User blog:Eikakou/Anne (2017) episode 2 - I Am No Bird, and No Net Ensnares Me review

Since the opportunity presented itself, a review of episode 2 of Anne!

Clearly CBC is very Ontario-centric, because they advertised the Canada: The Story of Us series as starting at 8:00PM (it started at 9:00PM, but maybe that's because I live in British Columbia) and Anne was at 8:00PM. Also, I'm wondering if they realized that Anne did so well that they readjusted their schedule. It's a gem of a series.

(FYI - I'm not sure I can keep up the pace of the reviews; going to try, though. And I'll try to post the CBC link when it comes up, it'll probably be on the website by tomorrow.

Also, it looks like it's going to be a 3 hour encore next week, so probably episodes 1 and 2, followed by episode 3.)

SPOILER ALERT FROM HENCE FORTH

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As the last episode ended, Matthew was racing to the train station to catch up to Anne, who was being sent back to the orphanage by Marilla, who realizes too late that Anne did not steal her amethyst brooch.

There's quite a bit of original material here. Marilla is absolutely distraught, but stuck at Green Gables worrying herself sick as Matthew struggles to catch up to Anne, who manages to avoid a child abductor (a very frightening moment, because the man moves onto a different target when Anne gets away) in Charlottetown, boards a ferry to Nova Scotia, spends a night in the woods rather than re-enter the orphanage of traumatic memories, persuades the milkman to give her a ride to the train station so she can make her way to Halifax. Marilla scrubs the floors over and over and bakes muffins because she can't do anything but wait. I felt so bad for Matthew, who gets injured, sells a heirloom to get passage to Nova Scotia, and doesn't find Anne at the orphanage. It's almost by chance that he learns where Anne has gone and finds her selling poem recitations at the train station, where she is understandably very upset and distrustful that the Cuthberts truly want her back. She's been tossed aside so many times, that her feelings are entirely justifiable. Anne refuses to go back until Matthew happens to say just the right word - I won't ruin it - and it's a powerful moment for Anne because it's the exact one that she needed to hear to know that at least in Matthew's heart, she belongs with his family. Anne might be certain that Matthew wants her back, but Marilla is another story. Marilla is not good with words or expressing her feelings directly and it's very awkward (also, Anne is still rather hostile towards Jerry, who is rather blaise towards her).

The episode segues into the church picnic, hosted by the Barrys. Diana is delighted that Anne is back, but her rather snobby parents wonder if the Cuthberts are getting addled with their seeming indecisiveness regarding Anne. And Anne does not have a good time at the picnic - the only nice people seem to be the Lyndes and Diana - and everyone seems to be treating her like a curiosity and saying nasty things. When she runs off, Marilla finally finds the courage to tell Anne how she really feels and ask Anne if she can forgive her and if they can start over.

The end of the episode is both deeply touching and hilarious - I won't give it away. I'll admit to being a little annoyed because it's not something that happened in the book or any previous adaptations, but objectively, it's a very fitting moment and not random. Also, Geraldine James' reaction was very wryly Marilla when Anne starts bringing up her wild suggestions.

Another excellent episode - fantastic sets and cinematography, and top-notch acting again. I just wanted to hug everyone all episode (especially Matthew, oh, poor Matthew, he really needed hugs all episode). Another solid 5/5.

Next episode: it looks like Anne's first day at school! Who wants to see Anne smack Gilbert with a slate? =D

I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on the episode.

Eikakou (talk) 04:38, March 27, 2017 (UTC)