Rohan Jain
‘The English‘ is an Amazon Prime series created by Hugo Blick. Set in 1890, the western drama chronicles Lady Cornelia Locke‘s (Emily Blunt) quest for revenge against the man who killed her son. When her paths cross with Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), a Native American who wants to go to his hometown, they discover how his life is also connected to the same man responsible for Cornelia’s son’s death.
As the story unfolds, we realize how a few events bring together many people from different backgrounds. Besides Cornelia and Eli, Matha Myers and her son are two more people looking for the same devious and deceitful person named David Melmont. A fight is imminent, and Lady Locke yearns to make David pay for his wrongdoings. We all have only one question: Does David Melmont die in ‘The English?’ Look no further, as we have an answer for you. SPOILERS AHEAD
What Happened to David Melmont in the End?
David Melmont dies after Martha shoots him from behind and Eli stabs him. Eli and Cornelia’s journey begins in Kansas, and the two ride toward Caine County, Wyoming, which takes them about a month. Along their way, we see them encounter various people. The backstories of various characters such as Eli, Cornelia, David Melmont, and a few others become the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that completes with David Melmont’s death. To understand how and why Melmont dies, we need to understand three significant characters’ backstories. So, let’s dive right in.
In 1875, David Melmont, Thomas Trafford, and Kelly come from England to Wyoming to start a business of their own. While Thomas is in charge of the business, Melomnt and Kelly serve him and his interests. However, Melmont’s needs and ambitions are far bigger. He despises Thomas for his royalty and aims to become rich someday. Kelly cautions Thomas about Melmont’s reckless attitude and behavior, and after a few minutes, Melmont and Thomas get into an argument. We then see Melmont standing above a hill that overlooks a Cheyenne village. Later, three soldiers separated from the American army cross paths with the three English men.
Jerome McClintock, Timothy Flynn, and Bill Myers get to chatting with the men, and in the conversation, Melmont finds out that the three soldiers are looking for a man from the Cheyenne tribe. Having a taste for dark things, Melmont leads them to the Cheyenne village and massacres the people there, but Thomas and Kelly do not go with them. After the massacre, the three American soldiers and Melmont go to a brothel and have sex with Black Widow. When the men return, they encounter Eli, who says he has no intention of trying to stop or arrest them because it isn’t his business.
After this incident, Melmont returns to England and meets with Cornelia, whose father is investing in Thomas’ business. Although he is there to collect the money, he talks about the massacre but lies that Thomas is the main culprit. When Cornelia receives Thomas’ letter, things take a turn, and the truth comes out. When this happens, Melmont enters the study and rapes Cornelia, unwittingly impregnating her. He then steals the money from Cornelia and uses it to buy a stake in a gold mine in Colorado.
The story resumes in 1890, and it is revealed that the sex worker, Black Widow, had syphilis, and since the four men had sex with her, they had contracted the disease too. Thus, when Melmont raped Cornelia, he gave the disease to her, and she passed it on to her son, who was born with it. After suffering for 14 long years, her son died, and thus Cornelia decided to pursue the man responsible for her son’s death.
When Eli and Cornelia reach Wyoming, they meet the town sheriff and Martha Myers. Sheriff Robert tries to understand the mystery behind Bill Myers’ death, and his conversation with Martha reveals that she never married Bill. Martha’s father had heard about the gold mine many years ago and had gone there with her. It turns out it was Melmont’s gold mine, and he raped and impregnated Martha there. Considering the show is set in 1890, nobody would accept Martha, so she decided to stay with Bill Myers and take his last name.
In the final moments, Eli, Martha, and Cornelia go after Melmont. While Eli and Cornelia stand facing David, Martha is hiding behind him at a distance. While Cornelia and Melmont interact, Martha takes a shot from her vantage point, and the bullet pierces David’s chest. However, this doesn’t kill him immediately, so Eli stabs him with a broken sword, thus bringing an end to the character.
Read More: Where Is The English Filmed?
