Thread by @lainasparetime

Okay, so I have been slightly encouraged so I think we'll do our #LainaWatchesAnne thread today. Reminder that I use that hashtag in every tweet so you can mute it if you don't want to read my tweets today. Obviously there's KIND OF A LOT going on today.

#LainaWatchesAnne But today we're actually going to hit the end of the mini-series!

Anne's home!

She and Diana continue to look like a queer cottagecore tumblr moodboard while taking a walk.

#LainaWatchesAnne Diana tells Anne that Gilbert will be getting the Avonlea school as his father can't afford to send him to college. He plans to earn his way through college teaching. Good for you, Gil.

#LainaWatchesAnne Blah blah blah romance drama and suddenly Diana is asking if Gilbert is fair game for dating?

Turns out she's just trying to make Anne admit she's "in love" with Gilbert. I'll... come back to this. Anne says she's not really into Gilbert and hugs her.

#LainaWatchesAnne Okay, sad time.

While bringing the cows home, Matthew has a very Hollywood heart attack. Out of nowhere he grabs his left arm and falls over dead.

#LainaWatchesAnne Uh, this is a sad part obviously, but it's a really overdramatic choice and he doesn't get any dialogue before it or anything. He hasn't actually had any dialogue since Anne wrote that letter home. And he looks completely fine right before it happens.

#LainaWatchesAnne Also this cow stopped for a snack in the middle of this scene

#LainaWatchesAnne But as poor @NaomiKritzer is VERY worried about, I am joking a bit here and we of course have time for a last speech, because... movies don't know what heart attacks look like.

#LainaWatchesAnne Matthew says he's glad for Anne and he never wanted a boy instead. It's completely from the book, but in the book, they were just, like, hanging out. He wasn't dying in her lap.

It's very touching though a touch unnecessary to have to be his death scene IMO

#LainaWatchesAnne But CLEARLY opinions differ here. Maybe I'm just too cynical :P

Also these happy cows in the background kill me

#LainaWatchesAnne Just imagine this from the cow's perspective and how weird this would be to watch.

#LainaWatchesAnne Oh to be a cow...

Um, anyways, the next scene is Matthew's funeral. There's a cool touch here, that you get to see Minnie May again! She never really shows up again in the book.

Sure hasn't grown much in the last few years, has she? :P

#LainaWatchesAnne I also really like that the Barrys were right next to Anne and Marilla. It's a nice visual way to show how they've gotten closer.

Mrs. Rachel also hugs them both.

#LainaWatchesAnne Gilbert comes up to Marilla and Anne to give his sympathies and holy crap Crombie plays it well here. If you remember, Gilbert's father had been ill a few years before Anne came to Green Gables, and you almost feel that in his performance here.

#LainaWatchesAnne That night, Marilla hears Anne crying in her room and goes to comfort her, something we've never seen her do. It's an incredibly heartfelt scene as Marilla says how much she's grateful for and loves Anne. Legitimately this scene makes me cry every time I see it.

#LainaWatchesAnne An unknown amount of time later, Marilla meets with a man who I immediately hate to talk about possibly selling Green Gables. Thanks, I really hate it.

#LainaWatchesAnne When Anne goes to talk to her, we find out basically for the first time that Marilla's eyesight is deteriorating. To be fair, it's a bit sudden in the book, too, bu it's even more so here.

#LainaWatchesAnne Marilla also says Mrs. Rachel has offered to let her live with her and I still think that's so generous. "Live with me until you die because you're my friend" is a big offer, especially since Rachel is a bit younger than Marilla.

#LainaWatchesAnne She's regretful that Anne won't have a home to come home to on vacations, but can't see any other options.

#LainaWatchesAnne But! Anne tells her she'll stay home instead of going to college, Mr Barry will rent their fields, and she'll teach in Carmody. Exactly as in the book, and I absolutely love how firm she is with it.

#LainaWatchesAnne Marilla says "I won't let you sacrifice your education for me" and Anne says "I'm sixteen years old and just as stubborn as you are" which I adore. The wording is slightly different from the book but they nail the spirit so much.

#LainaWatchesAnne Oh, since we've confirmed Anne is 16... remember at the Christmas ball, when Diana said Alice Bell looked ridiculous wearing hers up at only 17 and she'd be waiting until 18?

Well.

(Honestly this is very inconsistent and kind of bugs me.)

#LainaWatchesAnne Anyways, this scene is very lovely.

And I think after 2020, a whole lot of people understand Anne's choices in this moment a lot better.

#LainaWatchesAnne We also get the scene of Marilla talking about Gilbert and John Blythe. And this scene is great! It's very sweet and soft. The earlier one with Diana and the gossip from her mother just really wasn't needed.

#LainaWatchesAnne It also makes a lot of sense for Marilla to be remininscing now. Deaths make people remember things, on top of Anne now being an adult and planning her adult life. That makes people nostalgic.

#LainaWatchesAnne Marilla, Mrs Rachel and Anne are on the porch talking and I love this scene. Marilla has loosened up, Anne is no longer afraid of Mrs Rachel, and Rachel does well by having friends who will tell her off, lol.

#LainaWatchesAnne The relationship between them as three adult women is the thing I hope to see most from future books. (WHICH WE WILL GET TO! But I have a method to what I'm doing here.)

#LainaWatchesAnne But um.

Maybe for Anne's little walk, y'all could have chosen a shot that isn't EXACTLY where Matthew died? I feel like there were other angles available!

#LainaWatchesAnne But Gilbert rides up on a horse, so I will pretend not to realize they're standing literally where Matthew died for the sake of the scene's tone.

#LainaWatchesAnne He gives her a letter telling her that he gave her the Avonlea school. I will say, I kind of like it better how in the book he just... does it, and she found out from Mrs. Rachel. It showed that he was thinking about what she needed, not what it would get HIM.

#LainaWatchesAnne He cares about her, and he wants her to be happy, so he puts her needs ahead of her own without drawing attention to himself or even looking for her reaction. It just matters to him that she's happy.

I just think that's really romantic?

#LainaWatchesAnne AND it makes it so she has to reach out to HIM after she's spent a good long time rebuffing him. She's not giving in to him - she's an active participant and she's making the moves.

Really, it's a very small change, but I just liked that dynamic.

#LainaWatchesAnne Though can I just say how super pretty the lighting in this scene is, though? Because it's super pretty.

#LainaWatchesAnne Anyways, Anne is super grateful and Gilbert looks so darned proud that she plans to continue her studying by correspondence. This actor nails how much Gilbert likes Anne's mind. Gilbert's brain is a constant loop about how cool Anne is, and Crombie gets that.

#LainaWatchesAnne He says he hopes she'll give him a hand with his work and she asks "Aren't you worried I'm liable to break another slate over your head?" which is not from the book but IS HILARIOUS.

#LainaWatchesAnne Then he calls her "Carrots" all gently, softly touches her fae, and says he'll walk her home.

And the credits roll.

#LainaWatchesAnne So let's talk overall thoughts on this series!

#LainaWatchesAnne Obviously I spent a lot of time in these threads talking about differences from the book. The thing is, I'm specifically and heavily comparing these adaptations to the book so I'm BEING nitpicky.

#LainaWatchesAnne Like I will open the book on Project Gutenberg and search for specific words to check things.

But that's not how people usually watch movies.

#LainaWatchesAnne Honestly this is probably one of the most faithful book adaptations I've ever watched. It uses book dialogue constantly and for the most part the plot is followed faithfully as well.

#LainaWatchesAnne Most of the changes they make are small, and most of those are things that just work better certain ways on screen versus on a page. Film adaptations HAVE to make changes from the book because they're different mediums!

#LainaWatchesAnne There are a few changes I didn't enjoy, mainly anything they chose to take from the 1934 version, and adding extra romantic drama.

But. I know SO many people love the romance in this so obviously a lot of that is just my opinion. It's an iconic romance

#LainaWatchesAnne And if you aren't watching this partly with the GOAL to nitpick it (or even if you are), it's great. All the sets are lovely, the costumes are fun, the romance is cute, there's a ton of shipping potential betwen Anne and Diana, and it's a really sweet story.

#LainaWatchesAnne The worst actors are still pretty good and the best are awesome. Follows is a solid Anne who really seems to enjoy and understand the character. Her green hair scene is an especially good moment.

#LainaWatchesAnne Both Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla and Richard Farnsworth as Matthew were really great. Going forward, it'll be hard not to think of them when I think of the characters.

#LainaWatchesAnne Jonathan Crombie also is a really great Gilbert. He has a wonderful way of playing Gilbert very softly and gently. He's great.

All three of them have sadly passed away, and may their memories be blessings.

#LainaWatchesAnne To sum up, I have minor nitpicks, but they are just that - minor. This mini-series is absolutely lovely and I think it's a great Anne adaptation and also just a good mini-series.

#LainaWatchesAnne If you haven't seen it, and I've intrigued you, or if you remember it and want to rewatch it, I would highly recommend it. Great for a lot of ages, too.

Am I supposed to, like, rate this or something? 9 out of 10 carrots? XD

#LainaWatchesAnne I don't know, lol, but I enjoyed watching it and I think it's a very good adaptation.

And that's the end of the series! I have one more very short thread about it and then we'll be moving on to the next adaptation!

#LainaWatchesAnne A unicorn sticker to anyone who can guess just WHAT adaptation is next on the docket!

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Thank you all for reading!