The Bleak Light of Day story
Back at Oxford, Sebastian learns his mother has arranged for him to be tutored - and carefully supervised - by Mr Samgrass. Lady Marchmain visits the university and implores Charles to be a good influence on her rowdy son. Invited to a charity ball in London by Julia, Charles and Sebastian escape to a seedy nightclub in Soho. After a drunken Sebastian crashes their car, the political and social power of ambitious MP Rex Mottram and Mr Samgrass result in Sebastian being let off with only a fine.
16 total · 1 choice · 8 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| friendship | choice | The story centers around the intimate friendship between Charles and Sebastian. |
| alcohol abuse | major | Sebastian's drinking was spiraling out of control. He was arrested for crashing a car while drunk at the wheel. Later, Charles mused that Sebastian drank to escape from his problems. Sebastian's started drinking heavily because he felt he was being pushed around by his controlling mother. |
| dangerous driving | major | The fall out from Sebastian crashing a car while under the influence is a focal point of the episode. Sebastian narrowly avoided being handed a prison term for the indiscretion. |
| depression | major | Charles grew increasingly concerned for Sebastian's well-being as he observed his bosom friend turning to alcohol in despair. Sebastian started drinking heavily. The original cause for the drinking, according to Charles, was Sebastian's controlling mother. |
| life in late modern Britain | major | The story portrays life for both the low and the high at Brideshead Castle, an aristocratic country estate, in Britain during the interwar period as well as during the Second World War. |
| male homosexuality | major | The question of whether the relationship between Charles and Sebastian is homosexual or platonic is the subject of scholarly debate. In one viewing of the series, the intimacy of their interactions is suggestive of a romantic male friendship in an era defined by internalized homophobia. In this episode, Charles and Sebastian were written off as "fairies" by a couple of girls at the nightclub. Sebastian revealed that Anthony Blanche, a known homosexual, had taken up with a policeman in Munich. |
| mother and son | major | Sebastian's mother became increasingly controlling after Sebastian's drunk driving incident, which caused Sebastian to turn increasingly to the bottle. She suborned Mr. Samgrass to monitor and control Sebastian. Sebastian discouraged Charles from indulging Sebastian's mother with his company. |
| what it is like in university | major | This episode is set in the backdrop of Charles' and Sebastian's second semester at the University of Oxford. |
| youthful indiscretion | major | The fall out from Sebastian crashing a car while under the influence is a focal point of the episode. Sebastian narrowly avoided being handed a prison term for the indiscretion. |
| brother and sister | minor | Sebastian traded shots with his younger sister, Cordelia, at the Christmas party. |