User Reviews

Brilliance in every way as the 14 episode saga of British rule in India finally comes to an end as the secrets of Merrick are revealed and expose things that he desperately wanted to hide about himself. A beautiful young Indian man is the key to the destruction of the evil Ronald Merrick (Tim Pigott-Smith) whose racial superiority has been the key to the many evil things that he has done over the five years in which the miniseries takes place. It's something that his wife Wendy Porter and sister-in-law Geraldine James are unaware of, told from one gentleman to another, and even that would haunt the spirit of the dead because for even one person to know is damage enough. The humiliation does not come from the obvious nature of the secret, but the fact that it involved a member of a race which Merrick found repulsive deep down in his soul, the entire aspect of what guided his motivations from the start. All of the secrets that haven't been quite detailed in each of the 14 episodes come pouring out like all the poisons that lurk in the mud. These are more moments for the audience to really put things together, like the glue that is much stronger than a generic paste. So for all the weaknesses of the episodes I found slow or overcrowded with characters, it's all there to drive the story to a wonderful conclusion, and every element that makes great literature turn into something beautifully artistic becomes like that beautiful sunset that follows a glorious day.