Stuart Strange and the East India Company were initially suspects in the murder of Horace Delaney, because if James hadn’t returned to England, Horace’s death would have allowed them to take possession of Nootka Sound. Subscribe The East India Company, Prince Regent and Nootka Sound ![]() James escaped the ship and was rescued by a man from Ghana who taught him the Twi language and tribal customs (including, apparently, witchcraft), all of which James used to bolster his reputation as a terrible, cannibalistic, tattooed enigma in a hat upon his return to London. Delaney had followed Strange’s orders to nail the cargo hold shut in order to conceal his secret scheme, which resulted in all of their deaths by drowning. In 1804, almost 300 enslaved men, women and children were in the cargo hold of The Cornwallis/Influence when she ran aground and sank. When The Cornwallis set sail, her identifying flags would be stowed and she would be sailed in disguise as US ship The Influence. ![]() For personal profit and against company rules, Strange was using EIC sloop The Cornwallis to transport enslaved African people from Angola to his brother-in-law’s plantation in the West Indies. ( Strange said he chose boys “who had the shadow of death on them” for the task as he thought they’d be less likely to return to England and reveal his secret). If you reached the end of the series with lingering questions, we attempt answers below… The Sinking of The Influence/CornwallisĪ young James Delaney enlisted with the East India Company in 1798, and was soon selected by EIC chairman Stuart Strange to work on his illicit side-line. Lorna was Horace Delaney’s secret third wife and therefore James’ step-mother, with whom James had an undeniable frisson, continuing the show’s incest theme. As for Zilpha, she’d killed herself by jumping into the Thames after murdering her abusive husband who tortured her after she had magic dream-sex with James (who’d learned all kinds of spirit-realm tricks during his ten years in Africa), so half a tick for that one.īefore the finale, we’d met American spies, French socialites, hapless mudlarks, a junkie chemist, a sharp-toothed assassin, and the best thing in the whole series – stage actor Lorna Bow ( Jessie Buckley). James had also not only exposed Stuart Strange’s crimes courtesy of lawyer Mr Chichester (Lucian Msamati), but also exploded Strange with a letter bomb. He’d learned that his father had been poisoned, but in an act of mercy by loyal manservant Brace (David Hayman) who’d wanted to save the sinning man’s Christian soul. How Season One Endsīy the finale, James had managed all three and more, and was on a ship sailing for Portugal with a rag-tag crew of ‘Pilgrims’ and 70 barrels of gunpowder. He’d come back with three goals: 1) to solve his father’s murder, 2) to expose Sir Stuart Strange (Jonathan Pryce) of the EIC for the illegal transportation and deaths of hundreds of enslaved Africans, and 3) to rekindle his affair with his half-sister Zilpha (Oona Chaplin). After a decade of being missing-presumed-dead, he returned to 1814 London for his father’s funeral. James grew up to enrol at the EIC, and went to sea where he was lost in a shipwreck. Fans await more news with (now slightly lowered) anticipation. There’s something fun about that,” Hardy told Esquire, explaining that he’s currently hanging fire on the second season until the perfect idea comes along. In summer 2021, Hardy gave an interview to Esquire questioning whether the already-written linear continuation of the story is “the right way to go.” Might the drama be better off leaping through time and taking place during the 1960s war in Vietnam? “It’s still Taboo, it’s still period, but it’s the Sixties. Knight confirmed that he’d written six of eight scripts for a second season back in summer 2019, but scheduling issues for its in-demand star stalled progress, an issue later compounded by Covid-19. ![]() Despite appearances, it is planned to be a continuing series. Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, based on an idea by Tom Hardy and his novelist father, Tabooaired in 2017 on BBC One and FX. More than anything though, it’s an eight-episode excuse for Tom Hardy to grunt about in a stovepipe hat. It’s an antidote to the bloodless bonnets-and-quadrille vision of Regency England popularised by Jane Austen adaptations, and swaps that sterile environment for a London filled with grime, debauchery and violence. Taboo is a Gothic conspiracy thriller about the evil committed by servants of British Empire, and the story of an enigmatic man with otherworldly abilities. Warning: contains spoilers for the Taboo finale.
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