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Episode three
Darker and more dangerous than the book, tonight’s final part of the PD James adaptation carries a genuine frisson of risk over Wickham’s future as he stands trial for the murder of his best friend. Matthew Goode’s measured performance keeps us rooting for Wickham as his misdemeanours mount up, while Lizzie and an intially reluctant Darcy examine ways in which he might escape the gallows.
A nimbler affair than the source novel, it wisely declutters the exposition, sprinkling it around the drama rather than dumping it all at the end, and throws in a few surprises surrounding Georgiana’s competing suitors. Plus there’s even more Trevor Eve, scowling his way valiantly through daft wigs and outlandish plot twists. A sex scene (admittedly very mild) and the odd contemporary turn of phrase jar a little, but otherwise this is a poised and altogether very agreeable entertainment.