MovieChat Forums > Parade's End (2013) Discussion > did they or didn't they?

did they or didn't they?

posted 11 years ago by tsegal-1
12 replies | jump to latest

So, at the end of episode four -- did Christopher and Sylvia actually have sex or not? I kind of thought they had, but then things seemed the same rotten status quo at the beginning of episode 5.

[–] rob_sawyer 11 years ago

They did not, but they were heading in that direction when Potty barged in.

[–] SanneDK 11 years ago

I don't agree. I have not read the book, but I thought it was obvious that they had sex. Christopher was on the brink of fainting with fatigue the next day. I believe that was a quite humurous way of telling us that he had been loosing sleep because of love making.

[–] Cacri 11 years ago

I thought they were interrupted before they could do anything. Christopher was already tired and it was shown several times during the episode that he got very little rest.

[–] meldrone 11 years ago

Not until the end of episode 5, it seemed to me. Suspense thriller.

[–] trazey34 11 years ago

NO I don't believe they did. He's a man and she was seducing him so he was going to I believe, then they were interrupted and he came to his senses - he said "I'm so sorry Sylvia" meaning, I know you thought this was leading to something but I can't do it, I love another (at least that's what I think in my romantic heart, don't spoil it for me ha ha)

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] delalluvia 10 years ago

he said "I'm so sorry Sylvia" meaning, I know you thought this was leading to something but I can't do it, I love another (at least that's what I think in my romantic heart, don't spoil it for me ha ha)

I thought his "I'm sorry" was because of what she had put up with him, the realization of what she did just to try to get his attention.

I think they shagged like minks. Hence how exhausted Christopher seemed the next day and how Sylvia smiled so brightly when asked if she had "a good visit" and called herself "I'm a captain's lady" very proudly.

"Can you keep a secret? Can you know something and never speak of it again?"

[–] flasuss 10 years ago

Yeah, the smile on her face gave it away.

When you kill a man to defend an idea, you're not defending an idea. You're killing a man.

[–] haleyjean1229 10 years ago

Yeah, but you have to think about episode 5. Sylvia's conversation with her mother. Sylvia is still adamant about chopping down the Groby tree and wanting her son not to grow up to be like Christopher. She's really angry and makes a comment like "that's what I get for keeping myself chaste all these years". If she and Christopher had done it in France, wouldn't she come off as a little more confident that he's going to stay with her after the war? She's still sure that he'll leave her to be with Valentine. She even says so to her mother. I think the "I'm a captain's lady" was kind of a self-comforting facade she put on to save face.

[–] nm_afonso 10 years ago

I also think they didn't, she says to Drake in episode 5 "you wouldn't believe how long it's been".

[–] BridgetB 10 years ago

Yup. Sylvia & Tietjens were interrupted by Perowne & the old officer in charge of the military police--with whom Sylvia had been flirting, as well. Tietens was exhausted because he devoted himself to preparing men to go to the front & never got enough rest; he was under orders to return to the camp in the early hours.

When we saw Sylvia confess her feelings to Tietjens, she was quite sincere. But, as he later explained her to Vaentine, she didn't really lie--she believed what she was saying when she said it But then she'd change her mind--to get attention or to relieve her boredom. She didn't really want Perowne in her bedroom, but he was such a pathetic case & she enjoyed toying with him. (And he had provided her passage to the front--and an escort to the gathering.) She also did a bit of mindless flirting with the older officer--who already hated Tietjens. She was simply passing the time. Tietens realized this--he'd had years to understand her.

Because of that low comedy episode in the hotel, Tietens & Perowne were sent to the front. Perowne died, poor fellow. Tietens survived--& was reborn by his near death experience. He decided to live as he wanted when the war was over.

[–] slangist 10 years ago

no. quite explicit in the book. they do not. just another case of "sylvia pulling the strings on shower-baths."