I was watching some clips from the Season 4 episode “A Touch of Brimstone” as part of preparing a new music video, and I noticed a few really interesting things going on in Act II. Here are my ideas about these, in no particular order.
Foreshadowing Cartney’s Demise
When Mrs. Peel meets the villain John Cartney (Peter Wyngard), he invites her to a meeting of the Hellfire Club. We initially see the lads are all drinking, eating, and wenching, but Cartney and Mrs Peel haven’t arrived yet. One of the Hellfire Bois, Roger Winthrop (Michael Latimer), calls for a toast. He starts reciting the Hellfire Club’s own special toast, and other members of the club join in. Cartney and Mrs Peel enter the room in the middle of the toast, whereupon Cartney takes a torch from the wall next to the door and finishes the toast by himself before throwing the torch into the blazing fireplace to one side of the table where the party is going on.
Feather Dusters at 400 Yards 