By: Bintou Secka
Synopsis
Episode 2 “Shock and Delight” begins with an opening scene of a flashback of The Duchess of Hastings was giving birth to the heir, Simon The Duke.
During her time in labor the Duchess was in grave pain. Her life was in danger. The duke was a terrible husband and an even worse father to Simon.
The duke was constantly pestering the midwifes about the sex of the baby, whether or not it was a boy or a girl. The minute he got his confirmation he took Simon into his arms. He praised the fact that he has a son and walked away from his dying wife.
The duchess was pleased that after many years she was finally able to provide The Duke with an heir. Minutes before she passed away she told her best friend Lady Danbury that she was proud of providing a son for her husband.
In episode 2, the director takes us back to Simon’s childhood in order to understand his character in the present day. We learn that as a child before Lady Danbury came into Simon’s life he experienced no love.
Simon lost his mother from birth and did not receive any form of love from his father. He was verbally abused by his dad from a young age because of his speech impediment.
The director wanted to provide its viewers with answers to the many questions they had about Simon’s character and choices. Simon’s refusal to marry is a major part of most of the series.
In the present day, Daphne and Simon have illustrated a plan to act like they are together in order to get Daphne the perfect match. As for Simon, he could finally get some time away from persistent mothers trying to marry their daughters off to him.
As we watch this scene, as viewers we can already theorize that there is some upcoming romance.
Review
A strength of episode 2 is it gives us a deeper insight into Simon’s character. It explains his views on love, marriage, and family which gave us much more clarity into his behavior.
In this episode we see Daphne and Simon’s love story continue. The two are fighting their attraction to one another but we as viewers can already predict the result from their coy behaviors.
Screenwriter Chris Van Dusen gradually builds on their romance. This begins to raise the excitement and thrill of the show. It is a great twist that keeps the viewers entertained and eager to know more. The womanizing Duke is in danger of falling for the inexperienced yet sharp-witted Daphne, the most pursued young lady in town.
The only critique that I would give to this episode is the fact that they introduced Simon’s background prematurely. It could have been delayed in order to create more suspense.
