Renegade Nell 1×03 “A Private Joke with the Queen” makes me want to watch absolutely everything that Louisa Harland has been in. Harland, plays Nell Jackson. And I’ve been delighted with everything that I’ve seen of her so far in this show. But there is something about this episode that feels like her character is blossoming and I’m getting to truly understand the kind of woman she is. And the strength of her character and how much I love her is firmly grounded in Harland’s performance. We’ve seen Nell act strong, but I think Harland’s acting in combination with the script, cinematography, and music painted a picture of an astoundingly complex woman.
So far we’ve seen Nell embrace this power that flows through her because of Billy and stand on business when it comes to taking care of her siblings. She’s also taken on highway robbers and gentlemen with huge amounts of audacity. But in “A Private Joke with the Queen” we got to see her take on something truly mythological. And for a second there, it did seem like Nell would lose. But she triumphed and defeated the Earl of Poynton. All of that is great and all. I love this show because of the flow and the styling of the action. But it’s everything that follows after George gets shot that really was the powerhouse of this episode. We got to see a Nell who was scared. Because no matter how much bravado we have, there are moments where fear tears us open and we get to see the true magnitude of everything that is going on around us beyond our anger. Renegade Nell 1×03 gave us an opportunity to see past the anger that comes with the death of her father.
Outside of the anger is fear that she’s not good enough to take care of her siblings. After all, she’s been gone for a while. She’s not a mother or a parent. And the person who could parent her and her siblings is gone. So she has to step up. And she also has to make sure that she takes risks that take into account that she is not alone. The people around her will support her and love her. But they can easily be lost if she’s not a little more careful. And that weighs on her like it would weigh on anyone. In those moments I’m glad that she has Roxy and Rasselas. I’m especially grateful in the final scene of this episode where Billy comforts Nell. Because they don’t know what is going on and how they are tied to each other. But they are. And it says a lot about how much now trusts Billy that she can let her walls down and sift through her pain, sadness, and guilt with him.
While all of those around Nell support her as the main character, they don’t disappear into the story of Renegade Nell. Roxy and Rasselas are afforded these small and gentle moments where they’re just two young people possibly falling in love. Those moments, which I think a lot of directors or writers in Hollywood would see as frivolous, enrich the story and allow us to see who they are when they’re not running for their lives. Even George getting shot has a story to tell. Because this isn’t just about putting pain on the title character’s shoulders. George is her own person and she sees her sister taking care of business left and right. So George wants to emulate that. She looks up to Nell. And that got her in a spot of trouble that could take her little life. But even then, I think George would do it all over again if it meant being like her sister and helping save the day.
As much as I like Renegade Nell, not everything worked for me in 1×03. Like, I know that world-building is important and we need to know why the Earl of Poynton is doing what he’s doing. So that’s why the episode is titled “A Private Joke with the Queen.” The queen is in the picture now and she complicates things but also gives a little more weight to the world that they are in as characters. I also didn’t like how Charles Devereaux went and was separated from the group. I thought he was going to spend more time with the core 4 and maybe go on a journey of self-discovery with them. But maybe his path is something different. Hopefully, though it doesn’t take too much time and he remains an integral part of the story.
Another thing that doesn’t work for me, because I’m super curious, is that…we don’t know why Billy is helping Nell. The more that I watch, I realize that I land in two different camps when it comes to Renegade Nell. A part of me thinks that Billy has absolutely no idea where he came from. He just knows that he is tied to Nelly and he will do his duty. But another part of me wonders if he knows some of the grander plans. You can’t be the only one of his kind. Even the Earl of Pynton having magic signals that there is a bigger world out there when it comes to these very creatures. Either way, I think that Renegade Nell 1×03 found a really good balance at peaking my curiosity as to the grander picture of things while keeping the focal point as Nell. She is the hero of the story and she’s not going down without a fight.
Renegade Nell season 1 is available now on Disney+.
Before you go, please check out my reviews for 1×01 and 1×02.
