Stand and Deliver
As Renegade Nell Season 1 Episode 8, “Not Some Cheap Trick,” begins, Nell (Louisa Harland) and Billy (Nick Mohammed) lie in wait for Queen Anne’s (Jodhi May) carriage. Billy’s very nervous and catastrophizes what will happen if they don’t catch the queen and prevent Poynton from capturing her.
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George (Florence Keen) whistles a signal that the carriage is coming. They stop it, and the driver and guards give up immediately. Nell boards the carriage to tell the queen about the plot against her and finds Devereaux (Frank Dillane) instead.
Nell kicks him out and demands to know where the queen is. He explains Queen Anne uses decoy carriages out of paranoia. Pivoting quickly, Nell directs them all to head to Tottenham to rescue the queen.
Broadwater Hall
Queen Anne arrives, entering with her guard to meet Sofia (Alice Kremelberg), Thomas (Jake Dunn) and Poynton (Adrian Lester), and is immediately taken captive by her own bodyguard. She looks at Poynton with shock. He explains they’ll be traveling to Scotland, where she will be held until James II takes the throne, and then she will be executed.
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In the woods outside Broadwater Hall, the others rest while Nell takes out the royal patrols. Meanwhile, Sofia tries to talk to Thomas, but he is almost non-responsive. When he does answer her, she realizes he speaks like Poynton. She sees the necklace around his neck and asks if Poynton gave it to him. When she asks him to take it off, he tells her it can’t be removed. She tries pulling it off, and it causes him great pain. The reverberation of the attempt travels out of the building and wakes Roxy (Bo Bragason) from her nap.
She gets a gun from the hidden carriage and tells Rasselas (Enyi Okoronkwo) that she felt something bad just then and thinks she needs to do something about it. Rasselas goes with her, leaving George to watch Devereaux.
Something to Lose
Sofia confronts Poynton about Thomas’s pendant. She points out that he only wanted Thomas close once he’d learned that Thomas had killed Lord Blancheford (Pip Torrens). Poynton states the carriage to Scotland is ready, but Sofia won’t let it depart until he explains the pendant and why it can’t be removed.
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Poynton informs her that people who commit patricide have warped their souls, and that can be used to perform a ritual that will make the wielder immeasurably powerful permanently.
He explains that he is too weak now to do it without great risk but urges Sofia to try it herself. She’d overwhelm Nell Jackson. It would destroy Thomas, but she’d be the greatest magic user ever. She smiles widely at him, causing a stone bust to fly across the room and hit him in the back of the head.
As he lies on the floor, she fully accepts that he instigated the idea of murdering their father in Thomas’s mind. She laughs that he thought he could play with them. His eyes change, and she realizes he is chanting a spell. The snakes on his ring writhe. In another room, Thomas’s pendant begins to burrow into his chest. Poynton grasps Sofia’s hand in a painful grip. By drawing Thomas’s energy into himself, Poynton overpowers and binds Sofia with magical snakes.
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A guard rushes in to inform Poynton that two patrols have disappeared. He believes Nell Jackson has come for them. Poynton leaves Sofia there to deal with Nell.
Taking Care of Business
Inside the manor now, Nell and Billy take care of guards, one at a time, outside the manor, while Devereaux decides to teach George the art of pilfering.
Roxy and Rasselas find Thomas in his bed in obvious pain. He begins shouting to make it stop. Rasselas tries to calm him. Thomas thinks Rasselas is a ghost. He wants him to stop haunting him, and he’s willing to tell him the secret he should never have kept from him.
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Rasselas tells him to tell the secret. Thomas tells him his real name is Amadin. Rasselas is stunned and then angry that he kept his name from him all these years. He tells Roxy that Thomas deserves to suffer. Roxy reminds him that it’s not just about him.
Too Many Queens
Nell finds Queen Anne in a chair, tied and gagged. She introduces herself and explains that she’s gotten rid of all the guards she could find. They should be able to sneak out together.
Devereaux and George carry their ill-gotten goods into the courtyard, where they find two of the Queen’s bodyguards guarding a door. Devereaux takes care of the guards while George sneaks a peek into the room beyond the door.
As Nell unties the queen, Anne asks how Nell captured the entity that gives her the power to fight like she does. Nell tells her she doesn’t control anyone. When she tries to hurry the queen, Anne looks taken aback.
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Devereaux and George find the real Queen Anne in the guarded room. When they ungag her, she identifies Devereaux as Isambard Tulley.
Nell’s queen begins to taunt her with her status and powerlessness. Suddenly, Poynton appears behind her, and both he and the false queen have a grip on Nell’s neck. Even when Billy flies into her mouth, she’s unable to break free.
In his room, Thomas falls to the ground. Roxy notices the pendant and tries to remove it. This disrupts Poynton’s flow of power, and the false queen dissolves into dust. Nell breaks free and faces Poynton for the first time.
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He begins to pontificate about how insignificant she is and how he’s going to destroy her. She tells him to stop talking, and they can take the fight outside. He accepts the challenge and moves unnaturally fast to exit.
Freeing Herself
Sofia figures out a spell to free herself with some effort. She rushes out to find Poynton. She runs into Nell out on the lawn. Poynton calls down darkness on the estate.
Queen Anne takes a long drink of Devereaux’s flask and leads the group out of her short-term prison. On the lawn, Poynton takes out Sofia first and turns his attention to Nell. In the manor, Rasselas and Roxy carry Thomas down the stairs.
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While Poynton and Nell fight, Sofia tries to help with a fireball, but it has no effect on Poynton. He approaches her and prepares to finish her, but Nell interrupts his swing. He turns and lifts her off the ground by the neck. She’s choking but manages to point out when she hears hoofbeats that the queen’s escaping. Poynton drops her to prevent the queen from riding away.
He gets out in front of the horse, startling it into throwing its rider. Poynton offers a hand and is unimpressed to find it’s Devereaux. He throws Devereaux across the yard.
Saving Thomas
Inside, Nell and Sofia find Roxy, Rasselas, and Thomas. Sofia is desperate to reverse the spell but doesn’t have any power left. George and Queen Anne pop their heads up on the upper level. Nell begs Roxy to take George and the queen to safety.
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Sofia refuses to leave without Thomas. Looking at how far the spell’s dug into him, she tells Nell that it’s stopping his heart. Nell calls Billy over and tells him they can’t defeat Poynton if he’s drawing Thomas’s energy through the spell. She asks him to go into Thomas and fight the spell.
Ultimate Sacrifice
Billy protests that he belongs with Nell. It breaks her heart, too, but there’s no other way. Poynton approaches, and Billy bids Nell goodbye. He flies into Thomas, and both Thomas and Nell cry out in pain. Poynton arrives. Nell attempts to fight him on her own, but he easily flings her to the ground.
As he raises his blade to kill her, Thomas suddenly sits up, and ash spews out of Poynton’s mouth as he sinks to the ground. Outside, George finds Devereaux still lying on the lawn. He asks if their plan worked just as the light returns.
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Poynton begins to chant as he rises above Nell. His chant is cut short when Sofia stabs him through the back with a sword. She looks at Nell and orders her to speak to the queen on behalf of her and Thomas, pardoning their deeds because they were misled by Poynton.
Never Forget
In response, Nell lists all the wrongs Sofia and Thomas have done to her and her family. Sofia adds, “Please,” to her request. Nell is speechless. After a moment, she offers to let them live, but they’ll have to go on the run. Sofia glares and helps Thomas out. Left alone, Nell breaks down and mourns Billy. Eventually, she makes her way outside, where Roxy, George and Rasselas all embrace her with relief. Devereaux assists the queen out, asking if it’s possible to receive multiple knighthoods.
“But Thanks”
Sometime later, Nell, Roxy, George and Amadin (no longer Rasselas) are presented to Queen Anne at court. The queen pronounces Nell innocent of murder and pardons all of them of all crimes. She asks Nell to step forward and demonstrate her ability to catch bullets. Nell has to shout, “STOP!” to prevent the queen’s guards from firing at her. She tells the queen she’s not a cheap trick for toffs to gawp at. Queen Anne is taken aback and explains she’s about to offer Nell the position of Captain of the Queen’s Bodyguard. It’s a great honor that has only ever been granted to Peers of the Realm. Nell tells her she doesn’t want it but thanks anyway.
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Queen Anne asks Nell what she wants. Nell looks around at her sisters and asks for the Talbot pub.
The Ballad of Renegade Nell
Nell drives a wagon back to Tottenham, with Roxy, George and Rasselas sleeping in the back. As they go, Nick Cave sings “The Ballad of Renegade Nell”:
“Too swift for your gun and stronger than stone
In a heartbeat, a whisper can marry a moan
If she comes for you cower, you poor ne’er do well
You better hide while you can
From Renegade Nell
She lives by the sun, and she rides by the moon
Whether thief on the take or seasoned dragoon
She’ll follow you down to the bowels of hell
Oh, you better run from, run from
Run from Renegade Nell.”
As they ride off in the distance, a bright spark bursts onto the screen and speeds towards them.
All episodes of Renegade Nell Season 1 are streaming on Disney+.
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