Mrs Wilson

[unique1986]

Mrs Wilson starts 9pm on Tuesday 27th November on BBC One.

Watched all 3 episodes yesterday. Loved it, RW is brilliant.

Regarding spoilers, it annoys me when people read a thread about a programme they haven't watched yet and get pissed at someone talking about it.

Don't open the thread if you don't want to know what happens 🤦🏼‍♀️

Regarding spoilers, it annoys me when people read a thread about a programme they haven't watched yet and get pissed at someone talking about it.

Don't open the thread if you don't want to know what happens 🤦🏼‍♀️

Only one episode had aired at the time that that PP dropped spoilers about later events in the story. That’s what annoyed the other PP.

I agree with you bluntness. The family may be trying to find another reason rather than that he was a liar, fantasist and egoist that left them and their mothers destitute. It must be easier to make up a better story in your head when you don't know the truth, focusing on what others are keeping from you. Otherwise your dad was a useless lying bastard and that's it.

I’m confused.

I thought RW was actually wife 3 - Gladys being no. 1 and Dorothy no. 2?

I really enjoyed this.
Having had a deeply shocking event in my own Catholic family some years ago I think it is almost impossible for us to appreciate today how much power church and social conventions held over individual’s lives.

izzy24 you are right, Alison (Ruth's grandmother ) was wife number 3.

We all bring things to what we watch. I didn't find the main character at all dislikeable. She seemed like a normal person, struggling on in abnormal circumstances, which included who her husband was.

The direction was subtle, I thought; the tiny piece of Elizabeth Wilson we saw, looking cheery in the street, then as desperate cries and hands at the window, said it all.

"Our" Mrs Wilson , finding " belief" late on, and then seeing it all shattered by the little boy and his mother, this was so well done. My mouth was open as I watched. Moving... it made the calm" entering the church " scene with the ring totally explicable.

And as for wife number one, what else could she do at the graveside? A relative has said that it was " all left up the air".... well, it WAS, and still IS all up in the air, isn't it?

Thanks@glamorous grandmother.

I don't think I would have, in similar circumstances, protected my boys from the knowledge of what a complete sh*t their father was, as Mrs Wilson did.
He deceived her and left her destitute.
The fourth wife and mother, apparently, in real life Alison never knew about.

I don't think I would have, in similar circumstances, protected my boys from the knowledge of what a complete sht their father was, as Mrs Wilson did.* Not in 2018 but in 1963 when there would have been a big stigma about being illegitimate she might have done. She might also have felt it reflected badly on her by being taken in by his lies.

Anyway on another level I was fascinated at how deceptive this man was He appeared warm, kindly and sincere. I guess thst is the charisma in his face. Deceptive people dont necessarily come across as unpleasant or unlikable characters.

Not in 2018 but in 1963 when there would have been a big stigma about being illegitimate she might have done.

Yes. Secrecy and repression was the norm in British family life for so long generally, even without the bigamy and “legitimacy” issues. We’ve come a long way as a culture.

Deceptive people dont necessarily come across as unpleasant or unlikable characters.

The worst rogues are always very charming. They need to be.

I'm surprised he could be bothered with it all as it sounds as though until his death he was in contact with all the families albeit intermittently. The main Mrs Wilson's sons seemed quite posh considering she said she never had any money. All the kids were quite posh but that may have just reflected the actors chosen not reality.
I presume now with birth certificate checking easier you can't just marry one person after another in the UK without the other weddings being spotted by whoever checks these things. perhaps no-one does check unless you admit to having been married before

Well it was before computers, and he apparently changed his name and age, for the marriage to Alison, and they repeatedly said due to his job it was easy for him to forge documents, so it wouldn't have been a hard deception,

And on protecting alex, Alison protected her sons from knowing they were illegitimate, from her possibly being known as a bigamist, an unmarried mother, and in the sixties, this would have been a huge scandal, particularly if catholic.

It was the most astonishing story. I love Ruth Wilson anyway, such an expressive face, but it was fascinating seeing her play her own Grandmother. I think this was the best television I’ve seen in ages.

I like to think I can spot a con man. The glib, sleazy or insincere creepy type, but this guy was in another league

The main Mrs Wilson's sons seemed quite posh considering she said she never had any money
You don't need to be rich to be well spoken and I got the impression her own parents were quite upper class.

Anyone know where the convent scenes were filmed?

glamorousgran;

Yes, I did not see them as posh, but just middle to upper middle, middle ranking officer class, sort of thing. It was a different world. My family was a rank below, both sides; my lot were NCO class! Both sides in both wars.

We had arms-lengths relatives who were like the Wilsons. Went to the theatre, and everything. :-) Socially ,and visually, that series was like a documentary to me!

Did anyone else struggle to connect with the story, because they couldn't visualise / think of the cast as young when they play their 'younger selves' in the beginning bits of the story..... All the main characters look so very old!
I really couldn't take them seriously as being late twenties / thirties at all. Didn't look youthful at all in the scenes where they're supposed to be. Was distracting from the plot.

Yes I thought Alec and Dorothy should have been younger with the scenes in India.

Should Ruth Wilson have been in the family photo shown at the end?

Yes and she was.

Back row, to the left behind two ladies in blue.

Thanks, we tried to spot her.

Another thing, did anyone else notice all the teal?