Full spoilers for Taboo continue below. Taboo remains a mystery in a lot of ways, but its second episode at least began to clear things up on the East India Trading Company storyline. While it's yet to explain the true sordid past between James (Tom Hardy) and his half-sister Zilpha (Oona Chaplin) -- it's surely something taboo -- the episode, written by showrunner and co-creator Steven Knight, was right to hone in and clarify one thread of its complex story. The bulk of episode 2 is spent watching James try to solidify his claim on Nootka Sound and protect himself against the impending assassination attempt coordinated by EITC's Stuart Strange (Jonathan Pryce).