'Harlots' season 3 episode 3 review: Time is up for one of our favorite leading ladies while someone we love is back from the dead
Spoiler alert for ‘Harlots’ season 3 episode 3
'Harlots' aired episode three of season three on Hulu on Wednesday, July 24, and it was the most suspense-filled episode of the season, possibly even among the top five in the entire show! Not only did it mark the return of Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton), currently known as Margaret Young, but also the departure of one of our beloved leading ladies.
But we are getting carried away. Blame it on shock and trauma.
Margaret is back, and everyone is happy – except not fully. She is back to acting without fully understanding the consequences of her actions. She has a new husband and decided to come to England, even though she knows that she will be hanged the second she is identified. She cannot be with her family – not completely, and she is putting everyone around her in danger by choosing to return.
William (Danny Sapani) is heartbroken that the woman he loves has taken another man's name, but as always has chosen to keep his displeasure to himself. Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay) is bitter that her Ma gets to live a freer life than the one she has – in a way she is living the life she envisioned for herself. Lucy (Eloise Smyth), meanwhile, is worried that her Ma will insert herself into every aspect of her life, and not give her the breathing space she needs to live her life.
As expected, Margaret throws herself into the middle of all the drama at Greek Street, being an advisor to her husband in a land deal he is making with the Pincher brothers. Emily Lacey (Holli Dempsey), who recognizes her, subtly threatens to hand her over to the law if she does not push her husband into making the deal with the men who now employs her. She quickly agrees.
However, when Margaret finally gets the answer to "who burned my house?", she does not hesitate to turn her back on that deal. In fact, she is so furious and hell-bent on breaking the deal, that she goes to Lady Fitz's (Liv Tyler) boxing party that she is hosting with her secret lover, Charlotte — the same Charlotte who can't "keep her hands off Isaac Pincher (Alfie Allen)".
The Pinchers have brought nothing but trouble since season three episode one when they made their presence felt in Greek Street. It is Charlotte's association with Isaac that in the end took her down – forever.
The show took painstaking measures to make us worry for Charlotte, and it paid off. The music, the visuals of boxing and shots of Lady Fitz and Isaac made us believe that we should fear for her two lovers finding out about each other. How wrong were we!
After Margaret ensured that her husband doesn’t sell his property to Isaac and Hal (Ash Hunter), the latter goes to make his brother answer for his inability to keep it in his pants, only to find him heavily making out with Charlotte. They pull them apart and start to beat him up, which is when Charlotte tries to intervene and gets pushed by Hal, falls off the railing and onto the ground far below. She bleeds to death, but not before sharing a tender moment with Lady Quigley's (Lesley Manville) new "daughter".
It almost seemed like a passing of the baton – "You have my blessing to be the most beautiful, most sought-after harlot in Greek Street, who will have the power to keep every man on their toes if that is what you want. Runoff to American with an Irishman if you can. Be wary of Lady Quigley."
However, no one knows about her death at the moment. Her Ma and Pa are not going to stay calm, and it is going to wreck Lucy, who has just recently found her confidence. There is a huge possibility that her entire family is going to turn against Margaret and blame her for Charlotte's death. It’s just been a day since she is back, and they have already experienced an irreplaceable loss.
Season three episode four will show what chain of events Charlotte's death instigates.