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Delaney secures his own internal intelligence by blackmailing Godfrey, a gay East India Company minute-taker he knew from their youth, to pass him secrets from the Company's inner workings.

The "taboo" relationship between James and his sister Zilpha comes to a head. After a series of intense letters, the two meet in a church where they share a brief, incestuous kiss before she tries to sever ties with him forever. Taboo_1x03

In his most calculated move yet, Delaney visits the lawyer Thoyt and draws up a will that leaves Nootka Sound to the Americans in the event of his death. This effectively forces the East India Company to keep him alive, as his death would immediately forfeit the strategically vital land to their rivals. In his most calculated move yet, Delaney visits

Delaney finds a bird symbol scratched into the fireplace of his mother’s room, identical to the one on his back. The young girl Winter identifies it as the Sankofa , an African symbol meaning "it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind," highlighting the theme of learning from the past to shape the future. Taboo recap: Season 1, Episode 3 - Entertainment Weekly The young girl Winter identifies it as the

In the third episode of Taboo (2017), James Delaney shifts from merely surviving to actively outmaneuvering the East India Company and the British Crown. After recovering from a near-fatal assassination attempt—thanks to stitches from the American spy Dr. Dumbarton—Delaney reveals his true ambition: a monopoly on the tea trade with China. Key Plot Developments

When the Duke of Richmond attempts to assault Lorna Bow as a "honey-trap" for the Company, Delaney intervenes and grazes the Duke with a gunshot. He recognizes Lorna is being used as a weakness to target him and tries to send her to Paris for safety, though she refuses to leave. Recurring Symbols