Sidney's Sirens: Amanda, Hildegard, et al.

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Here!

[LucyHoneychrrch]

Every article I read about Grantchester talks about Amanda as Sidney's soulmate, and I wonder if there's something wrong with me that I find her utterly insufferable.  

Admittedly, I can sympathize with parental expectations and etc.; but she made her decision.  Over and over again.  

 

Also kind of hated Hildegarde, who seemed pretty cold and calculating.  

 

LOVE Margaret, though Sidney's going to break her heart. 

[MissLucas]

Amanda is an annoying character and I don't get the hold she has over Sidney. It wasn't just parental expectations that made her turn him down. She also wanted more than a vicar had to offer.

I've read the books and I am seriously worried that the show is going into a different direction with Sidney's love-life.

[magdalene]

 I like the direction of the books so much better in regards to Sidney's love life.

[HoodlumSheep]

Lol @ the thread title!

Hildegard's my fave. The jazz singer is oddly my second fave.

Amanda, of course, is dead last on my list. I'd sooner want Sidney to marry Mrs. Maguire than end up with Amanda.

Edited April 13, 2016 by HoodlumSheep

[Sonja]

I know the show is pushing for Amanda and Sidney, but I still don't think she'd actually want to be a vicar's wife with all it entails. They would have been better off as best friend's without all the drama. I liked Hildegard (there's no 'e' at the end btw as in the thread title), but the actress irked me a bit. She was fine in small doses.

[whatsatool]

I like Amanda. Slinks away.

[photo fox]

I liked Hildegard (there's no 'e' at the end btw as in the thread title)...

Whoops! That's on me. I actually know a Hildegard(e) in RL, and she has the E, so I didn't realize. Thanks for the heads-up! I'll correct.

I feel bad, because Hildegard is BY FAR my fave of Sidney's many (many, many) potential love interests.

[HoodlumSheep]

Whoops! That's on me. I actually know a Hildegard(e) in RL, and she has the E, so I didn't realize. Thanks for the heads-up! I'll correct.

I feel bad, because Hildegard is BY FAR my fave of Sidney's many (many, many) potential love interests.

^ Same. I love Hildegard. And I thought the actress did fine, but that's just my opinion.

[MissLucas]

Hildegard was definitely the best love-interest Sidney had so far. Loved her scene with Mrs Maguire. I have no idea why the show pushes so hard for Amanda/Sidney as it's clear that can't go anywhere - that's not a spoiler just simply basing things in historical context. It would only work if the show killed off her husband.

 

Plus Amanda is simple not cut out for the job. Compare this with all the discussions on Call the Midwife where curate Tom is also trying to find a wife after glamorous Trixie (who's not nearly as posh as Amanda) decided she was not made of the right stuff.

[HoodlumSheep]

I liked Hildegard's temperament the best. Probably because I relate to her the most.

I can't relate to Amanda at all. Margaret, while better than Amanda and quite spunky, her bluntness and high energy is a bit jarring for me. (probably because I'm an introvert). Although I do like it when she says stuff to tease Mrs. M.

Edited April 13, 2016 by HoodlumSheep

[Sonja]

Whoops! That's on me. I actually know a Hildegard(e) in RL, and she has the E, so I didn't realize. Thanks for the heads-up! I'll correct.

I feel bad, because Hildegard is BY FAR my fave of Sidney's many (many, many) potential love interests.

No biggie! Considering how many versions of my first name are out there that differ by just one letter, I'm sure there's a lot of Hildegardes out there as well ;-) If they are German or Austrian they would be pronounced Hildegardeh then.

 

Mine as well, even though the actress irked me. That could just be my personal problem after all. She's the only one who seems to get what Sidney's actual job is and knows how to talk to his parishioners. The way she managed to get Mrs. M onto her side could only have been topped by Dickens refusing to let her leave ;-)

 

I liked Hildegard's temperament the best. Probably because I relate to her the most.

I can't relate to Amanda at all. Margaret, while better than Amanda and quite spunky, her bluntness and high energy is a bit jarring for me. (probably because I'm an introvert). Although I do like it when she says stuff to tease Mrs. M.

 

I can relate to Amanda in regards to her being a free spirit, not in terms of nevertheless letting herself getting reigned in by the men in her life but then not dealing with the consequences. But then again, I would never try to get into a vicar's pants (the whole agnostic thing might be an issue).

Margaret is great to watch for a time, but while her teasing of Mrs. M is funny to us viewers, I get why she considers it disrespectful. I've seen the entire season and

as fun as Margaret was in the beginning, she turned out no less immature than Amanda, and selflish and inconsiderate to boot.

[dcalley]

Margaret, while better than Amanda and quite spunky, her bluntness and high energy is a bit jarring for me. (probably because I'm an introvert). Although I do like it when she says stuff to tease Mrs. M.

I confess to laughing at her saying, "I'd never thought of marriage, I'm in it for the sex."

[dubbel zout]

I still don't think she'd actually want to be a vicar's wife with all it entails.

 

That's a huge problem. Like it or not, she'll get dragged into parish life. It's not fair to Sidney to be an unwilling participant. I don't know why they're both mooning after each other when there's such a gigantic red flag in front of them. And they both know it! 

[HoodlumSheep]

Well after this episode (ep 4), I don't care much for Margaret anymore (although I was always "meh" about her).

And pairing Amanda and Sidney continues to be a terrible, no good, horrible idea.

[statsgirl]

Are they deliberately trying to keep Sidney from having a good relationship with someone else so he'll keep dancing around Amanda?

Hildegard seemed perfect but they had him screw it up. Margaret is smart and good at solving mysteries with him but it's about to all blow up.

What is the fascination Amanda has for the writers? And the screwed-up Amanda/Sidney relationship that makes Sidney look so bad?

[dubbel zout]

What is the fascination Amanda has for the writers? And the screwed-up Amanda/Sidney relationship that makes Sidney look so bad?

 

They both look terrible. I get Amanda is unhappy with her marriage, but shoplifting and hoping Sidney doesn't find out (right; try not to commit a crime in Cambridge, then!) is dumb. And Sidney shouldn't be using Amanda as his shoulder to cry on when he knows it causes problems with Guy.

 

Ugh. They're both awful.

[Sonja]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but I find it interesting that Amanda changes her hair depending on where she is. When she is at home, she has this severe, combed back lady of the manor hairstyle that ages her; in Grantchester, there are no pins and her hair is just parted at the side and curled at the ends like in series 1. It's like an extreme version of her mentioning the different colours of clothes she uses for city and countryside in series one. Seems a bit of wanting both worlds as well.

[caligirl50]

Sonja - thank you for noticing this.  I watched the first season this week and noticed how lovely the actress looked in the beginning of the show and how matronly she became once married.  The actress needs good hair so I hope the bad hairstyles get shelved soon.  

[seacliffsal]

Just watched the season opening and am, once again, surprised how quickly Sydney "falls" in love and into bed.  It seemed like he didn't even know her that well or long and yet he's ready to move to America.  I know they were writing him out of the show, but it would have made more sense to bring someone back from an earlier season.  And, I think the writer misjudged the sexual mores of some people during this time period-especially the evening following the death of her sibling.

[honkytonkwoman2]

OK, I just started watching, and I'm only on Season 2, but I never warmed to Amanda that much. The engagement party was the last straw for me. I found myself intensely disliking all of them. It also made it clear to me that Amanda would never go against "Daddy's" wishes when it came to marriage. He would have been insufferable if she had become engaged to Sidney. Can you imagine the engagement party? Amanda also would be a terrible vicar's wife. 

I was quite fond of Hildegard. I loved the scene where she bonded with Mrs. McGuire. She was perfectly suited for the role but she was right to end it with Sidney. 

My husband likes Amanda and wants her and Sidney to be endgame. I disagree. I don't know what he sees in Amanda. 

She and Sidney do have a bond, but she comes off as frivolous and a bit spoiled. I would have to watch again because I can't remember if she was marrying because her family needed the money or because she wanted to be married. If she wanted to marry Sidney, surely she could have hinted at it. In the end, she is who she is. I get annoyed with Sidney for not being able to let her go. 

[wanderingstar]

Hildegard is probably my favorite of Sydney's partners. And I loved that she had enough self respect to be like "Nope!" when she found out he had slept with someone else. I never got into him and Amanda. I thought she was fine as a character, but just didn't see the chemistry between her and Sydney.