Of course, the final ep tore me up–that goes without saying–but it was the Guy and Meg episode in series 3 that also had me blubbering like a baby.
Guy, sarcastic and stoic, resigned to his fate after his sister has condemned him to death and sent him to the dungeon. This boisterous young woman who seems singularly unimpressed with the great “I Am,” who won’t stop talking and leave her fellow prisoner in peace.
And yet, there’s something about her that appeals to Guy’s softer side–the one he doesn’t want to admit he has.
And there’s something about him that appeals to Meg.
When she finally breaks through that wall he has built around himself, when he finally admits to his past sins and failures, she doesn’t condemn him. Meg reaches out to him. No hidden agenda, no pulling his strings.
She would do that for him.
He pleads for her life to be spared, every inch the chivalrous knight. She tries to protect him and receives a mortal wound as a consequence. A blossoming friendship cut short far too soon. It’s a beautiful, moving episode featuring an amazing performance by Richard ably assisted by the incandescent Holliday Grainger, RA’s “stepdaughter” in Sparkhouse.
Beautiful!
Thank you, Grati.
Next to Epi 5 when Guy returned looking gorgeous and more sexy than ever this was my next favourite episode I thought as you say Angie Richard was truly amazing and Holly was brilliant.
They did a wonderful job indeed and when you think about it, their screen time was a relatively small amount of the ep, but that is what I remember. Guy and Meg.
Yes, this ep. was one of my favorites, too. I just loved the sweet friendship between Guy and Meg which helped Guy to remember that he had a better man within him. I love what you did with pictures, too. Guy is soooo gorgeous. I can’t believe I’m still in love with him after all this time! Thanks for your lovely post
Yes, this ep helped lay the foundation for Guy to truly begin his redemption. And I agree, he is indeed so beautiful. I loved how he was lit in much of S3, but he particularly looked like a living masterwork of art in this ep. I am more in love than ever with our beautiful dark knight, I fear. And you’re welcome, Jeannie.
This episode does it for me, too. Guy emotionally stripped bare as he faces his mortality, seeing that someone innocent and good quite likes him, pleading for a life when he has nothing to gain by it, granting her wish for a kiss… Yes, great performances from both of them stand the test of time.
I hope they get to work together again in the future. They have a really nice onscreen chemistry. Oh, the sweetness of that gentle, chaste kiss . . . just thinking about it almost brings tears to my eyes.
I think of Holliday Grainger for a role in the Richard III project. She’s now too old for Elizabeth, Richard III’s niece, with whom he had a strong friendship, enough that there was an accusation he was planning to marry her after his wife died. Perhaps one of Richard III’s unnamed mistresses who both bore children before Richard married Anne, or perhaps his tragic sister-in-law, Isobel.
I would love to see her play a role in that project.
For me that was the best episode of RH, by a mile. Holly is very convincing as Lucrezia in the Borgias too! It would be lovely if she could work again with RIchard in the future!
Isn’t she just beautiful in those period costumes and hairstyles?? Like a life-sized doll.
She’s gorgeous. And can act as well! As far as I know they are currently shooting season 3 of the Borgias here in Hungary! (One our IT guys applied for a job as an extra on set but was turned down because he’s too tall- 6’4″ or thereabouts- though he contended that he could play a dead soldier on the battlefield!That way nobody would notice how tall he is!)
I am really looking forward to seeing Holly’s career evolve as an actress. Little “Lisa” certainly grew up to be a lovely girl. She seems like a nice young lady as well from the behind-the-scenes clips I have seen for The Borgias. Yes, your co-worker is the height of my brother-in-law and I guess he would stand out in such a period piece. I remember reading that the average suit of armor from the Renaissance period was made for a man approx. 5′ 4″–Richard would have been a giant in Nottingham.
Yes, Richard would have stood out, but the Lionheart was 6′ according to the sources I’ve read, so while that height was unusual, it was not unknown. In the Renaissance, the Duke de Guise who was assassinated was also at least 6′; he was called a monster, but not for his height. Height proved hazardous for a French king who hit his head on a stone door lintel and died less than a day later.
There were always those exceptions to the rule, of course. The anecdote about the French king made me think of Richard having to duck his head when he went in and out of the door of Gerri’s cottage.
Jeremy Irons who plays Pope Alexander VI is pretty tall too, 6’1,5″ ! But I suppose height is/was not an issue in his case, in fact, you’d want your protagonist to “stand out” wouldn’t you? Not so much an extra…
Yeah, I think it’s OK for the main characters, if not so much for the extras.