Emberweave

I stuck with this because there are so many fine actors in this cast, but I still don't really understand the point of this mini-series. What story were they actually trying to tell? Cassandra's lost love? Family squabbles when someone dies? If they wanted to explore the relationship between Cassandra and Jane, why is it all in flashbacks? Why not explore the relationship as a "living" story? I can only assume it's because Keeley Hawes is too old to play Cassandra while Jane was alive. Too much of the drama feels forced and contrived. The Scottish maid also seemed extremely mouthy and rude for the period, which took me out of the story. I watched the whole thing wondering why anyone felt this needed to be told. The narrative jerked around in a rather well-produced but boring fashion. The only genuinely interesting moment was in the first episode when Calam Lynch makes his entrance walking down a staircase and it looks like he's not wearing any underwear underneath his Georgian trousers. There's some healthy bouncing going on behind that front flap. Otherwise, I found this entire production a beautiful dud.