Sanditon – Episode 4 Review

After a slow start to the series the fourth episode of Sanditon ramps up the drama and stakes for the characters.

Georgiana (Crystal Clarke) has arranged a secret rendezvous with her male friend from London, Otis (Jyuddah Jaymes). She ropes in Charlotte (Rose Williams) into helping her. The rivalry between Clara (Lily Sacofsky) and the Denham siblings takes a new twist when Clara accidentally finds out how intimate they are. The good-natured Tom (Kris Marshall) starts to succumb to stress due to his worsening finances.

Sanditon has finally hit its stride. It has established all its characters and storylines, now it just needs to follow through. The last storyline was set up at the end of Episode 3 where Georgiana sent a letter to Otis and Episode 4 followed up on it. This storyline was basically a forbidden love plot – it was Romeo & Juliet with the visuals from the Regency. This part of the story had that period drama style of romance one would expect from a show like this. The time spent with Georgiana and Otis had pleasant visuals. There were in a field of bluebells and go on a rowboat together. Otis does what many a romantic lead has done – he announces he would do something stupid if his proposal is rejected and he has to enact on that promise when it happens.

Apart from establishing the relationship with Georgiana and Otis these scenes were important for Charlotte’s character development. Georgiana forces Charlotte out of her shell. Throughout the series Charlotte has been a polite, regal young woman but when she was with Georgiana her lighter side was able to come out. She even did impressions of Sidney (Theo James) and Mrs. Griffiths (Elizabeth Berrington). Charlotte also finds out about Sidney’s dark secret, making her release all her anger. Williams was finally allowed to show more emotion.

As well as spending time with Georgiana and Otis, Charlotte paid a visit to Young Stringer (Leo Suter). Charlotte states his rustic cottage reminds her of home and she got to see he has a talent for design. He is clearly a dreamboat. However, Young Stringer’s father (Rob Jarvis) emphasises that he shouldn’t have dreams above his station.

Throughout the series Tom has been shown to be a friendly and enthusiastic person as he develops up Sanditon. But the financial troubles begin to affect him. He becomes more aggressive towards people with Young Stringer taking the brunt of it. Tom also lies to his wife (Kate Ashfield) about his situation. His behaviour could easily translate into a modern context.

The best part of the show is still the storyline between Clara and Esther. In this episode Clara seemingly gets the upper hand and taunts Esther when the whole family was together. The rivals make snide comments toward each other in their exchanges. It could be best described as polite bitchiness. There were subtleties in Sacofsky’s performance as she smirks and delights in Esther’s embarrassment. Esther has been made into a more sympathetic character because she’s trapped in a one-way relationship.

As well from the drama the episode had lighter moments. The other Parker siblings, Diana (Alexandra Roach) and Arthur (Turlough Convery), were the comic relief and they provided some laughs with their day on the bench. The funniest line was when Diana gave Arthur medical advice at the end of the day.

The fourth episode was the strongest episode in the season so far due to the added drama and character development that was presented.