“The people united can never be ignited!”
Terry Pratchett
And so we reach the last episode of Channel 4’s gritty Victorian drama The Mill, which is…er…not so gritty, actually, more Our Mutual Friend than Great Expectations. (That’s not really an impressive comparison, but I couldn’t think of anything better.) Recent events at Quarry Bank Mill come to a head as Doherty the French/Irish Revolutionary organises a political meeting at the local pub, while Robert Gregg threatens attendees with sacking. Esther’s sister turns up with her birth certificate, and Lucy seeks revenge for her sister’s murder.
All very exciting, in fact. This week’s offering was a great improvement on the greyness of episode 3, stuffed as it was with hypocrites and bribery and defiance. It wasn’t all Glorious Revolution, of course: Tommy in particular had a bittersweet ending that I wasn’t quite happy with, and Temperley disappeared into the mud like a true Dickensian villain. But it was, on the whole, a satisfying conclusion to a mildly interesting series. (Well, mildly interesting compared to most of what is on television nowadays. And at least it isn’t Star Trek.)
The English Student 