Anne with an E

[Deleted]

Anyone watching on Netflix? Or have any Canadian Greecies been tuning in?

For those that haven't seen it yet: if you're an Anne of Green Gables purist, you probably won't like it. Bits and pieces from the book are there, but a lot has been changed. And it's very, very dark. It's still cute and lovely at times, but there's a lot of fighting, graphic physical abuse of Anne when she was younger, a main character is shown nearly committing suicide, and there's even one scene that hints at child molestation or possibly even rape. If you're looking for light and fluffy, watch the 80s version. This sure as hell ain't it.

[Deleted]

I loved this. Yes, it is very dark, especially the first few episodes (yep, binged the whole thing already), but I didnt mind that. I read some harsh reviews that criticized the changes and tone.
The casting is spot on. Not sure what Jerry's role is here but he didnt bother me too much. Gilbert is a bit too brooding and the (massive!) change to his story made me sad. That was unnecessary. The actress who plays Anne is great, absolutely love her. I hope there's going to be a second season. Which reminds me of the one thing that I truly didnt like: the silly cliffhanger with that guy walking in.

[hildymatildy]

I was happy with it until the overweening melodrama took over. I can get with more realistic grittier Anne, but this constant drama to the point of intense eye rolling was too much.

The whole last episode storyline is complete crap. Like Little House on the Prairie the tv series it's dramua after drama after drama. Hell I almost expect Pa Ingles to show up to move them to Carmody... no...no...no. By that I mean, it focused far too much on the adults, Marilla and Matthew.

The writer's have all of Avonlea to work with and enrich but they have to pull storylines from outside it? Lame and it goes to show that gritty and "real" does not equal depth.

That all said, what shades of Colleen Dewhurst from Marilla! That was utterly charming.

Edit: Still feeling a bit angry, I took a shower and meditated on the series a little, and I have decided that the most fittig name for the series is Anne with an E: Avirl's Atonement.

The spirit of Anne and her charm lies in this, "I went looking for my dreams outside of myself and discovered, it's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it."

[ladytrentham]

Here's a bit of trivia: one of the producers, Miranda de Pencier, played Josie Pye in the 1985 Kevin Sullivan production.

[fabrichnova]

Overall, I loved it and was fine with the changes. The casting was the key. Matthew, Marilla, Anne and Gilbert were all well cast, and I enjoyed their chemistry together, so I was willing to overlook a lot of the grittier updates. While I prefer Megan Follows' dreamier interpretation of Anne, this actress does well within the emo confines she's been given.

That being said, solly79, I totally agree about the cliffhanger ending. For the most part, I don't mind the alterations to the story because the core characters still feel the same; they've just stepped thru the looking glass into another Avonlea. But I do hope the cliffhanger is wrapped up quickly, because otherwise it'll start to feel like a completely different story. I've always liked how Avonlea is a character itself with the heart of the story being how everyone interacts in this bubble of a town, and the cliffhanger just felt like too soon and too big of an intrusion from the outside world.

[ladytrentham]

Ok, also just found out one of the writers used to write for Breaking Bad. So far I've been ok about the grittier aspects, but if Anne winds up with Mr. Phillips in the back of a buggy cooking meth, I will have something to say about it, that's what.

[Strawberry]

I'm still convinced that this Anne is Mary Vance. Even Anne's croup scene played out more in the way that Mary saved Jims in front of Rilla and Susan Baker. Though I suppose croup is croup.

[kostgard]

Trailer for Season Two of Anne with an E

Obviously straying a bit further from the books than the first one.

I'm of two minds of the "woke" Anne in this series. On the one hand, clearly a good thing (especially for a show with a younger audience). And I like that Anne feels an immediately kinship with the weirdos of the world since she herself is one. But it is also giving the show an anachronistic feel. Like they are putting 2018 values in a character living in 1908. The trailer makes it clear that Anne has a gay schoolmate this season. Not the first time this Anne has dealt with that, since last season they made it clear that Diana's Aunt Jo was gay. But last season it made sense because it seemed clear that Anne didn't entirely get what Aunt Jo was saying, and that she probably imagined Aunt Jo's relationship with her partner to be a friendship like what she has with Diana. This trailer made it seem like Anne was a little more aware of what was going on with her friend (who, at the turn of the last century, would probably not braid a girl's hair while in school). But we'll see how it goes.

I still really dig this Marilla. Colleen Dewhurst is still the ultimate, but I like this performance and I like the way they are writing this Marilla. I think Marilla has always been kind of a secret feminist, but it's a bit more overt here (one anachronism I like). And I really like this Diana so much more than past versions. Diana is much better when she's not kind of a feather brain.

[lea1977]

The miniseries from the mid 80s is by far my favorite. Megan follows is my Anne for all time.

[Deleted]

I'm going to watch it of course, but this is looking suspiciously fanfic-y. A gay student? Possible love triangle with Jerry (who is barely in the books)? Gilbert is a sailor? And Matthew is um, alive? When is Billy Andrews going to make his 180...he *proposes* to Anne in the books, here he threatens her. Miss Stacy, where are you?

This is quickly going the route of the 80s series. The 80s series started out very loyal to the source material, then borrowed from the source material in the second movie but made major changes, and the third installment they just flat out made up.