Basically the episode was pretty much what I wanted from an adaptation of the book. Pretty BBC costume drama, well acted, telling Clarke's story without being slavish about it. It's ten years since I read the novel and I don't remember the details that well, though the emotional impressions have stayed with me; this probably makes me a good audience for the show since I'm not going to be offended by what they've abridged to fit the very long novel into seven hour-long episodes.
Some people have complained that the colour palette is too dark, but I didn't find that bothered me. I found the fairy magic really impressively spooky and other-worldly, and Marc Warren is particularly good as the Gentleman. I don't know if I'll ever get round to watching the rest, but in theory I'd like to. And perhaps I should take this as a cue to reread the book, it has a lot going on and the fact I don't really remember it well means I might enjoy a reread.
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