Rethinking The English (fanfic)

The English - Less heartbreaking story arc

After watching the BBC series The English I was left almost traumatised by the upsetting themes and of course that ending.

In a nutshell The English written and directed by Hugo Blick and starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer is a six part revisionist western drama. The story centres on the odd coupling of Lady Cornelia Locke an English woman, and Eli Whipp a Pawnee scout for the US army.

Cornelia is bereft after the death of her 14 year old son who suffered from syphilis all his young life - brought about by his biological father (Melmont played masterfully by Rafe Spall) who raped Cornelia.

Cornelia travels to America for revenge on the man who in her mind condemned their son to a brutal life and death, also its worth noting he infected her with the disease too, and that she is in the fourth stage of this awful and eventually disfiguring and ultimately fatal infection.

Eli in the meantime has just left the US army and has a dream to return to Nebraska the land of his birth and take up a claim for a small parcel of land, which all ex soldiers should be entitled to. Let's just say it looks unlikely that he will be successful in this as racism is rife at this time.

They first meet literally in the middle of nowhere, a dusty hotel where one of Melmont's stooges is waiting for Cornelia with sinister intentions in mind. Finding Eli tied up and beaten she tries to help him but is attacked. Eli is packed off on a stagecoach the unwitting fall guy for her planned murder.

The stage coach is attacked and Eli kills the three bandits responsible, returning to the hotel just in time to save Cornelia from being raped and murdered. He also gets back his horse and his medicine bag.

After an impassioned plea by Cornelia he is commandeered into taking her further west to find and kill Melmont (who knows she is on her way, and has done for some time). They ride off after establishing that she can ride, shoot, and use a bow and arrow (lucky huh).

A few adventures ensue, they are 'bushwhacked' by a gang of three who are after the bags of money the wealthy Cornelia has brought with her. Eli shoots two of them but let's the third, a Pawnee too, escape, Cornelia however shoots him with a bow and arrow and he dies. Eli is impressed by her but is a stoic character who says little, except for the occasional grunt and growl.

Shortly after they come across a covered wagon surrounded by wolves. A pioneer type killed by the three bushwhackers is in pieces but inside the wagon Eli finds a dead pregnant woman. The baby, he discovers is still alive, and after sending Cornelia off for sugar, he proceeds to cut the baby out and save its life. Cornelia in the meantime finds a young girl hiding in the bottom of the wagon.

With these children in tow the pair now have to revise their planned journey west and get them to safety. They find a married couple, indigenous but dodgy and who tells them that the children have family a few days away. Cornelia decides to take them to them but Eli refuses, saying that his own family had died not too far away from where they are going and that he can't go back there.

They part in a touching scene, but Eli tells her he has agreed to stay on with the dodgy couple, she leaves her money with him, kind of sealing the bargain of trust between them.

Okay so I have to be honest I really was only interested in the scenes with Eli and Cornelia in this series...I know I know I'm a philistine. The other actors were all phenomenal, but I'm a sucker for a strong leading couple and these two had chemistry off the charts.

Realising that Eli is in danger from the dodgy couple (who knew?!) Cornelia races back at no small physical cost to her health to warn him...but of course it's too late. No he's not dead don't you worry about that. He has however been kidnapped and being held prisoner by an old Indian enemy.

In a rather convoluted but very dramatic twist Cornelia goes to kill a revolting character by the name of Black Eyed Mog and her sons. Black Eyed Mog hates all Indians, because they scalped her and cut off her eyelids among other things, twenty years ago. Eli's freedom depends on him killing her, but Cornelia intervenes and she does the dirty work herself, saving a young Indian boy at the same time. Slightly injured in the fight Cornelia goes to free Eli and once again their friendship is cemented. He now agrees to take her all the way to the thoroughly nasty Melmont (Rafe Spall you smashed this role!).

Okay again there are sub plots and sub characters but my focus was always on the odd couple. They have another dangerous encounter with some 'progressive Americans' who laugh about killing all the buffalo and turning the Indians into Americans through a 'portal' I think they mean a school? There is an epic long distance shoot out and Eli gets to kill some more white people, donning war paint and showing off his riding and shooting skills along the way. Suffering now, Cornelia collapses and Eli takes her (and the Indian boy) to one of those travelling Doctor types.

By now it's apparent to Eli that Cornelia is ill (earlier they kissed but she stopped it from going any further). This is the emotional crux of the story, forget the death of her son, the ruin of his people and theft of his ancestral lands, that they cannot sleep together because of her syphilis makes for the true bitter sweetness of their love.

Recovered she and Eli head off for journey's end which involves a badly disfigured ex soldier with a massive gun, and the final confrontation with the by now raving Melmont.

Cornelia gets hurt...but not really, she bottles out of killing her rapist and the infector of herself and her child, Eli finishes the job for her. And then here's the part my brain just doesn't compute, they part ways. It's explained in terms of Eli needing to escape the lynch mob who will come for him after Melmont is found dead, but really, this doesn't make sense guys. I mean with all Cornelia's money she could have easily bought him his land (and more) and they could have stuck together.

Of course I realise why Hugo Blick didn't go down this route, the white invasion of America can't be sugar coated as anything but a genocide, so to give it a neatly tied happy ending would be inappropriate. Nevertheless did it have to be so fucking heart wrenching?!

Cornelia is years away from death but of course is ailing, is it because her face will effectively dissolve that Eli can't stay with her, or because they can never have sex?

I find this frustrating because after this one very intense hot month together fighting at each other's side, they simply ride away from each other and never see or hear from one another again. I know this leaves it up to the audience to decide and imagine whether Eli ever gets his land and the peace he craves, but in all honesty given the history this is unlikely.

I've heard people ask for a sequel, but really how would this work? Cornelia is a dead woman walking, and Eli without her would just be half the story don't you think?

Anyway let me know what you think. The next chapter will be my reinterpretation of their story arc with a much more fulfilling conclusion.