The fictional Trinity College has always been an exclusive academic haunt solely for the über rich and powerful. However, for the first time in its long and illustrious history, Trinity is about to throw open its doors to the less well to do, much to the disdain of some its faculty and the elite student body.
A Surreal Welcome to Trinity
From the start this episode is filled with mystery, opening with a priest being pursued down a fog enveloped street, by a sinister stranger in black. The scene moves on to a new day at the gothic mansion that is Trinity College, the first day of the new academic year. As the new students settle into their oak panelled surroundings, unbeknownst to them, bizarre occurrences are going on including a spot of incest between cousins (in a highly frenetic but amusing sex scene).
Meanwhile College Dean, Dr Edmund Maltravers (sneering Charles Dance), must contend with a new warden Dr Angela Donne (Claire Skinner), who, spurred on by her traumatic experience as a student at Trinity, plans to make the whole college fair, modern and welcoming to women, everything the rigidly traditional Maltravers detests. He is also concerned that the warden’s proposed changes may reveal the college’s dark and sinister secrets which he is determined to protect.
Mystery, Mayhem and Hilarity
This an extremely well written and multifaceted episode, a mixture of suspense and dark humour focused around an array of colourful and unashamedly over the top characters. Very little is revealed concerning the mysterious goings on only that it involves The Dandelion Club, an elite group of over-privileged students used to getting their own way, and whose members never do any work.
Adding further fuel to the puzzling fire is the back-story of new student Charlotte Arc (Antonia Bernath), a good natured but fiery individual whom having recently lost her father, is left vulnerable and clinging to her Christian faith for solace. Her vulnerability coupled, with the mystery surrounding her father’s death, a former Trinity College Don, is not the only puzzle. News of his passing along with Charlotte’s arrival at Trinity leaves members of the faculty including its warden and dean, somewhat unnerved.
This is gripping drama at its best and whilst there are some laugh-out loud comic moments, it is the dark nature of much of the humour that doesn’t allow for any respite, adding an uncomfortably surreal element. Particularly unsettling is the hedonistic Feast of Fools, involving the humiliation of two volunteers, effectively demonstrating the disturbingly unpleasant nature of the upper-class students.
Right Characters
The characters have been cleverly fleshed out in the writing, but it is their execution in the hands of the young up and coming cast alongside seasoned veterans that make the performances memorable. Charles Dance glides through each of his scenes subtly spitting out cutting one-liners, and convincingly nasty as the villain, without resorting to pantomime. Antonia Bernath effortlessly portrays the vulnerable yet determined nature of Charlotte leading to her eventual “awakening” with some excellent comic timing.
Christian Cooke appears to be relishing in his role as Dorian Gaudain the forty-second Earl of Colfax and President The Dandelion Club. He spends a good portion of the episode having wild sex, walking around the campus stark naked and generally being unpleasant to everybody.
Intermediary characters such as Theo Mackenzie (Reggie Yates) and Maddy Talbot (the wonderfully eccentric Elen Rhys) all provide excellent support and there is a feeling that their roles may get bigger as the story progresses. Then there is Dorian’s cousin, Rosalind (a deliciously manipulative Isabella Calthorpe) an ice queen and social goddess who always gets what she wants and has her eye on Theo.
However by far the most amusing of this motley crew are Angus (Mark Wood) and Raj (Arnab Chanda), a couple of fun loving party boys looking to get stoned and into bed with as many girls as possible. So desperate are they for female attention that they happily endure humiliation at the Feast of Fools (you guessed it; they are the fools). It is their naïve acceptance of this degrading treatment that actually makes them oddly endearing.
Miss at Your Peril
Overall this was a highly entertaining episode with many intriguing elements, as well as superb performances. The highlights of what is to follow in subsequent episodes (seems to be a trend) tantalise with even more debauchery, the unlikeliest people falling in love, and murder. If you missed the previous episodes then go to the ITV net player on www.itv.com and enjoy.
