Taboo Season 1 Episodes 7-8 Finale Review

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel, and today we will review Taboo episodes 7 and 8, leading us to our season finale. And Taboo has been quite an entertaining show, guys. Um, some of my favorite shows contain elements of history And so if it's got anything to do with history, a lot of times I'm going to be on board. So I think that's what's driven Taboo to, you know, one of my favorite shows of the season to watch. And, um, it did, it did end. It apparently we might get a season 2. It's looking like it's shaping up to be that, and, uh, I'll be interested in seeing, uh, what it does with, uh, season 2. Uh, initially I kind of was a little bit trying to figure out, you know, how this show would end. You know what, I didn't see any good endings with this show, but apparently they've kind of found a way to, you know, you know, carry this story on a bit longer, a bit for, you know, take it forward. So pretty interesting stuff. I'm gonna hang in there with Taboo as long as they're there. So anyway, guys, we we open up on episode 7, uh, from season, uh, or from, sorry, episode 6, where James is left, um, uh, or he awakens to Winter's dead body. We know that James had been heavily drinking and, um, you know, seemingly he had been having these, uh, these visions and where he would be strangling people like he did with Zilpha. And so pretty much all the evidence was pointing towards James being the murderer of Winter. Of course, James didn't get much benefit of the doubt in, um, you know, when it came to concerning Helga. Uh, Helga, um, basically screams that James is a murderer. And, you know, we can kind of As we go back to like even, I believe it's like episode 1, the conversation between Helga and James, you know, she's, you know, pretty much already determined that James is this type of Jack the Ripper, uh, person and that, you know, he's capable of many atrocities. So it's not hard for Helga to make the leap, you know, that James, or, you know, come to the conclusion that James is a murderer, uh, you know, you know, based on the history she's had with James. And so, um, you know, it gets really bad. Helga even pulls out a gun at a point in the episode, and she fires a shot at James, uh, you know, getting very close to striking him. So not really good. The situation with James is not good. You know, James you know, doesn't have a recollection of, you know, if he killed Winter or not. Uh, it pretty much seems he believes he's capable of it when you take into account his, you know, his prior visions and things like that. We get, um, Chick Chester, um, carrying on with his investigation. He actually comes to the Delaney home, uh, to, um, seek James's testimony. And, you know, we get to discover that James was on the ship, that he did nail the slaves, um, inside the ship in order to, uh, get, you know, um, cover up any evidence that the East India Company had been involved with the slave trade. And so Chick Chester is offering James a pardon, and you let him know that he's really after Sir, uh, Sir, um, Stuart Strange, and, uh, you know, that, um, he only seeks, uh, you know, his testimony in court and that he wants to catch the big fish. Um, you know, we also move on to the situation here with Zilpha and James. And, uh, you know, this entire relationship for me, it's been quite confusing. You know, in this scene we get James, he breaks up, uh, basically breaks up with Zilpha, you know, after, you know, after all, you know, everything they went through in the setup. Uh, James decides he doesn't want to be with Zilpha. And, um, you know, Zilpha is just devastated. Zilpha you know, doesn't want this. She very much wants to be with James. And, um, you know, I think what's kind of been confusing about the relationship between Zilpha and James throughout this series is initially, uh, you know, we, we're under the impression that, uh, you know, Zilpha was trying to either escape her feelings from James, or, uh, she's trying to get out of the relationship, or she doesn't want anything to do with him. And it seems like James is the one that's in deeply in pursuit of her. And then now we've, you know, throughout the series we've done all these about-faces. We get, uh, you know, Zilpha, who, you know, uh, she— we don't, we don't get much backstory as to, you know, what makes her change her mind about James, or if it was an entire act the entire time. I'm maybe assuming maybe it wasn't just an act, you know, you know, the, the entire time. But, uh, you know from what I can gather about why James broke up with her, as I, you know, it could be more than one thing. But, um, you know, one idea is, um, that James, uh, you know, with his condition, you know, he almost strangled her. He at this point believes he's killed Winter. And, you know, we're kind of faced with the idea, is it that James didn't want to be with Zilpha due to the, you know, due to that fact that he's dangerous and he may not be fit to be around her, a term he likes to use quite a bit, that he's not fit, you know, to be around certain people at certain times. So is it done to protect Zulfa? But then, um, in that very same scene, as I, you know, really looked at it and was trying to figure out this thing, um, he does say to her that she can thank her God for his decision. So there seems to be almost the, uh, a relay of information that James has, uh, you know, taken it, you know, gained some type of moral compass in the matter. You know, did Zilpha go too far, you know, in murdering her husband? Because he is quite surprised. I, I also remember that in the episodes that he seemed surprised that she had went through with it, like it was something that was out of the plan. Or I'm even thinking that maybe he felt that she wouldn't actually go through with that and that she actually surprised him. Uh, so it could be a number of those things, could be a combination of those things. But what is clear is that James ends the relationship We also get that, you know, Brace, their butler, and things like that, you know, it's revealed that, you know, Brace was responsible for poisoning James' father as a type of mercy killing, as he explains it, because, you know, James' father had become very mentally unstable, mentally ill, and, you know, back in those days, I would imagine that you know, I guess going and killing you was probably the easiest way to, to, uh, you know, to cope with, um, those type things. We got, um, you know, um, Hilga, who's, uh, you know, still very much upset at James about, uh, you know, what she believes to be him killing Winter. And so she goes to the East India Company, and, you know, it's kind of like this revenge thing playing out where She wants to make James pay by turning him over to the East India Company, giving up his, uh, you know, his, uh, incriminating him basically, uh, you know, where he becomes a, um, uh, you know, uh, you know, falls under the act of sedition or treason, you know. He, um, and, you know, we know if he's, uh, if he's, uh, if it's determined that he's committed treason, that his Nuka Sound, his private property and things like that, will go to the crown by law, and they can try to come in and possess that. So the East India Company, you know, finally, you know, are kind of doing this early celebration where they feel that they finally have got James Delaney. Um, you know, we also get, uh, the East India Company, or Sir Stuart Strange, who goes to meet, um, you know, with the Prince Regent's, um, uh, you know, right-hand guy there. Um, I can't— his name escapes me for the moment. Uh, but, uh, basically making a deal that, uh, you know, they're, they're willing to, uh, present these witnesses, or, um, Hilga, uh, so that all of this property, the Nuka Sound territory, can pass to the crown. And in exchange, uh, they only want to control the tea monopoly. So, you know, they're making that deal. And so now, uh, that the crown knows that, uh, you know, they have these, uh, charges against James that can stand, they're sending out troops to have him arrested. Um, whilst James is being arrested, Lorna finds out that, uh, through one of the kids, uh, who, you know, who's, um, used to play with Winter and kind of witness everything, he was able to explain to Lorna that it wasn't, um, it wasn't James who killed Winter, but it was, uh a gentleman who came in from a boat. They're able to put it together that it was a, you know, member from the East India Company, or basically, you know, hired by the East India Company. So we find out that James was not the killer of Winter. Um, so James is arrested. He's being tortured. You know, James is, uh, able to withstand this torturing through an act of a show of great strength. And, you know, basically With James's past experiences in Africa and all the various things he's been through, you know, he's able to deal with, you know, their means of torture quite easily. So, you know, we can pretty much, you know, uh, you know, tell that James has, you know, been through far worse than what they're putting them up against with their torture techniques. And every time they, um You know, they, they enact one of these techniques, whether it's something like waterboarding or whether it's, uh, you know, some threat of, um, poison or things like that. Uh, James is, um, you know, still asking for Sir Stuart Strange, that he will give them what they want provided that he gets to see Sir Stuart Strange or the East India Company. So The Prince Regent is starting to get impatient. You know, they're starting to believe James is never going to give them what they want. So they end up granting his request and calling for Sir Stuart Strange, who arrives there. You know, in which James is basically letting Sir Stuart Strange know that, uh, I have a use for you. And the episode ends, and that was episode 7. I'm gonna go on to episode 8, and then I'm gonna give my final thoughts on the season of Taboo. So we then move on to episode 8, and in episode 8, you know, um, it starts off, um, really bad for me, really bad for me because we get Zilpha here, uh, played by Oona Chaplin, and she's walking on the docks and she's talking about, uh, you know, how, uh, things didn't work out with her and James, but she hopes in another life it will. And so Zilpha commits suicide, and, uh, I really didn't like that scene because I think, uh, the, the character who plays, uh, Zilpha, Oona Chaplin, is very in there, and I like to see her on screen. And so I didn't like that. And, uh, you know, even though, uh, the storyline between her and James was quite taboo and very uncomfortable, I really did want to see it go someplace. And, uh, in that scene, uh, this seems to be the end of Zilph. And so we didn't— we didn't get— we didn't get that. So we did pick up with, um, James and Sir, uh, Stuart Strange. And, uh, so we finally get to see what James is, um, you know, what use he had for Sir Stuart Strange. And, you know, James is basically presenting, um, Sir Stuart Strange with the, you know, with the fact that he's going to be taking down Chic Chester has gathered enough, uh, witness testimonies, enough, uh, evidence to bring him down for his, you know, participation in the slave trade. And so, uh, you know, Sir Stuart Strange is kind of trapped now, so he has to play ball with James. And what James wants is he wants a ship, and he wants this ship, uh, in exchange for him not giving a testimony. To bring Sir Stuart Strange down. So Sir Stuart Strange is basically, you know, organizing this, you know, this way to get James a ship. They also have to drop all charges against James, so that means they have to release Hilga, you know, as the witness that could have incriminated James and made it so that, you know, the Crown could get the Nuka Sound territory. And so, um, you know, so they— so basically, uh, James is released because they don't have the evidence to hold him. You know, he's released, and now he has a ship that, uh, the East India Company has provided, you know, uh, and, you know, he's gathering up everybody to get out of there, to sail off to America. So we cut back to the Prince Regent, and the Prince Regent is very unhappy about this development. Uh, you know, the Prince Regent has had it up to here, and he basically says, that's it, you know, I don't care about treaties, I don't care about any of that, just kill them, just kill them and be done with it. You know, I'm the head of state, I'm going to do whatever I want to do. And I found that very interesting because all through this series I was thinking like Wow, you know, you know, it's very interesting, like, how something as valuable as the Nuke could sound, uh, and a private citizen, you know, having all this power and control over the state, um, you know, how long they let this play out. You know, I would have thought that, you know, they would have come to this conclusion a lot sooner than this, and I was just surprised that they let James walk around and maneuver the way he did so long. So I found that very interesting, uh, and I just always kind of had that in the back of my mind that, you know, one day they're just gonna— they're just gonna break treaties and do all these things. We know like that even Hitler did the same thing during World War II, that you can break treaties, you know, when things just aren't going your way. So seems like James is about ready to ship out of there. Um, he doesn't know as of yet that the Prince Regent, they've, uh, you know, they've organized troops to go in and actually stop them and kill them, you know. And James is kind of en route to get everything going, but he does find a letter that Zilpha wrote to him, and it's her suicide letter. And, you know, it's— James seems— it seems to, you know, kind of stop James in his tracks. It's almost like James can't even go forward in a sense because, you know, a lot of his plan— well, initially anyway— had to, you know, to deal with him getting passage for him and Zilpha out of England. But, you know, all the different developments, whether it was about her killing her husband and not being the person he thought she was, or just trying to protect her— I'm gonna have to assume she turned out not to be the person he really wanted to be with, because if he was just trying to protect her, I think he would have still tried to to, uh, you know, find a way. Or maybe I'm wrong, you know. I guess we will never really figure that out. But, uh, you know, in any event, it takes kind of Lorna to kind of to, uh, get James, you know, back on track, to let him know that you got a lot of people depending on you, a lot of people who have to get out of here, that the Crown's coming for us. And, uh, you know, James, you know, gets everything together. They're headed to the docks and His butler, Brace, is still around. And, you know, we know that Brace had, you know, basically admitted that he— or confessed that he killed his father. And so James basically, you know, is not going to take Brace with him. And we find out that, you know, he gives this very interesting line to the effect of, uh, you know, Brace, uh, you're not coming with us, you're going to stay here. He gives him the house and the land, and he lets them know that you can't come with us because if you had freedom, you wouldn't know what to do with it. You know, Brace has been a servant all his life. He's always been that person, you know, that person in service, and that person who I guess in a sense was never free and would never be able to handle an adventure like that. You know, that that world that they're going to is not a world that Breeze belongs to. It's a new world, and Breeze is part of the old world. So also on route, you know, we get James stopping off to see this American spy, the American spy doctor, and his name escapes me as well, but we find out all this interesting stuff about him. That he's a turncoat, that, you know, he was an American spy, but apparently he started working for the East India Company. He was all part of this plan to try to get the, uh, territory from James. And he thinks James is there to deliver the Nuka Sound to him. Uh, he, you know, little does he know that James has already, uh, you know, presented this evidence to where the East India Company had to release him, uh, you know, and get him a ship. And so James ends up, uh, you know, killing this American, um, you know, spy, um, and, you know, basically draping him in, in the American flag and red and blue. And, you know, it's almost like, uh, you know, alluding to he's a fake American and now that James is the real American. And so, you know, You know, he gets his comeuppance, so to speak. So, you know, we get this very epic battle sequence, you know, as the Prince Regent's troops arrive, you know, at the docks where James is trying to board the ship. And, you know, he has a full crew, you know, of people who he's promised passage to America for, you know, Hilga's there. Hilga's shot. Um, Chumlee's there. Chumlee had been making explosives and he had been able to hold off the British troops for quite some time. Um, but the explosives kind of explode on him. They kind of backfire on him, so to speak. He's badly injured and it doesn't look like he's gonna, uh, you know, we're not sure if he's gonna live or die. And, uh, you know, so basically just this exciting action-packed scene. Uh, they make it on the ship, but Lorna is actually shot. So they get out of there, but they get out at high cost. And, you know, we get them sailing off, um, to the horizon. And, you know, and basically saying, you know, James quotes that he's the true— that they are the true Americans now, you know, when, you know, we're basically— and they kind of hoist the American flag and we, you know, we, you know, we see that they're, uh, you know, now, you know, going to the new world, uh, you know. So I just want to give some of my thoughts about Taboo, um, uh, what I liked about the season, what I didn't like about the season, and, um, you know you know, what's, you know, what I think, you know, season 2 is going to be about. Am I looking forward to season 2? That type of thing. But, uh, I really like Taboo. Um, I, I thought it did a great job. 8 episodes. I wish it was at least like 10 episodes, but it was 8 episodes, you know. But, um, you know, when the show first started, the first few episodes I just thought were awesome. And I was like, you know, this, this you know, I'm seeing this is going to be one of my top 5 shows. But, uh, it kind of, you know, did this thing where, um, the storyline— I just felt that they would— the way they wrapped up some of the storylines, that they just, they just did it too, uh. We needed, we needed a little bit more story going, especially between him and Zilpha. That relationship, how that worked out, that was a very pivotal, you know, part of the show. And, uh, I want to see that, you know, play out a lot better than it did. So didn't much like that, you know. So in the, in the middle of the season, I kind of started to get, you know, like the first 4 to 5 episodes I thought were awesome, but, you know, the, the, you know, the last few episodes didn't really like them. Did like the, uh, these, you know, the final episode. And, uh, uh, you know, just, um You know, as I said earlier, they just kind of showed me that they can take this show on to a season 2 because I was wondering how they were going to do it. I honestly thought they were going to all pretty much end up dead, you know. James seemingly maneuvered his way out of it because— well, another reason why I thought they were going to always— they were going to end up dead because a lot of times when it first— the show first comes on, we see them all just floating in the water, you know. They're just like they're like their bodies are floating in the water, like they're kind of telling the story from after death. That's just, you know, that's just my thoughts, how I saw it. But maybe James was floating in the water, you know, during this time and after and things like that. But, you know, whatever they were going for there, I thought it was a great show, guys. I really enjoyed doing the reviews, you know, on this show. Um, and, uh, if we get a season 2, I'll be glad to come back and do a season 2 review. But anyway, guys, I hope you all have, you know, enjoyed watching Taboo. I hope you all enjoyed the reviews. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and until next time, guys, take care.