The final episode of Season One begins with a sweeping shot of London accompanied by some very regal music that leads into a speech from Belle (Billie Piper) about how living in London is all about class and sex is no different. As the camera pulls back we find ourselves along with Belle in a swank apartment overlooking the Thames. She’s with a client, movie producer Mitchell Rothman (Colin Salmon) and he tells her he thinks she’s ready to move up in the world and become a courtesan for Diamond International Courtesans, a company which sounds improbable in concept, but I’ve no doubt exists somewhere. (I’m very naïve about such matters.)
She goes to meet the three women who run the place, and the interview is about as humiliating as any job interview is. They dress her down, so that they can dress her up. They explain that being a courtesan is about being a companion as much as it is anything else. She must be learned in things like skiing and languages if she is to be successful. When Belle pipes up, “In the end, it’s all about fucking though, isn’t it?,” there aren’t many laughs from the other side of the room. Perhaps she is not quite as classy as she thinks she is? She takes a quick bathroom break to compose herself, comes back and makes a very impassioned speech about how damn good she is. One of the women finally says, “I like her.” So the job is hers and the first person she visits is Stephanie (Cheri Lunghi) so that she can do the typical “I quit” scene, of course in Belle’s case such a scene is littered with all sorts of details of her career that make it incredibly amusing. Stephanie is not amused, however. The second person she visits is Ben (Iddo Goldberg), and asks him to take some classy photos of her for the clients to peruse. It’s reassuring to know that hopefully some things won’t change. Piper looks fantastic in the photography montage! The pair briefly discuss Ben’s plans for upcoming domesticity and Belle’s future, as Ben puts it, “an uber-whore.”
Ben’s dialogue dovetails nicely into a shot of Mitchell going down on Belle. He looks up, tells her she deserves everything, and then gives her the swank apartment. She flips out and screams and the action cuts to Hannah and her mother packing up everything at her old place. Of course, her parents still know nothing of her career, believing that she still works in an office. Her mother says, “I still know nothing of your world,” which cuts to Hannah and her parents in the new place and her father saying, “I’m so proud of you!” It’s an uncomfortable moment because we know that he wouldn’t be proud of her at all if he knew the truth.
The life of a courtesan doesn’t involve just taking any man that comes along. Instead, Belle must interview possible clients and choose who she thinks will work out. Mitchell tells her “no more than four.” The more men she sees, “the less prestigious a courtesan is.” He says he’s going to Scotland shortly for a film and he’d like for her to come along. She does that and he bathes her and treats her like royalty, but when it’s time for him to go to work, she’s left completely alone. It’s as if she’s on call and must simply wait until he returns – after all, he’s paying and it’s not like she can go find another john on the street corner. When he returns he’s deep in thought, committed to his work. As he sits at his computer, she tries to distract him and he tells her she’s “too demanding.” The phone rings and he jumps for it, but she grabs it first and tosses it across the room. He flips out on her, “What the hell are you doing?!?” Mitchell’s a big guy and it’s a scary moment, even though logic seems to dictate that he’s far too cultured to do her any physical harm. “So this is how it’s going to be, huh?” He storms out, and we cut to the flat in London and Belle standing with her bags, having returned from the trip alone. She calls one of the Diamond women and finds out that Mitchell has women just like Belle all over the world. Suddenly, being a courtesan doesn’t seem very special anymore. It would appear that Belle enjoys her work so much that she has absolutely no idea what to do with herself when she’s not working (which was also the point of Episode 6). Even a cool flat and wads of cash leave her bored if she’s not busy fucking. I guess that’s it for Belle. She genuinely enjoys the fuck. Everything else is just gravy.
As is to be expected, she places a late night call to Ben and he comes over. When his fiancé Vanessa calls, Hannah asks loudly from across the room if he’d like a drink. When he gets off the phone he rips her a new one and accuses her of having abandoned everyone in her life “for this.” He says that at his wedding, she’s going to get up and give her Best Man speech, and everyone’s going to wonder, “Why isn’t he marrying her?” And then there’s silence between the two. It is a good question after all. The next morning Mitchell comes to the flat and calls out for Belle – only to find a note that says, “Sorry Mitch. It’s not for me.” Back at Hannah’s old place, she’s setting up a new website with Ben, as an “Independent Escort.” Ben jokes that he can be her muscle, and she wonders if Vanessa would have a problem with that. He confesses that he broke off the engagement – after all, if he doesn’t want to marry Hannah, he doesn’t want to marry anyone. The season ends with a fairly goopy monologue from Hannah about how as long as one person knows and loves you in London, it’s the best place in the world.
Well, not the greatest season finale ever, but certainly a decent enough setup for a second season that’s more about Hannah and Ben – but I’ll be damned if I’m even willing to take a guess at what that will entail. All in all, the first season of this show felt like it was skimming the surface of a deep pond. The premise can be taken in a wide variety of directions and hopefully the powers that be will present a slightly more complex Season Two.
