Then is there a missing relative, possibly a Mother, in the mix or is she the daughter of James Mother who may have already been born when she was sold for beads and gun powder in Nooka Sound. In some of the scenes last Tuesday, Zilpha has a mild resemblance to a Native American. There is something definitely exotic about her and much like James, she may have inherited some traits related to Magic, accept that she does not use it as much as he does.
shareAs of now Zilpha and James are suppose to have the same father and we don't know yet who her mother is, that is still a mystery. James's mother died in 1795 and by 1798 his father had taken a new bride. This new bride could only be the mother of Zilpha if she had been Delaney Sr.'s mistress while his first wife was in Bedlam Hospital and Zilpha was born out of wedlock during that time. We know that James and Zilpha were having sex before he left for Africa at age 15 so Zilpha had to be no more than a year or 2 younger.
It could also turn out that James and Zilpha have the same mother and that maybe Salish was pregnant at the time she was bought by Delaney's father. Oona Chaplin's exotic looks might have something to do with why she was cast but I also read that Taboo has the same casting person as Game of Thrones and so far there are 3 GOT actors from that show on Taboo. Also the writer is a big fan of Charlie Chaplin and may have wanted to work with his granddaughter.
I do believe Salish had certain abilities that was passed to James and now maybe he has passed them on to his son. In the scene were James has a premonition of an explosion and comes to warn the chemist to be careful, he stares very intently at his boy and says "What do you see" . It could be that James started to experience things like premonitions around the boys age and that's why he went from an exceptional student to one that was always in trouble and why James told Zilpha when he left England he thought he was going mad but later learned to use his gift. Interested to see how they develop the boy in future seasons.
We know they are at most-half-siblings based on having different mothers. I suspect the big trunk also contains a document which indicates that Brace is Zilpha's father and that is why he wanted it burnt. In the end they won't be blood related at all.
My Chimp DNA seems to have lost its password temporarily. Sluggr-2
If Brace was Zilpha's father they would still be half siblings because they would have the same mother.
shareJames's father took a second wife after James's mother died in the asylum. She,then would be Zilpha's mother. If Brace had an affair with her,he could be her father and not Jame's father,
James 's mother doesn't die until 1795. Delaney Sr. has a new wife by 1798. James leaves for Africa 4 years later. He's already having sex with Zilpha before he leaves. Zilpha would have to be born around the same time as James for them to be in a relationship before he left England. Long before the new wife comes along in 1798.
shareIt has been suggested that Zilpa's mother and his father were having an affair for years before his mother died in the asylum. Another theory suggests that Zilpha is younger that James and that their father may have been married before he married James' mothers. His first wife possibly died from child birth or influenza. TgevJames father went to Vancouver on a trading expedition and that's when he met and married James' mother made the deal for Nootka Sound.
shareIt has been suggested that Zilpha's mother and his father were having an affair for years before his mother died in the asylum. Another theory suggests that Zilpha is older than James and that their father may have been married before he married James' mother. His first wife possibly died from child birth or influenza. Then,James's father went to Vancouver on a trading expedition and that's when he met and married James' mother and made the deal for Nootka Sound.
shareO.k. but if we go by what James said in the last episode, when he's burning his father's letters, Salish was his father's first wife.
I agree that Delaney Sr. must have had Zilpha's mother as his mistress years before they married and Zilpha was born during this time. If you are saying that this woman was also Brace's mistress and he's Zilpha's father..sure it's possible. But I don't think it fits the story. It would be a great twist for one episode and then what? It solves the incest problem without the characters having to deal with it themselves.
It would weaken the whole story because a huge part of what makes it interesting is that they both have so much self-loathing and are both so messed up by the past. So how they deal with all of it over multiple seasons and how it all works out is better than the writer just making it all go away.
I agree. I think the story is better if they are indeed half sister and brother. I was just repeating some of the speculation going around about it.
Hardy has said in interviews that srorywise we are not watching what we think we are so the speculation recently has encompassed everything from his relationship with his sister to the question of weather he is really " alive" in the traditional sense.
Yeah, I read an interview where Hardy compares James to a Pale Rider type character, who's come back to town to audit the accounts of those that sent him off to die. I don't know if you seen Pale Rider but it's a Clint Eastwood western and Eastwood plays a ghost. He can do everything a regular person can but he's dead.
So maybe that's the big twist. I think there was a lot to suggest that in the first couple of episodes James might be dead. James even answers Brace saying I thought you were dead with.. I am. Maybe another hint James riding a pure white horse..is he Taboo's Pale Rider ? That movie title comes from the Book Of Revelation. It says something like " and behold a pale horse and his name that sat on him was death and hell followed with him". So that would be my guess to a big twist if they do something really supernatural.
Yes,I did see Pake Rider and that's the kind of dead I was referring to rather than Zombie dead. He is an insturement of vengeance for all connected to the sinking of the slave ship. There are lots of clues to indicate such is rhe case. The opening credits show floating dead bodies and James is one of them There are scenes where ghosts are in the background and only James sees them. His knowledge of events is supernatural and he sustains death blows with an abnormal recovery time.
shareI am starting to think she is Salish's child by another man, or that she came with Salish to England, did they ever say she was definitely younger or was it only ever the suggestion? After last night's performance, it seems she has a family trait that comes from Salish'side of the family
shareI agree, I think that Zilpha is going to turn out to be the daughter of Salish. It was never said what the age difference is between the two siblings. I think everyone just assumed Zilpha was younger and the fact that Hardy looks so much older than Oona Chaplin makes it easy to believe.
I LOVE that Zilpha has embraced her dark side. She is going to be such an interesting character. The whole series has been excellent so far.
Yeh you could call it a dark side! I have always maintained that if anything happened with James and the actress, we would see her flip, I guess she didn't want to wait that long although I wonder if she is the catalyst for Zilpha doing what she did, she certainly thought James would keep her with him.
shareI think everyone just assumed Zilpha was younger and the fact that Hardy looks so much older than Oona Chaplin makes it easy to believe.
I LOVE that Zilpha has embraced her dark side. She is going to be such an interesting character.
Really ? I think Hardy is a beautiful man but to me he looks every day of 40. There are even some scenes with James when he looks really tired and beaten down, that he looks older than 40 to me. I don't think James/Tom looks 27 at all and for me that is more distracting than their skin tone.
I do think they are brother and sister half or full. If we find out they are not, I hope that won't be until the end of the series after several seasons. I love these two crazy siblings and the whole messed up Delaney family dynamic.
I know the incest is really taboo but I don't think taking it away works with the story at all. The Sankota symbol is all about going back and accepting your past no matter how unpleasant it is and moving forward. James needs to do that as the series goes on. Also agree with what Oona Chaplin said in an interview she did " Taboo is less Hooray Incest and more about taking a look at your *beep* and accepting it because it's the darkness that shines alight on who we truly are" to me that's the show in a nutshell. So I'm much less interested in some big twist that makes the incest go away than I am in seeing how the writer and all the characters deal with it as the show goes on..
Also I love Lorna total opposite of bat *beep* crazy Zilpha. Both great female characters. Yes I thnk Zilpha is bonkers but James has a lot of darkness in him too. I never expected some of the scenes from last night. Blown away about Winter.
Hardy looks his age (around 40) even if shaving his beard makes him look a lot more younger. Oona Chaplin however, does not look much younger than him. Neither of them look like 27 years olds (that's Knight timeline continuity for you).
I love these two crazy siblings and the whole messed up Delaney family dynamic
Zilpha is really crazy but James has plenty of darkness in him too. Never expected some of the scenes from last night.
I've thought since the second episode that James was like "The Crow" come back from the dead to right wrongs.
He is drowned in the opening theme, 2nd or third person they show underwater. He takes pain like a stone. That slave that he saw in the morgue that came to life and James said he had no fear. The blunt force headshot from that American assassin at the factory. Every time he kills someone he takes their heart. To me all those things and I'm sure more point to him being a Wraith.
Yes, we were thinking that James is actually not quite a living human being-i.e he is already dead to some extent. Every episode contains an indication to that effect (for instance Brace in episode 3 is astonished that James makes no sound when he wanders in the house....)
shareI think if he is dead it something like Pale Rider and I seen that Hardy has compared Delaney to The Preacher character that Eastwood played in that movie. Saying that James has come back to town to audit the accounts of those that sent him to die.
I have read that Steven Knight is a big western fan and think it maybe more than a coincidence that James has been shown riding his white horse in every episode while he is always dressed in black, almost like they are trying to give the clue that he is Taboo's version of Pale Rider..Behold a white horse and atop his back rode death and hell followed with him... I think the big twist could be something like that but I really don't know or even care it's just been a fun ride so far.
More like Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter.
shareYeah, more like the Stranger in High Plains than the Preacher in Pale Rider. There's two Eastwood classic westerns with main characters that returned from the dead.
I think if there is a supernatural twist it will be something like this. Like Hardy said James is coming back to get revenge on the people that sent him to die.
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It's a very interesting conundrum but it may not matter ultimately as James no longer seems interested in Zilpha. Have to feel sorry for her considering what she went through because of his earlier passionate interest but it's the best for both of them to move on.
shareI know right! She killed her husband for him, he's been summoning her with majick, said he loved her, and then after all that, he's not interested anymore?
shareI believe he is still in love with Zilpha he just did a convincing job of pushing her away to keep her safe. Everyone that has gotten close to him the company or the King will have killed. He didn't want to lose Zilpha the same way Winter was killed. The name of the show is taboo, I think it would be silly to end their love affair by the 7th episode. They aren't over.
shareThis.
shareI agree, I think James is keeping her safe . James knew Helga (Winter's mom) was going to betray him. He told Atticus her betrayal was inevitable. He made sure he had a plan in place, and part of that plan was to make sure Zilpha was kept far away from him. He didn't want anyone to think she was a collaborator.
shareReal reason is this:
Journalist: As we’ve discussed, a lot of characters were lost, but the most heartbreaking was at the beginning and didn’t involve a bullet or explosion. Why was this Zilpha’s fate? Was she just never going to fit in with Delaney and the Damned?
Tom Hardy: The nature of his relationship with his sister had more to do with obsession than genuine love. The reason why he buried Thorne was because he felt bad that Thorne had died when he didn’t have to die. James had plenty of opportunities to kill Thorne, but he didn’t because Zilpha didn’t want him to — he wanted her to leave him. And when she finally decided to kill Thorne, she had said that James had told her to do that and he never had. Which I think goes on the grounds of whether or not there’s a mystical quality to James and not just a mental or traumatic hypervigilance that she hacked into. He’s not sure what that is, whether it’s a gift or a curse. He genuinely doesn’t remember saying that to her. Zilpha did that of her own volition, which ironically makes her seem insane as he rejected her, in a passionate way. They knew each other’s madness and she kind of stepped across an unwritten line between the two of them. I think he felt they were one and then she actually outed the oneness, so he started to step away from her. I believe after the funeral, he went to say, “That’s it — I want nothing to do with you.” Instead of that, he says, “Take that f—ing dress off,” which just came out of his mouth, like somebody trying not to go back to their primary addiction or obsession. Then, they have sex and he starts to see his mother and his mother is basically saying, “No, just realize this isn’t love — this is obsession. And you’re not going to move forward spiritually, because you’re having sex with your sister to punish your father for killing me. So if you see women like that, you might as well be having sex with me.” That shock completely pulls him out. I think he sees the light after that.
Entire interview: http://ew.com/tv/2017/02/28/taboo-season-1-finale-postmortem-tom-hardy-steven-knight/
Thanks for posting the interview.
If Delaney consciously slept with Zilpha to revenge his father killing his mother, well what a despicable thing to do to your younger sibling. He even impregnated her! It makes me think he actually hated her. Hopefully he did it unconsciously and only realised the real reason behind his actions during their final sex scene together.
Tom also insinuates there was another deeper motive for sleeping with Zilpha, the ultimate taboo perhaps: Did Delaney have an Oedipus complex? By sleeping with his sister, he is also sleeping(in his unconcious) with his mother, he idolised and dreamed about, but never really knew. In the final sex scene with Zilpha he also seems to realise, which makes him hastily withdraw from her and reject her.
I also found interesting how Tom said that Delaney had 'no use' for Zilpha in the New World. However, before Delaney had wanted her to go with him. So she killed her husband. So what? Tom has done far worse things. I guess, since he wasn't going to sleep with her anymore, she as of no more use to him, hey?
Great points, especially the part about Delaney arbitrarily deciding he no longer has any use for Zilpha.
shareThank you!
shareDo you still subscribe to the 'keeping her safe' theory now, after the finale?
It didn't ring true to me, personally. And as I posted above, it seems Tom Hardy had different motivations for his character's actions. Which actually saddened me greatly. Lost a lot of respect for his character when he rejected her. (More than a lot, probably all of it, really).
Delaney has also gone down on my 'good books'. lol
Maybe Zilpha is not really dead though, so let's wait to see what happens in Season 2. Maybe he'll be remorseful.