Superficially, one might think that this show is a bawdy romp in Georgian England (18th century), but it is so much more. Written and directed by women, this show depicts the harsh realities for women during the 18th century, when they had few options but to be a man's property. Refreshingly, this show features women at center stage of the entire show, with men being the side characters that support the stellar female cast.
Rival whorehouses battle each other out to be the top house in London, with plenty of sharp tongued-lines, none-too-romantic depictions of sex, and here and there, hints of humor that break up this fierce drama. Sex is portrayed similarly as it is in HBO's "Girls": in all of its awkward and unromantic glory.
What will keep you watching is the secrets and twists, strong family ties, and heart-wrenching decisions that the women in this show have to make to survive. We are constantly reminded that no matter what, if women join men in marriage, they become legal property rather than human beings (strikingly similar message as found in The Handmaid's Tale, if I do say so). You sympathize with the characters who chose the path of harlotry as a bit of freedom and coin rather than be owned and controlled for the rest of their short lives. Overall, well-written, gritty, dark, but suspenseful and entertaining with a hint of humor.
Edit: That review was for season one, where they hinted a deeper romance between two women characters among other great storylines. Season two was great, but dropped the same-sex romance suddenly and inexplicably. Can't help but notice that sex scenes between men and women are graphic and plenty, but they shy away from showing more than women kissing each other as if we aren't allowed to see two women have sex because it's too risqué in 2019. Not fitting with the theme of the show AT ALL and makes me think there's some double standard there. Women's romantic relationships with each other are teased, never fleshed out. Wish they'd rethought that approach.
What also made me drop my review 3 stars is that in season 3, suddenly men are at the center of everything (two brothers who are new in town), and Charlotte, a feminist, empowered, bisexual, free woman gets hot and bothered for one of them, a man who treats women like property and is basically a misogynist, which makes no sense at all. The writers bombed this season hard, likely because they felt they needed to amp up the tension and drama and ran out of ideas. Also, a major character ends up leaving the show so they have to abruptly write that in. It was poorly done, and we didn't have enough of a powerful frontrunner to replace this character, so the rest of the season felt empty. I can understand why the show ended after season 3. Honestly, they should've ended it on a high note after season two rather than crashing and burning on the way out.
