S03.E08: Great and Sudden Change

[OtterMommy]

Canadian Air Date: November 10, 2019

Netflix USA drop date: January 3, 2020

[Camera One]

I'm so glad Ka'kwet escaped from the residential school, though there were so many left behind.  Hopefully, the government won't show up to drag her back.  I hope Mrs. Lynde finds out the truth about the school, though it's unrealistic and probably historically inaccurate if they manage to shut the school down.  That nun slapping that boy was so despicable.  I kept expecting Ka'kwet would run into one of the main characters, so it was a tad anticlimatic though her return to the village was moving.

Bash's mother was so concerned about Bash respecting Gilbert, but didn't she call Marilla and Rachel maids?  

Whoever guessed that they might pair Bash with Ms. Stacey is correct, I guess, now that we see their scene together.

The whole Gilbert/Anne obstacle was way too melodramatic, rushed and unrealistic for their age.  Why was Winnifred's father so interested in some teenage boy marrying his daughter to the point where he would pull strings to get him into Sorbonne?  It was unfair and unconscionable of Gilbert to put Anne in the middle of his indecision.  Is this some sort of reverse gender roleplay here with a man (Gilbert) whoring himself out for his career?

I liked Aunt Josephine encouraging Diana to take the exam, but it's ridiculous that this happened on the day before the test.  This should have happened episodes ago.  It would be totally unbelievable if she managed to succeed without any preparation.  If we had seen Anne helping Diana to prepare beforehand, that might have been different.  

Why did Gilbert write his exam in Charlottetown while everyone else did so in Avonlea?

I enjoyed many parts of the episode, but then they had to ruin it by having Anne and her friends having an alcohol-soaked grad party afterwards complete with drunk games.   I guess we need to make sure the CW demographic can relate.

So now there's gender parity on the town council or school board or whatever that body was.  Congratulations Mrs. Lynde, you're ahead by a century.

Edited November 12, 2019 by Camera One

[dogandcat]

Why would Gilbert even want to go to the Sorbonne? Do the writers of this show not know there are plenty of good North American universities he can attend? And it makes much more sense for a Canadian family to pull strings to get him into one of those instead of one in Paris. And if this Gilbert is as smart as his book counterpart then he shouldn't even need strings pulled for him. This whole story line is ridiculous. Why would Winnie's dad even want her to get engaged to a teenage boy?

I guess Anne will get the residential school shut down next week, no matter how completely unrealistic that is.

[Camera One]

27 minutes ago, dogandcat said:

Why would Gilbert even want to go to the Sorbonne? 

I didn't even realize Gilbert spoke French.  Plus I'm surprised he would want to be beholden to some rich guy.  The Gilbert from the books certainly wouldn't.  But then again, he wasn't even considering marriage at this point in the books, because few would have at that age.

[ruby24]

So yeah, here comes Bash and Miss Stacy. Predictable. But could be interesting I guess.

Guessing the Anne/Gilbert stuff won't get resolved until the finale, but I also don't understand why Winifred's dad wants her to marry a teenage boy. This whole thing is so awkward and weird. It feels like they just wanted to force some kind of artificial suspense over whether Anne and Gilbert are actually going to get together, but come on.

Why has no one even asked him if he loves Winifred, as though that doesn't matter? 

[Kostgard]

I think Gilbert wants to go to the Sorbonne because a few episodes ago he either read or Miss Stacy told him about some cutting edge stuff they were doing there, and he seemed to want to get the best medical education where they considered "alternative" methods as well as traditional western medicine after seeing what the medicine woman did to heal wounds. 

But all the same, the situation was kinda...Buh? I mean, Gilbert should be asking himself "Would I still want to marry Winifred without this offer from her father?" I get he may be too young to realize that is what he needs to ask himself, but...that's the point. Feels like he's awful young for this. And Winifred's father seems determined to marry her off to Gilbert and is basically willing to buy his way into making this marriage happen. And...why? Is Winifred damaged goods? Is it really that hard for an attractive young woman from a wealthy family to find a husband, even if she's a bit odd? Is Gilbert that much of a catch? He shouldn't be. He's just a farmer's son without a lot of wealth. 

And Anne's reaction was pretty right on - it was completely unfair of him to put that decision on her. Like, "Hey, I know nothing has ever really happened between us, and you have no romantic experience and just learned about sex, like, yesterday, but should I turn down my dream college experience and career based solely on some promise from you that something will happen between us and we'll be together forever in order to make my decision worth it even though you totally don't have the experience or maturity to really handle a decision like this?" Of course all Anne could do was babble - she was stuck between her powerful teenage crush on him and the knowledge that she can't expect him to give up so much. The only thing I liked about this situation was Bash's little victory dance.

Hopefully we'll get more Ka'kwet next week. I'm glad she escaped.

I didn't mind Anne and Diana's fight. Teens have intense emotions and Anne is a total drama queen on top of that. Fights are bound to happen, and their makeup was sweet.

I really like this version of Rachel.

[Camera One]

5 minutes ago, Kostgard said:

I think Gilbert wants to go to the Sorbonne because a few episodes ago he either read or Miss Stacy told him about some cutting edge stuff they were doing there, and he seemed to want to get the best medical education where they considered "alternative" methods as well as traditional western medicine after seeing what the medicine woman did to heal wounds. 

This show seems to make the characters less naive in some respects, but this whole situation made Gilbert seem super naive for thinking that he should consider marrying someone to reach his career goals and that Sorbonne is the be all and end all, or even a remotely realistic option for someone in his position.  

Even Ms. Stacey in that previous episode said she knows a friend at the University of Toronto who is doing similar work, and can guide him towards Canadian universities.  The whole scenario is beyond contrived and so ridiculous, making it harder to be emotionally affected by it.  I found myself wanting to feel for Anne and Gilbert but being too distracted by the absurdity of the circumstance.

[dubstepford wife]

The series really seems to love to hammer home the idea that women who are a little quirky have trouble finding men.  They've done it multiple times now: Winifred, Miss Stacy, and Anne.  Which, I've been thinking this for a while: this show seems to have a very early 2000s version of feminism about it.  Because that seems to be a very early aughts feministic idea, that men only want a woman who is pretty and dumb.  Which is a very sexist attitude towards men and has kind of died out, with good reason.  The series does have good men in it -- Matthew, Jerry, Bash, Cole, and Gilbert -- but they're overshadowed by this overarching message of, be true to yourself girls, even if it means you'll die alone, because those men don't deserve you!  Which, in and of itself is not a bad message, no one should get married to someone they don't love just for the sake of getting married and you should find someone you really connect with, but there are so many men in this who are portrayed so badly and one dimensionally.  They're practically cartoon villains.  For every Matthew there's date rapey Billy, caveman-even-for-the-era Charlie Sloane, Diana's uninterested father, or Winifred's father, who thinks he needs to bribe a much younger farm boy to marry his "unmarriageable" daughter.

I dunno.  This whole series is weird.  It's simultaneously very anachronistic and includes obvious references to 2019 issues (the consent line, ugh, still not over that) while also being kind of dated by 2019 standards.  

[Kostgard]

6 hours ago, dubstepford wife said:

The series really seems to love to hammer home the idea that women who are a little quirky have trouble finding men.  They've done it multiple times now: Winifred, Miss Stacy, and Anne.  Which, I've been thinking this for a while: this show seems to have a very early 2000s version of feminism about it.  Because that seems to be a very early aughts feministic idea, that men only want a woman who is pretty and dumb.  Which is a very sexist attitude towards men and has kind of died out, with good reason.  The series does have good men in it -- Matthew, Jerry, Bash, Cole, and Gilbert -- but they're overshadowed by this overarching message of, be true to yourself girls, even if it means you'll die alone, because those men don't deserve you!  Which, in and of itself is not a bad message, no one should get married to someone they don't love just for the sake of getting married and you should find someone you really connect with, but there are so many men in this who are portrayed so badly and one dimensionally.  They're practically cartoon villains.  For every Matthew there's date rapey Billy, caveman-even-for-the-era Charlie Sloane, Diana's uninterested father, or Winifred's father, who thinks he needs to bribe a much younger farm boy to marry his "unmarriageable" daughter.

I dunno.  This whole series is weird.  It's simultaneously very anachronistic and includes obvious references to 2019 issues (the consent line, ugh, still not over that) while also being kind of dated by 2019 standards.  

They are definitely aiming the show at teenage girls, so maybe this is why all the girls seem "woke" but not as many as the male characters do.

Honestly, during this time period women were expected to be "angels of the home" and be sweet, lovely in appearance, run the household and raise the children and be obedient to their husbands. Behavior like we see in Anne or Miss Stacey wasn't really desirable - probably especially so in a small farming community like Avonlea (they don't have the money to off-set any "undesirable" behavior. I still don't know why Winifred seems to be damaged goods as she's good looking and wealthy). So I think it is fine that they are conveying the message that is what men are looking for, but it doesn't quite fit because ALL the girls (save the villains like Josie) are all "woke" and bucking this trend, when..that would not happen. If they want to be somewhat realistic, then they should treat this as a lark for most of these girls, and next year (whether they stay in Avonlea and find husbands or go to Queens...to find husbands) they drop it and get serious about getting married, leaving Anne disappointed.

I think it still fits the story that Anne would buck convention (and that's a big reason why I liked her prayer in the first episode where she commits to embracing her oddness since she knows she will never fit the mold), and I think it would be great to see Diana long for the freedom that Anne has, but seeing that her family's wealth and her conventionally attractive looks/personality are actually a cage of sorts and she will be sent to finishing school and will find a suitable husband just as her mother wants her to, though she secretly harbors the same "woke" beliefs as Anne. The rest of the girls - Ruby, Tillie, Jane, etc - next year they should be all, "Anne, we're 17. We can't play those games anymore. It's time to get serious about finding a husband."

So I think the odd tone is them struggling to portray their characters as "woke" by 2019 standards while still giving them some late 19th century issues to deal with.

[Camera One]

They're woke but they all seem boy-crazy.  They're boozing it up with the boys but they do another women power circle, so it's all good, right?  They've talked more about their crushes than their studies or their aspirations or their potential careers.  One of the things I admired about Book Anne was how focused she was on her studies and her own ambitions.  

[BonnieD]

Quote

I dunno.  This whole series is weird.  It's simultaneously very anachronistic and includes obvious references to 2019 issues (the consent line, ugh, still not over that) while also being kind of dated by 2019 standards.  

Can't stand the dichotomy. I want to like this show, but I can't help continually comparing it to the '90s adaptation in which Anne, while forward thinking compared to everyone else, was still a girl of her time period. 

I liked the country fair episode: simple folk getting excited about a big event in their quiet community. I liked it all the way up to the date-rapey incident that was obviously geared to launch yet another anachronistic storyline.  The entire freedom of the press nonsense with the staged protest had me right back to rolling my eyes at the ridiculousness. Espcially with Marilla and RAchel Lind having a hand in it in any way shape or form.  I like historical shows that reflect the time period they're set in.

Also, what happened to all the other children in their one room schoolhouse? There should be multiple aged children hanging around in the background at least. Apparently Avonlea had a banner year for sex about 17 years past to produce this large crop of graduates.

[meatball77]

They mentioned at the beginning of the series how great their town was because they had two schools both and upper school and a lower school.