The Trouble with Morwenna
And how the final season of Poldark let her down. Beware of spoilers for episodes 5 and bit of episode 8 of Poldark season 5.
Based on the novels by Winston Graham, Poldark has been capturing audiences since 2015. It has it all, stunning shots of the Cornish countryside, a simmering love triangle (or 3), Aiden Turner shirtless; an all-around crowd-pleaser for period drama lovers.
Perhaps most surprisingly, among all the daring rescues and romantic drama, the show made some room for moral complexity. Ross is not always a great guy. Not every couple has an easy path to love. Perhaps the best example of this is Drake and Morwenna. Instead of love conquering all back in season 3, Morwenna married the abusive Osborne Whitworth much to the horror of viewers.
She is subjected to horrific treatment by him and is forced to bear his child. When he finally dies in season 4, most viewers sighed with relief. However, it was made clear that Morwenna’s ordeal was far from over. She was pregnant again as a result of marital rape and being held prisoner by her overbearing mother-in-law who clearly only valued her for the contents of her uterus. Having a miscarriage is a tragedy many women suffer even today, but for Morwenna, she feels set free by this. Understandably so.
