Poldark - Season 5 - Blu-ray

Content: A new century has dawned! And indeed, it seems that Ross Poldark (Aiden Turner) and Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) can finally live a quiet life side by side. But they rejoice too soon: when an old friend asks him for help, Ross must once again set out on a dangerous mission. But the enemy he is up against this time is more powerful and ruthless than ever before. Things are also getting progressively worse for the people of Cornwall. Demelza tries everything he can to help in the fight against hunger and against exploitation, but is repeatedly faced with severe setbacks. Meanwhile, George Warleggan (Jack Farthing) has other problems of his own: his grief threatens to push him into madness. And then he gets involved with forces that could change more than just his fate forever.

It's time to say goodbye to Poldark. The fifth season of the successful new adaptation of Winston Graham's Poldark novels is also the last. And in the final eight episodes, the creators once again drive a lot of conflicts, intrigues, power struggles and romances - just everything that has made the series over the years so worth watching and successful. Towards the end, a new, powerful antagonist is also established, adding a special spice to this season.

So, in its final episodes, the series continues to consistently follow the path it has been on since Season 1. The characters and their stories are always evolving and there is always a historical reference built into the personal storylines. So while there were recurring themes throughout the 43 episodes, there was never any stagnation. It wasn't just in the main character Ross Poldark and his marriage to Demelza that you could see the constant changes very well. Also characters like George Warleggan were saved from degenerating into one-dimensional stereotypes by a constant development.

Of course, not too much should be revealed about the finale at this point. What can be said, however, is that the creators have managed the feat of making it feel like a round ending without being a complete conclusion. It's clear that the story continues and that there are still quite a few adventures ahead of Poldark. However, as a viewer, you don't feel like you're missing out on anything if those aren't told as well. All in all, a successful end to a great series and therefore also: absolutely worth watching!

Picture + Sound: The series convinces visually on the Blu-ray with an atmospheric color scheme, a decent image depth and a very good overall sharpness, which many small details of the great equipment and wonderful landscapes well come into their own. The audio, as with the previous seasons, is in a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that primarily delivers the dialogue powerfully from the home theater speakers. But also ambient sounds and various sound effects provide an atmospheric soundscape. For a current TV production, this is absolutely convincing. Good!

Extras: Also the final season offers viewers on Disc 2 just under 80 minutes of bonus material worth watching. First, there is a brief portrait of Ross and Demelza's marriage, which has been quite turbulent over the seasons (approx. 6:12 min.), before the characters of the final season and their relationships are explored in a bit more detail (approx. 29:13 min.). After highlighting very special moments of the series once again (approx. 19:20 min.), a five-part behind-the-scenes look (approx. 25:28 min.) concludes the final bonus material.

Conclusion: Poldark comes to a worthy end with the 8 episodes of Season 5. The final season offers a lot of suspense, drama, but also a good spark of romance - all the ingredients that have made this series so captivating over the past few years. The Blu-ray presents the last episodes in very good picture and sound quality and also comes with about 80 minutes of extras. There applies to fans quite clearly: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp