Conjuring up the ‘what next’ after the happy ending is an unenviable task that should not be looked upon lightly. Arise Sally Wainwright who, for Gentleman Jack’s second outing, has crafted a pacy drama full of heart and wit.
We last saw Suranne Jones’ Anne Lister and Sophie Rundle’s Ann Walker reconciling on a windy hilltop, before taking communion together in York’s Holy Trinity Church to become wife and wife - of sorts. The honeymoon phase isn’t plain sailing, because nobody in the Regency era really got the idea of same-sex marriage, and besides, where would be the fun for viewers in that? Series two deals with meddling families, persistent exes and plaguing doubts with humour, warmth and that signature Lister swagger.
It’s been three years (our time - for them four weeks) since that hilltop scene and Jones’ frankly magnificent power walking sets the pace. In the first sweeping shot Anne invites us in and promptly stomps off again, never one to sit down. And as if being ‘Britain’s first modern lesbian’ and an anachronistic whirlwind isn’t enough to refresh the period genre, Lister’s breaking of the fourth wall certainly achieves this.
Anne is on a mission to settle down with Ann - if she is even capable of such a thing. Walker is to move into Shibden Hall and they will both change their wills accordingly. This idea - obviously - does not sit at all well with Ann Walker’s family, who enjoy her money and have infantilised her for her whole life. Aunt Ann (yes there were a lot of them, this one is played by Stephanie Cole) has many a contemptuous look up her sleeve and is determined to meddle.
The irony of Walker’s family and friends talking of gossips when they themselves partake in a 19th century equivalent of a group chat is not lost. The scenes are fun and the jealousy abundant.
Building a life with Walker isn’t Lister’s only mission though. She’s also determined to exact revenge on coal-stealing Mr Rawson and take her business exploits even further. There are lots of subplots - distracting at times - that indicate Lister’s wild side. She’s borrowing more and sometimes she almost seems dangerous; on the cusp of losing control because she’s so excited by life. It’s exhilarating to watch, if a little busy.
Sophie Rundle as Walker gives an understated and solid performance.The internalised homophobia that Walker grappled with in series one was subtle and though we see her bloom under Anne’s wing, it hasn’t disappeared entirely. There are still doubts and there is still anguish. But this newly awakened Walker is wilful too - perhaps more so than Lister expected.
There is tension of sorts between the two. Lister’s dialogue has hints of doubt. In some ways she plays down the match, saying she is merely “satisfied” and that she is “fond” of Walker. But the look on Lister’s face - and those glorious glances to the camera - tell a different story. As a viewer it’s like reading between the lines of her diary - on which the drama is based - as we’re forced to embrace a different conclusion: Anne Lister is in love. It just isn’t the type of love that she - something of a ladies lady, according to some scenes in the first series - necessarily expected: that of an actual, mature relationship. Continued correspondence with her old lover Mariana Lawton (Lydia Leonard) has Lister struggling with this new, more settled stage of life and clinging to her fruity past. Mariana’s presence will continue to challenge Lister as she clings (vainly, as we all must) on to her youth.
Walker on the other hand is - naturally - embraced at Shibden. And the supporting characters are as delightful as ever. Gemma Whelan gives a particularly wonderful performance as Lister’s long-suffering sister Marian. Her facial expressions and comic timing are perfect, though that consistent cough is suspicious. Aunt Anne (I know - Gemma Jones this time) remains a motherly confidante to Lister throughout.
The series is pacy and busy. The subplots (we also see the return of Lister’s tenant Thomas Sowden, who after suffering years of violent abuse at the hands of his father Sam was last seen murdering him and feeding him to the family pigs, before joyfully marrying the daughter of Lister’s steward Samuel Washington - that storyline has legs) can sometimes feel uneven and as though they are scrambling for attention. But the central tenet of Anne and Ann’s relationship remains. Though she still yearns for the past, it’s a thrill to watch Lister flourish in this new era.
