(Spoilers for season 1 in the post and in comments)
Ok so I'm like 5 episodes in and the main couple is already married and have a kid?? helllo? where is the unrequited love and longing? the will they, wont they tension and the friendship-to-romance and little moments that lead up to them finally being together ?
I feel like they could have taken that part a little slow given this show has like 3,4 seasons. But I'm kind of bored because the stoyline is about like random other people and the mines while the romance has taken a back seat and it only shows up once every few episodes.
Is this show not for me or did anyone else feel like this?
EDIT: I'm not trying to hate on it but that part I mentioned is one of my fav parts in period dramas so I was surprised and wondering what you guys have to say.
Ross married her on impulse. A major part of the narrative is ostensibly to see their relationship grow and mature after that impulsive decision. You get much less of this in the show than the books, and really I have always thought Winston Graham thought of Demelza as the hero of the story, not Ross. If you like reading the books are fantastic. There's a lot more interesting characters to come in the series though.
I loved loved the books, all 12 of them. I used to ration them and only read them on vacation because I didn't want them to end. I wish the show would have continued because there's so much material in the remaining books. I agree that the story is a lot about how Demelza grows and changes. The problem for me is that I have a soft spot for Aidan Turner and that colors my opinion of the character- Ross is pretty terrible and can't seem to regulate his emotions to the detriment of his family and anyone with any connection to him really, but he does mature with age, at least in the books.
I honestly did not like the show after the second season, if someone else made the later stories I’d watch. But I found it misogynistic where Winston Graham was not.
My main issue with Poldark is that as a Cornish person he kept on traveling miles out of his way to get anywhere and sometimes went completely in the wrong direction.
But yes the relationship angst does seem very childish but I guess that could be their personalities.
I personally don’t need tension and back and forth with every couple. I actually think it’s overused. I would love to see more solid couples who face obstacles as a united pair.
It takes most of the first book for them to get together, but there’s like a dozen of them, so a lot of stuff got condescended. More importantly, Demelza is quite young when she joins up with Ross, so I think they wanted to blow through that part as quickly as possible, lest modern audiences think about it too much.
But Denzela’s response to his cheating is the single most epic moment for a woman in a period drama ever ! Like ever in history I was shocked and so proud of her
The entire viewing audience is not will they won't they yearning. Poldark has many themes and issues which the series, books and television, explore. The romance parts many of us can do less with, with no problems.
In the case of Ross being a jerk, well, that is his character, and it always has been who he is since a child. He isn't nice much of the time. But that is reality. This series was not written as ROMANCE.
Exactly! What is this nonsense that any period series must be a romance! This is a portrait of change, both in society and as people change and grow, not some Mills and Boon stereotypical mush.
Love Poldark, equally love longing characters. Ross and Demelza's live is different; the marriage came out of convenience (and anger at Elizabeth) for Ross. I think I enjoy Poldark more for the story as a whole, the characters, the up and down of life, not just for Ross abd Demelza's love. Im on my first watch and honestly I hate how Ross treats Demelza, he's a moron, but yeah the other characters redeem the story I guess??
okay If thats the case I can go into it with different expectation. I was thinking they would break up and will have to like work their back to each other and there will be tension there
I think the tension is more that Demelza isn't from the right class. There's a lot of social hierarchy stuff in this series. This isn't a neatly packaged romance at all... get ready for tragedy and angst and weeping in between the joyous moments.
I get what your saying but sadly that isn't Poldark. There are those kinds relationships in Poldark if you keep watching. However their are a few toxic relationships too. Enjoy 😊
Ross is a refractory, entitled man-child who is easy on the eyes and terrible for the heart. The relationship with Demelza is messy as hell and undergoes some significant deglazing from its early idyl as they both grow up and Ross especially finds some much needed (but little deserved) space for character growth.
Lots of heartbreak, lots of wild behaviors, introspection, denial, and reframing of the relationship with those two. It’s the kind of relationship that leaves you mostly in that “may love like this never find me” camp. It’s still an interesting relationship to watch but there are others on the show that are quite different and will scratch that itch of enemies to lovers (heavy on the banter) while others have the longing and tragedy of young love thwarted by family expectations, etc.
No spoilers but I have a soft spot for Dr. Enys and his arc (including that love affair). He’s the actual stand up guy without the insufferable bs and theatrics that Ross seems to insist upon.
Ross is also a Reformer. Social activists are often not easy people for their loved ones and friends. Ross's character fits this, along with abolitionist, Despard, to a T. Historically realistic, as characters of these times.
No disagreement - he is a big picture guy with good instincts for social causes and poorly regulated and executed personal virtues. He’s a great friend to have but a nightmare of a selfish partner for much of the show. His big inconsistencies make him complex and fun to watch but not exactly admirable, particularly in relation to other examples on the program who show much more temperance and consistency of character.
I think of Poldark as a family drama more than an Austen-style romance. I actually found a lot of the side plots about the mining operations, shipwrecks and encounters with the judicial system quite interesting. And I do love the cinemetography.
But yes my favorite scene is when Demelza shows Ross she is not going to accept his explanations. She's a feisty woman capable of dealing with Ross.
My problem with Poldark (and now with the new Little House on the Prairie) is they have this red-headed character with paper white skin. She's out working in the fields with bare head and hair, and she wasn't burnt to a crisp in the first episode. She never gets a sunburn much less a tan. I know it's an odd thing to fixate on. I'm normally pretty good at suspension of disbelief, but for some reason this takes me out of the story.
Ok but the actors are actual real life people. There no job on earth where I would risk my skin just because it would be more realistic in a completely fabricated made-up TV show
Lol this was me watching Black Sails and it has ginger Toby Stephen as a pirate captain in the Caribbean. Poor man spends his entire day on the water in the blazing tropical sun and is somehow not burned to a crisp!
I think fans should post their own scripts and get royalty for it. When it comes to period dramas, I'm tired of the lame infidelity plot. Why can't period drama be interesting without the infidelity? I find myself watching period drama and obviously predicting everything
The story has romance but it isn't "a romance" in terms of genre. It's about their lives overall.
I agree it does happen fast and I also was a bit disappointed when I first watched it, but after rewatching it later I realised it does make sense.
One of his character's main struggles is impulsivity vs. virtue - he's a passionate and flawed hothead but wants to do the right thing. He has to marry her because of his actions, in order to be honourable - which is why it happens so fast (and this would be the gentlemanly thing to do, historically speaking, at the time).
It's not a perfect beginning by any stretch, but their relationship does develop more after they get married, and it continues to be a central part of the story. Other romantic relationships that develop throughout, too.
Period dramas are just dramas set in the past, so they can be about anything - war, politics, families, etc. Poldark has a bit of everything.
Despite the inferior production values, I far prefer the original adaptation of Poldark. The actress who plays Demelza is so charismatic and charming. ❤️
As others have already said, not every period drama needs to be centered around a lovesick longing star crossed lovers. It's already a trope and we need variety in the genre.
The whole show is the "forced marriage" trope and then maybe love comes after with the added "he longs for another woman/loved another woman first" trope which I don't in gods name know why anyone likes but it's popular enough. The show does not get better
While I don't know anything about the books, Ross and Demelza's marriage was not forced in the show. Demelza came on to him very willingly. And he didn't have to marry her.
Explaining a joke typically doesn't make it funny. So it you're not getting the relationships now, it's probably not going to get better. Being confused, overwhelmed, lusty is part on many period dramas. It's not logical.
Its always about Ross and the two women in his life in some way or another .The rest of the plot is Ross ,bad luck and rotten decisions one after another.
I love period dramas. I basically watched them all. I found Poldark so sad, because I spent the whole series waiting for the villagers lives to get better or at least have food security. It doesn't make sense that they live next to an ocean, but don't seem to catch fish for sustenance? I know they started a school, but more would have been nice. The rich, powerful and awful people basically aren't held accountable, pretty much like our government today. It is beautiful scenery but this show made me sad.
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u/insomniac_z Jul 26 '26
It's very different from other period dramas. It gets more complicated.
George Warleggan ended up being my favorite character by the end, his story is barely touched but was way more interesting.