S01.E01: Part One

[formerlyfreedom]

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Convicted murderess Grace Marks is interviewed by Dr. Simon Jordan. He becomes conflicted by Grace's enchanting, persuasive nature and her claims of having no memory of the events surrounding the murder.

[statsgirl]

I haven't read the book so I don't know if it comes from there but I really liked the framing mechanism of the psychologist interviewing Grace and the flashbacks as she talked to him.

It was interesting seeing the prison from 1850, and awful seeing how terrible the conditions on the ship were.

[Solace247]

Even though I heard of the book years ago, I have not read it either. I haven't always enjoyed Atwood but my mother seemed to enjoy the read (she's not really an Atwood fan), so perhaps it reads a little differently from Atwood's other offerings. In fact, it was her opinion coupled with this being a project of Sarah Polley's for CBC that had me anticipating it. As an aside, I did appreciate reading The Handmaid's Tale years back after hearing part of it acted aloud on CBC radio.

The production value is quite good and I agree about the interview/flashbacks being an interesting choice. It was also interesting to start the series getting to 'know' Grace first, both prior to and long after the murders. I wonder if the book is the same in this instance. I don't know whether the voiceover will wear on me or not, but I'm enjoying Grace's way with words. Mary is quite the character as well.

It was also quite a surprise to spot David Cronenberg. Was he a priest?

[TV Anonymous]

Question to those knowledgeable with Canadian history. Did ocean-going ships from Europe land directly in Toronto? I just felt strange watching it as AFAIK immigrants from Europe typically landed in Halifax or Montreal and continue inland by train. St. Lawrence Seaway was definitely not there and I am not sure if Lachine Canal could accommodate trans-Atlantic ships. 

[Athena]

9 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Question to those knowledgeable with Canadian history. Did ocean-going ships from Europe land directly in Toronto? I just felt strange watching it as AFAIK immigrants from Europe typically landed in Halifax or Montreal and continue inland by train. St. Lawrence Seaway was definitely not there and I am not sure if Lachine Canal could accommodate trans-Atlantic ships. 

I don't have an exact answer but Toronto harbour was a busy one by this time in history. It was a military and merchant harbour so lots of big boats did go through the area. By the 1880s, over a million passengers went through it annually. I don't think everyone landed at Montreal/Halifax and then went on by land. By the time this novel/show is set, people were travailing in land to Ontario by boat as the infrastructure for canals and expanding harbours made it possible. 

[PinkRibbons]

I read the book several years ago and the show so far is incredibly true to it, complete with the framing device of Grace's sessions with Dr. Jordan. (Although granted it's been several years, so despite remembering most major plot points, I couldn't really point out where there are small changes.)

Edited October 18, 2017 by PinkRibbons

[Yolapukka]

I did read the book but despite being at the time, very much a fan of Margaret Atwood, It is not my favourite of her works, though there were individual parts I did appreciate. I think part of my problem is the novel often echoed the writing style of the time period it's set in, but unlike those novels, there was never a point where the characters and story became so consuming that I no longer felt bogged down by the somewhat archaic style. I am not having that issue at all with the television production, unsurprisingly. The script and acting are wonderful. Grace can be a rather opaque character, very much an unreliable narrator, so even as I'm drawn in to her story, I'm never sure how much to engage with her. It's more her asides that reel me in and make her voice compelling, her answers to questions that do not directly touch on the crime, her words on quilts, beds and apples. The quilts themselves are mined heavily for symbolism, both the symbols employed in the designs and the act of quilting, taking scraps and piecing them to form a larger picture, and the fabrics used; were they always intended for that use? or are they repurposed from other things?

[Paloma]

Coincidentally, I read this book about a month ago, before I heard that it was a Netflix series. Although it was initially hard to get into the period style of the book, I stuck with it because of the author and it did end up being fascinating. As others have said, it seems like the series will be faithful to the book, and I think this medium will enrich the story. Already in this episode I was surprised to see what a three-dimensional, vibrant, and believable character Mary Whitney was--in the book I only saw her through Grace's narration but she never really came to life for me.

[LittleIggy]

David Cronenberg’s character is a man of the cloth. I haven’t seen him acting in a movie since “Nightbreed.”

[WayneK]

I thought this was absolutely riveting.  Every bit of it was well-done but especially the dialogue.  What a contrast after listening to the clunky script on Walking Dead.    

[Valny]

A little slow start for me but I heard it gets a lot better. ..and creepier.

Man, Grace's father really grated my cheese. I'd like to see a comeuppance for him but I'm thinking he might die from alcoholism or something else. ..if we even ever find out what happens to him or the rest of her siblings.

The boat scenes were rough. I can only imagine the stench, diseases,etc ...I wouldn't have lasted the eight week journey I'd wager.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ooh, I'm already sucked in. I was afraid that this show would creep me out (which seems a fair assumption given that it's about a murderess) but so far I'm not at the "must sleep with all the lights on" stage. Interesting that in the backstory she's given the doctor so far, she'd already considered killing people twice (pushing the kids off the ship and murdering her abusive incesty father) when she was pretty young.

[tennisgurl]

I liked how this started, but I have always been interested in this time period, so I suspected that it would intrigue me. 

Grace is an interesting character one episode in. She has clearly had a bad hand dealt to her (hopefully her awful father drinks himself to death soon) and cares for her family, but she also has a darkness in her already, considering how often she seems to considering killing people, even if her reasons for wanting to kill make some awful, pragmatic sense, and she has resisted those urges so far. 

That boat trip looked awful. I remember as a kid reading an American Girl book set around this time where a girl immigrated to the US on a ship like that, and it was pretty traumatizing. Everyone just kept dying! 

[NutMeg]

I've just watched the first episode and found it exquisite and intriguing. I read the book ages ago, but it's not one from Atwood's that really stuck with me afterwards, and I find the series more compelling, while also loving Grace's narration. The actors are also a large part of what keeps me riveted, both Grace and the doctor/therapist are played to perfection. I liked that the therapist is already seemingly so caught in her story that he wakes up as if he was awakened by a hand pressed on his face, except there was no hand (not sure I remember the exact quote).

[hilaryvm]

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Question to those knowledgeable with Canadian history. Did ocean-going ships from Europe land directly in Toronto? I just felt strange watching it as AFAIK immigrants from Europe typically landed in Halifax or Montreal and continue inland by train. St. Lawrence Seaway was definitely not there and I am not sure if Lachine Canal could accommodate trans-Atlantic ships. 

I just finished the book this weekend, and they mention that they didn't land in Toronto.  I forget where they initially landed and were processed, but they were on a succession of ships at that point, and at one point had to walk across a sandbar (or something similar) because the boat couldn't make it.

I thought the first episode was very well done, and while I realize they have to condense it for the book, they cut out a lot of information about her early life and crossing to get right to Mary (which I get, but there's more information on her family and other things).