Gentleman Jack Review: What’s All That Got to Do with Jesus Though? (Season 2 Episode 7)
A showdown is brewing on Gentleman Jack Season 2 Episode 7, “What’s All That Got to Do with Jesus Though?.”
As Gentleman Jack Season 2 nears its conclusion, the conflict over dividing Ann Walker’s estate — which has been slowly building since the premiere — is poised to come to a head in the season finale next week.
Captain Sutherland is increasingly unhinged on “What’s All That Got to Do with Jesus Though?.” He is clearly not used to his smarmy gaslighting tactics failing, and he is getting desperate.
Moreover, it is unclear what exactly Captain Sutherland’s aims are in delaying the division. I’m not sure what tangible gains he gets by not dividing the estate, at least not gains that would justify such anger.
If Ann Walker dies before her sister and the estate isn’t divided, there’s the chance that he would get the entire thing. Still, in the immediate circumstances, dividing the estate doesn’t change his material well-being by much.
Rather, the intensity of his reaction is more likely tied to a loss of control. Once the estate is divided, he loses control over Ann and what happens to her part of the estate. That is something he can’t tolerate.
That makes him more dangerous because it’s not a rational response. It’s an emotional one. Captain Sutherland is quite terrifying as he takes his frustration out on Elizabeth.
It’s a side of him that viewers knew was there but that we’ve never seen. His calm, calculated manipulations were already enough to make my skin crawl. This new volatility makes Elizabeth’s fear and inaction on behalf of her sister even more understandable.
Making things even worse is that even as Captain Sutherland’s attempts to delay things are starting to fail, his words are still getting to Ann. She knows he is trying to manipulate her and turn things around on her, but they still affect her.
The scene juxtaposing her reading his letter with the confrontation in the shop shows how all these incidents are feeding that little voice of self-doubt.
Ann is mostly able to silence that voice on “What’s All That Got to Do With Jesus Though?,” but her outburst at Anne in front of George is a pretty clear signal that it is taking a toll on her nerves. No doubt that will come to a head on the season finale too.
“What’s All That Got to Do With Jesus Though?” is a perfectly serviceable episode. It is an enjoyable hour with a few above-average scenes. Still, there is nothing particularly special about it. Every series is allowed to have episodes here and there that are best described as fine. It’s just unfortunate that this one is the penultimate episode.
Stray Thoughts
- I am still not a fan of how they write Eugenie, but I appreciate her straight-up disdain for Joseph. George?
- Even Aunt Anne has reservations about the Hotel plan. It must be a huge risk if Aunt Anne doesn’t think it’s wonderful simply because Anne thought of it.
- Captain Sutherland has his sights set on Anne Lister as the main threat, rather than Ann Walker. I hope that his downfall is underestimating Miss Walker. That would be such a great culmination of a season-long theme.
What did you think of this episode of Gentleman Jack? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Gentleman Jack airs Mondays at 10/9c on HBO.
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Sarah Fields
Sarah is an obsessive geek who likes to get into the weeds and over think things. She is passionate about Sci-Fi and comics and is a giant classic film nerd. Sarah cares deeply about media representation and the power of telling diverse stories. When she's not writing or watching her favorite shows she spends her days working in the non-profit world trying to make life a little better for those that need some extra help.