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The Frankenstein Chronicles - The Fortune of War
episode 1.4
UK 2015
produced by
Carol Moorhead, David Tanner, Frank Doelger (executive), Patrick Irwin (executive), Tracey Scoffield (executive), Justin Thomson (executive), Sean Bean (co), Oliver Butler (co) for Rainmark Films/ITV
directed by Benjamin Ross
starring Sean Bean, Tom Ward, Richie Campbell, Ed Stoppard, Vanessa Kirby, Ryan Sampson, Robbie Gee, Anna Maxwell Martin, Charlie Creed-Miles, Eloise Smyth, Elliot Cowan, Kate Dickie, Deirdre Mullins, Shaun Mason, Darren Kent, Brian Milligan, Stuart Graham, Maggie Cronin, Patrick FitzSymons, Jessie Ross, Shaun Blaney, Packy Lee, Julia Dearden
written and created by Benjamin Ross, Barry Langford, music by Harry Escott, Roger Goula, visual effects by SSVFX
TV-series
The Frankenstein Chronicles, Mary W. Shelley
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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After being led down to a tunnle-system beneath the city by graverobber
Pritty (Charles Creed-Miles) to catch the child killers in the last
episode, Marlott (Sean Bean) comes face to face with a gang of
murderers for hire led by matriarch Mrs. Bishop (Kate Dickie) - and to
catch them red-handed he orders the corpse of a young girl for himself -
but insists on picking her among the live child prostitutes himself ...
In the meantime former child prostitute Flora (Eloise Smyth) has gotten
rid of the unborn baby with the help of Lord Hervey (Ed Stoppard) and
returned to Marlott's lodgings - where she is paid a visit by her former
"owner" Billy Oates (Robbie Gee), one of the men Marlott's
after, who makes some threats, shortly before Marlott fetches her to be
his bait. Now despite almost messing things up numerous times, Marlott and
his right-hand-man manage to save Flora (who came much closer to death
than expected), round up all of Mrs. Bishop's gang, and even set a trap
for Billy Oates. But there's one problem, Mrs. Bishop insists that she
would never kill children, and given that she has admitted to many other
murders, one might even believe her, and Billy Oates just refuses to talk,
but nobody believes him to be the actual killer, rather just a white
slaver. So despite a successful operation, it seems Marlott's still pretty
much on square one ...
The good: This is an episode where lots of things are happening, an
episode that gets through quite a bit of story. And even better is the way
it shows Marlott as an utterly broken man, plagued by syphilis and the
death of his wife and child (a few years back), who makes ruthless
decisions, fails to look out or connect with others, and seems a bit out
of place wherever he goes - and Sean Bean embodies him rather perfectly.
On top of that, sets, camerawork and direction are once again top notch.
The bad though: Not everything in the story makes sense - Marlott
doesn't need Flora as bait, every other prostitute unknown to him would
have done the trick just as well, if Mrs. Bishop's gang doesn't murder
children why has she happily accepted Marlott's request, and if Billy
Oates knew about the trap set for him (as much is suggested), why did he
still walk into it to have himself arrested.
These questions though only matter in hindsight, while watching the
episode things move along swiftly enough to polish over them, making this
a pretty exciting watch.
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