The third episode of Belgravia: The Next Chapter shows how healing childhood trauma is linked to the people we surround ourselves with. It is easy to say that toxic people need to be cut out of our lives, but what does one do when they are permanently woven into our social fabric and are in significant positions of power, enough to influence our lives? Belgravia: The Next Chapter Episode 3 episode doesn’t give that answer, but it takes us closer to the question, and here is the recap.
Spoiler Alert
What happens to Frederick’s investment?
The Marquise is a shrewd businesswoman, and in many ways, she bets on the person rather than on the business. In a conversation with Clara, the Marquise admits that she married for money after a lifetime of poverty because of her father’s bad business habits. She also says that she had a happy marriage, and most of it was because of her husband’s wealth. When he fell sick, she started managing his affairs for him, and that is how she learned the ropes of business. The Marquise says that this is a lot easier than what men make it out to be. She eventually agrees to invest in Frederick’s business and is happy about that as well. The Marquise also insists that the name of the factory should be Frederick’s.
It is clear that the Marquise has invested in Fred’s business because of how much she likes Clara. That may not make sense to a lot of people, but it is a rather clever way of understanding the person one is betting on. The Marquise knows from personal experience that even when she was not involved in her husband’s business, she understood his character better than everyone. Similarly, Clara was an honest and brave girl who wouldn’t lie for the sake of propriety. That is why the Marquise trusted her judgment of Frederick as a businessman and took her opinion before deciding whether to invest or not. Unconsciously, the Marquise may have also helped Clara’s marriage. Trust issues were at the center of Clara and Fred’s relationship, and the Marquise’s friendship with Clara had just made Fred take notice of his wife’s qualities that could be therapeutic for him. But unknown to them all, this was going to crumble down soon. While Clara and Fred were going strong with each other, it was still a delicately balanced house of cards, and it could come crumbling down at the slightest untoward move.
What does Dr. Ellerby want with Clara?
Dr. Ellerby identifies as a ‘progressive’, and that means that he believes in Darwinism and therapy. Additionally, he has an unusual interest in Clara Trenchard. Ellerby wasn’t wrong in suspecting that Clara was probably being abused by her husband, considering the optics of the situation on the night he treated her. Clara must have realized that all her anger was a result of her embarrassment and indignation. When she let out her anger in episode 2, that was the beginning of her seeing that Ellerby did not deserve her hate. Even Ellerby apologizes to her for his doubts, and Clara forgives him. Luckily, Frederick is not angry with Ellerby, so that makes things easy.
Clara’s lady’s maid is suspicious of the attention that Ellerby seems to bestow on Clara. He sends her an invitation to an art exhibition, and Clara is considering it, though she does the right thing and decides to speak with Fred about it first. While Ellerby is extremely professional and gentlemanly in his conduct with Clara, he smiles as he walks away from her, as if he is happy about their developing trust and friendship, which must mean that his feelings for her run a little deeper than what is allowed by tradition. Otherwise, it could be the case that he is happy to have a rich and progressive person by his side to support him in his future endeavors, if need be.
Why does Frederick not want to see James?
When Ellerby talks about childhood sadness leaving a mark on people in their adulthood, he is describing trauma. Clara agrees with his ‘theory’ because she is seeing how her husband’s life is being dictated by everything he suffered in his childhood.
Frederick knows about Peter and that the Rutherfords have kept him hidden from the world because of their illness. Susan is trying everything she can for her child’s health, but Peter’s father is governed by his shame and the need to keep up the family name. When Dr. Ellerby talks about hydrotherapy for Peter, Susan listens to them attentively and tries to understand the process and treatment, but her husband just walks out, saying that he doesn’t want to talk about his son. He finds it shameful that his son is in need of such treatment. He tells Fred that he will eventually have to send away Peter because he has other children to think about. Fred cannot help but relate this to his own life. He was the eldest child of his parents, and he keeps wondering if his father’s coldness towards him was because of some similar perceived defect. Fred cannot help thinking about whether his father’s favoritism towards James was a result of Fred not matching up to his expectations and not the other way around.
Meanwhile, at the end of Belgravia: The Next Chapter episode 3, Clara is doing what she can to patch things up between James and Fred. She speaks to James about meeting Fred, and he tells her that his brother would need to make the move since James has been ignored for a long time. Clara is more positive since she feels that Fred may have changed in the past few days, but it is understood that they have to be careful when dealing with him. This is probably when James makes a mistake. He comes to meet Clara at her house without informing her in advance. Unluckily, Fred is also there at the moment, and he is furious at the sight of his brother. He had wanted to go out of contact with him, and he was disappointed that Clara had met him behind his back. James is ordered out of his house, and the whole household is upset at Fred’s turn in his temper.
Final Thoughts
This is a series about healing one’s inner child, a natural sequel to the events of its parent show. There is a particular maturity to the story that is undoubtedly borrowed from modern-day definitions of healing, but it could also be indicative of the common sense of human compassion. There is no easier way to say this, but perhaps even the boring episodes of Belgravia: The Next Chapter are worth watching to see what happens to the characters.
