DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Gentleman Jack episode “What’s All That Got to Do with Jesus Though?” has spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, Ann/Anne fans! Gentleman Jack‘s penultimate outing pits Captain Sutherland against Ann Walker in a litigious battle of the (19th) century. Seriously, they pass so many letters in this episode. I imagine those would equate to emails today. Ann would start her email follow-ups with, “Hey, bro-in-law! Just circling back RE: the division of the estate.”
Anyway, “What’s All That Got to Do with Jesus Though?” suffers under the weight of inconsistent pacing. We see some seeds planted, i.e., Eliza telling her friend she saw our lovebirds kissing at Crow Nest and Sutherland discovering Anne’s influence on his sister-in-law. Here’s hoping we watch these seeds blossom in the season finale.
Ready to delve into “What’s All That Got to Do with Jesus Though?” Let’s get to it.
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We open with Eliza (Amelia Bullmore) and William Priestley (Peter Davison) fretting over an eviction notice, wherein they must vacate the premises per the Walker estate. Mr. Washington (Joe Armstrong) visits the couple to explain the situation, but it seems to aggravate instead of alleviate. William learns his cousin Ann Walker is behind this, including wanting to clear out the primary school.
Meanwhile, Joseph (Ben Hunter) and Eugénie (Albane Courtois) stand as witnesses while Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) and Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle) sign documents regarding the division of the Walker estate. Jonathan Gray (Adrian Rawlins) is now their lawyer, overseeing what happens next in the process. Anne is on the hunt for an architect, so Gray recommends John Harper, a hotshot young lad who designed a fashionable street in York.

Anne informs Ann that they’ll teach the children at the primary school while they search for a new teacher in the interim. I sense educational hijinks are on the horizon!
Later, Captain Sutherland (Derek Riddell) complains about Ann’s insistence that they involve the law regarding the estate division. He muses whether Ann’s behind these decisions at all — her letters have taken on a different tone of late. Elizabeth (Katherine Kelly) defends her sister, asserting that this newfound pep in her step is good for her. Sutherland writes a letter in response to Ann.
Next, we see our fave wives in town enjoying their day when one woman accosts Ann publicly. She chastises Ann for evicting people out of the primary school.
Then, Anne and Ann read Sutherland’s response, wherein he threatens to visit Shibden once Elizabeth is well enough to travel. Ann fumes over the encounter in town and yells at Anne in front of Joseph. Anne shoots back, reminding her wife not to speak to her that way in front of the servants.
After some more letter exchanging and Captain Sutherland scheming, Anne meets with the lauded John Harper (Luke Newberry) as the pair discuss constructing the Northgate Hotel. John presents exciting ideas, but his proposals aren’t cheap. Mr. Parker (Bruce Alexander) isn’t too keen on all this, and we’ve heard him express concerns regarding finances before. But when Anne Lister sets her mind to something, she goes through with it.
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Later, we see Mr. Washington animatedly reading the Bible to a group of disinterested students. Ann also reads from the Bible and contends with one student who picks her nose and another who intermittently whispers expletives. Meanwhile, Anne teaches her group math. When one girl asks what math has to do with God, Anne passionately explains that everything, at its core, is math. I think Anne Lister persuaded me to like math.
Eliza Washington (Emma Wrightson) whispers to a classmate that she witnessed Anne snogging Ann at Crow Nest. Uh oh. I knew this would come back to bite our wives.

Then, our lovebirds catch Eugénie and Matthew (Leo Flanagan) doing the nasty in the woods. Anne seethes with rage while Ann guffaws. Tag yourself — I’m Ann Walker in this case.
Later, Anne speaks with Eugénie in French, grilling the latter about her encounters with Matthew. Anne decides to put in one month’s notice of terminating Eugénie’s employment even though she has no plans of firing Matthew for his “indiscretion.” This isn’t feminism!
Eugénie counters that Matthew has a farm he stands to inherit, and they plan to marry. So, can she keep her job at Shibden? Anne and Marian (Gemma Whelan) listen while Matthew explains his plans for marrying Eugénie and whisking her away to his family farm. Anne tells them that she and Marian will inform them of their decision. Anne reveals to Marian in private that she doesn’t believe they want to marry each other. Sometimes, a fling is a fling, but apparently, that’s not the case in the 1830s.
Ann dreams of visiting London and meeting lords and ladies, culminating in some sexy, fun times with Anne.
Next, Ann receives a letter from Sutherland, wherein he expresses his desire to go through with the division of the estate. Sure, he’ll continue to dig his heels in along the way, but it’ll happen eventually. Sutherland learns that the deeds for Crow Nest are at Shibden Hall, confirming his suspicions that Anne Lister is utilizing his sister-in-law as a mouthpiece.
Mr. Parker visits Anne at Shibden and reveals his concerns regarding sharing a copy of Ann’s father’s will with Sutherland. Anne wishes they knew they were dealing with Sutherland in Elizabeth’s letters from the get-go.
Sutherland vents his frustrations about the Crow Nest discovery to Elizabeth and writes a strongly-worded letter to Parker. We see him reading it and processing Sutherland’s words. This dude loves to stir the pot. He’s a drama queen!
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Despite this episode’s uneven pacing, there are some beautiful moments of levity amid the angry letter-writing. I love watching Anne, Ann and Mr. Washington teach the kids at the primary school and our wives discovering Eugénie and Matthew having fun in Mother Nature.
However, I’m surprised that Gentleman Jack hasn’t circled back to the Sowden family drama, and I doubt we’ll get a conclusion to that story in the Season 2 finale. This season is a bit jarring, as it introduces certain storylines only to brush them under the rug.
Gentleman Jack flourishes when it focuses on Anne and Ann. If the show returns for Season 3, I hope it takes a more straightforward approach to the narrative.
Do you think we’ll see a Captain Sutherland versus Anne Lister showdown next week? Will Eliza Washington’s gossip take root in Halifax? Will Anne’s hotel prosper (probably — this is Anne Lister, after all)? Join me next week while I recap the Gentleman Jack finale, only on Geek Girl Authority.
Gentleman Jack drops its Season 2 finale on Monday, June 13, at 10 pm on HBO and HBO Max.
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