Taboo: Who is Robert and can Thorne live much longer?

Taboo's atmospheric and action-packed fifth episode featured duels, exorcisms and a series of unfolding enigmas to keep fans guessing.

Here are five questions raised by the latest instalment of BBC1's unsettling period drama, starring Tom Hardy as the enigmatic adventurer James Keziah Delaney.

Can Thorne live for much longer?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The villainous Thorne Geary (Jefferson Hall) narrowly survived a duel with his brother-in-law James, but it seems he is destined for an untimely end. His enemies are mounting: the East India Company, the crown and even his own wife Zilpha (Oona Chaplin), who will surely seek revenge for the humiliating ordeal he has put her through. It seems only a matter of time before death catches up with this truly unpleasant character.

Was that even a real exorcism?

In a disturbing sequence, even by the standards of Taboo, we saw poor Zilpha beaten by Thorne, who is tormented by his wife's continued desires for her half-brother James. He also ordered a dubious priest to "exorcise" her for a "small fee". Thorne watched the exorcist straddle Zilpha, say some incantations in Latin and put his hands over her chest. But was it really an exorcism, or simply an excuse for Thorne to further abuse and humiliate his wife? Viewers complained the scene was gratuitous exploitation.

Who is Robert really?

We were first led to believe that Robert (Louis Serkis), the mysterious child James agreed to pay for but didn't want to see, was his half-brother, the offspring of Delaney Sr and an unknown mother. Now chemist Cholmondeley (Tom Hollander) seems convinced the boy, who serves as his new assistant, is James's secret son, possibly with sister Zilpha. The real answer isn't clear, but we do know that Taboo is fond of plot twists so there may be more to this story than meets the eye.

What are the Americans up to?

American agent Dr Dumbarton (Michael Kelly) blackmailed James into getting him gunpowder, claiming it was for the Irish rebels. Yet fellow spy Carlsbad (Countess Musgrave, played by Marina Hands) claimed she knew nothing about the plan. So what is Dumbarton really up to? Is he plotting some sort of covert attack on the British to implicate James, or is this just a communication failure between him and Carlsbad?

Does a slave ship hold the key to James's past?

Episode five introduced George Chichester (Lucian Msamati), a campaigner for anti-slavery organisation Sons of Africa, who believes the sinking of a ship called The Influence, which he believes was an East India Company vessel in disguise, was deliberately sunk by the company to cover up its illegal slave operations. This links to clues we've been given before about James's mysterious past - flashbacks have shown him aboard a stricken ship with desperate slaves below deck. Was James working on the ill-fated Influence when it was scuttled - and is this what his revenge has been about all along?

Episode six of Taboo airs on BBC1 at 9.15pm on Saturday 11 February.

Taboo: Seven big questions for Tom Hardy's new hit

20 January

The second episode of Tom Hardy's drama Taboo was a suspenseful piece of Regency Gothic that brought fans a few answers but left them with even more questions.

Hardy's enigmatic adventurer James Keziah Delaney offered a few more hints about his past, as he investigated the murder of his father, dug up some diamonds and encountered assassins on the murky streets of 19th-century London.

So far we know that after returning from Africa – where he may have been involved in the slave trade – he is set to inherit a piece of contested land, Nootka Sound. This has upset the plans of the East India Trading Company and the ambitions of his half sister Zilpha (Oona Chaplin). Delaney's return to London has also interrupted the operations of a brothel set up in his father's dockside warehouses. There seem to be a number of people out to kill him.

The questions are mounting. Here are seven of them:

Who is trying to kill Delaney?

There are a number of people who have a motive to kill Delaney and maybe all of them have set plans in motion. The East India Trading Company is top of the list as it tries to get its hands on Delaney's inheritance, the valuable Nootka Sound. But does it have anything to do with the creepy silver-toothed man who seems to be after Delaney? We know Delaney's nasty brother-in-law is also out to get him. But what about the mysterious woman who turned up at the reading of Delaney's father's will claiming to be his widow? Surely she would be happy to see him dead so she could claim the inheritance she says she is due. There's also a thwarted brothel keeper whose business could start up again if Delaney were out of the way.

What's the deal with the diamonds?

In last week's episode, Delaney buried a handful of diamonds on the outskirts of London. This week he dug them up again. But how did he get the diamonds and what does he plan to do with them? So far he has sent one to his sister Zilpha, who quickly stowed the diamond away. Was it a token of Delaney's affection, the repayment of a debt, a guilt offering because his sister failed to inherit anything from her father or was he giving her a way to escape her abusive and controlling husband?

Is Lorna really Delaney's widowed stepmother?

One big plot twist this week came when Lorna Bow (Jessie Buckley who played Marya in War and Peace) turned up at the reading of Horace Delaney's will claiming she was the old man's widow and therefore James's stepmother. Whether the former actress is who she says she is, or simply playing the role for profit, she seems to be more than a match for the bullish Delaney. And what is her little mantra, "calm, pretty, certain, fragrant", all about?

Who killed Horace Delaney?

Delaney's investigation into his father's apparent arsenic poisoning hasn't come much further. One key suspect is his vile brother-in-law Thorne Geary, who we learn had it in for Horace and may have made an attempt on his life once before. But now we have a new contender: Lorna. Her motive would surely be the inheritance. But as is the case with Delaney, the list is long for those who might want to get their hands on Horace's property and land.

Is James Delaney a spy?

In the first episode, Delaney seemed to know a lot about the negotiations going on between the British and the Americans. The East India Company has even questioned if he is employed by its American enemies since he seems keen to undermine it. This week Delaney even visited an American spy to ask for an audience with the president and suggested he might travel to the new country some time soon. Or is he simply playing off two sides against each other in order to make a better deal?

Will the Prince Regent be an ally?

Last week featured an appearance from Sherlock star Mark Gatiss, who was almost unrecognisable as a bilious, bloated and flush-faced Prince Regent. It seems the royal loathes the East India Company as much as Delaney, uttering scathing comments and appearing to encourage his underling to cause them some bother. However, while Delaney might not be alone in his quest for revenge, can he count on the prince for help?

What will happen to Delaney?

The cliffhanger ending to episode two saw a mysterious assailant emerge from the shadows and stab Delaney in the gut. Delaney appears gravely wounded, although it is unlikely he will die just yet – after all, he's Taboo's main protagonist and there are still six episodes to go. Yet could he really emerge from the assault unscathed? A knife-wound might make him more vulnerable to his enemies.

Taboo airs on BBC1 on Saturday at 9.15pm