Britain’s most scandalous sisters are gracing our screens this month in a show titled Outrageous, because that’s what they are, just outrageous. The series, based on a novel, tells the story of the 6 Mitford sisters (don’t be mistaken, they do have one brother named Tom) and their lives pre-World War 2. The controversial story is immediately quite intriguing as soon as the show opens. Narrated by the oldest of the sisters, Nancy, an old spinster at nearly 29, still looking to marry her lover of 5 years. The first two episodes focus on an introduction to the sisters and their present ideology, but soon enough, we see why some of them were deemed so controversial back then. Episode 2 introduces us to British fascist leader Oswald Mosley and his relationship with Diana, the only sister who was already settled and with 2 kids in the pack. The story has only begun, but I’m eager to see what’s coming next in Outrageous. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into episodes 1 and 2.
Spoiler Alert
Who Were The Mitford Sisters?
The show begins in September 1931, and the Mitford household is cutting down on expenses in order to manage their accounts at the onset of the Great Depression. Having lived in luxury all their lives, the Mitford sisters are pretty determined to keep their allowances and stay rich, but life’s got other plans for them. Nancy, the oldest, is our narrator, and she introduces us to all the sisters and the one brother. Nancy, Diana, Pamela, Unity, Jessica, Deborah, and, of course, Tom. In episode 1, Diana is married to Bryan Guinness, a fellow aristocrat, and the pair is quite the vision. They’ve also got two beautiful boys. The younger sisters are what you would consider uncouth for the times, whereas Nancy is the one the family has given up on because she’s still single, despite being the oldest. David, the dad, announces at the breakfast table, where nobody is allowed to be late, that he’s going to cut down the allowances of the older sisters by half and that they’re going to rent out one of their houses, amongst other things. Soon, we learn he’s quite the patriarch, but he does seem to care about his children quite a bit, too. Still, tradition always comes before parenting, I suppose.
It is the year Unity has to make her societal debut, and Diana offers to host her. Unity clearly doesn’t seem to care about being a “lady,” but she’s forced to do it anyway because such is the life of women. The girls are also not educated because they tried it with one of them, and she got kicked out of school. While Bryan isn’t excited about being at social gatherings where people talk about politics, Diana finds herself drawn to the new talk of the town, Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists. But she’s not the only Mitford sister smitten by him. While in her case it’s a romantic attraction, for Unity, it’s more about ideology and saving the great nation (yikes).
In 1933, Diana realizes she’s in love with Mosley, but she also knows he’s not going to leave his wife for her. Somehow, she’s okay with this and would rather be freed from Bryan’s yoke because it seems she doesn’t love him anymore. Mosley is a well-known womanizer, but Diana still doesn’t mind being the hidden lover because she thinks his wife is okay with it, too. Turns out she isn’t, but Diana learns this much too late. The divorce leads to Diana being shunned by her father, but the sisters continue to visit her secretly. When Mosley’s wife dies, Diana becomes the public enemy, because it’s made to look like Mosley’s wife gave up on life because she knew of the affair. To make matters worse, Mosley goes away on vacation to “relax” with his wife’s sister without even considering Diana’s feelings. At this time, Diana asks Unity, who has started to believe in the fascist movement, to go with her to Germany. Now that she’s a free woman, Diana wants to make use of that freedom. Unity is thrilled to go to the land of the Nazis, of course, and the two of them attend the infamous rally in Nuremberg, Germany. Unity decides to join the fascist party back home because she wants to recruit people and become the voice of the party. Meanwhile, Jessica is entirely against the fascist movement, and she is, herself, a communist. She often tries to talk to Unity about it, but it’s a waste of time. Nancy, too, is of the mind that the Fascists aren’t the way forward for Britain. Finally, Mosley comes back, asking Diana about the rally she witnessed and telling her he missed her. Finally, it seems they’re inseparable now, but I wonder if she’ll ever get to be his wife.
Who Does Nancy Marry?
Meanwhile, Nancy’s been seeing a man named Hamish for 4 years, but he’s not popped the question yet. She learns from a good friend of hers that maybe she needs to seduce the man in a way that isn’t intimidating but still forward. This has the opposite effect on Hamish, though, because he tells Nancy that he’s being shipped off to America, possibly forever. Somehow, Hamish returns after having a whirlwind romance with a woman from London itself, and he tells Nancy that he’s engaged and going to marry said woman, shattering all of her dreams and aspirations forever.
However, Nancy meets a man named Peter soon after, and with the way he talks to her, you instantly know he’s going to turn out quite the prick. But Nancy likes the way he treats her. He’s kind and asks her to marry him within minutes of meeting her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t equipped to see the red flag back then. Peter is a working man, but he hates it because it’s obviously not something he’s used to doing. Meanwhile, Nancy writes occasionally, but he expects her to have a best-selling novel. He also expects a kind of dowry, even though she’s told him that her dad doesn’t have much left to offer. On top of all of this, Peter wonders if Nancy’s been in bed with Hamish because he wants the woman he marries to be “all his,” but he tells her that he’s too old to have not had his cherry popped, if you know what I mean.
At the end of Outrageous episode 2, a drunken Peter walks into the house Nancy’s just set up for him on the day before the wedding and tells her that he’s quit his job. He also doesn’t care if she leaves him and tells her that she was the third person he proposed to in that one week. Nancy endures for some reason, and the next day, after asking her dad if he likes Peter, she decides to hold her chin up and walk down the aisle. Whatever her plan is, I hope Peter has to pay. But she’s certainly not one to give up easily. But this will be the last of the celebrations for the Mitford siblings for a while. We’ll just have to watch on to know why.
