'Harlots' season 3 episode 7 review: 'I don't need a rescuer, I am the rescuer' should be the tagline for all women on the Hulu show
Very rarely does a show exist where women not only play all the central characters, but they do not emulate the brute force of masculinity to get what they want. Hulu’s ‘Harlots’ has managed to do exactly that consistently. In the most recently aired season 3 episode 7 of the series, we see that troubles of Greek Street are never-ending, but the women we have been rooting for, always find a way to float above it all.
There are many storylines happening simultaneously on the show, from Kate’s (Daisy Head) decision to stick with the prince, the fourth in line to the throne, for selfless reasons, to the plight that befell Lucy (Eloise Smyth) because of her business partners drowning in debt, there is much that happened in the episode. However, the consistent theme of the show has yet again been the strength displayed by the women.
Kate, for example, seemed unsure about her choice to become the prince’s mistress in the previous episode, but as we had predicted, she is going to be the most sought after woman among the upper-class men in London. She is smart enough to understand that she has the prince wrapped around her little finger, and she has the opportunity to keep one powerful man in check, thereby protecting many innocent women from becoming his prey.
If Harcourt (Julian Rhind-Tutt) is to keep him under his wing, he will turn the prince into a psychopathic monster like himself. We saw glimpses of that this episode, but as Kate points out to her heartbroken lover, he is yet a child and has a chance to become a decent human being. Kate, in fact, had many powerful moves this episode, one of the most prominent ones being telling her lover that she doesn’t need rescuing.
Her exact words were, “I don't need a rescuer, I am the rescuer,” which underlines everything that the women on the show stand for. This rang true for Emily Lacey (Holli Dempsey) who used her wit and words to convince her man to stand by her even though he found out that she was with his brother when he got murdered.
It also rang true for Harriet (Pippa Bennett-Warner) who wrote an article in the newspaper against the underground slave trade in London to protect the man she loves.
However, every time they take charge of their destiny, the ‘Harlots’ get punched harder by life. And, while Kate and Emily Lacey seem to be doing well for now, the men in their lives aren’t to be trusted. Especially with Harcourt explicitly revealing to Quigley (Lesley Manville) that his blood lust is back, there is much to be concerned about.
Don’t forget to tune in to season 3 episode 8 of ‘Harlots’ on Hulu on August 28 to find out how the story unravels for the women we love.
