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Nice guys finish last — and maybe not at all — in the world of ‘Taboo’

There’s much to be said about humanity in the second episode of “Taboo,” the new FX show starring Tom Hardy, and almost none of it is good. In one scene the mere existence of goodness is scoffed at; in another, kindness is disparaged as so small as to be insignificant. That the inherent good nature of man is so lambasted doesn’t bode well for the characters in our complicated web of a story, who are finding themselves surrounded by increasingly dangerous people.

Take the East India Trading Company, for example, which — as we learned from the premiere — wants desperately to get its hands on Nootka Sound, the sliver of land on the west coast of the young United States that has recently been inherited by James Delaney (Hardy), our mysterious protagonist thought to be dead after a decade in Africa. Incensed at Delaney’s refusal to even consider the company’s generous cash offer for the land, East India’s commander, Sir Stuart Strange, has decided to obtain it by the simplest means possible: having Delaney killed.

A rather unkind gesture, but the fiery Strange seems to have taken Delaney’s refusal personally, latching onto Nootka Sound not only for its strategic value in the ongoing war between Britain and America — remember that we’re in 1814, two years after the start of the War of 1812  — but for the singular purpose of knocking the arrogant Delaney off his perch (and ideally, into oblivion).

Unaware — though likely suspicious — of an attempt on his life, Delaney continues to stalk panther-like through the streets of London, plotting his next moves, which are lining up to be significant.

He buys a merchant ship at auction, giving the purchasing company’s name as the Delaney Nootka Trading Company, for the not-insignificant sum of 800 pounds. Where, we wonder, did Delaney get so much money?

Strange has an idea. “They got to him, either in Africa or on his journey home to London, and they paid him,” he says to his gathered minions at company headquarters, one of whom has the ill-advised notion to ask who. “Who? The (expletive) Americans!” Stuart rages.

It’s an idea that at first I dismissed out of hand as mere paranoia from Strange. Delaney seems to have an disturbing fixation on Nootka Sound that isn’t motivated by either political or financial reasons, although he is indeed a man who keeps his emotions (and motivations) close to his chest.

Is Nootka rich in natural resources, like the uncut diamonds pouring out of a leather bag Delaney buried upon his arrival in London and has now unearthed? Is it a point of pride to protect that which he inherited from his father? We’re still not sure, although as the episode progresses, we wonder how Delaney knows so much about the ongoing negotiations between the warring countries; we remember that he tells his half-sister, Zilpha (Oona Chaplin) in the premiere that if she ever needs financial help she can ask him, because “Africa was very good to me.” Then comes a true surprise: Delaney tracks down an American doctor in a London hospital who turns out to be a spy, and their conversation is quite revealing. To avoid spoilers, I’ll leave it unsaid here, but suffice it to say that Delaney knows far more than we first thought about the movements and motivations of the Americans.

As for the high-flying notion of good people doing good things, such an idea is nowhere to be found in Delaney’s world. “What’s the smallest thing you saw in Africa?” asks Atticus, an old friend of Delaney who has stolen Delaney’s horse in a misguided attempt at getting him to pay off his father’s debt to Atticus. “Human kindness,” Delaney responds gruffly. Later, in a surprising display of the closest thing to tenderness that we’ve seen from Delaney, he tells brothel owner Helga, “I see goodness in you,” but Helga responds with a disdain born of a lifetime of being let down by others. “Goodness — ha!” she scoffs.

Its philosophic ponderings aside, “Taboo” wastes no time in diving back into what is becoming a tightly woven plot, but where the premiere was forceful — striding into the room and announcing its presence — the second episode seemed to adopt an awkward gait: trotting, then running, then slowing to a crawl, then lurching forward into a sprint. I closed my review last week wondering if the show has the strength to carry itself throughout eight episodes; after the second episode, I think the question isn’t of strength, but of pacing.

However, as with the premiere, there’s much to enjoy in “Taboo,” not the least of which is the acting. Jonathan Pryce is superb as Strange, fiery and unhinged, the perfect foil to Delaney’s deeper, more carefully masked madness.

The criminally underappreciated Stephen Graham — known as the pleasant but dim Tommy in Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch” and for a darker turn as Combo in “This Is England” — is a delight as Atticus, offering the first genuine smiles seen from any member of the cast thus far.

There’s another smoldering encounter between Delaney and Zilpha that firms up the suspicion that their past had a physical side to it.

And in the second episode’s final minutes, we finally get a hint of some of the “unnatural” rumors surrounding Delaney.

That revelation is more superficial than anything else, but it delighted me to know which “taboo” is behind the stories.

Unfortunately for Delaney, the episode’s last few minutes are not good ones for him — but I’ll leave it up to you to find out why.

“Taboo” airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on FX.

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