Every season, GBH Drama prepares to bring you coverage of the latest and greatest in British dramas. This month, we're getting a brand new series from MASTERPIECE: Tom Jones. Featuring romance, class struggles, and an delightful cast, this series does not disappoint. GBH Drama contributor Amanda-Rae Prescott is here to recap the magic as it happens.
The final episode of Tom Jones ties all the main plots together to a very satisfying conclusion. However, the journey to get there is harrowing, with odds that seem impossible for Tom to overcome. Let’s discuss the journey to the final scene.
The Hope Trap
The episode begins with Sophia’s voiceover discussing how she has given up on Tom, while Tom believes he has one last shot at making things right. Tom reads the letter from Sophia that Black George carried. He returns to Aunt Harriet’s house only to find his old friend Mr. Nightingale just got married. Congrats! Nightingale believes Tom should write a letter to Lady Bellaston asking her to marry him to avoid the scandal. Tom believes this strategy is morally questionable and would prefer to appeal to her in a kinder fashion, as their affair was already wrong to begin with. He writes the letter, but leaves it on the table. Unfortunately for Tom, the letter ends up being delivered.
Lady Bellaston arrives by carriage that night to the house. Nightingale’s plan backfires massively as she declares Tom a villain out for her money. He pleads with her that he never intended to send the letter but it doesn’t help. She has absolutely no interest in helping Sophia and is clearly angry enough to do something to punish Tom. So much for appealing to Lady Bellaston’s better nature!
Meanwhile, at the 1750’s Airbnb, Aunt Western is really pissed off. She’s annoyed at Sophia for running away. Sophia argues that she needed to be free to consent just like the white English girls can. Her anger turns to Squire Western for driving Honour away because she’s the only one who can style Sophia’s textured curls. Aunt Western demands her brother fixes the situation which he’s of course very obstinate about. Sophia insists she doesn’t want to marry anyone, especially not Blifil. Aunt Western tells her that she’s the last of her line so she should marry. In this conversation Sophia also finds out that her mother’s name was Beneba but none of her relatives ever met her as she was just a footnote in her father’s will. Squire Western eventually agrees that the wedding to Blifil won’t happen.
Tom ends up finding his way to Sophia because he can’t leave for America without saying goodbye. Black George greets him and tells him that he has to climb up the ivy to see Sophia. He also admits he kept the ₤500 Squire Allworthy gave Tom and fixed his house with it. Tom forgives him because he knows it improved Black George’s quality of life. Tom successfully climbs into Sophia’s room and tells her he’ll always love her. Sophia finally admits she loves him as well, but also it’s time to let go of childhood fairy tales and hope. They kiss one last time and Tom manages to sneak away before the Westerns find out he was there.
A Call For Help
While the drama unfolds in London, Squire Allworthy is having tea with Mrs. Blifil. Mr. Partridge greets them and insists on meeting alone with Squire Allworthy. He argues his life was ruined unnecessarily because he is not Tom’s father. He also insists that Tom is still a good man with a kind heart. At the same time, a letter arrives that Squire Allworthy is having trouble reading. Partridge says that he’s a handwriting expert, thanks to being a teacher, and can read it. The letter is from Honour, who says Sophia is being held against her will and needs help. Squire Allworthy packs up for London immediately, and Partridge follows him.
Lady Karen’s Revenge
Lady Bellaston meets with Aunt Harriet and Blifil to discuss her situation. Blifil says he saw Tom climbing through the window and he’s convinced Tom was up to no good. Lady Bellaston makes a common cause with Blifil to ruin Tom’s life. Yikes!!
The plan begins by sending everyone invitations to an art gallery event. Honour reunites with Sophia, but she says it’s because Lady Bellaston is insisting that Sophia look her best. She tells Sophia that soon she’ll have no employer because she’s engaged to Mr. James, the owner of the Black pub from Episode 2. Sophia is happy for Honour, as are we all! Lady Bellaston gave Honour feathers and bum rolls and the nasty white makeup but Sophia insists she wants to look like herself. They also laugh at comparing Lady Bellaston to a cow.
At the art gallery, Lady Bellaston surveys the crowd from the balcony and on the floor. Sophia tells Aunt Harriet that she doesn’t trust Lady Bellaston at all. Her instincts are correct because Lady Bellaston then whispers in Sophia’s ear about her affair with Tom and shows the proposal letter. Tom arrives right on time to see this conversation. Sophia panics and runs out of the room. He tries to go after her but the crowd gets in the way.
Just as Tom runs outside to try to catch up with an extremely embarrassed Sophia, “Colonel” Fitzpatrick is waiting outside with a huge sword. He challenges Tom to a duel because he wants revenge for Tom sleeping with Mrs. Waters but he doesn’t have any weapons. A huge scuffle involving oranges and kicking down carriage doors ensues. Tom can only fight back with fists and kicks. Eventually, Tom gets his hands on the sword as it drops, only for Fitzpatrick to run into it, making it look like Tom stabbed him or intended to strike first. Lady Bellaston shouts that Tom is going to get the noose for what he did. Tom is bewildered as there’s no way the massive crowd is going to believe he was simply defending himself.
Jailhouse Bombshell
Tom gets a few visitors while he’s in jail. Blifil comes to gloat that Tom’s wicked actions caused his own downfall. Tom takes the tactic of turning the other cheek and tells Blifil that he’ll always think kindly of him because he never asked for a brother of a different social class. Blifil insists he’s going to marry Sophia and that only God can bail Tom out to rub more salt in the wound before leaving.
Mrs. Waters also visits Tom in jail. As Mrs. Waters is leaving, Partridge arrives at the prison gate. He’s convinced he’s seen Jenny Jones but of course, she runs off. When he visits Tom, he tells his friend that he’s slept with his birth mother. Tom cries and holds his head in shame because he’s accidentally committed one of the biggest sins possible. He was already feeling bad for the Lady Bellaston affair, but that one night in the inn was even worse in comparison. Poor Tom! Will he ever get out of physical and spiritual hell?
The Final Proposal
Tom doesn’t know this but Mrs. Waters and Aunt Harriet then meet up to confront Colonel Fitzpatrick. He confesses that Blifil paid him to lie and make a scene outside Lady Bellaston’s house. His wounds were self-inflicted and the women demand that he drop the charges, and they both dump him.
After this confrontation, Partridge, Mrs. Waters and Aunt Harriet petition Squire Allworthy that Tom is still a good boy and should be forgiven. Sophia comes back just in time to see the commotion. Honour tells her that calling Squire Allworthy to London was her idea. Mrs. Waters then demands to see Squire Allworthy in private. She tells Squire Allworthy that she was NOT Tom’s mother, someone else paid her to lie. Thankfully Tom did not commit incest! Mrs. Blifil then confesses that she’s Tom’s birth mother because she got pregnant before she married Blifil’s dad. Blifil is incensed by the fact that he’s once again second fiddle to Tom and storms out to meet with Lady Bellaston.
Tom is let out of jail and he finds Squire Allworthy outside of the 1750’s Airbnb. He tells him he should call him father and Aunt Bridget mother. While he may still be a bastard legally, he now has family connections and an inheritance!
Honour tells Sophia that Squire Allworthy wants to see her. He tells her he still wants to welcome her into the family but this time it’s because she could marry his older nephew. Tom then walks in and of course, asks Sophia to marry him. She tells him while she’s able to forgive his affairs and mistakes she wants to wait a year to see if he’s serious about abandoning all others. Tom says he’s a changed and grown man and is willing to wait to win her back. He admits that his affairs were not meaningful and that Sophia was always his true love. A very impatient Squire Western then bullies Sophia into pushing the wedding day to the next day.
Happily Ever After
Tom and Sophia’s wedding reception is picturesque. Everyone’s dancing outside in the garden, the cake looks amazing, and the happy couple can’t stop smiling and kissing each other. Sophia tells the audience in the voiceover that Honour and Mr. James are indeed getting married, that Jenny and Harriet are doing better without Fitzpatrick, and Partridge is getting his life back. Tom and Sophia sneak away from the reception for a little bit of alone time. He tells her he doesn’t want to know who his biological father is as their future is bright.
The viewer is left to imagine how the story of Tom and Sophia’s marriage unfolds. Tom Jones is a rollercoaster right up until the end but the journey was worth it! The miniseries beautifully balances comedy, drama, romance, and recreating history in a more diverse way and hopefully we’ll get more Masterpiece series that do this in the future.
