shallowness: Margaret Hale of North and South adaptation sitting at desk writing (Margaret North and South writing)
[personal profile] shallowness
It’s been a while, so I had plenty to catch up on yesterday, when, as it happened, the latest episode was posted, so I’m bang up to date.



Ep 75 Gifts

Having it be a party for Diana was excuse enough for the manic shoutiness. I liked that Mary (and Simon) were in on the party, so Jane knew Diana didn’t hate surprise birthday parties. And what a surprise – interesting that she didn’t go quarters, I presume the...and you’re also related to me development, is definitely not happening.

I like to think Mary accepted the money because she had a better idea of what their kindness had meant to lonely, hurt Jane after seeing the videos.

Nice use of ‘St. John’.

Ep 76

Two shouty surprise parties in a row? Really? At least there was good use of in-universe editing (but those were the highlights of the night?) I liked the idea of Diana and Mary giving back to Jane. I liked the idea of a compendium of holiday celebrations more than the reality, except for the way everyone’s head-dress changed. Mary seemed to be the most aware of the camera, although Diana’s flickered in and out.

As the Rivers were in the middle of their own reaction (or lack of it, Simon ‘why would I have feelings about this’) they didn’t notice how quietly gutted Jane was about Rose, as she was hoping for that couple to make it, even if she and Rochester couldn’t. But then Jane didn’t notice, because it was couched as career advice, that Simon could ask her out because he wanted to, even if what he ultimately wants isn’t love as most people see it.

Still, that was a lot of manic shoutiness too soon after the previous manic shoutyness. (Maybe most viewers watch the episodes straight after they go up, so it might not be as striking.)

Ep 77 Slapjack

Why not have Jane introduce this by saying she’d decided to film the game to learn it or make a big deal of it being the house championship? Or have her carry the film and zoom in on the cards and then be forced to put it on the stand? It just would have worked better than ‘randomly filming my housemates and I play their variations on a game’.

I presume most of it was improvised, and it was mostly filler leading up to the awkward ‘not my sister’ hugging (well-rehearsed) SOLD by the other two’s to-camera reaction shots/understandable mugging.

Ep 78 Tuesday

Nice to have a dialled-down episode, in fact, I think this was my favourite of this bunch, and, amid all the FUN with the Rivers’ girls, a reminder that Jane is still carrying sorrow about with her. But she’s feeling strong enough to go back to poetry for comfort? And ready to talk about it.

Enter Simon as awkwardly as ever. Whispering that he didn’t like spicy foods was random and perfect.

I am starting to wonder if they’re going to play it more like he does have feelings for Jane, although on his terms and still because he thinks she fills a need – she knows about curries and spices or his assertion in 76 that she was ‘too practical’ to like a silly party, which his wiser sisters over-rode. So, I mean, he clearly doesn't love her for all she is, but a version of her, maybe yes.

Ep 79 Peter Piper

I did laugh by the end, because Jane clearly couldn’t. Out of his comfort zone, it felt a bit like Simon was regressing, which shows how comfortable he’s got around Jane – see his invasion of her personal space in the kitchen.

Ep 80 Masks

Ooh. Having nearly had a cookery show (again) in the previous episode – Jane (or her writers) seems to be influenced by television to produce content, so this felt like a compressed episode of Blue Peter, and beyond learning about Jane’s philosophy of dealing with kids and crafting abilities, what was it about?

Well, it was a way of learning that things were going awry at Thornfield (what, no JANE? Or maybe they did something on Twitter.) Curiously old-fashioned (and although they made it look like a magazine, they forgot about the back page, unless if newspapers/magazines are only published on single pages in Canada). Initially, I admit it was effective, and Jane’s curiosity and sympathy were well-played. She’s right, losing Thornfield as inherited from his father might be good for Edward.

I am amused that they admitted that the relaunch was a disaster.

I missed the transmedia element that should have been here. Why not have Jane fail to find more scraps of paper and have to look it up online?

But how Canadian of her to excuse herself to us the viewers.

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