User blog:Eikakou/Anne (CBC series), season 3, episode 4 - A Hope of Meeting You in Another World review

So here's part the next of my review/recap catch-up today. I didn't realize I was so far behind... IRL really got my anxieties all the up to eleven pretty much the end of September to now. Hopefully my memory isn't too fuzzy with this episode and I don't mix up the events of this one and the next.

'''SPOILER WARNING. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE PREVIOUS EPISODE YET.'''

(Okay, those caps look obnoxious. Oops.)

A caution warning here, especially for indigenous viewers: this episode involves violence against minors by religious figures at residential schools.

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With everyone focusing on Mary the previous episode, several other threads were set aside. Or maybe just delayed. This episode focuses on family. So what do we have this time?

Ka'kwet is about to go to school in Nova Scotia. Her mother stresses that it will give Ka'kwet the knowledge she needs to adapt and survive, but her father is concerned at what will happen when their daughter is sent to a place too far for them to watch over and protect her. Rachel assures them that the government takes kids away all the time (and given our knowledge of residential schools, my brother and I responded with a very long, drawn out "Uuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"]), just as Anne drops by to give Ka'kwet the green dress that Jeannie made for her. Ka'kwet's parents also discover only Ka'kwet will be going to Nova Scotia, but reluctantly let her go with words to be resilient.

Anne's visit has some unfortunate consequences for her. See, she lied about needing to ride Matthew's horse that morning for a special project before school. While she tells Diana that lies are okay for the sake of adventure, Marilla is furious to discover from Rachel that Anne lied to Marilla. To Marilla, this violation of trust is just another example of why Anne can't be trusted to go to Nova Scotia to find her heritage. It upsets Anne so much that she cries in the barn, where Matthew finds her, sobbing that Marilla doesn't love her and she can't wait to go to Queen's so she won't be in such an environment. It's enough for Matthew to break the stalemate - he's giving permission for Anne to go to Nova Scotia. Since Bash and Gilbert need to go to Charlottetown to make arrangements for Mary's funeral, Anne will go with them while Delphine stays at Green Gables.

Anne gets a "grown-up" makeover from Josephine Barry and Cole and finds the church records the reveal that her parents died - so they didn't abandon her at the church - and that she's Scottish. She drops by the residential school to find Ka'kwet, but the nun won't let her in. Anne leaves thinking Ka'kwet is okay, but the reality is much different. The children are being forced to chant religious hymns and are harshly punished for speaking in the "filthy, heathen tongues". Ka'kwet's hair has been cut, she has been renamed Hannah, and when after seeing Anne from the window, her defiance of the nuns mean they summon the priest to brutally whip her hand.

The time apart seems to serve Marilla well too. Marilla learns the hard way that it's a lot of work taking care of a baby full time and when she goes to get more supplies at the general store, women look down on her for caring for a baby of black descent and the clerk doesn't want to accept her money. Fortunately, she runs into Miss Stacy on the way out and they have a long chat on the way home. Miss Stacy has her own problems - Rachel is still trying to find her a husband and has recruited her own son, Caleb, as a suitor. Miss Stacy isn't interested in Caleb at all and feels she wouldn't be able to be with someone who didn't look at the world like her late husband, Jonah. These thoughts about the nature of love lets Marilla open up about how she's afraid that once Anne finds out about her birth family, Anne won't need or love her adopted family anymore. Miss Stacy assures Marilla that love isn't something that's measured or finite, such that someone only has so much love to give, but also warns Marilla that if someone holds on to love too tightly out of fear, there's the danger of losing it. When Anne gets back, they both in a better position - Anne reveals her discoveries and Marilla offers to help Anne learn more about her Scottish background. Anne apologizes for lying and she and Marilla are able to affirm how much they love each other.

Elsewhere, Diana is frustrated with her own family. She takes Anne's advice to heart and goes with the family's maid, Mary Jo, to run errands. This includes going to the Acadian trappers directly when they aren't at market, which leads to Diana faking an ankle injury and getting to stay for dinner with Jerry's family. Dinner begins as a tense affair because nobody knows how to react to such a fine young lady in their midst, but Diana demonstrates some top-tier manners by speaking to them in French and adjusting her behavior to make them feel comfortable, charming Jerry's mother Lisette. She's thrilled to see how Jerry's big family is able to laugh and tease and tell silly stories about their day, and Jerry's youngest sister loves the "princess" visiting them. Her evening's cut off by panicked parents appearing and taking her away, but Diana feels the taste of adventure was worth it.

Meanwhile, Gilbert decides to end his apprenticeship with Dr. Ward. He felt so helpless when Mary died, he doesn't think that he wants to pursue a medical career anymore. He tells Miss Rose as such on another tea date, but extends an invitation for her to visit him in Avonlea. While Bash is finalizing Mary's funeral arrangements, he learns from Constance and Jocelyn that Elijah was in town all along. When he finds Mary's son, Elijah tries to dismiss any claims that Mary's sick, only for Bash to shut him down by revealing Mary died and she's left a letter for him. When Elijah acts like he doesn't care, he and Bash get into a fight that leaves no one feeling better. Bash is so tired of hearing people say it will get better, so the priest at the Bog tells him a funny story about Mary instead, which finally lets Bash express his grief. Elijah finally reads his mother's letter at his moonshine still, while in Avonlea, Bash flies a kite with Delphine in memory of Mary.

So it was nice to see that Anne and Marilla have finally made up instead of having the tension drag out any further. What's telling in Anne finally gets the opportunity to look grown-up as she complains to Josephine about how she's sick of Marilla not trusting her because Marilla thinks of her as a child. But part of what really makes Anne actually mature in the episode is recognizing how lying to Marilla had broken the trust they had been them and how she took that trust for granted. After all, look where lying and not taking responsibility for his actions got Elijah. Makes you wonder what this means for Diana, who's just discovered what there is to gain from lying every now and then.

I have to admit though - I was surprised to meet Jerry's family in this episode. I didn't expect them to be Acadian or trappers. And it was another reminder of how the writers are aware and actively trying to be inclusive and diverse when trying to depict the world that Anne, Diana, and their community lived in. But I also took for granted how many characters (namely Gilbert, the Green Gables folk, the Lyndes, and Miss Stacy) had accepted Bash into the community, while there are still many who do not accept him because he's black. Bash is constantly aware of this, but it took me a moment to realize it in the scene where Anne, Bash, and Gilbert are on the train to Charlottetown. Anne places a hand on Bash's to comfort him, and he responds that he appreciates the gesture, but it's not safe. Why, is it because he might lash out in his grief? No, it's because Bash noticed two white passengers looking over when Anne, a young girl, did that and he knew those white men could cause trouble for all of them.

The other part I want to note is that while I respect that the writers and producers were unafraid to depict the reality of residential schools, it didn't mean the scene was easy to watch. It also makes you wonder if Ka'kwet will believe that Anne set her up, especially when she sees Anne leaving despite calling for help. (And interestingly, Anne is a variation of the name Hannah - mirror images maybe?) The contrast of Anne cheerfully leaving and Ka'kwet's suffering is frightening.

Well, this was a pretty heavy episode, but it looks like the next one is a bit lighter. There's going to be some dancing!