Miss Austen – Episode 2

By: Jenny Vintzileos

After discovering Mary’s (Liv Hill) letter to Eliza (Madeleine Walker), Cass (Keeley Hawes) becomes conflicted and angry. But with Mary’s (Jessica Hynes) arrival to the house, Cass quickly springs into action and hides the correspondence. However, with Dinah (Mirren Mack) noticing Cass reading something in her room in the prior episode, she has tipped off Mary that Cass might have found something. Cass brushes it off and Mary heads into the house to start digging more. Isabella (Rose Leslie) continues to clean and pack up the household.

Cass then heads to Eliza’s old writing desk and finds little trinkets and drawings from Eliza’s children. In the same desk, she also finds another letter from Jane (Patsy Ferran) to Eliza. Eager to know the contents, she begins to read and Jane shares the reality of Cassy’s grief. To try and help his sister, their brother Edward (Hubert Burton) invites Cassy to come stay with him and his family.

In present day, Cass keeps working on arranging suitable accommodations for Isabella by visiting her sisters. First, she goes to visit Mary Jane (Florence Bell)….who is quite eccentric and lives alone. Mary Jane agrees that Isabella can stay with her. As the topic is further discussed, Mary Jane explains to Cass that her sister thinks she knows her own mind. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Isabella and Mr. Lidderdale (Alfred Enoch) bump into one another….some awkwardness very apparent.

Back at the house Cass continues to read even more correspondence from Jane to Eliza. It has become clear through the letter that Edward and Elizabeth’s (Eve Ponsonby) invitation has turned Cassy (Synnove Karlsen) into their nanny rather than as a guest. Jane continues to tell Eliza about Cassy’s plight when, in a flashback, Cassy overhears her brother and his wife talking about a dinner party that night. When Edward tries to include his sister, Elizabeth is quick to shut down the idea and instead keep Cassy away from the guests. But Jane’s letter has the desired effect – Eliza invites Cassy to come and stay with her instead. And Cassy’s visit is just in time, since Eliza goes into labor and gives birth to Isabella. When the news of another girl is given to Fulwar (Felix Scott), he is upset by this and leaves the room. Instead, Cassy takes to spending time with the newest addition and telling her stories about Tom (Callam Lynch).

In present time, Cass see Isabella teaching Arthur (Saxon Fox) in the parlor and takes note that she still needs to visit with Isabella’s other sister….Beth Fowle (Clare Foster). Before Cass leaves, Dinah imparts important knowledge to Cass about how Fulwar mistreated the youngest daughter in the years before he died. Cass then goes to visit Beth, who is assisting Mr. Lidderdale with a Diptheria patient. Immediately, Beth and Mr. Lidderdale usher her out before she can get sick, but not before Beth assures Cass that Isabella is a grown woman and can take care of herself.

When Cass returns back to the Fowle residence, Mary is on the hunt for Jane’s letters with no success. Giving up for the meantime, Mary then starts barking orders to Dinah and Isabella to get her tea and help her get comfortable for a rest. Mary is more of a nuisance than a help. Later that night the women of the house gather in the parlor where Cass opens up to where her and Isabella left off in Persuasion. While Isabella is intrigued by the way Jane speaks of love, Cass explains that writing was Jane’s greatest love of all. However, Mary recalls that Jane did have a love interest…sending Cass into a memory of a man she met many years ago. The memory takes a  lot out of Cass and she heads to bed, going back to that specific memory.

In another flashback, Cassy and Jane are spending time with Eliza as she recovers from giving birth. James (Patrick Knowles) and Mary then come to visit, their daughter Anna (Vivien Battley) trailing right behind them. Anna ends up going to find her aunts and they propose a getaway to the shore. Anna loves the idea and coincidentally so does Mary, who overhears their conversation and sees it as an opportunity for someone else to watch her daughter.

Fast-forward to their trip where Anna, Cassy and Jane are enjoying their time together at the shore with the Austen family. Anna and Cassy end up visiting a dress shop in town and that is where Cassy and Mr. Hobday (Max Irons) meet for the first time. Coincidentally, Mr. Hobday continues showing up wherever the Austens are…taking quite the interest in Cassy. When Mister (Kevin McNally) and Missus (Phyllis Logan) Austen begin to talk of their opinions of Mr. Hobday, Cassy tries to play off her attraction to the gentleman by proposing he would be a suitable match for Jane. And even though Mr. Hobday is well-read and interesting, Jane cannot help by notice that Mr. Hobday continually looks over to Cassy more than anyone else. In a letter to Eliza she details how the family schemed and decided to get Cassy out of her grieving state once and for all. With a new dress and the ruse of a picnic, they convince Cassy to head to the shore…where Mr. Hobday is waiting. The two finally have a proper conversation and Jane shares with Eliza that she can see Cassy has fallen in love.

Present day, Cass has found herself outside of her room and the house. As Mary sees her come in, she questions what Cass was thinking going outside. Unfortunately, Cass is unable to understand how she was outside in the first place as she does not remember leaving her room. Becoming dizzy, Cass falls to the floor and Isabella and Dinah quickly come to her aid.