User blog:LilyLacreag/Road to Avonlea: Season 1 – A Review

It’s been quite some time since my last review. I must admit, I was looking forward to writing this one for so long, but then again, it is only my fault that I finally started watching Road to Avonlea 5 years (!) after discovering its existence. I delayed the actual watching, I always had some excuse – it was not available for streaming online, I was not confident enough to watch the episodes without subtitles, I was busy watching other TV series (or school exams) – practically all of them were lame excuses. I finally decided to start watching this October and when I think about it, it was a perfect timing.

I discovered Road to Avonlea in 2012 when I became an editor (and later admin) here at AoGG Wiki. Since then I have learned more about Anne and all the adaptations, I have seen numerous great (as well as bad) films and TV series (not necessarily Anne-related) and I have grown as a person. Watching Road to Avonlea now is certainly different than it would’ve been 5 years ago. With all the experiences from the past five years I guess I’ll be able to provide my thoughts on this series… well, as of now, on its first season.


 * I am actually very glad that I saw Season 1 AFTER watching Anne (with an E) and Annetoon as I am able to compare their pros and cons. And I’m afraid that I cannot avoid comparing in case of Road to Avonlea’s first season.

What you need to know about the storyline? Season 1 revolves around Sara Stanley (based on the titular character from Montgomery’s novels The Story Girl and The Golden Road) who is sent to her family (the Kings) in Avonlea after her father is accused of embezzlement. Sara moves in with her two unmarried aunts, the older Hetty (who works as the teacher at Avonlea school) and younger Olivia. Uncle Alec lives just across the field with his wife Janet, their three children (Felicity, Felix and Cecily), and another long-lost cousin, Andrew. Sara gradually gets used to her new life in Avonlea, goes to the local school and makes friends with everyone she meets (it simply doesn’t matter if they are shy, grumpy or stubborn – Sara is friendly to all of them) – maybe except her cousins Felicity and Felix who often make fun of her father’s misfortune.

We get to see some familiar faces from the previous Sullivan productions, namely Patricia Hamilton and Colleen Dewhurst who returned to play Mrs. Lynde and Marilla Cuthbert in a couple of episodes.


 * At this point I’m leaving my traditional review template and I must warn you – the following paragraphs may lack some sort of narrative and (probably) will seem like a chaotic and random stream of my thoughts and impressions. The reason for that is quite simple. I am reviewing the whole season at once and I decided to leave out some obvious and well-known facts (I believe Road to Avonlea is quite popular) and focus more on my watching experience – on the things I thought about while watching.

A month ago, I was guiding a group of American students from Stanford around the city centre here in Prague. We discussed all sorts of things, including TV shows. When I told them what I have on my watchlist, I learned that apparently, I am into “those intense series” (namely Doctor Who, Sherlock, 13 Reasons Why, Outlander etc. – the list is way too long). A week later I started watching Road to Avonlea and somehow, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the Americans told me. I realized that maybe the shows I like are too dramatic and intense in comparison with the family-friendly and light-toned Season 1 of Road to Avonlea. It was a nice change to observe pure and careless storylines.

However, the optimistic tone of this series is probably not true-to-life. When you think about it, Road to Avonlea and Anne (with an E) depict practically the same era (early 1900s and late 1890s respectively), but they portray the everyday life and its obstacles differently. Like I said, Road to Avonlea is more optimistic and shows the idyllic community life in PEI. Every problem has a solution, everything is good in the end and everyone is happy. Those who did something wrong get punished. Even many characters are black-and-white, either good or bad without any depth or space for their individual growth as persons. In several cases it reminded me of Annetoon, which is definitely aimed for the youngest audience. Annetoon episodes usually contain some kind of moral dilemma – Anne (or someone else) is wrong and by the end of episode the specific character learns their lesson, and everything is good in the end. The same often happens in the first season of Road to Avonlea. But real life is not like that. Not everyone learns their lesson so quickly and rarely is everyone happy and satisfied in the end. Usually, it’s the other way round...

Now let’s talk about characters. It’s difficult to choose those I liked – I might have said the same concerning Anne (with an E), but back then it was for a different reason. In the 2017 series the individuals are well-written, deep, with many layers and space for character growth. They are not black-or-white, but somewhere in the middle, with their own virtues and flaws. They are also played by very talented actors and that’s why it is so hard to pick the best ones as all of them are perfect. This is not the case of Road to Avonlea, however.

While the adults are played by gifted actors, the characters they portray are sometimes poor-written and their storylines have plotholes and inconsistencies. I must praise the performances by Patricia Hamilton (Rachel Lynde), Colleen Dewhurst (Marilla Cuthbert), Jackie Burroughs (Hetty King) and R.H. Thomson (Jasper Dale). I also liked Cedric Smith (Alec King), Rosemary Dunsmore (Aunt Abigail), Malcolm Stoddard (Malcolm MacEwan) and Maja Ardal (Mrs. Potts).

I couldn’t find my way to some of the children characters, however. Regardless of the personalities they had to portray, I liked the performances by Sarah Polley (Sara Stanley) and Gema Zamprogna (Felicity King). Cecily, although quite lovely, had almost no space to be her own person and was mostly told what to do (usually by the ever-bossy Felicity). I can’t say I liked Felix much. Zachary Bennett’s acting was not convincing enough and his childish voice was a bit annoying. Andrew is the same case as Cecily – his character had some potential, but he was not given enough space. Peter Craig was an interesting individual and those who read the novels probably know that HE is the one who wins Felicity’s heart in the end. Unfortunately, he was not given a chance to prove himself in this season.

When it comes to the Avonlea school kids, I can’t say I liked the always-sad and insecure Clemmie nor her overconfident brother Edward. But I really couldn’t stand Sally Potts and Jane Spry (who sometimes looked like she was played by a 40-years-old actress – like Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter movies). This was likely the point of them, but as I already mentioned, no one is 100% evil, our personalities are a little bit complex. I’ll mention Anne (with an E) once again – there the children roles were perfectly cast, and every child actor was convincing and very talented (even the little girl who played Minnie May!). In Road to Avonlea, however, the children’s acting is often unnatural (mainly Felix) and you can’t help but wonder, why they are not as good as those starring in the 2017 series. Once again, I must praise Polley and Zamprogna, but I was not convinced by the others.

I somehow liked Sara the best, even though her character seemed not entirely realistic. She had seen the world, she always had the dresses she wanted, and she had her nanny Louisa by her side all the time. Yes, she was affected by the loss of her mother and she misses her much. But one would expect her to be shy and reserved (based on how isolated from other people and kids she was before coming to Avonlea) or even spoiled. She seems to be reserved at some points, but she manages to makes new friends in every episode, she is the one who solves old mysteries or ends long-lasting quarrels. She is the one who sets everything in motion and fixes everything in the end – everything is magically better.

Sara somehow knows how to behave, and she can tell how the others feel and what is the right thing to do, even though she had been barely in contact with anyone else than her nanny and father. And Felicity (who had both her parents around, not to mention siblings and the whole Avonlea) must learn all those things from her. This seemed a bit unrealistic. Yes, Sara has some flaws, (for instance, she is very stubborn), she is away from her father and misses her mother, she is sad and melancholic, she finds it hard to fit it… and all of these make her more realistic, but some of the personality traits I mentioned above just seem odd. Her character is a bit inconsistent – sometimes she is the source of wisdom and then she does something really stupid. This varies from episode to episode – if the episode is Sara-centric, she is more likely to have some flaws. If someone else is in the spotlight, she is the moral compass. And she by no means deserves the name Story Girl – because she tells only one story during this season, not even based on the stories she used to tell in the novels.

Another inconsistent character is Hetty. It is easy to describe her dominant personality traits, but in some episodes, she shows another side of her nature, which in particular moments seems a bit odd. I reckon a scene from “Old Lady Lloyd” where she says: "Some people think they're too good to walk the same Earth as the rest of us. Let alone attend the same church." I would expect Mrs. Potts to say it, or perhaps Rachel Lynde, but not Hetty. She seemed to accept Miss Lloyd, but out of the blue she makes this rude comment. There are some other cases throughout the season, but not as visible as Sara’s inconsistency.

Hetty is an interesting character because even though she is the eldest member of the King family, she must grow up as a person. She is incredibly stubborn and used to a certain way of life. I found it weird that she wouldn’t speak to Rachel for more than 30 years because of a boy whom Rachel “stole from her” when they were 13. And it was even harder to believe that they made up so easily in “Malcolm and the Baby”. This episode showed how stubborn she can be – I mean, how would she take care of the Morris baby? She had a job as a teacher and unlike Rachel, no experience with having children of her own. I admit that Rachel’s claim for the baby was kind of ridiculous, but Hetty’s was just a display of her stubbornness.

I found weird the fact she was the head of the family – one would expect Alec to be a decisive man-figure of the family (not the spinster eldest sister), but he seems to obey Hetty as does Olivia. She is not their mother, but they behave like she is. She may be independent and earn her living as a teacher, but does it really put her into position to tell her adult younger siblings what to do? Hetty mentions she provides for Olivia (and now also for Sara). Does she really earn so much as a schoolteacher that she can afford to live in her own house and run a farm?


 * I also kind of don’t understand the concept of two houses at the King’s property. Olivia and Hetty live at Rose Cottage, there is also Ruth’s old room and piano. It must be the house where they grew up and Hetty and Olivia simply stayed there after the deaths of their parents. But what about the King farm where Alec and his family live? Did they build their house when Alec and Janet got married? It would make no sense to have two houses when the King siblings were younger.

There were moments I liked Felicity and I wanted to see her character develop, but there were also moments I couldn’t stand the way she behaved and how awfully mean she was to Sara, Felix ("Proof of the Pudding") and Peter Craig ("Conversions"). I get it, she wants to be an adult and grown-up very quickly, but I just didn’t like the way how bossy she was towards Felix and Cecily. And how she ruined Sara’s shoes! The lesson she learned in "Proof of the Pudding" was a well-deserved one. Nonetheless, Gema Zamprogna did a very good job playing her.

I liked Alec’s storyline in "Aunt Abigail’s Beau". It showed another side of his character and he was no longer the father-figure of the series, but also a man with his own problems and doubts. The dilemma he faced was well-adapted. At first, I wanted to be critical towards Olivia. Even though she was lovable, it was simply not enough, and she was not interesting as a character. She was… just there. Obeying and respecting Hetty, caring for Sara, always the nice one with heart of gold. There were some glimpses of her speaking her mind (when she stood up for Sara in "The Story Girl Earns Her Name"), but it was not enough. However, everything changed in the last two episodes and it was great to see Olivia have her own interests and be independent. I liked watching her interactions with Jasper and the way they bonded while working together.

It was also interesting to see the younger self of R.H. Thomson, this time not as Matthew Cuthbert, but as Jasper Dale. These two characters have some things in common and Thomson excels in playing both of them. I couldn’t identify with Janet. She was often annoying and not as good mother as she thought she was – she was spoiling Felix, but apparently had no time to teach her children how to behave. Both Felix and Felicity were incredibly mean, spoiled, uppish (Felicity) etc. Marilla sums it up quite well in "The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham’s" – "Janet King, if I had two children as fool hardy as Felix and Sara are I'd be ashamed to admit to anyone that I had anything to do with putting them up. Rachel is doing her best and once you calm down to the point of sanity maybe you'll come to your senses."

Explaining everything in great detail would be exhausting – both for me to write and for you to read. I decided to make lists of what I liked and what not so much.

Pros
 * Nice music (especially the ending of "Malcolm and the Baby")
 * Peg Bowen’s speech at church ("Conversions")
 * And yes, going to church really shouldn’t be about showing your best clothes to the others. The same happens not only in fictional Avonlea, but also in real-life religious Central Europe.
 * Malcolm and Abigail’s storyline ("Aunt Abigail's Beau", "Malcolm and the Baby")
 * Brilliant auctioneer ("Aunt Abigail’s Beau")
 * Wayne Robson as Amos Spry – the character may not be very important, but I remember Robson from Annetoon where he provided the memorable voice of Matthew Cuthbert.
 * It is nice of Peg to care for others, despite the way they treat her. ("Old Lady Lloyd", "Conversions")
 * The parent-teacher dilemma and different points of view on the way Felix should study. Who is right and who is wrong? The overprotective mother or the strict teacher? As always, the right way is somewhere in the middle. ("The Witch of Avonlea")

Cons
 * Edward realized his mistake and came to apologize too quickly. ("Conversions")
 * Mrs. Ray
 * Louisa J. Banks saying her full name 20 times in 10 minutes ("The Journey Begins")
 * Alexander Abraham was quite interesting and it’s a pity he didn’t appear in another episode.
 * "Old Lady Lloyd" was maybe too dark in comparison with the other episodes.
 * Continuity error in "Malcolm and the Baby". Rachel mentions Marilla left to visit Anne and her new baby. While it seems that Anne and Gilbert are married in Road to Avonlea, their wedding is finally shown as late as in Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000) during the WW1. It’s quite difficult to combine the two timelines. As of Season 1 (1903), Anne no longer lives with Marilla. Could she really be engaged with Gilbert for more than 10 years?
 * People being mean to Peg Bowen – especially Hetty’s behaviour was rude and ridiculous. ("Conversions" et al.)
 * It was a little bit out of character for Andrew to be overconfident in spelling bee. Felicity was mean once again and instead of accepting her failure she made her cousin make a mistake. ("The Witch of Avonlea")
 * Mentioning that Peg Bowen is the Witch of Avonlea every time she showed up – mostly Felix.
 * The running joke with Felix and food.

General comments
 * Do children even go to school and have homework? Sometimes they seem to have way much free time.
 * Was Abner Jeffries sitting in front of Alexander Abraham’s house the whole time? Who replaced Rachel as a Sunday School teacher?
 * David Ferry appears as Harmon Andrews. It’s quite strange to see him with young Felicity in "Felicity’s Challenge".
 * Based on the weather and apple picking it doesn’t make sense for the Sullivan Entertainment to switch the episode order of “Conversions” and the Abigail-Malcolm storyline.
 * Ending credits are often crazy and list people who don’t appear in the particular episodes.

And finally, episodes from the best to the ones I enjoyed the least
 * "The Materializing of Duncan" – the best episode of this season. Maybe I love Marilla and Rachel too much, but this story was lovely to watch and had an interesting and hilarious plot.
 * "Proof of the Pudding" – almost tied with “The Materializing of Duncan”. Focused on the King children, funny, light-toned, relaxing.
 * "The Hope Chest of Arabella King" – Olivia finally got a chance to prove she’s an interesting person. The backstory provided a sense of mystery and Olivia and Jasper’s relationship could finally start.
 * "The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's" – Rachel is one of my favourite characters and it was nice to see this side of her. Marilla scolding Janet was one of the best scenes of this episode (and season).
 * "Aunt Abigail's Beau" – I really liked the relationship of Malcolm and Abigail – both are just sweet together and Malcolm is a lovable character. Alec’s dilemma was one of the best plotlines of this season.
 * "Malcolm and the Baby" – I praise the performances by Patricia Hamilton (Rachel) and Jackie Burroughs (Hetty) and their fighting over a baby. Another believable dilemma can be found in this episode – Abigail’s doubts if she could be a mother.
 * "Nothing Endures But Change" – Blair and Hetty are both stubborn and apparently they needed to learn their lesson. This plot dominates this episode and doesn’t leave place for any B-line.
 * The Story Girl Earns Her Name – Jasper’s first appearance and the beginning of his friendship with Sara. However, Sara doesn’t really deserve her name and she doesn’t tell stories in the later episodes.
 * "Old Lady Lloyd" – A bit darker episode with a different tone – Miss Lloyd and her relatives reminded me of the Tomgallon family. Sara once again makes friends with anyone.
 * "The Journey Begins" – The series premiere which I don’t consider one of the best. Introduction to the King family and Avonlea. Sara and Andrew’s revenge was one of the more interesting scenes of this episode.
 * "Conversions" – One of the weaker episodes, but had some nice lines about religion. Peg was in the spotlight and I really liked the scenes concerning her.
 * "The Witch of Avonlea" – The aforementioned parent-teacher dilemma was great. I questioned Hetty’s methods, especially the dunce cap, and I felt sorry for Felix. We don’t have these spelling bee competitions in my country, but… from my point of view it’s more important to know how to write a word than to spell it aloud. (Speaking from my own experience – I used to be confused when my classmates asked me how to write “Rousseau” – I always took a piece of paper and wrote it for them instead of spelling it.) I mean, would you really eliminate a contestant after the very letter they made mistake in?
 * "Felicity's Challenge" – Felicity learns another lesson. Otherwise… I can’t say I enjoyed this episode. Wayne Robson and David Ferry had at least nice, but maybe not memorable cameos.

I believe there are lots of thoughts I had during watching, which I probably forgot to cover in this review. Anyways, this is a chaotic summary of my watching experience. Overall I liked this season and I am looking forward to seeing the following episodes.