Warning: Article contains spoilers for episode four of Victoria series three After wallowing in politics for the last few episodes, Victoria delivered a gut-punch of an instalment. The fourth episode, Foreign Bodies, touched on the cholera outbreak in London which Victoria (Jenna Coleman) was left to face alone as Albert (Tom Hughes), still upset with her, ran for the Chancellorship of Cambridge University. In a change of tone human stories were at the centre as the queen and her subjects battled life and death.
The monarch was torn between keeping herself and her family safe and projecting the right image to her people by being among them. Choosing the latter, she met people who had been struck down by the illness and ran into a familiar face – a nurse by the name of Florence Nightingale (Laura Morgan). Her appearance was nothing more than a short scene with Her Maj. Keeping it brief was well played by the show. Any longer and it would have become gimmicky – viewers are well aware of who Florence is and what she went on to achieve. Plus she would have been in danger of upstaging the queen.
What did upstage the queen this week though was the sad death of Skerrett (Nell Hudson). Poor Nancy, only just married and expecting a baby, tragically succumbed to cholera herself leaving behind a devastated Francatelli (Ferdinand Kingsley). While it will be a wrench to see her go it makes sense given where the character is now. Part of her popularity was her closeness to the queen and the similarities the two women shared.
It would be strange to follow her after she left the queen’s service, running a household with Francatelli as they expected their first child. It would be like shoehorning in a spin-off. And the alternative is to gradually phase them out without fanfare. Skerrett is worthy of a far better exit, and sad as this was, it was fitting. The final moments saw Victoria and Albert in an intense staring match, the queen slowly revealing her husband’s chest – a familiar body, not foreign – before a passionate make-up sesh followed. We wouldn’t be surprised if Victoria was pregnant again next week.
Victoria airs Sundays at 9pm on ITV.
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