well as having bought books for him already.  Meanwhile in India, Dobbin (Johnny Flynn) bought the cheap stuff by the crateful and Jos (David Fynn) is very vocal about this.  Mrs O'Dowd (Monica Dolan) wanting Dobbin to meet her sister-in-law, Glorvina (Alison Pargeter) a plump woman whom Jos appears to take a liking to, or not and refuses to take her off Dobbin's hands and dance with her.

At dinner, Sedley can take the quarrelling no more and confesses he does get money from Jos for the coal and wine but he lost it to investors.  prompting Amelia to give up Georgie in order to support her family in light of her mother's outburst of how Georgie could have had a gold pocket watch.  Jane  Osborne (Ellie Kendrick) takes him away and he tells her he may see her for a visit soon.  In contrast Becky can't stand the sight of Rawdy and she listens to Steyne when he says he should go away to school and be well looked after.  She tells Rawdon he can come and visit on Sunday.  She also sends Arabella away to some respectful family.  All after Pitt (Martin Clunes) dies whilst chasing after a servant in the snow and as if to add insult to injury, Rawdon is once again left with £100 from him.  Bute (Mathew Baynton) getting everything.  With them both having to go the house and all Becky manages to salvage is an old dress along with a few other things in her chest.
Martha (Sian Clifford) dismisses the servants and comments how it is awful being rich.

Becky meets Lady Steyne (Sally Phillips) and once again Becky spoke of being a painter and opera singer's daughter and is going places. She mentions how Steyne should be entertained politically and finally gets her audience with the king.  That she now thinks will open doors for her in society and becoming a social climber.  Later she meets Steyne for their rendezvous and he can't wait to get his claws into her.  Rawdon plays the piano when she gets home and he tells her next time she will go to parties and accept invitations only with him and he will escort her  Becky feigning the party being dull.  She gets another invitation and can't find anything to wear slapping Rawdy as he's playing with her feathers. When next they dine with Steyne, Becky is shunned by the snooty wealthy women and that includes Lady Bareacres (Elizabeth Berrington) who turns her nose up at her and walks away.  Lady Steyne asks Becky to play for her and remarks on how they envy Becky's youth and pity her.  Becky commenting how she also has brains.  As the men hear the piano play Steyne enters the room remarking on how he thought his guests would applaud the fine piano playing.  Which they are forced to do.
When they leave, Rawdon walks back home and is 'arrested' by his creditors having to spend the night there.

Meanwhile Becky entertains Steyne and ignores Rawdon's letter of bringing him the £70 for the dressmaker's debt and asking her to give them time to pay.  However she doesn't come and he is forced to write to Bute for money.  He pays his debt and asks if Rawdon contacted Becky first, but she didn't come.  When Rawdon gets home he hears the two in the parlour and he loses his temper.  Becky arguing she's innocent and Steyne throwing back in Rawdon's face how he gave her money and jewels and how Rawdon pimped her out.  Rawdon strikes him and throws the necklace at him as Steyne calls her a whore.  He searches the room and finds her box with her hoarded wealth.  He shared everything with her and she had more than enough to get him out of debt.  He will send some money to Arabella and send the rest back from whence it came.  Becky saying she believed she did love him once.

As we know it was nothing but lies from her even when Rawdon said she'd have been better off  marrying his father who died without even seeing his grandson.  Rawdon now being indebted to Bute but also finally realizing how wrong he was about her, when she couldn't even love her son.  In sharp contrast to Amelia and how she lost everything but retained her dignity and self respect.  But then it's what they say, or I did, if you have no respect to begin with...

How Becky kept mentioning Steyne being in charge of the powder closet!!  Which Rawdon confessed he didn't even know what that was.  Becky still did not heed Lady Steyne's advice when she told her how "children grow old, friends grow cold and husbands endure."  They stick by; which is all that Rawdon's ever done for Becky and at the cost of alienation from his family and the life of comfort he was used to.  Thus becoming a true friend, man and husband under the circumstances, as he could have remained the womanizer he was reported to be and kept his allowance and would've also received an inheritance twice over!

Great episode out of all of them and how secrets were out for Sedly, for Becky too as Amelia and Rawdon were left heartbroken for their respective losses!  A bit of a Jekyll and Hyde moment for Rawdon and I thought that when he was standing on the steps as they left Steyne's place how he reminded me of the characters (when Tom starred in the ITV drama) and sure enough he changed as soon as he arrived home and found them together! 
Final ep next week when things will finally fair (no pun) in one direction or another.

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