Bleak House 2-5
This installment was, for lack of a better term, more in the gothic mode than the previous episodes--even if there were still no signs of the footsteps haunting the Ghost Walk. Characters were frequently shot at off-angles, either from above or below, and often in deep, stark shadows. (Indeed, the brightest scene involved Mr. Krook's spontaneous combustion.) Even the manor house architecture and surrounding trees looked ominous and gloomy; only the warm natural light after Esther's recovery provided some emotional relief.
Of course, the settings weren't the only things that appeared darker than usual. While Mr. Tulkinghorn continued to dominate the proceedings, doing a fine impression of a boa constrictor, both Guppy and (especially) Skimpole were noticeably less comical and more threatening. There wasn't much room left for the other characters, although Sgt. George was on target (pardon the pun) as a man suffering from multiple claims of conscience.
As far as the scripting goes, Davies has continued to slash away at the supporting characters. Tulkinghorn's power over George would have been more impressive, I think, if Davies had retained the Bagnets (especially the wonderfully plucky Mrs. Bagnet) instead of making everything rest on poor, rather character-less Phil Squod. And although Davies very carefully bangs out the links in the chain connecting Esther to Lady Dedlock, he eliminates the Carlylean symbolism involved in the way that Esther contracts smallpox; in fact, I don't think that the miniseries has mentioned the connection between Jarndyce and Tom-All-Alone's. For that matter, Davies doesn't appear to have made up his mind about Dickens' social criticism. Mrs. Woodcourt's and Mr. Rouncewell's respective appearances, for example, felt rather jarring; it's as though the miniseries had been bouncing along, cheerfully ignoring the class (as opposed to sexual) issues involved in Lady Dedlock's marriage, and then, all of a sudden, felt the need to inject the viewer with a good dose of social conflict.