Anne With An "E"

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After finally viewing all 3 seasons of this somewhat controversial show, I've come to the conclusion that as a whole, Anne With An "E" is very well done. If you divorce yourself from the original novel and rather view it as a 'retelling' of Anne of Green Gables, then you have some noteworthy content. Some changes were interesting and others were unnecessary. However, you may view it, Anne With An "E" was written and produced to be a social commentary. There was a great deal I enjoyed about the show, primarily the characters, but there was a lot that I did not enjoy either.

❦ Anne Shirley Cuthbert: Right off the bat, you are introduced to Anne's immensely personal PTSD that infiltrates her whole life. Years of endless abuse, neglect and loneliness in a society that despises orphans and treats them as subhuman has caused young Anne Shirley to retreat in a world of imagination and reading. Books became Anne's salvation and a passionate love for words and creative writing were oftentimes Anne's only retreat from a life dominated by fear and sorrow. However, this lonely life has also prohibited Anne from being able to understand basic social skills and proper human interaction. 

The abuse that Anne suffered could either make or break her. And Anne refused to be broken. The neglect and endless judgement she received from people gave her a compassionate heart for others who are judged and misunderstood. It gave her a strong sense of justice. And while this bleeds into the homosexual storyline, it's good to see a character that isn't victimized to the adversities of a hard life.

In many ways I can relate to Anne. While I certainly didn't have her upbringing, I do understand what it's like be alone and only have your thoughts for your company. I've been the invisible friend of the pretty, popular girls (what I would have given for a true kindred spirit like Diana). Reading and writing are my salvation and I have low tolerance for unjust and cruel behavior. 

My primary issue with Amybeth McNulty is the fact that she was so loud and over the top with her performance. Yet, maybe that was her way of addressing Anne's attempts to finally be heard and not shut down. Anne was an incredibly emotional person and she was oftentimes ruled by her intense feelings. Plus, Amybeth can hardly be held accountable for the bad writing she had to work with. As the series ended, Anne really endeared herself to me and she definitely came into her own as she matured from that lonely and scared orphan girl to an educated and ambitious young woman. 

❦ Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert: An elderly brother and sister who have spent their whole lives together. In Anne With An "E", the Cuthbert's early lives are explored in flashbacks. Family loss and depression hit the family hard and eventually, Matthew and Marilla only had one another. Both of them had loves that left deep impressions on their lives. 

Marilla as the older of the two wastes no time with sentiment or emotion. As hard as nails, Marilla takes some time to get use to. Anne's presence, although trying at times, has a softening effect and Marilla discovers a maternal love she never thought she could possess. Of course, Anne and Marilla fight like typical mothers and daughters, but Anne reminds Marilla of herself and only hopes that she can protect Anne from making the same mistakes. In life and in love.

Sweet and shy Matthew, who loved Anne from the moment he laid eyes on her at the train station. Anne and Matthew share a sweet bond. After the abuse that Anne faced from men in her life, to have the real love and affection of someone who genuinely wants her is almost overwhelming. Matthew also becomes a gentle mentor to the hired hand Jerry Baynard, an Acadian boy who becomes like a brother to Anne. 

❦ Diana Barry: The definitive best friend who was by Anne's side and believed in her when no one else did. Despite her wealth and beauty, Diana looks beyond the superficial and goes straight to the heart of the matter. Although she has a loving family, her traditional English parents believe that their daughters' duties are to marry well and raise a family. Yet as Diana spends more time with Anne, she is desperate to break free from the confines of tradition and propriety and become her own person.

Like Anne's status as an orphan tends to separate her from the rest of society, Diana's wealthy status is a similar situation. At times Diana is belittled by her friends when she tries to balance the demands of her family with the changing times of Avonlea. She is told that she thinks she's 'too good' for other people, while nothing could be farther from the truth. Diana is caught between two worlds and knows that any decision will cause great pain. If Diana proves one thing, it's that wealth and status don't always equate to happiness and fulfillment. 

I loved Diana! Delila Bella was not only beautiful and effortlessly sweet, she had a brilliant comedic timing that you would never had expected with Diana. In the books and mini-series, we only see Diana through Anne's eyes. So to be able to flesh out Diana's character and really give her a story and make her just as much of a heroine as Anne really did this once one-sided character justice. 

❦ Gilbert Blythe: When we first meet Gilbert, he's a typical 16 year boy who is popular, intelligent, loves sports and flirting with girls, which isn't a hard task seeing as he has all the girls crazy in love with him. Then Anne shows up and knocks him over with her slate...and things were never the same. In Anne With An "E", Gilbert's story is the one that is changed the most. Gilbert has to grow up faster than his peers and his journey to early adulthood takes him overseas and meeting extraordinary people that he brings back to Avonlea for a better life. Yet, world travel doesn't make him to much of a grown up and eventually he finds himself back at the Avonlea schoolroom. 

Handsome, charming and headstrong, Gilbert Blythe has been the quintessential fictional boyfriend for 113 years. Since then very few literary characters have been able to rise to his standards. There is nothing extraordinary about Gilbert though. He's not wealthy or brilliant. Just a simple farm boy who loves his little town and the little red headed orphan girl who knows how to put him in his place. 

Even though Jonathan Crombie will always be Gilbert Blythe to me, Lucas Zumann was marvelous in the role. He's got a little more snap and attitude in him and also tends to be the only functioning brain cell in Avonlea. Plus, he's just adorable as the small town heartthrob. Now that the character of Gilbert is younger than me in a sense, I viewed him from a different perspective. While I wanted to marry Gilbert in the mini-series when I watched it as a child, in the show, I dearly hope to have a child as wonderful as Gilbert. In whatever way you want to view Gilbert Blythe, he will always be that first literary character love that remains as timeless and as classic as the story itself. 

❦ Muriel Stacey: A woman and teacher that is so ahead of her time. Muriel Stacey is brought into Avonlea to replace the awful Mr. Philips (who was a villain in his own right) and sets the town ablaze with shock, gossip and despair. She wears trousers and shuns corsets. She rides around in a motorcycle and has unconventional teaching methods. Muriel Stacey has an impact on all her students, but most especially Anne who immediately becomes obsessed with her. Muriel is less than thrilled with Anne and for a while the two have a difficult teacher/student relationship. As times goes by, Muriel and Anne become true kindred spirits. 

Muriel Stacey is an inspiring person and not because of her outlandish clothing decisions or her mode of transportation, but her drive to carry on in spite if tragedy. Widowed at a young age, Muriel still grieves the loss of her beloved husband and often wonders if she will have a family of her own. Yet, she soldiers on. Even amidst hostile townspeople and closeminded councilmen, Muriel remains a modern thinking women who encourages her students to think out of the box, understand the bigger world and never let anyone tell them that they're not good enough.

❦ Avonlea: Of course it wouldn't be Avonlea without the residents that keep the little town interesting. Anne's squad that consists of Diana, Ruby Gillis (still my cinnamon roll), Josie Pye (who's given an interesting story arc), Jane Andrews, and Tillie Boulter. 

The nosy but well meaning Rachel Lynde and her husband Thomas. 

And new residents such as Sebastian Lecroix, a steamship worker from Trinidad who befriends Gilbert and Mary Hanford, a strong, kind washerwoman from the one of the poorest areas in Charlottetown. (If you don't fall in love with these two, you have no soul)

In season 3, we meet Ka'kwet, an indigenous child from the Mi'kmaq people. During this time, there was the setting up of residential schools that took indigenous children from their native homes and reeducate them to live in the white world. Ka'kwet is taken from her family and to live under the abusive control of the residential school masters, but her family will fight to get her back. 

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For all its good characters, Anne With An "E" did have a lot of problems though. The LGBTQ agenda  was completely out of place and not relevant to the story or the time at all. People may argue that the gay storyline was there because Anne and Diana always said they love each other. Well really? 100 years ago to say I love you to a friend was completely acceptable. The LGBTQ community are so desperate to find themselves the sole sufferers and secret heroes of society that they will literally rewrite history and literature.

Cole Mackenzie is praised as a hero for his decision to leave his mother and sisters and live the easy life with Aunt Josephine (who is a lesbian). In season 3, not once is his family mentioned. Only about how wonderful his new life is. And therein lies the problem. With the LGBTQ community it's all about 'me and what makes me happy,' and giving no regard to what others may need. Cole's selfishness is the epitome of 'Pride.' While he might be a good friend, he failed to be a good son and provider for his family. Cole's pride in being gay and abandoning his family is completely contradictory to one of the most famous quotes in the series:

Compare Cole to someone like Gilbert who loses his family and must make hard decisions on his future and the people who come to rely on him. Even if it means having to put his own dreams on hold. Or Jerry who is so poor that his family can't afford to send him to school, who is mocked and beaten unmercifully. In my opinion, Jerry Baynard is more of a hero than Cole could ever be. Cole ran away, but Jerry remained and fought to learn and thrive.

Other political issues such as child abuse, racism, PTSD, the foster care system, sexual harassment and feminism are spread throughout the show, but they were presented in way that actually brought awareness to the societal problems of the time. Anne of Green Gables is set during the early days of the suffragette movement. Feminism and women's rights would have been relevant. Dickens was setting the world on fire with his novels set in the miserable poor houses and the abusive orphanages and children's schools. All of those were have been historically accurate to the time.

While I prefer that no politics be in the story at least most of what they had would have been within the confines of proper historical context.

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After so much debate, I'm glad I finally watched Anne With An "E." The show itself was visually stunning. The music, the locations and costumes were absolutely incredible! I loved seeing a show that actually cast children to play children and watching them grow up. There were times when I get so hooked on an episode I 'just had' to watch the next one! In this day and age it's so easy to get hung up on what we don't like, that we tend to overlook what we really enjoy. 

As I wrote in the introduction, Anne With An "E" was written as political commentary with the original story as its platform. Otherwise known as fan-fiction. Because that's basically what the show is, fan-fiction. It can never actually been seen as in interpretation of the former story, but rather someone's own retelling. And while this retelling got it very wrong in some places, they got it very right in many others.