After an explosive episode last week, this week’s episode of Taboo seems much less volatile. Nonetheless, James’s Delaney’s engrossing tale continues to peak our interest and curiosity, with episode six revealing riveting details that leaves us with a fiery end.
Episode six opens with the same scene we’ve seen time and time again; the witch in the water. It is a mystery that has puzzled us for weeks until now. Courtesy of Brace (David Hayman), we learn that the witch that keeps haunting Delaney’s thoughts is his own mother. Brace reveals that when Delaney was just a baby, his mother tried to drown him in a nearby river, which is why she was sent away to the insane asylum. This revelation explains a lot regarding Delaney. Throughout the season we have seen Delaney’s erratic and crazed behavior play out. Whether it be the fact that his mother truly is haunting him, or that he simply takes after his mother, this shines some much needed light and why Delaney is the way he is.
In spite of Delaney’s past burdening him, he must continue on with making the gunpowder for the Americans. All goes surprisingly well, and he is able to successfully deliver the goods by brilliantly hiding the powder in coffins. Now that the Americans received their end of the bargain, Delaney now has the United State’s approval to begin trade to Nootka Sound.
His victory is unfortunately short-lived, when one of his men reveal the location of his factory to the East India Company. In typical Delaney fashion, he guts the traitor and rips his heart out. An act that seems to have become a tradition for each episode. Things continue to get worse when the EIC blows up Delaney’s ship and declare war on him.
Just as it was foreshadowed last week, Zilpha cracks. She seems dazed and aloof for most of the episode, but once Thorne reveals that they will be moving to Australia for a new job position, she stabs him in the heart with her hat pin and murders him. As if Delaney didn’t have enough on his mind, Zilpha runs to him and he is left to clean up the mess. Now that Thorne is dead, Delaney and Zilpha rekindle their incestuous flame. Unfortunately, the moment is brief after yet another flashback haunts him.
Delaney, now without a ship or a factory, drinks himself into oblivion. When he awakes in a pile of mud off the shore, he is shocked and horrified to find the stiff body of Winter (Ruby-May Martinwood) ripped open in Delaney’s signature manner.
Episode six starts out as a triumph for Delaney, and quickly turns into a travesty. Now that the EIC have the upper hand, it will be interesting to see how Delaney recovers from such blows, if he even recovers at all. Just when everything was coming together, it all falls apart. Much was revealed this week, but we are yet again left with more questions than answers.
Rating: 8/10
Taboo airs Tuesdays at 10 PM EST on FX
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