Taboo ― “Episode 3” Review. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.

Season 1, Episode 3

Air Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 10PM ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“Teach me about magic. I want to be a wolf too or a bird so I can fly.” – Winter

The mystery continues as we see James Keziah Delaney (Tom Hardy) do his best to save his father’s legacy. Why is it so important to James to keep land in his family’s name? Why does the East India Trading, Co. want it enough to kill him for it? You have to wonder if the company is as ruthless as they seem to be. Or is their evil nature a simple dramatization meant to make Taboo more exciting?

No Pain, Well … No Pain

If Sir Stuart Strange isn’t the most dastardly villain on TV today, I don’t know who is.

I’ve been wondering at the title for the series as it could refer to almost anything. Taboo might refer to everything James Delaney, to the impressive diamond (what I am guessing might be a blood diamond) James sends his sister Zilpha (Oona Chaplin), or to the shady business dealings in this dark version of 19^th century London. There is too much mystery surrounding the Delaney name to guess at what importance the seemingly useless land James has, and what it means to the East India Trading Co. Taboo makes me want to do some research into the life and times of 1800s London, well … no it doesn’t. I try to stay as far away as possible from anything to do with the slave trade. I have a feeling James’ back story will at some point run into less than savory topics. At some point, we will see what happened to James in Africa, why his father left him everything with the possibility of knowing his stepmother would pop out of the woodworks, and the relationship between James and his sister, Zilpha.

James is everywhere he needs to be. What would happen if he wasn’t?

When you find out you can’t kill a man to get what you want, what do you do? I think the better question is what will that man do? James is cunning, in that he doesn’t lie in wait for another assassin. With a simple piece of paper, James makes it so the people trying to kill him will regret making that decision, while simultaneously preventing them from retaliating against him, as well. Maybe the man isn’t so crazy out of his mind after all. My guess is James is far from being a nutjob. What he doesn’t understand at first slowly takes shape in his mind as he sits, meditates, and works out his flashbacks. He’s a visual person; he needs to see things in order to sort through his thoughts. So he sinks into his memories and picks them to pieces. “You don’t speak but you do have answers. You do.” How about that―there might be magic in James’ blood or something of the supernatural. Maybe Taboo is more than a revenge drama. What more is in store for us?

Most Interesting Dialogue:

Zilpha: “Please understand that from this moment I will burn your letters without opening them.”

James: “Then I will visit you in your dreams, my love.”

Zilpha: “Please, I am your sister. Let all else … lie.”

Well, I think the answer to one question has made itself clear. I cannot wait to see the outcome of this bit of juicy storyline. *whistles innocently* Does anyone want to talk about the elephant in the room? I wasn’t expecting the blatant display by Zilpha with her *cough* brother *cough* in church no less. We can speculate as to what was between them but I imagine Zilpha undergarments weren’t. What is that about? Zilpha isn’t as sweet as she wants to be perceived. She has something dark hidden beneath her black dresses and stoic face. Oh what a tangled web indeed.

Lorna is more than meets the eye. I’m curious to learn more about her previous relationship with James’ deceased father.

On to more interesting things―what do you think about Lorna Bow (Jessie Buckley)? She’s no delicate flower, is she? I like how she handles hecklers at her show. Even back then people would rather see flesh touted front and center than to hear Shakespeare. What impresses me most about her is she doesn’t back down. Lorna continues to assert her place in the Delaney household as the widow of Horace Delaney (Edward Fox). Now that she has shown herself to be a strong woman, do you think she regrets her actions? She’s proven she is no one’s bitch but has she screwed up to the point of signing her own death warrant? I’d hate to see something happen to her. She brings a bit of whimsy and attitude to the Delaney household. Not to mention the feminine touch that is needed to shed some light in that dark, dingy place.

If, like me, you’re wondering where James keeps his pants, stay tuned for the next episode. It’ll be interesting to see if the man finds himself in a clean shirt and a pair of britches for longer than one scene. Let me know what you think about “Episode 3” by dropping me a line in the comments section below or tweet me @ellemoe.

Tune in to Taboo, Tuesdays at 10PM ET/PT, only on FX. For more info on Taboo, visit the official site.

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Elle

Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle