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Time for another peek into the bejeweled world of PBS’s Victoria, magpies! Today we’ve got a recap of episode three, “Warp and Weft.” (Catch up on our previous recaps here!)

Everyone’s up in arms about a boy who has managed to break in to Buckingham Palace. Victoria, who wears a large era-appropriate brooch while having tea with Albert and Baby Vicky, isn’t taking it too seriously, and that ticks Albert off.

He can’t believe how badly the palace is run, and he is thrilled when Victoria gives him permission to make some reforms. Albert loved nothing more than reform! He spends much of this episode arguing with the various staff members who are in charge with different parts of the palace, but he ends up deciding that it’s time to raise the servants’ wages.

At Brocket Hall, Melbourne still isn’t feeling well. A doctor comes from London, but he doesn’t have good news — because Melbourne’s condition is so uncertain, he advises Lord M to put his affairs in order. (Melbourne had a stroke in October 1842.)

Victoria and Emma Portman, both wearing hair combs, are also both worried about Melbourne, and Victoria asks Emma to go and check on him.

Charlotte Buccleuch, cameo in tow, brings Victoria her correspondence. Among the letters is one from a Mr. Bascombe, who wove the silk for Victoria’s wedding dress. She agrees to have an audience with him.

Victoire Kent, who has been dressed in mourning clothes and jewels for some reason this season, watches warily.

Emma goes to see Lord Melbourne. He makes various excuses for his absence from court and correspondence. She’s not buying it.

Mr. Bascombe comes to the palace, lobbying on behalf of his fellow silkmakers in Spitalfields.

He doesn’t want the country to import silk from other countries, and he shows her samples for quality comparison. (Note that she’s moved the brooch from her first outfit to her waist on this dress.)

Victoria is displeased when Peel won’t promise to protect the industry. But Drummond, in between flirty glances with Lord Alfred, suggests another solution: throw a ball, and draw attention to the weavers of Spitalfields by requiring all guests to wear their silk. Peel warns that such an event might not be popular with all classes of society, even invoking Marie Antoinette. Victoria throws the Corn Laws in his face, and resolves to proceed with the plan. (Plans for this ball, historically, took place in the spring of 1842, several months after the birth of King Edward VII, with whom she is pregnant in this episode.)

That night, pearl-and-brooch-clad Wilhelmina gazes lovingly at Ernst as he plays the piano, basically the same scene we’ve had between the two of them for three episodes now.

Wearing a production-invented necklace and that very modern brooch, Victoria tells everyone about her plans for the ball. Charlotte Buccleuch is horrified at the idea that Victoria would dance in her “condition.” Victoria finds a reason to casually dismiss her from the room.

Ernst has an idea for the ball: he thinks it should be Plantagenet themed, following the fashions worn at the court of King Edward III. Albert’s still not sure it’s a good idea to hold a ball when so many of Victoria’s subjects are suffering. She counters that the ball, designed to help local trade and industry, will be beneficial.

Invitations go out, including one to Lord Melborne. He scowls.

Albert, Victoria, and their entourage visit Westminster Abbey to see the tombs of King Edward III and Queen Philippa. The guide tells them a story that illustrates Philippa’s influence over her husband.

Wilhelmina takes the opportunity to quiz Ernst about his costume for the ball. She suggests Robin Hood, and he thinks portraying an outlaw would be just about perfect.

Emma visits Melbourne to tell him about the ball preparations. He’s decided he’ll come to the ball after all.

Garrard (the crown jeweler during Victoria’s reign) gets a reference when Victoria presents Albert with a special part of his costume for the ball: his own crown. (He’s going as Edward III, she’s going as Philippa.)

We get a montage of the silk weavers creating the fabric for Victoria’s costume and Victoria herself trying on her gown and jewels. Over it all, a member of parliament rails against the excesses of the ball.

Victoria and Albert get dressed and ready for the ball. This Plantagenet ball was a real event, held on May 12, 1842. You can see their real costumes from the ball in the Landseer portrait here.

Note that the costume designers chose to put Victoria in a faux ruby-and-diamond necklace rather than the pearl necklace depicted in the portrait.

The ball is beautiful, but lots of people are unhappy. Peel is worried about the national mood. Charlotte Buccleuch thinks the whole thing is just an excuse for Albert to pretend to be king. And then Harriet Sutherland shows up at the ball on her husband’s arm. (They both really attended.) Ernst convinces her to dance with him. (He wasn’t really there; he married Princess Alexandrine of Baden in Germany the very next day!) Wilhelmina (still fictional) is crushed…

…but she’s soon buoyed by attentions from Lord Alfred, who has also been flirting again with Mr. Drummond.

Another surprise guest also arrives: an ailing Lord Melbourne, in disguise as Dante. (Melbourne really did attend the ball.) Victoria chastises him for not answering her letters.

Peel (who also really attended the ball) grows more and more disgusted by the excess all around him.

And it turns out he’s right about the national mood — the people are not happy with such an extravagant palace ball, no matter how much business it gave to the silk weavers.

Back inside, Victoria convinces Melbourne to waltz with her. Emma has to help cover for him when he becomes ill during the dance.

And then Victoria catches a glimpse of the growing mob outside the palace. She realizes she’s seriously misjudged the situation.

After the ball, Albert’s happy to discard his crown.

Morning dawns, and Victoria, still in her Plantagenet dress, surveys the aftermath of her big silk party. She’s disgusted by the waste, and she decides to give the leftovers to the poor. Hope they like half-melted ice sculptures!

The press is scathing in their criticism of the ball, much to Victoria’s frustration. Emma interrupts her with a request: she needs to take a leave of absence to help her sister following a difficult birth. Victoria quickly agrees. (Conveniently, her sister lives right next door to Brocket Hall.)

Also departing: Ernst, who’s heading back to Coburg. (As I mentioned above, he’d been back in Germany for a while — on May 13, 1842, he married Princess Alexandrine of Baden in Karlsruhe.)

Peel reminds Albert that he can do good things without a crown of his own. He suggests that Albert should start by working with the people building the new Houses of Parliament. (Fire destroyed parliament in 1834, and the rebuilding project began in 1840. The following year, Prince Albert headed a committee that worked on the interior design of the new building.)

Victoria visits Mr. Bascombe’s workshop in Spitalfields to discuss the effects of the ball. She’s pleased to hear that they’ve seen positive effects, and orders have gone up.

Albert heads to Westminster Hall, where he runs into Melbourne, who is clearly suffering. Melbourne thinks Albert’s a good choice to be the patron of the new parliamentary building project.

Harriet and her ferronniere miss Ernst terribly, and it’s mutual. (Still lamenting the missed opportunities with her character. She was an important, influential figure in Victorian society, and she was an ardent abolitionist.)

Albert comes home and tells Victoria that he’s seen Melbourne. Although he’s promised not to, Albert confesses that Melbourne is seriously ill. She promises Albert that she won’t tell anyone that she knows.

But she does stop by Melbourne’s London house before he heads back to the countryside and gives him a gift: a mechanical singing bird. They both clearly know that she knows about his illness, but neither says anything direct about it.

They share a sentimental goodbye.

An even worse goodbye is waiting for Victoria at the palace. Dash, who has been showing his age, has died. (In reality, he died at the end of 1840.) Albert tries his best to comfort her. “Everything changes,” he explains, “except us.” (Ooh, Albert, that’s terrible foreshadowing.)

Time for our second Victoria recap of the season! If you need to catch up on the first half of the season premiere (or any other episodes), you can check out all of my previous posts on the show.

After Vicky’s christening, the Coburgs are still skulking about the palace. Ernst Sr. badgers Albert for more money to take care of his home back in Germany, while Uncle Leopold creeps about as Victoria works, reminding her that she needs to produce a son.

Victoria, wearing a delicate earring-necklace suite set with blue gems, does not need to be reminded.

In a more exciting development, Albert pays a visit to the Royal Society, where Ada Lovelace shows off the new computing machine that she and Charles Babbage have been working on. One of the most brilliant minds of the era, Lovelace is considered by many to have been the very first computer programmer. (She was also Lord Byron’s daughter.)

(And, if you watch as much Call the Midwife as I do, you’ll recognize the actress playing Ada, Emerald Fennell, as Nurse Patsy. I kept waiting for her to deliver a baby!)

Back at the palace, Victoria and Peel discuss political issues in the Holy Land.

Albert arrives, excited about his meeting with Lovelace. Victoria proposes that they should throw a party and meet some of these scientific minds.

Meanwhile, Wilhelmina’s crush on Ernst gets crushier and crushier, helped along by a little Chopin. (He’s got VD, kid. Take your pearls and run.)

Charlotte Buccleuch is NOT HAVING IT. (Have we established why she’s dressed in mourning clothes and jewels? Her husband lived until 1884. Also: Charlotte wasn’t even close to being an elderly woman when she served as Mistress of the Robes. This episode takes place around 1841, when Charlotte was 30! She already had four sons, but she gave birth to her daughters in 1844, 1846, and 1851. She was actually five years younger than the Duchess of Sutherland, the woman she replaced at court.)

Invitations go out for the cultural reception, and Victoria writes to Lord Melbourne, summoning him for the evening.

You know what that means: RUFUS RETURNS.

As she dresses for the reception, Victoria can’t figure out why her corset is so tight. I’ll give you a hint, ma’am: it rhymes with Schmedward the Schmeventh. (That means this episode should be set around the spring of 1841.)

Emma Portman, wearing seed pearls, is surprised and pleased to see her old pal Melbourne arriving at the reception.

Victoria, who wears her dark purple brooch, is introduced to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage. She remarks that she’s never met a lady mathematician before.

Ada replies that she’s never met another one, either.

Lord M is the subject of much discussion at the reception. Victoria is thrilled to see him again. Albert gives him study tips. Uncle Leopold sniffs in his general direction.

The entertainment at the reception is provided by a famous Victorian ballet dancer, Marie Taglioni. The real Marie, who is said to have been the first ballerina to dance en pointe, was still performing in 1841; she would retire six years later.

After the performance, Victoria and Melbourne watch Albert in animated conversation with Ada. Melbourne observes that Ada takes after her mother and her father. (He would know. Ada’s mother was one of Lord Melbourne’s cousins. And remember that Melbourne was very well acquainted with the other side of Ada’s family; his wife, Lady Caroline, had a famous affair with Ada’s father, Lord Byron.)

Lord M breaks the news to Victoria that Byron was Ada’s father, and she is very intrigued.

The entertainment continues with a performance from Othello by the famous American Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge. This later gives Lord M the opportunity to talk to Victoria about the “green-eyed monster” of jealousy.

Everyone is enraptured by Aldridge — except for Wilhelmina, who is enraptured by Ernst. (Interesting pearl headpiece on her here.)

Ernst doesn’t notice. He’s watching the performance with his Aunt Victoire, who has rediscovered her tiara-comb-thing in her jewelry box.

Later, Charlotte clutches her metaphorical pearls about a black man playing Othello. Peel, who looks as if he’d rather be literally anywhere else, reminds her that the part was written that way. He’s clearly regretting putting Charlotte on the list of acceptable ladies for the Queen.

And then Victoria embarrasses herself a little in front of Albert, Ada, and Babbage by not understanding math. She’s a little jealous of Albert’s easy, intellectual conversations with them. Leopold is jealous of Melbourne. Wilhelmina is jealous of anyone who looks at Ernst. Lots of green-eyed monsters in the palace.

Day dawns, and surprise! Victoria’s pregnant. She has a shocked mirror-reflection moment straight out of The Crown.

She wears delicate jewels later in the day as she and Albert discuss conditions for children working in mines. (The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Children’s Employment’s report was issued in 1842.) They argue over whether Lord Melbourne and his party would have made time to investigate the problem. She accuses Albert of being jealous of Lord M; he says he believes it’s inappropriate for Victoria to invite him to the palace now that he’s no longer PM.

We also see the brooch pinned at the waist of Victoria’s dress as she and Albert bicker over his scheduled dinner with the Statistical Society. She’s jealous of Ada Lovelace, and she doesn’t want him to go to the dinner. He goes anyway.

That evening at the palace, a diamond-decked Victoria has to tell everyone that Albert’s not eating with them. She flees from the table when Ernst Sr. makes insinuations about his son. Leopold, who is still not taking care of Belgium, joins in. (In 1842, the same year that the report on children’s working conditions in the UK was released, Leopold advocated for better working conditions for children in Belgium, too. He was much more than just the meddling, gossipy uncle depicted here.)

Victoria cries to Lehzen about her pregnancy — she feels as if she’s going “to prison.” She sends for Albert, asking him to come back to the palace, but he refuses to leave the dinner. She sends for him again, but once more he resists.

When Albert does come home, he finds the door to his wife’s bedroom locked.

A disheveled Charlotte is surprised the next day when Victoria and Emma attempt to leave the palace without her to go to Brocket Hall. They leave her behind with instructions to tell Albert exactly where they are if he asks. (He doesn’t.)

At Brocket Hall, Melbourne is tending to his orchids. Victoria finds him in his greenhouse, and he shows off the unusual plants in his collection, including a Venus Flytrap. She really wants his advice on marriage, though, which is hilarious given his own track record. She doesn’t know how to be both a ruler and a proper Victorian wife.

Her proper Victorian husband is busy again with his own pursuits, talking once more with Babbage and Lovelace about their analytical engine. Ada, wearing a fashionable cameo brooch, reveals that sometimes the answers to her theoretical questions come to her in her dreams. Babbage thinks that’s silly, but Albert says he sort of gets it.

While they wait for Victoria and Melbourne to finish their conversation, Alfred and Emma have a sneaky drink in the garden.

Victoria confesses to Melbourne that much of her current conflict with Albert stems from his work as substitute monarch during her pregnancy and confinement. She’s worried that Albert wants more children so that she can constantly be on maternity leave — and he can basically become king. She thinks that Albert thinks he can reign better than she can. Melbourne quips that Albert wouldn’t be the first man to underestimate a woman. She’s the sovereign, and she shouldn’t forget that.

Back at the palace, Uncle Leopold — who is still not reigning over his own country — has heard from his palace gossip network that Victoria’s expecting, and he lets Albert know.

He goes in to talk with her about the baby, but she’s super salty with him, reminding him that she tried to tell him last night, but he refused to come home so she could speak with him. They fight about Melbourne and Lovelace, and then she storms off.

At Brocket Hall, Melbourne’s not doing so well. His doctors have brought out leeches for a spot of bloodletting to try to ease headaches and weakness on his left side. (The real Lord M had a stroke a little over a year after leaving office.)

The Coburgs finally head out. Ernst Sr. tells Victoire about the new baby as he leaves, because apparently her palace gossips aren’t nearly as good as those arranged by her brothers. Leopold advises Albert to be attentive to his wife. Less logic, more emotion. The younger Ernst is staying behind; Uncle Leopold wants him to get married, and he’s decided to hide out in Britain to avoid it. (Spoiler, Ernst: you’ll be getting a German princess bride soon, whether you like it or not.)

Victoria informs Peel that she’s expecting, and he congratulates her with an attempt at scriptural motivation. She tersely tells him that she wishes she had been born a man, which sort of squelches his big speech. (Anyone else notice that she wears basically the same dress and jewels for days at the end of this episode?)

Melbourne writes to Victoria, sending his regrets — he can’t come to London right now.

He encourages her to seek Albert’s counsel, looking to the future, not the past.

And so she does seek the future, going to meet with Lady Lovelace to see the analytical engine. But Ada has to hurry out — one of her children has been injured. The two bond a little over the difficulties of balancing work and motherhood. Turns out Victoria isn’t the only one who has sometimes wishes she’d been born male.

Wearing a pair of modern earrings set with white and blue gems, Victoria reminds Albert about their pre-wedding romance.

She apologizes for being jealous, and she admits that she’s a little unhappy about the pregnancy, mostly because it’s happening so soon after Vicky’s birth. He understands, and he doesn’t want her to be permanently confined.

That’s all she wanted to here — and they’re officially on good terms again. (Hope she doesn’t hold him to that “confinement” promise, though, because they’re just getting started…)