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The Crimson Field - General Discussion


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Soon after we saw the ears, someone told the nurse that she shouldn't let her mind go there and I think I'm going to have to apply that advice to myself.  The concept and the characters are very interesting, but I just can't handle the realistic effects and the men in such pain. Many "not worthy," bows to doctors and nurses everywhere.

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I have been enjoying this, even more than I'm enjoying Poldark-- which I didn't expect. I really like the actors playing Miles and Tom. I'm a little disappointed that we're seeing less of the VAD's and more case of the week and Tom/Kitty stuff.

 

Not that I don't enjoy Tom/Kitty-- but I really thought it would be more Call the Midwife-y and focus on these women developing skills, coming into their own, etc.

 

I have also been pleasantly surprised at how much I like Col. Moseley-- I couldn't stand the sad-sack on Downton.

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I have to be honest and admit that I kind of think this show is terrible. It has all the elements of a good show, but none of the follow through. I feel like I've seen all of these characters before, doing the same thing.

 

What is with mousy girl who is so afraid of dongs that she'll turn on her mentor? I don't care how repressed she is, this is her job. It's like a cop being afraid to carry handcuffs. You can't be a nurse at a field hospital during a damn war and be so afraid of a penis that you declare some kind of war on another nurse. It's bizarre.

 

I found the scene with the ears guy to be unintentionally funny. The nurse was literally the only one to react. Are we to surmise that this is undesirable, but typical behavior? "Damn, we got another ear collector! Should I put him in the tent with all the others?" And if people were unaware of his ear collection, why didn't the nurse lead with that when the doctor came after her? She almost seemed to be apologizing for behaving like a silly woman, when what actually happened was that a crazy guy with an ear necklace threatened her. Don't bury that lead.

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I found the scene with the ears guy to be unintentionally funny. The nurse was literally the only one to react. Are we to surmise that this is undesirable, but typical behavior? "Damn, we got another ear collector! Should I put him in the tent with all the others?" And if people were unaware of his ear collection, why didn't the nurse lead with that when the doctor came after her? She almost seemed to be apologizing for behaving like a silly woman, when what actually happened was that a crazy guy with an ear necklace threatened her. Don't bury that lead.

 

Collecting macabre souvenirs wasn't uncommon in WWI, although it might be a little early in the war for that.  But I thought the only reason that Sister Joan reacted to the ears was her emotional attachment to a German soldier, and that under other circumstances she'd have been well able to handle a crazy/aggressive/threatening patient.

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What a vile character he turned out to be!  I liked him much better as Kitty's beau.

 

Poor Prentiss! My heart broke for him when he came back.  And that HORRIBLE woman!  To do that to a noble soldier just to pay back her perceived injury from her friend?!  Feh!

 

It is astonishing to me how Oona has managed to stay looking like a Chaplin.  She is my favorite, too.

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(edited)

Its getting a bit silly - every single nurse has a deep dark secret. 

 

She cheated on Sam West?!  

Given that he's vile, cruel and abusive (as we've been given to assume from this episode), can you blame her?  Sam West has no particular appeal for me, other than as an actor, but even if he had, the character was pretty horrible.

 

So, does Matron bat for the other cricket team, or does she go for duskier men? 

Edited by proserpina65
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Given that he's vile, cruel and abusive (as we've been given to assume from this episode), can you blame her?  Sam West has no particular appeal for me, other than as an actor, but even if he had, the character was pretty horrible.

Oh, I know. He's horrible.  But I have a soft spot for Sam ever since Howard's End.  Poor Leonard Bast :-(

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Sam West will always be the sweet, bashful Leonard Bast to me too, M. Darcy.  It makes it hard to believe him as a sadist.  It's also hard to believe that so many down right evil people could all end up in one place, him, Nurse Quale, Rosalie, Mosely's superior officer.

 

Nurse Livesey's angst seems over the top to me.  At that time most people had loved ones at the front, many of the other nurses probably have fiancé's in danger, and they didn't usually know what their status was from one week to the next.  Her man being German makes it harder and she does have to keep his nationality secret, but, for the duration, I would expect her to carry on without so much hyperventilation.

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(edited)

Some pretty good acting in this episode, despite the soap opera bent.

 

Thanks for the reminder on where I'd seen Sam West before - Howard's End.

 

All those boys going off to be slaughtered. At 24 my father was known as the "old man" in his WWII unit. It's heartbreaking. Charlie's going off with a kiss on his lips.

 

The whacko villanous nurse reminds me of Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched.

 

Poor Prentiss - such agony from which he'll probably never recover.

Edited by pasdetrois
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Charlie and floras awkward motorcycle conversation was cute. As was his I reckon you're the prettiest girl ever. And how he was too bashful to flirt with her yet somehow knew she liked him and vice versa. So sweet.

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Nurse Livesey's angst seems over the top to me.  At that time most people had loved ones at the front, many of the other nurses probably have fiancé's in danger, and they didn't usually know what their status was from one week to the next.  Her man being German makes it harder and she does have to keep his nationality secret, but, for the duration, I would expect her to carry on without so much hyperventilation.

 

Some of her agitation must come from the very reasonable fear that if her connection to a German soldier became known, she could be accused of being a spy for the enemy, and possible shot as a result.  But one would think she'd try to control herself more in the situation.  I wondered why she didn't say the ring was from her grandmother as a good luck charm or something of the like; a lie such as that would be far more difficult to expose.

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I was prepared for a three-hankie melodrama, but a good one - not for the threadbare soap opera that this is turning into.  So over the top with secrets, so many sideways glances, so much furtive scurrying around and tattling on each other and so many tiresome characters.  If the nurses weren't doing the kind of work they are, they'd be a pretty vapid lot of characters.  And the war, what war?  Men are being blown to bits and having breakdowns but no one ever even mentions what this war is being fought about.  Makes Downton (which I love despite it being lightweight) look like War and Peace.

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Kitty could have faked adultery or actually sought comfort from some other man, either way I don't fault her, I just fault her for being such a sour faced snob to anyone not actually having a psychotic break.

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I think the rules were a man could divorce his wife for being unfaithful.  However, a woman would need not only adultery but some other reason such as domestic abuse to divorce her husband.  I remember Anna being a little perturbed when Mr. Bates told her that.  

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This show is no masterpiece but I do enjoy watching it, if anything because there aren't that many movies/shows about women in the war (RIP Bomb Girls). That said, I'm a bit torn on the approach this show takes. One the one hand, as a history lover, I do like how it tries to explore as many different parts of the war as possible (Irish fighters, PTSD, refugees, etc.) but on the other, we really lose screentime with the main three girls. Kitty is the only one who seems to have an actual story and Rosalie barely does anything while Flora is sort of in the middle. Wouldn't be so bad, except it looks like we only have six episodes. It also has the same issue some other period shows have where we have little cliffhangers as the end of the episode, only to have the next episode possibly not address it until the last minute. Ah well, still a decent enough show to watch. 

 

As for this episode, I was a bit confused as to how the soldier knew about Livesey's lover. I couldn't tell if he had seen them together once or if he worked with them or what. And I was confused about Kitty's story. Elliot was her husband that she apparently cheated on, and now he has her child? And I had thought her mother had the child. Again, the more stories the more puzzling it all becomes. 

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As for this episode, I was a bit confused as to how the soldier knew about Livesey's lover. I couldn't tell if he had seen them together once or if he worked with them or what

 I think he was a bus boy or waiter at a café they used to hang out at.  Which honestly, all she had to say was she hasn't seen him since the War broke out and she broke up with him since he was German. 

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(edited)

Kitty could have faked adultery or actually sought comfort from some other man, either way I don't fault her, I just fault her for being such a sour faced snob to anyone not actually having a psychotic break.

I agree. I wonder if her abrupt and defensive behavior toward the pleasantries and subtle flirting by the two handsome doctors are because she is suffering PTSD from her previous abuse. The vicious, manipulative and controlling husband may have exhibited charming and boyish behavior before marriage only to show his true colors after the wedding ceremony and in the privacy of their home. That would explain why she recoils from any attention cast her way now. Couple that with the deep grief from losing not only her beloved baby but the love and support of her own mother and you have an individual who may be on the verge of collapse. This could explain her inability to let any friend in and any emotion out, lest it pour out in a never-ending deluge of weeping. Edited by Casually Observant
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*sigh* so I guess only one of the hospital based characters is allowed to have a medical based story per episode? (and really Matron's story was barely medical and mainly about her past and the reveal behind her 'exotic' tastes, that evil non-matron alluded to).

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Man, that guy was so annoying I would have sent him back to battle.

 

   He was going blind at a relatively young age. His career was being a soldier and a sniper.

 

   He was being shipped to England where he had never lived and probably has no close

relatives or friends.

 

   He could learn to care for himself, but he can't imagine what he will do with the rest

of his life.

 

    My mother started going blind at age 86.  She loved to read.  When she couldn't read

anymore, even with a magnifying glass, she didn't go into rages, but got very depressed.

 

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And I was confused about Kitty's story. Elliot was her husband that she apparently cheated on, and now he has her child? And I had thought her mother had the child. Again, the more stories the more puzzling it all becomes.

Yes, that confused me too. The letter from her mother indicated she had Kitty's daughter, which made me assume the child had been born out of wedlock. But the child was apparently legitimate, and the evil (now) ex-husband has her? Has the ex possibly allowed Kitty's mom access to the child as yet another way to punish Kitty? Elliot certainly wasn't raising the little girl without some kind of help. All very confusing. Unless the child was conceived out of wedlock but her husband was presumed to be the father legally, so he gets custody after he banishes the unfaithful wife? With only 2 episodes left, I'm afraid we won't get much resolution.

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Again, I do appreciate how the show tries to show us a new part of the war every week (this time, the Sikh regiment) because it gives the small footnotes in textbooks more of a story.

That said, I'm having a hard time liking any of the characters it seems:

- Flora: You're the one who pressured the others into doing your stupid show and then you abandon them at the last minute? You wanted it so bad, suck it up.

- Kitty: Not really in the position to be so judgmental seeing as you've been secretive since your first scene and are hiding an illegitimate child as well as an affair.

- Thomas: Apparently doesn't know what being "civil" means.

And that's on top of Sister Quayle and Rosalie who I already disliked. At this point the only ones I like are the colonel, Grace, and Joan because at least they're not as annoyingly judgmental as the others. So of course Joan looks screwed next week.

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I was just commenting on the last episode thread about how I really don't like many of the characters anymore. It's a shame really, because this show did have a lot of potential. There aren't many shows/movies about women in war and it was about WWI which I think gets forgotten about too often. And it explored the smaller areas of said war. I never gave too much thought to what the Irish went through for starts. But the "secrets" won out and overwhelmed the show. Ah well.

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Joan is hauled up on a charge of aiding the enemy and faces a possible lifetime in prison. She is desperate to protect Anton so tries to deflect the questions, even as Purbright arrives to drive them home harder. Meanwhile, the hospital is awash with the news of Joan's treachery and Roland is directly in the firing line, accused of letting the rules slide and bringing the RAMC into disrepute. His position rests on a knife edge as old enemies close in.

Kitty's wracked with guilt that she knew about Joan but didn't stop her, and she fears for her own position. She is desperate for someone to trust, but will it be Thomas or Miles that she turns to?

Elsewhere, Flora discovers Peter's brother, Jimmy, on one of the wards and happily reunites the siblings, but when it becomes clear that Jimmy is too fragile for war Peter has a difficult decision to make. Rosalie too is feeling conflicted, unsure how to deal with her discovery of Kitty's divorce. Her instinct is to condemn, but the world is changing. Could one patient in particular hold the key to her liberation?

Joan's actions send ripples through the hospital. As night falls some rules will be broken and others upheld. As the war machine grinds on, faith, hope and love are put to the test.

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*sigh* so I guess only one of the hospital based characters is allowed to have a medical based story per episode? (and really Matron's story was barely medical and mainly about her past and the reveal behind her 'exotic' tastes, that evil non-matron alluded to).

Tell me about it. And I thought the "exotic tastes" she was referring to last epi was that Matron was gay. When I realized in this episode that she meant that she was in love with (clutch the pearls!) an Indian man, I was like, "Oh! Okay." Got it.

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Some of her agitation must come from the very reasonable fear that if her connection to a German soldier became known, she could be accused of being a spy for the enemy, and possible shot as a result.  But one would think she'd try to control herself more in the situation.  I wondered why she didn't say the ring was from her grandmother as a good luck charm or something of the like; a lie such as that would be far more difficult to expose.

Or even that it was a sweetheart or fiance who died before the war, back in England. So many ways she could have deflected scrutiny But then, no drama thatbway, I guess.

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It's not so much the secrets that annoy me as the fact that there are hardly any real friendships here. Normally close work bonds on TV shows annoy me a bit because they're kind of unrealistic, but here they'd make perfect sense since it's not like these people go home at the end of the day to other friends, spouses, etc. Yet the only real friendship I can think of is Tom/ Miles (whom I love, and I wish we got more scenes with the two of them). Mosely/ Carol Jordan have a nice working relationship but he's her superior, and everyone else either A) actively dislikes one another, B) are tied together only because one knows the other's secret, or C) hardly ever interact.

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Tell me about it. And I thought the "exotic tastes" she was referring to last epi was that Matron was gay. When I realized in this episode that she meant that she was in love with (clutch the pearls!) an Indian man, I was like, "Oh! Okay." Got it.

A white woman in love with an Indian man was greeted by much more than just pearl clutching long after WWI.  It was an interracial relationship in an era when such things were not done, and as such, would've ruined her career.  You have to keep in mind the time in which this takes place.

- Kitty: Not really in the position to be so judgmental seeing as you've been secretive since your first scene and are hiding an illegitimate child as well as an affair.

 

I didn't necessarily take it as her being judgmental, more that she was concerned for what Sister Joan might've gotten herself into.

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A white woman in love with an Indian man was greeted by much more than just pearl clutching long after WWI.  It was an interracial relationship in an era when such things were not done, and as such, would've ruined her career.  You have to keep in mind the time in which this takes place.

 

  Oh no, believe me, I get it. I was being sarcastic about clutching the pearls, but I guess it didn't translate on the page the way it sounded in my head. My oops.

   I was trying to acknowledge that indeed at that time, even the hint of a flirtation, let alone an actual affair, would have been a HUGE deal. I'm with you, prosperpina65.

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Yes, that confused me too. The letter from her mother indicated she had Kitty's daughter, which made me assume the child had been born out of wedlock. But the child was apparently legitimate, and the evil (now) ex-husband has her? Has the ex possibly allowed Kitty's mom access to the child as yet another way to punish Kitty? Elliot certainly wasn't raising the little girl without some kind of help. All very confusing. Unless the child was conceived out of wedlock but her husband was presumed to be the father legally, so he gets custody after he banishes the unfaithful wife? With only 2 episodes left, I'm afraid we won't get much resolution.

 

Actually, I think you've nailed it. It hasn't been that long since women and children were legally considered the property of the man of the house. So it would have fit perfectly in those times for Elliot to banish the wife and keep the child, the better to make her suffer. And had he chosen to banish the unfaithful wife AND her "bastard" child, that would have been within his privilege too, unfortunately. As for who is helping him raise the child, he appears to be of the class that would have employed a nanny/governess anyway, or even sent her away to school.

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Yes, that confused me too. The letter from her mother indicated she had Kitty's daughter, which made me assume the child had been born out of wedlock. But the child was apparently legitimate, and the evil (now) ex-husband has her? Has the ex possibly allowed Kitty's mom access to the child as yet another way to punish Kitty? Elliot certainly wasn't raising the little girl without some kind of help. All very confusing. Unless the child was conceived out of wedlock but her husband was presumed to be the father legally, so he gets custody after he banishes the unfaithful wife? With only 2 episodes left, I'm afraid we won't get much resolution.

I remember the letter saying she'd never see the child again, but that could be because Kitty's mother wouldn't help Kitty, not that Kitty's mother actually had the child with her.  It sounded to me like Kitty tried to leave her husband and take her daughter with her but the husband caught her; my theory is that the man Kitty allegedly committed adultery with may not have been an actual lover but was instead a friend who tried to help her escape.

 

As for who is helping him raise the child, he appears to be of the class that would have employed a nanny/governess anyway, or even sent her away to school.

I thought he said the little girl was with his sister's family.  But yes, he clearly can afford to employ people to raise the child for him.

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I won't mind it ending, either.  The concept was great but the writing was all over the place.  Where was the growth, where were the friendships? Who were we supposed to be rooting for? I found Kitty completely unlikeable and both Flora and Rosalie straight up lied about past accomplishments a few times.  Who, over fourteen, does that?  I'll have to see Oona Chaplin in other things before I make any judgments about her acting, but in this one "sullen," seemed to be her entire range.

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I'll have to see Oona Chaplin in other things before I make any judgments about her acting, but in this one "sullen," seemed to be her entire range.

She's a talented actress. Go watch The Hour... she plays a very un-Kitty-like character, and the show is so much more enjoyable than The Crimson Field.

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I was trying to acknowledge that indeed at that time, even the hint of a flirtation, let alone an actual affair, would have been a HUGE deal. I'm with you, prosperpina65.

Don't forget what happened to Daphne Manners in Jewel in the Crown. 

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God, Joan is all kinds of stupid.   First of all, loverboy had apparently been caught by the Brits.   That would have put him in a POW camp for the duration.   Not the greatest place to be, but much better than actually IN THE WAR.    Second of all, what did she think would happen when she helped loverboy get away?   They would just chuckle and go "oh love makes people do stupid things?"    It was WAR.   He was on the other side.  

 

The rest was blah.

 

This show could have shown so much about what the nurses went through during WWI.   But noooo, it's just basically Downton Abbey at the Front.

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What did the orderly do to his brother when he told him to get out of the tub and lie on his side?

I assume he broke his leg so he wouldn't go back to the front.

I'm ok with one season. If this had continued, it would have become more personal angst and intrigue than about the war. I understand showing the terrible loss of a child in war. Nothing can be more devastating. But there were too many secrets from nearly everyone.

I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts!

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