The book Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery was a favorite of mine growing up, as well as the films made in the eighties with Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie. I believed that I was Anne since I loved reading and writing and my imagination knew no bounds. I was also independent and stubborn and determined to succeed in life, other characteristics of her as well.
I read the first book in the series several times, and I read Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars a few times, too. For some reason I never ended up finishing the series, even though the books are all on my shelf. It's one of my someday projects, to restart the series from the beginning and finish it.
When they announced they would be doing another adaptation of Anne of Green Gables on Netflix, I was hesitant about my interest in watching it. Remakes are often riddled with issues after all. Despite my reservations, I decided to give it a chance and was pleasantly surprised. Amybeth McNulty is beyond amazing as Anne, and the rest of the cast is equally as wonderful.
*spoilers ahead*
Anne With an E is a much darker take on the story, with some other elements and situations that weren't in the original adaptations or the books. Despite the changes, I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of the world they created. Even if it didn't match the books to a T, I felt that the writers and producers put forth the effort into not only making it authentic, but also gave the characters more depth as well as expanding on the universe to include some serious subjects.
This was especially true for Anne. She was an orphan who lost her parents at an early age, who spent most of her childhood living with some terrible people. The things she experienced were far different than the majority of her peers, which set her apart in more ways than one and caused some concern. I thought it was great the way they brought out those details and made you feel even more for Anne, not to mention understand her.
Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert (R. H. Thomson and Geraldine James) were wonderfully cast, as well as all of the other townspeople in the series. The love that grew between them and Anne shined a light on some dark times. It felt very maternal and paternal the way they were with her, how protective and scared they were of losing her. This especially when Anne wanted to find out about her past, her parents. I really loved this aspect of the series, because it was something that was never explored or thought of before in previous adaptations.
Mrs. Rachel Lynde (Corrine Koslo) was exactly what you expected from the start. While she kept a lot of her usual tendencies throughout the series, her character growth was probably the most impressive of all of them. It actually made me tear up a couple times watching it happen. Her determination remained the same, not to mention her meddling, but she really stepped up by the end.
Anne is well-known for her friendship with Diana (Dalila Bela), her bosom friend. Throughout the seasons, they both faced challenges together and apart, that drew them closer and sometimes drifted them apart. There was one moment where they came head on with the biggest hurt that could ever happen between friends. My heart legitimately broke watching it happen. Of course, they managed to mend the fences through introspection and realizations about life. Diana recognizing what she wanted out of life, through the help of Aunt Josephine, was empowering.
Miss Muriel Stacy (Joanna Douglas), Anne's teacher, played a pivotal role not only in her life, but in the lives of all her students. She was a "wild child" for the times, not only being a young widow who didn't feel the need to get married again right away, but also because she occasionally wore pants and took on projects that most at that time expected only men to do. It took some time for the town to accept her, not that she needed their acceptance, but it allowed for her to continue to illuminate the children's minds.
Another great thing about the show is the diversity and the raw honesty about the times. Not only did they portray other races in the friendship between Gilbert (Lucas Jade Zumann) and Sebastian (Dalmar Abuzeid), but also discussed sexuality with regard to Cole (Cory Grüter-Andrew) and Aunt Josephine (Deborah Grover). It was unexpected and very welcome. Most stories that take place in different time periods tend to shy away from these discussions and situations because they don't believe they happened. The thing is, they did happen, and were likely more common that most people think. I absolutely love Anne's view on inclusivity and it warms my heart. While there are viewpoints of others that showcase the prejudices and beliefs of the time, that aspect made it feel more realistic, and not unlike life nowadays. With regard to this, I appreciated seeing Diana grow in her outdated views when it came to understanding her Aunt.
Near the end of the second season and into the third, Sebastian married Mary (Cara Ricketts) from The Bog and began a life in Avonlea with her and soon after their daughter, Delphine. The people of Avonlea had mixed feelings about people of color living in their town. Later in the third season after Mary's tragic death (that episode had me sobbing), a couple of people acknowledged their rudeness and felt guilty over how they treated her, Sebastian, and Delphine. There were still some people who had deep-seated prejudice, but given the times it showcased something that is still years later being unlearned.
Also in the third season, they introduced native Canadians living in a corner of the woods. The townspeople viewed them negatively, honestly worse than their reaction to their new black residents. I'm not going to use the word they continued to use in the show out of respect, but it was an extremely realistic portrayal of the perspective of those who are misinformed. Ka'Kwet (Kiawenti:io Tarbell), one of the young members of the Mi'kmaw family, became one of Anne's kindred spirits. Anne always saw more of people than the color of their skin (while still celebrating the differences), and seeing her defend them was impressive. There was also a storyline featuring Ka'Kwet being sent to an English school which was barely a place to learn and instead an institution to change indigenous children into "good" English speaking children who leave behind their roots (this was a very real thing in Canadian history). It was genuinely heartbreaking to watch, but served as a reminder of the way things were in the past.
One of the things I was most appreciative of, especially in the third season, was seeing Anne and others speak out for what is right. When one of her female classmates was assaulted by the boy she was expected to marry, Anne immediately stood up for the girl, even though the girl treated her poorly in the past. Anne's feminism was showing and I was there for it. Following this incident, Anne caused trouble by writing an article for the paper (behind everyone's back) regarding inequality and how wrong it is. This, of course, created an uproar in their small town, causing the people who allowed them to publish the newspaper to begin with to essentially censor their speech. Everyone came together to fight this in one of the most powerful scenes on the entire show.
I would be remiss if I wouldn't discuss the most important aspect of the whole series: Anne and Gilbert. Their non-friendship to friendship to a whole mess of feelings that culminated in the sweetest moment ever... it was positively great, honestly. As with a lot of other aspects of the show, their relationship was nowhere near the book or TV shows or miniseries or movies, but it was extremely realistic in the sense of young people figuring out what they wanted, and who they wanted to spend their life with. There was a large amount of immaturity abounding between all the adolescents, but what else would you expect from young ones who are still in their teen years?
Back to Anne and Gilbert. They both had a lot of overcome over the years, death and betrayal and hardship, but somehow they were always there for each other. While Gilbert struggled with matters of the heart, he always came back to Anne. It was always her for him, even if she didn't reciprocate his feelings. Anne took much longer to acknowledge her love for him, but she never lost track of herself in the process.
Phew! I had a lot to say, didn't I? All in all, I thought the series was amazing. I went into it doubtful, and came out of it full of smiles and all the feels. I'm likely going to rewatch it at some point, since there were gaps between seasons and I probably forgot about some parts. One thing I'd love to do is collect favorite scenes and quotes throughout. There were so many gems spoken in the entire show, I'd love to write them down and share them in the future. For now, I'll tell you one that I loved the most from watching Season Three.
Life is short, and the world is wide.
It's not an uncommon quote from what I'm seeing, but maybe it felt like more to me when I heard it expressed on the show. In any case, I loved it. I loved Anne With An E. And I genuinely and truly hope that they find a way to renew the series because WE NEED MORE. If you watched and loved the show, please check out the hashtag #renewannewithane and sign this petition if you want to show your support for renewing the show!
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Love love love the show!
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