The English has been, at times, a frustrating watch. The plot was often complicated to the point of irritating, and there was such a wide cast of characters it was hard to know where to look. But the visuals – the show was set in Wyoming and Kansas, but filmed in Spain – were frequently lovely, and when Eli (Chaske Spencer) and Cornelia (Emily Blunt) were on screen, it was time well spent. But even with those virtues, it wasn’t always clear what the point of it all was: a subversion of the Western? A tribute to the genre? A meandering story of star-crossed love, and enduring hardship? The sixth and final episode, “Cherished”, proves all those theories true, but adds a more compelling framework: memory. How will Cornelia’s story be told? How will all of these characters’ stories be told? How will we remember the Wild West? You may wish that this had been incorporated earlier, but it makes a compelling case for the series as a whole.

There are many loose ends to tie up. Eli manages to track down a doctor, Flathead Jackson (Jack Klaff) to take care of Cornelia, who fainted at the end of the previous episode. She tells him that it is syphilis, already in a late stage. Eventually, her bones will erode and she may go insane. We learn that her son was born with it too, and that she cared for him for his 14 years of life. Cornelia then offers Jackson her money on a few conditions: that he look after White Moon (Corey Bird), with a photograph to be taken of him at 18 as proof of his guardianship. She also asks Jackson to take a picture of herself and Eli. As it is being taken, Cornelia attempts to tell Eli about her illness but he already knows. In the final image, her face is blurred. That entire sequence is easily this episode’s strongest moment (perhaps the whole season’s).

While the rest of the episode is linked to Cornelia’s story, it’s hard to care about the periphery characters. We learn, for example, about Cornelia’s ex, Thomas Trafford (Tom Hughes) and how he branded men for their part in the Chalk River massacre. Trafford, a tortured, ultimately good guy, later dies in a flood. More importantly, we learn that The Black Widow, a sex worker with syphilis, is the one who passed it onto David Melmont (Rafe Spall) and his crew after the Chalk River massacre. Melmont then passed it onto Cornelia, before also raping Martha (Valerie Pachner), with whom he fathered a son, Jed (Walt Klink). The latter two escaped infection, however. Feeling vengeful, Jed heads for Melmont. Eli, meanwhile, shoots at Jerome McClintock (Julian Bleach), the hooded rider who had popped up in the episode’s early moments.

Diego Lopez Calvin

In the episode’s showdown, the whole gang goes to confronts Melmont, who has captured Jed. It’s tense, emotional meeting (mostly thanks to Blunt) which ends with Cornelia’s gun in Melmont’s mouth. Cornelia hesitates to shoot, and Melmont, now apparently an armchair psychologist, says it’s because a little part of her son lives on in him. So it’s Martha who shoots Melmont. In the subsequent skirmish, Eli stabs Melmont. But there are a few remaining issues. Sheriff Marshall (Stephen Rea) explains that Melmont’s employees will riot unless there is someone to blame.

So a new story is spun: McClintock and Melmont died in a fight with one another. That story will only work if Eli leaves forever. So we reach the last few moments of Eli and Cornelia’s relationship. Will she stay with him in the West? Could he join her in England? It seems inevitable that they can’t remain together. So Eli remains, while Cornelia heads off with the sheriff after a tender forehead kiss. As she leaves, Eli calls, “I cherish you” in Pawnee. The final interaction, told patiently and tenderly, is a lovely departure for these two.

Over a decade later, in London, Cornelia leaves her house to visit Flathead’s Western show. Fully veiled, she meets with White Moon, now grown up and starring as Eli in the circus. Their reunion is a bittersweet thing, the low-key interaction this show does so well. Eventually, White Moon raises the veil, and Cornelia recoils. “The shame,” she mutters. White Moon kisses her on the cheek, before whispering: “But not for you.” In an epilogue, we watch footage of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, with members of the Native American community, as well as the first filmed Western from 1899, which was shot in Blackburn, Lancashire. Then, finally, a photograph of Melmont’s, a fictional hardware store, established in 1890. History, it seems, is there for the taking.

Henry is a senior culture writer at Esquire, covering film, television, literature, music and art for the print magazine and website. He has previously written for the Guardian, The Telegraph and The Evening Standard. At Esquire, he explores entertainment in all forms, from long reads on Lost in Translation’s legacy to trend stories about Taylor Swift, as well as writing regular reviews of movies and television shows. He has also written many profiles for Esquire, and interviewed the likes of George Clooney, Austin Butler and Mike Faist.

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