Patience v Astrid - Compare and Contrast

[chitowngirl]

Compare and contrast the 2 versions…

[Niuxita]

I just finished season 1 of Patience. I really wanted to like this show because I really like the way the relationship between the two title characters (in the French title, at least) was slowly and organically developed, and I was looking forward to see a take on this dynamic in another language, but I think the remake fell short in that aspect. I don't know if it was the editing or the writing (because the acting was fine) or the fact the episodes were shorter than the French original's, but it always felt like I was missing a scene or two in each episode to really round out how Bea and Patience got progressively closer.

Not sure if we're allowed to discuss the full season of Patience without spoiler tagging, but just in case:

Spoiler

The best example to me is the British version of the original's "you are my thimble" scene, where Astrid explains to Raph why she gave her a thimble as a birthday present. The original scene was very emotionally charged and heartfelt, and you really felt how touching it was for Raph to hear that from Astrid and the amount of thought Astrid put into the gift, precisely because the show had an additional scene to the gift-giving one at the bar where Astrid really got the time to explain. In contrast, the British show combined both Patience giving Bea the thimble at the bar and the explanation for it in the same scene. As Patience is rushing out of the bar embarrassed because Bea's coworker laughed at the gift, Bea catches up to her and says something like "It means a lot to me that you came, and thank you for the gift. I get it, it makes things easier for you [gesturing to the thimble]. You make things easier for me, too." Period. It just felt rushed and it lacked the emotional weight of the original. Again, this was probably because they didn't have time to do a separate scene, but I think the development of the relationship between them suffered because of it.

Nonetheless, I'm happy to find out there will be a second season. There can never be enough crime dramas starring two female characters who like to investigate together IMO, and hopefully they manage to iron out the kinks so that the British version of this relationship can grow into something special in its own right.