S03.E10: The Better Feeling of My Heart

[OtterMommy]

Canadian Air Date: 11/24/2019

Netflix USA Drop Date: 01/03/2020

[SomeTameGazelle]

Maybe it's not so bizarre in context, but this whole promo has me cringing and thinking that Anne and Gilbert are too young for any of this nonsense. And even if they're too dumb to realize it, Marilla of all people should be more sensible than to stoke it in that way.

Edited November 23, 2019 by SomeTameGazelle

[ruby24]

Well, people did marry very young in those days, so it's not unrealistic. I think it's just that both of them look so young. They look like babies. And people just look younger in general now, so it's even more emphasized in a period setting where they can get engaged at age 16-18. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

5 hours ago, ruby24 said:

Well, people did marry very young in those days, so it's not unrealistic. I think it's just that both of them look so young. They look like babies. And people just look younger in general now, so it's even more emphasized in a period setting where they can get engaged at age 16-18. 

If they were simply getting engaged at this age I would just be complaining about the fact that that is wrong for the story of Anne and Gilbert because based on the books they shouldn't even be on speaking terms yet. The "nonsense" in this case is the whole thing where Anne is in a situation where she has to tell Gilbert right now that she is in love with him because the stakes are so high that if she doesn't he will marry another woman and move away, and Marilla is advising her to go for it because she regrets breaking up with Gilbert's father.

I can't think of any L M Montgomery story or plot where there is so much drama associated with such young people getting engaged -- there are a few stories where older people (by which I mean not younger than 25) have been tragically kept apart for one reason or another and it takes a crisis to bring them together, but younger people successfully getting together is not a big deal.

[Camera One]

In the 1890s, the average man married when he was 26 years old and the average woman married when she was 22 years old (US Census Bureau).  Ages were similar in Britain.

LM Montgomery didn't have Anne's friends get engaged until they were around 18 years old, long after Queen's.

Quote

“You must be my bridesmaid, you know, Anne. Promise me that . . . wherever you may be when I’m married.  Of course, it won’t be for ever so long yet,” said Diana, blushing. “Three years at the very least . . . for I’m only eighteen and mother says no daughter of hers shall be married before she’s twenty-one. 

Edited November 24, 2019 by Camera One

[Harvey]

OMG they kissed and the background music was beautiful and it's so awesome! I really love how Anne-centric this finale was.

[Camera One]

This episode would work really well as a series finale, if we don't get another season.

It was a satisfying ending, even though the setup has been clunky and very melodramatic.  Unfortunately, I accidentally saw a spoiler for this episode, so it significantly decreased the enjoyment of the episode.  But still, it was good payoff for the ridiculous engagement plot.  It was classic rom-com 101, though.

As several guessed last week, Gilbert was going to Winnifred to break up, and thankfully, they dispatched with that off-screen and the episode opened with Winnifred's reaction.  However, it was extremely overwrought.  It made no sense that "mother" would be setting up a meeting with the minister already.  Young men may make an engagement with a young lady, but marriage was often years later, when the man had finished their education and could ensure security.  There was no way Gilbert and Winnifred would have married immediately.  Winnifred's reaction felt way overboard considering she showed hardly any feeling all season.

The 2 weeks where Gilbert couldn't talk was another contrived situation.  I didn't like they had Gilbert break that by writing Anne a letter, which again under contrived circumstances got torn up.

But as I said above, I suppose they made up for all the nonsense by having Diana unload on Gilbert on the train.  

I'm disappointed that this show fell into the same trap as that horrible PBS/YTV version with Martin Sheen, which tried to make the actors look grown up and giving them grown-up romantic entanglements when it was difficult to believe due to their current ages.  What was the rush?  It might have worked slightly better in Season 4, when the actors were older, after a year at Queen's.

Diana being allowed to go was a nice change from the books, but the planning for it was very poor.  Diana passing the exams without studying was ridiculous.  Anne should have helped to tutor her.

I also had issue with Matthew being brusque and Anne interpreting it as Matthew replacing her with Jerry and not caring that she was leaving.  Anne would never jump to that conclusion.  This type of melodramatic reaction takes away from organic emotions.  On the flip side, I don't think Marilla got the opportunity to respond emotionally to Anne going away.

It was also strange how Anne held her feelings in about the disappointing letter from Scotland in front of Matthew and Marilla, and could only cry in front of Cole.  

Marilla and Matthew going to Mrs. Thomas and finding Anne's parents' book was the most emotionally honest part of the episode, and that was truly moving.  

[ruby24]

I was getting really mad that they were actually going to drag out this Anne/Gilbert nonsense until next season, but the ending and those kisses really made up for it. So cute!!

Winnifred's reaction was SO over the top. First of all, she's too old for him and she should know that. Second, had they ever even kissed? This whole "relationship" seemed so awkward and forced.

I don't like that Gilbert's not going to be at Queens in this version. Having him and Anne there together would be perfect- this just seems like another way to keep them apart from each other, even if they're "pen pals." I know there was a time in the books where they were separated for a while too, but that was after Queens. Now I'm envisioning another season like the second one, where Gilbert was across the world and they're living separate lives, etc. NOT a good idea to do that again, imo.

I do bet that next season will be the inevitable Matthew demise, forcing Anne back to Avonlea- that kind of drama's too good to pass up doing it onscreen. 

I really hope they keep Anne's hair down from now on. It looks so much better on her, and makes her look older. 

Overall, I think this was the show's best season, honestly. Weirdness and awkward modernist tendencies aside, there was a lot of heart to it, characters like Bash and Miss Stacy really work onscreen, and I think the focus on the town itself and having everyone in one place was really helpful. I'm wary of separating the characters next season, having Anne in Charlottetown, Gilbert in Toronto, and the Cuthberts back in Avonlea. That seems like it won't work as well.

[Camera One]

44 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

Now I'm envisioning another season like the second one, where Gilbert was across the world and they're living separate lives, etc. NOT a good idea to do that again, imo.

I agree.  That did not work well.   Plus Toronto would only have Gilbert.  At least Avonlea would still have Marilla, Matthew, Rachel, Miss Stacey, Bash, etc.

I think they will probably start the season with one or two episodes in Charlottetown, which would allow Anne to be involved in the Ka'kwet storyline.  

I guess they could then set a few episodes during winter break when Anne and Gilbert return to Avonlea.  Maybe they'll show Gilbert leaving medical school and deciding to join them at Queen's instead.

If they want to diverge from the books, they could even have an episode with Marilla and Matthew visiting Charlottetown and he could interact with his old flame.

And then, they can fast-track to summer and applying for jobs to teach.

Quote

Overall, I think this was the show's best season, honestly. Weirdness and awkward modernist tendencies aside, there was a lot of heart to it

I agree this was the best season, despite the show's obvious flaws.  Season 2 was very disjointed, and Season 1 was trying too hard to be edgy.  

Edited November 25, 2019 by Camera One

[OtterMommy]

10 hours ago, Camera One said:

This episode would work really well as a series finale, if we don't get another season.

Replying in the media thread.

[Harvey]

9 hours ago, Camera One said:

I agree.  That did not work well.   Plus Toronto would only have Gilbert.  At least Avonlea would still have Marilla, Matthew, Rachel, Miss Stacey, Bash, etc.

Maybe Gilbert will only appear in 2-3 episodes next season when both he and Anne are at home and they are able to meet. Or he can come down close to Anne's school for like the autumn/spring break and they spend a week together. If the show wants them to interact, it can accomplish that.

[WorldWarIV]

Amybeth just confirmed the show will not be renewed. It really is too bad as I think the show did some stuff really well, but they shot themselves in the foot trying to tackle subjects that had nothing to do with Anne.

Edited November 25, 2019 by WorldWarIV

[Kostgard]

Man, Netflix is really married to their "three seasons and done" philosophy. 

Things felt a bit rushed this episode, but I guess if it is going to be a series finale, they had to get somewhere. I'm really surprised Diana's parents didn't flip out at Gilbert kissing Anne in front of them.

I agree that things with Winifred just didn't make sense. They were really acting like she was damaged goods that they had to marry off in a hurry to the first male who seemed halfway respectable. Like, if she had a secret kid or was pregnant or just had something scandalous in her past, this would make more sense. But as it is, none of it makes sense. She is a wealthy, attractive young woman. She should have no problem what so ever finding a husband. As an orphaned farmer from a small town with no fortune of his own, Gilbert should be small potatoes to her.

Matthew's reaction to Anne going to Queens felt very un-Matthew. That was more a Marilla reaction. Matthew was always the one who understood her best and while he missed her, he understood why she had to go to Queens.

Still don't care about Mary's son.

The stank face Diana gave Gilbert on the train was a work of art.

[ruby24]

Oh no. This sucks. I was kind of excited for the next season too.

It's too bad Canada can't just keep it going somehow.

[dubstepford wife]

I posted a few hours ago that I thought CBC might continue the series without Netflix, but alas, 'twas not to be.  

I have mixed feelings.  This had a lot of potential, and now that it's over, I can't help but think this could have been so much more.  It all just felt like MWB wanted to make Degrassi: The Edwardian Generation, and she got so distracted by 2010s issues that she completely abandoned the source material.  And that's not what costume dramas are supposed to be about.  They're not supposed to be anachronistic and preachy and obvious, they're meant to subtly highlight the way things have changed, and in doing so, also highlight the way that many things have not changed despite the passage of time.  But she just wanted to force things down the viewers throats. 

Not to mention, about the only things this had in common with the books were Anne is an orphan, Gil likes her despite her weirdness, Marilla is stern, and Matthew is a dear.  And...that's about it.  Literally everything else was changed.  Are you a fan of the books or aren't you, Moira?  Because it doesn't really seem like you are.

[SomeTameGazelle]

4 hours ago, dubstepford wife said:

Not to mention, about the only things this had in common with the books were Anne is an orphan, Gil likes her despite her weirdness, Marilla is stern, and Matthew is a dear.  And...that's about it.  Literally everything else was changed.  Are you a fan of the books or aren't you, Moira?  Because it doesn't really seem like you are.

To be fair, a lot of other characters have the same names as characters in the book. 

I am completely staggered that this adaptation, after all of its claims about how it intended to reckon with the dark aspects of the books, didn't deal with Matthew's death, which has such an impact in the books. 

[OtterMommy]

Please remember that this thread is to discuss the story of this show, specificallySeason 3, Episode 10.  If you would like to discuss the cancellation decision and the factors around that, you can do so in the Media Thread.

Thank you!

[Harvey]

I liked the scene where Anne says to Diana "It's your future not your parents's" and then then in the next shot Diana's dad shouts the exact opposite sentiment and Diana has this very expressive stank face expression on her face 🤣🤣

Edited November 26, 2019 by Harvey

[Camera One]

I wish the Diana storyline had played out over 2 episodes.  Her father changed his mind off-screen and did a total 180.  I suppose Diana's mother was partly convinced by Marilla?  Did they seriously think having a year of education at Queen's was going to depreciate Diana's marriage prospects?  Did they seriously have the finances to have Diana appearing in debutante balls in Europe?  

I also thought Anne didn't take Diana's quandary seriously enough.  I'm surprised she didn't march over herself to give Mr. and Mrs. Barry a piece of her mind.  

Was Mrs. Lynde in this episode?  It's a shame she wasn't included, since I think in the book or a previous adaptation, she declared that she knew all along that Anne was smart, LOL.  Not much was made of the fact that Anne tied for first place.  That was huge in the books.

Was the exam administered by Queen's?  Wouldn't the University of Toronto have their own entrance exam that Gilbert should have taken?  

Edited November 27, 2019 by Camera One

[Camera One]

On 11/25/2019 at 12:54 PM, Kostgard said:

Matthew's reaction to Anne going to Queens felt very un-Matthew. That was more a Marilla reaction. Matthew was always the one who understood her best and while he missed her, he understood why she had to go to Queens.

Agreed.  This reaction from Matthew was hard to believe and made this episode a tad less enjoyable.  Heck, Matthew didn't even budge on the day Anne was leaving.  It really would have been more natural for Marilla, though this show's version has really mellowed.

22 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I am completely staggered that this adaptation, after all of its claims about how it intended to reckon with the dark aspects of the books, didn't deal with Matthew's death, which has such an impact in the books. 

Moira Walley-Beckett said a few years ago that she had 5 seasons plotted out, so I'm assuming Matthew's death was meant for the latter part of Season 4 or Season 5.  Next season would have been Queen's and the stuff with Matthew happened after Anne had completed her studies there.

On 11/22/2019 at 8:46 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

Maybe it's not so bizarre in context, but this whole promo has me cringing and thinking that Anne and Gilbert are too young for any of this nonsense. And even if they're too dumb to realize it, Marilla of all people should be more sensible than to stoke it in that way.

Marilla said the quote in the promo in the previous episode (Episode 9).  I only watched this promo now because I was avoiding spoilers.  All the scenes/dialogue from this promo occurred in the last few episodes, so there was actually nothing from this finale in it.  I agree the Marilla advice was too much of a stretch for her character.  Considering how young the kids were, it was all a tad ridiculous.

[Harvey]

8 hours ago, Camera One said:

.

Was the exam administered by Queen's?  Wouldn't the University of Toronto have their own entrance exam that Gilbert should have taken?  

That is why he needed to get in through the teacher's connections.

[PennyPlain]

On 11/25/2019 at 12:22 AM, Camera One said:

I'm disappointed that this show fell into the same trap as that horrible PBS/YTV version with Martin Sheen, which tried to make the actors look grown up and giving them grown-up romantic entanglements when it was difficult to believe due to their current ages. 

I expected better from this show but they did the same thing most TV shows do.  Have kids as young as 12 dating and focusing most of their plots around relationships.  Granted Anne and her friends are a bit older than that and moving on from high school to college but still. So maddening.

Edited November 28, 2019 by PennyPlain

[plurie]

Did they know this was the series finale? In many ways, this works, but they completely dropped the plot about the native Canadians. Did Anne write the letter to the Globe? Was there any fall out from this? We'll never know.

[Camera One]

3 hours ago, plurie said:

Did they know this was the series finale? In many ways, this works, but they completely dropped the plot about the native Canadians. Did Anne write the letter to the Globe? Was there any fall out from this? We'll never know.

It's hard to tell.  It seemed like they made an effort to wrap up Anne's story with Gilbert and finding her origins.  But that felt so rushed it suggested they tacked that on at the end.  That would have allowed them to have a cliffhanger of Gilbert leaving if there had been a Season 4.  But if that's the case, why didn't they give Anne a line or two about trying to help Ka'kwet.  It's possible they couldn't resolve that storyline to keep it historically accurate but the problem is that the indigenous girl and family was never mentioned.  Other than that, the only somewhat open storylines were Diana/Jerry and Miss Stacey/Bash but neither of those ended in a cliffhanger.  

[paramitch]

I'm sorry to hear that this is the end for the show -- I enjoyed it overall, and will miss not knowing how things turn out.

On 1/7/2020 at 3:48 AM, plurie said:

Did they know this was the series finale? In many ways, this works, but they completely dropped the plot about the native Canadians. Did Anne write the letter to the Globe? Was there any fall out from this? We'll never know.

I'm so unhappy that this episode completely dropped poor Ka'kwet's storyline without even a reference or mention. I guess they wanted to address it next season, but the last we saw, her poor parents are camping nearby and trying to figure out how to save her, and poor Ka'kwet is locked in some solitary confinement situation by the evil nun and priest.

I also thought Diana's storyline was played out really awkwardly. Her father and mother are just such horrible people, and the overacting by their actors doesn't help. So I was also very confused by the 180 of allowing Diana to go to Queens after all.

The final moments between Anne and Gilbert were lovely, though. And I loved Marilla and Matthew finding the book, and that Anne's first words in her letter to Gilbert were, "I look like my mother."

[Camera One]

2 hours ago, paramitch said:

I'm so unhappy that this episode completely dropped poor Ka'kwet's storyline without even a reference or mention. I guess they wanted to address it next season, but the last we saw, her poor parents are camping nearby and trying to figure out how to save her, and poor Ka'kwet is locked in some solitary confinement situation by the evil nun and priest.

Apparently, Moira the showrunner replied on Instagram that it would be historically inaccurate to have a happy ending for that storyline (I can't find the reply though since Instagram is hard to search).  But I agree with you that at least a mention should have been made, if they ran out of time in the 10th episode.  After all, Anne was in Charlottetown and the residential school would be nearby.

Quote

I also thought Diana's storyline was played out really awkwardly. Her father and mother are just such horrible people, and the overacting by their actors doesn't help. So I was also very confused by the 180 of allowing Diana to go to Queens after all.

Agreed.  I don't know if we were meant as a surprise or what.  I suppose Marilla did go over to talk to Diana's mother and that's what convinced her.  But Diana's father seemed to have done a 180.. even if Mrs. Barry convinced Mr. Barry, he wouldn't be so happy about it.  I thought the entire Diana storyline was poorly paced.  Diana should have decided to write the entrance exam earlier, so we could have an episode of Anne secretly helping her to prepare for it.  Perhaps that would have left Diana less time to spend with Jerry and precipitate their breakup.  

I also found Marilla and Matthew finding Mrs. Thomas and Anne's mother book to be rushed.  That alone deserved its own episode.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Camera One said:

Apparently, Moira the showrunner replied on Instagram that it would be historically inaccurate to have a happy ending for that storyline

I kind of felt like they DID end the story line itself, but - as Moira said - they couldn't have a happy ending.  When the parents went to the school to get their daughter, they were told (paraphrasing), "We are the government and we know what's best for you savages who think you're happy.  We're going to educate your child, even if it makes everyone unhappy to do so.  As long as the government gets its way, the rest of you can pound sand."

[Camera One]

2 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

I kind of felt like they DID end the story line itself, but - as Moira said - they couldn't have a happy ending.  When the parents went to the school to get their daughter, they were told (paraphrasing), "We are the government and we know what's best for you savages who think you're happy.  We're going to educate your child, even if it makes everyone unhappy to do so.  As long as the government gets its way, the rest of you can pound sand."

Yes, I don't think they could have gone further.  The only loose end is Anne's response - she should still have been worried and she should have mentioned going to see Ka'kwet or her parents or she should have mailed the letter she said she was going to write to the government.  The fact that Anne did not mention Ka'kwet at all in Episode 10 made it seem like a dropped storyline to many people.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Camera One

[paramitch]

 

On 1/12/2020 at 10:09 AM, Camera One said:

Apparently, Moira the showrunner replied on Instagram that it would be historically inaccurate to have a happy ending for that storyline (I can't find the reply though since Instagram is hard to search).  But I agree with you that at least a mention should have been made, if they ran out of time in the 10th episode.  After all, Anne was in Charlottetown and the residential school would be nearby.

I get this POV, to a degree, but I also think it's problematic and doesn't fit the show. I appreciated the storyline this season, even if it was incredibly cruel and tough to watch, but the knowledge that it would have ended simply with poor Ka'kwet's indefinite imprisonment really upsets me and I think is a jarring tone for the show.

A much more fitting ending would have been something less brutal, to me, something that incorporated Anne's sense of optimism and righteousness -- for her, for instance, to write to the press or to involve more of the community. The lack of closure will always bother me, especially given the darkness of the storyline and the last glimpse of Ka'kwet in freaking solitary confinement, screaming in a boarded-up room for the parents she could hear outside but could not reach (also -- this trope bothered me so much -- why could Ka'kwet clearly hear her parents' cries, but she is presented as being unable to hear theirs?).

On 1/12/2020 at 11:21 AM, AZChristian said:

When the parents went to the school to get their daughter, they were told (paraphrasing), "We are the government and we know what's best for you savages who think you're happy.  We're going to educate your child, even if it makes everyone unhappy to do so.  As long as the government gets its way, the rest of you can pound sand."

I don't agree that this was presented as any kind of real ending, though. The parents not only respond to those threads by stating that they will stay in the area, they show every sign of following through on that, until they get their daughter back. Coupling that with those last glimpses of Ka'kwet in solitary confinement was just so upsetting for me, and far beyond what I felt was okay for a show friendly to adolescents. 

I'm okay that not all endings are happy. But this could have been framed around Anne. For instance, her attempts to involve the newspapers being rejected. Or her letters to Ka'kwet being returned. A sight of the parents returning to the village without her, tired and not speaking. Etc. But the ending with both parties (parents and child) in agony was just so jarring for me.

On 1/12/2020 at 11:24 AM, Camera One said:

The only loose end is Anne's response - she should still have been worried and she should have mentioned going to see Ka'kwet or her parents or she should have mailed the letter she said she was going to write to the government.  The fact that Anne did not mention Ka'kwet at all in Episode 10 made it seem like a dropped storyline to many people.

Agreed. And the response from Anne is necessary, to me, as a part of the show. And the lack of her response to this storyline -- especially after her hugely emotional response, and the amount of time it took up in the second half of the season -- was frustrating and really lacking. It felt like a badly dropped thread.

It is all framed as part of Anne's experience. So, for me, to see Anne end the season/show radiantly happy with her new life, with Gilbert's love, and no mention of this girl that Anne had befriended (and even encouraged to embrace the idea of the school, although she had no idea what it would involve), is abrupt and badly done. Why not show us that her efforts failed, when Anne so rarely fails? Why not show Anne receiving returned letters, or (somewhat worse) an empty, soulless letter from "Hannah" at the school, after hearing that her parents returned without her?

All of those scenarios involve the same sad outcome, but framed in a gentler way for me, and which returns the story arc back into Anne's.

[CrazyDog]

I finally finished this series, and I am shaking my fists at Netflix. I think that to a point, they wrapped it up as best they could, but it's obvious they planned for more seasons.

Sigh...the ending with Ka'kwet. I understand the showrunner saying the sad ending was typical for the era, but they've already strayed outside of what would have been "typical" for the show anyway. The "realistic" ending could be that despite Anne and Matthew's efforts to bring attention to the school (which we never saw), nothing changed - no public outrage, no shutting down the school, etc. But perhaps a determined Ka'kwet manages to escape again somehow and this time has her parents nearby to help her reach their community again. I could see that being a softer, happier ending despite the school continuing to exist.

I would have loved to see Rachel again, and I really love the idea of Miss Stacey and Bash (I don't care if it was completely improbable, they would be a great pairing).

I did love the end with Gilbert and Anne (FINALLY) getting past all the misunderstandings, but I really, really wanted to see more discussion between them, about, well, everything. So much story left.

I kind of wanted to know what happened to Prissy. 

I did enjoy the family scene with Bash at the end. All in all, it's nice to know he isn't alone when Gilbert is away.

Diana's father's turnaround? WTF. I guess she's Anne's roomie at the end? Would love to have seen how that happened.

The end scene with the flower book was really beautiful. It was nice to see Anne get some peace around her parents.

I want more seasons 😞

[Camera One]

10 hours ago, CrazyDog said:

Sigh...the ending with Ka'kwet. I understand the showrunner saying the sad ending was typical for the era, but they've already strayed outside of what would have been "typical" for the show anyway.

That's what I was thinking.  I mean this is a show set around the Year 1900 where a Black man co-owns a farm with a white teenager, where a boy struggling with his sexuality is able to fully express his identity living with a rich benefactress who holds LGBTQ parties, where school children run the town's printing press and can publish articles on how female victims of sexual assault are disrespected.  This series is essentially a historical fantasy.  I have read a few cases where indigenous students did run away successfully, so Ka'kwet could have been one of the few who were saved.  Ditto for the Bash and Ms. Stacey pairing... there were some interracial couples in the Maritimes.  It was rare, but it did exist.

Edited January 28, 2020 by Camera One

[tennisgurl]

So I just binged my way through the last two season, having watched the first one but was turned off by how depressing it was and then I just kind of forgot about it, but I came back to it now and there was a lot to like and a lot to be annoyed by. I actually liked the third season the best for the most part, mainly because despite the constant drama with them dealing with every issue under the sun (we'll get to that) it seemed happier and had more of the slice of life stuff that I enjoyed so much in the books. It seemed like there was a lot more fun and charm to this season and the characters seemed to be closest to their literary counterparts, and I enjoyed seeing an older teenage Anne. I read the books as a preteen and I always thought older teen Anne was my favorite kind of Anne, older and cooler but not so old that I didn't find her relatable, so that was nice to see onscreen. Plus, I just enjoy Edwardian era periods pieces and I liked seeing a small town take on the era, as a lot of Edwardian stuff takes place in major cities. I am sad that the show is done as I would have liked to see more of what they would have done next. 

On the other hand, I have to agree with what a lot of people have posted about the show being WAY too preoccupied by modern day social justice issues and trying to cram as many as possible into the show, to be the point of leaving out much of the charm of the books and becoming so interested in modern issues that it felt anachronistic. It wasn't all bad, I actually didn't hate them going more into the abuse Anne suffered as an orphan before she came to Green Gables, as that was all basically cannon from the book, just it wasn't as focused on. I also was fine with the inclusion of more minority and LGBTQ characters, at least in theory. I really liked Bash and his friendship with Gilbert, he was probably my favorite of the characters written for this show, and they did a lot of good stuff with him that felt very natural within the narrative. Its not like minorities didn't exist back then after all and had stories worth telling, and social issues did certainly exist and people did fight for change or have opinions that were progressive for their time (that how progress usually happens after all) but where the show seemed to struggle is that it seemed like it became the main focus of the show, to the point where they were missing a lot of what made the books so adored. Whole giant parts of the books where we establish major characters and their personalities and aspects of town life were cut to make room for protests about freedom of the press and sexual assault, which, I'm sorry, is just not what I would prefer in my Anne of Green Gables adaptation! Its not even the fact that they fill the show to the brim with social issues, its that the way people talk about them seem so off, like Anne is a time traveler who came back from the modern day to teach the yokels in the past how to properly react when someone comes out to them or about how to discuss consent and slut shaming. Her article she wrote just sounds word for word like something you would read in the Huffington post today, not something a schoolgirl in early 20th century Canada would write just based on language alone, and the kids protest looks like it could have been done exactly at any modern day protest. Its not like these things didn't exist or that people didn't talk about them, its just that people didn't talk like that back then, they didn't have the correct modern day Woke language, its not the framework they had when speaking of things like that. It just takes you out of the period when everyone is acting like this could take place right now. It also means that most of the "good" characters have all the right opinions, or they will get taught the error of their ways soon, while the "bad" characters have all the wrong opinions, also known as the common opinions of the day, and will be taken down like the poorly written strawmen that they are. It makes for a less convincing picture of the past when its clearly the past as filtered through a modern lens, instead of showing the past warts and all, its a story with good modern people and past bad people which doesn't give a very clear picture of what life was really like. 

Even beyond the anachronistic aspects of everything, I have the same problems with this as I do with shows set in the modern era that want to do tons of Topical Issue plots, unless you have a real in story reason why these things keep happening, it comes off as kind of ridiculous that so much stuff happens to the same small group of people and the people in their periphery. We have child abuse we have censorship of the student press we have racism against black people we have racism against indigenousness people we have death we have sexual assault we have LGBTQ issues we have every single god dang thing we could possibly have while living in a small town in Canada, and after awhile it starts to feel contrived. It doesn't feel like these things are naturally occurring, it feels like a checklist of every social issue in the world happening to the same, like, five people and it starts to seem rather ridiculous that SO MUCH is happening all focused around a handful of characters. It can also lead to the unfortunate tendency to write characters in who just exist to talk about some kind of social issue, that's their whole identity, and then they are written off when we learn a Very Important Lesson, never to be seen again, like an 80s after school special where we find out about Alex's alcoholic uncle. So its like bye Cole, thanks for teaching us about the struggles of being gay, see you as a minor character now! Bye Ka'Kwet, thanks for teaching us about the plight of native people! Sucks that your story ended so terribly, but you served your narrative purpose as history lesson! At least they managed to avoid that with Bash, and to a lesser extent Ms. Stacy (our cool modern feminist who refuses to conform) who were more developed characters and actually had more going on then just teaching us a lesson, but I wonder if they got together in a fourth season they would be demoted to Lets Learn About Interracial Relationships. Its weird, you would think if the show wanted to be darker and focus more on social issues, they would pick a few more notable social issues of the day, which they really don't beyond what Anne goes through as an orphan. They could do more stuff with child labor, with the quick rise in technology, the fall out from several conflicts that happened around then, that would have let us get more of a feel for the period then just dealing with things that are conveniently also popular topics today. Honestly, if the show runners wanted to just talk about modern stuff the way modern people do, why not just make a modern show that deals with modern social issues in modern Canada? Or make a period show about the problems of the early turn of the century, why even bother being an adaptation of Anne of Green Gables? 

That all being said, this show had a ton of great potential, and when it was working I enjoyed it quite a lot, it had good performances, lovely sets and landscapes, and despite my complaining, there were a lot of additions that I liked that broadened the story, and while they wrapped things up the best they could, I am sad we didn't see another season. 

[Roseanna]

On 1/14/2021 at 7:35 PM, tennisgurl said:

They could do more stuff with child labor

Yes! In the series that spent so much time to teach lessons of humanity in so many matters, I find it extremely odd that Jerry was just taught to elemental reading and writing by Anne - and then nothing more! It seemed to be OK for even Matthew who was presented as a good and kind man that Jerry slept in the staple. And why on earth he couldn't he eat with Anne, Marilla and Matthew at the same table?

On the other hand, it was really overblown that so many pupils from a little village school of Avonlea went to the university.     

[Roseanna]

On 11/23/2019 at 10:10 AM, ruby24 said:

Well, people did marry very young in those days, so it's not unrealistic. I think it's just that both of them look so young. They look like babies. And people just look younger in general now, so it's even more emphasized in a period setting where they can get engaged at age 16-18. 

 

On 11/24/2019 at 8:53 AM, Camera One said:

In the 1890s, the average man married when he was 26 years old and the average woman married when she was 22 years old (US Census Bureau).  Ages were similar in Britain.

LM Montgomery didn't have Anne's friends get engaged until they were around 18 years old, long after Queen's.

Middle-class couples couldn't marry until the husband had a profession or owned a farm, that is until he could provide for a family.

[Roseanna]

On 11/23/2019 at 4:23 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

If they were simply getting engaged at this age I would just be complaining about the fact that that is wrong for the story of Anne and Gilbert because based on the books they shouldn't even be on speaking terms yet. The "nonsense" in this case is the whole thing where Anne is in a situation where she has to tell Gilbert right now that she is in love with him because the stakes are so high that if she doesn't he will marry another woman and move away, and Marilla is advising her to go for it because she regrets breaking up with Gilbert's father.

 

On 11/25/2019 at 7:22 AM, Camera One said:

As several guessed last week, Gilbert was going to Winnifred to break up, and thankfully, they dispatched with that off-screen and the episode opened with Winnifred's reaction.  However, it was extremely overwrought.  It made no sense that "mother" would be setting up a meeting with the minister already.  Young men may make an engagement with a young lady, but marriage was often years later, when the man had finished their education and could ensure security.  There was no way Gilbert and Winnifred would have married immediately.  Winnifred's reaction felt way overboard considering she showed hardly any feeling all season.

The 2 weeks where Gilbert couldn't talk was another contrived situation.  I didn't like they had Gilbert break that by writing Anne a letter, which again under contrived circumstances got torn up.

But as I said above, I suppose they made up for all the nonsense by having Diana unload on Gilbert on the train. 

I was very disappointed that the love story was build only on a series of external obstacles and unhappy coincidences when the primary stress should have been on the couple's inner obstacles.