User blog:LilyLacreag/Signs Are Small Measurable Things, But Interpretations Are Illimitable: A Review

My watching crusade continues and so does my review-writing session. Now let’s take a look at the second episode of Season 2.

The episode starts almost immediately after the events featured in the premiere of the season. Gilbert and Bash land in Trinidad and unload the cargo from the ship. Bash introduces Gil to the Trinidadian cuisine, shows him around a very multicultural port and tells him about his childhood. They encounter a wealthy man who mistakes Sebastian for a slave. The new place and behaviour towards black people confuse Gilbert. The two of them visit a manor where Sebastian’s mom Hazel works as a cook and nanny. Later, they leave the port and discuss their future onboard of the steamer.

Meanwhile, in Avonlea, a new school year starts. Matthew decides to buy Anne a new slate, as hers is still cracked after the Carrots incident. While walking to school with Diana, Anne’s wild imagination creates a story about skeletons hiding in the woods. The girls (as well as Billy Andrews) notice Cole sitting on the ground and drawing a tree in his notebook. He continues drawing during the lesson, while Mr. Phillips is reading aloud a poem. Billy causes Cole’s ink spill over his notebook, which is noticed by the teacher and Cole is punished. Anne feels sorry for him and later joins him for lunch with the other girls (except for Josie). After school, Anne’s stories about the woods being haunted makes Diana and Ruby scared and they leave the Story Club meeting. Anne becomes afraid too, but the potential ghost turns out to be a fox from the forest. When she returns home, Mr. Dunlop tells her a made-up story about the death of his aunt Beatrice and the fortune he inherited. He gives her a pen, which she accepts and intends to use for her letter to Gilbert.

To convince more people to have their soil tested, the Barrys throw a party in their house. Matthew, Marilla (who has a new hairstyle), Nate and Mr. Dunlop attend, and so do the Andrewses, Lyndes, Minister and other Avonlea residents. Diana and Mr. Dunlop entertain the company playing the piano and singing. Mr. Barry explains his real motivation to help others pay 150 dollars for the gold testing – for his financial help, he would later have a small share in their land and some profit from their gold mining. Mr. Andrews hears his plan and decides to compete with him over Thomas Lynde’s land – as Thomas is Mr. Barry’s neighbour in geography and friendship. Minnie May sees Nate stealing some valuable object and prevents him from doing it. Rachel notices Marilla’s new look and she possibly sees the latter’s interest in Nate, calling him a prize pony. Matthew quietly stands in the corner and observes the business making in process.

Mr. Dunlap offers some money from his inheritance to the Cuthberts so they could have their soil tested. When they return home and find Anne fearing the beasts created by her imagination, they decide not to dig up Green Gables and leave their farm to Anne. Matthew wants her to make a decision when she grows up. The Barrys discuss the outcome of the party – while Mr. Barry considers it to be a success, Mrs. Barry worries about their finances as she wants her daughters to go to finishing schools and visit her home (England and London) once again. The episode ends with several short and memorable scenes – Matthew giving Anne’s cracked slate to Jerry, Gilbert mentioning Anne and the Carrots episode to Bash, Cole drawing Anne’s portrait into his notebook, and Anne making an ink stain while writing a letter to Gilbert.

The themes and storylines:

1. Gilbert and Bash in Trinidad – In Season 1, Gilbert ran away from home because he had become an orphan and after his father’s death he felt like he didn’t belong to Avonlea anymore. The grief has gone, but he is still searching for his place in the world. He wants to explore, to travel. He doesn’t have any plan. In the first episode, Bash criticized him because, for Gil, the sail and the work are just an adventure, only a temporary stop before he ends up doing something else somewhere else. They both arrive in Trinidad, Bash’s home. Sebastian is back after 2 years, but he doesn’t seem to appreciate it. On the contrary, Gilbert is amazed by the bustling port and the variety of exotic food, new smells, and people from all around the world. For a boy from Avonlea, Prince Edward Island, this place is something he never thought could exist.

We see Bash’s struggle as a black man through Gilbert’s innocent, naïve and inexperienced eyes. He mentions the slavery being abolished more than 50 years ago, but there are still many people who treat him and other black people as slaves and inferior. We see other aspects of the post-slavery society when Bash and Gil visit the manor where Bash’s mom Hazel works as a servant (as well as cook and nanny). I am familiar with the American gilded age and the post-civil war situation of the former slaves, so I can imagine the situation being very similar in Trinidad. After the abolishment of the slavery, the former slaves had no money and were not allowed to buy land in the towns. They were kindly offered to stay on the former master’s land and they could work for him – not that they had any other option, really. Hazel and Bash are in the same situation. They are both free people, but Hazel had no chance to leave the estate. She has spent more time bringing up her employer’s children than her own son. In the last scenes, Gil and Bash discuss their future. Bash feels trapped on the ship as he cannot stay in his homeland – practically nowhere as he has no money to buy land. Gilbert mentions feeling trapped in Avonlea – when he returns, he might never leave. Bash and Hammock Man laugh at that as Gilbert once again does not realize his privilege. At least he has a home. Gilbert also mentions Anne and wishes to meet her again.

2. Anne and her imagination – Finally, a storyline from the novel appears in this season. Namely, Anne being afraid of the woods because of a story she made up. I feel that there is nothing left to say as the whole theme is quite clear and well known from the book. Anne has a wild imagination and she scares off not only herself but also Diana and Ruby. It is also another evidence of her still being a child, not a young adult.

3. Cole – In this episode, we meet another new character. Cole is a student of the Avonlea school, but not a new one (he just wasn’t a prominent character in Season 1). He is noticed by Anne before the start of the classes and we quickly get an idea that he is rather shy and introverted boy. He reminded me of Walter Blythe – which Billy only supports by calling him “sissy”. Cole is a talented artist, but he lives in his own world (which is typical for artists, isn’t it) and doesn’t pay attention during the classes. There is a glimpse of uniqueness and humour in his character as he takes his punishment very artistically, to Mr. Phillips’s annoyance.

I enjoyed seeing Anne picking up his notebook and showing her support towards him. It was also lovely to see her compassion when he was sitting alone during the lunch break. Diana joins Anne immediately, which is a perfect display of her loyalty. Ruby follows – we can see that she got used to Anne and that they are good friends. Well, good enough for Ruby to follow her and Diana. Jane and Tillie join too, but only for the prospect of having strawberry tarts. Josie refuses and instead she pretends to join Prissy and the older girls. In the final scenes, Cole finds the ink stains in his notebook and he gets inspired – the stains remind him of Anne’s freckles and he draws her portrait.

4. The gold rush – In the previous episode, Nate set things into motion. The Avonlea residents face an important decision, whether to test their soil or not. Rachel and Thomas Lynde are not very vocal on the subject but attend the party at the Barrys nonetheless. Mr. Barry’s real motivation for financial help is revealed – and it’s not philanthropy as one would expect. Instead, William wants to have shares and profit from the land and gold of those helped by him. While in the first episode he seemed to be dissatisfied with his life and wanted to do something that matters, this episode shows him to be successful as he cares mainly for money and wealth. His wife’s disapproval is seen even more in this episode. She fears potential bankrupt and she emphasizes that her daughters must go to finishing schools and that she wants to see London once again. It is officially confirmed that she was born in England.

Mr. Andrews, another wealthy man of the Avonlea community, decides to compete with Mr. Barry over providing the financial help and getting his own shares. The only one, who thinks clearly and thinks things through, are the Cuthberts. Even though Anne is excited that they could be one of the richest families of the island, Matthew says that they only recently settled up with the bank (thanks to the harvest money). Nate subtly remarks that children are expensive as he wants to spark the need for gold in his landlords. Mr. Dunlop even offers them some money he recently inherited. Still, after observing the behaviour of the others at the party, Matthew decides that he wants to give Anne their farm – as a whole, not being dug up. It would be up to her to decide when she grows up. Marilla agrees with him.

5. Marilla and Jerry – In my previous review, I mentioned why Marilla is slightly distracted by Nate. Her infatuation lasts and after being complimented by him, she changes her hairstyle. I am still not sure if this storyline is really needed, but at least it’s an evidence of her character growth. And maybe a reminder that it probably wouldn’t have happened if Anne hadn’t come to Green Gables in the first place.

I really like the storyline revolving around Jerry and his education. The moment when Matthew gave him Anne’s old cracked slate became one of my favourite scenes. It is yet another proof of Matthew being observant and kind.

This episode was interesting to watch as it featured many interesting themes and storylines. It was more of a filler episode, however, it was not boring.

Oh, and please, give someone Minnie May a strawberry tart! She really deserves it!

8.2/10