This
isn’t precisely a show I’ve seen before, since I have yet to watch its first
season, but I have previously seen
the episodes Jodie Whittaker is in. Like
Whittaker, Tom Hiddleston is featured just in the second season, and I saw both
episodes of series 2 a handful of years ago when I was working my way through
Hiddleston’s filmography. Watching only
a latter portion of a series is always an odd experience and gives you an
uncertain vantage of the regular characters.
As such, it’s hard to give a really definitive impression of Cranford based on the small part of it
I’ve seen. I can only give my impression
of this episode and the one that follows.
The small
town of Cranford is abuzz with dramas
both large and small. Everything from a
visiting entertainer to a torn gown to prospective young love is fair game for
the spirited opinions of the clutch of older women who take responsibility for
Cranford’s moral and social welfare.
However, the largest topic of conversation by far is the impending
introduction of a new rail line that would bring this steam-powered behemoth of
the modern world into the heart of the town itself.
As I
said, it’s hard to get too accurate a read on a show when you start with the
second season. I can tell it’s very
quaint, by turns comical and warm, dominated by the various personalities of
the leading ladies (who include the likes of Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia
McKenzie, and Deborah Findlay.) Much of
the humor is mined from their outsized reactions to minor bits of town
intrigue, like a feud arising from a bird cage ordered from Paris, and much of
the heart comes from the way they look out for all their “charges,” the other
residents of Cranford.
Whittaker
plays Peggy Bell, the soft-spoken daughter of a strong-willed widow. Peggy, it seems, spends most of her time at
the beck and call of her mother and brother, who make constant demands of her
while criticizing her looks, manner, and capabilities. It’s all very “life of quiet desperation,”
but Peggy’s life begins to change with the return of the long-absent son of
Cranford’s wealthiest man. Tom
Hiddleston’s William (along with the family’s ward, played by Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery)
immediately takes an interest in Peggy, awakening in her the possibility of
being around people who actually care about her and value her as a person
(novel idea, right?)
Peggy
didn’t catch my attention much the first time I saw these episodes, and
watching them again specifically for her character, I’m still not particularly
impressed. It’s not Whittaker’s fault –
there’s just so little to work with here.
I feel like this is a character I’ve seen hundreds of times, a sweet but
bland milquetoast with low self-esteem who manages to enrapture a magnetic
young man through methods unknown. There
are sparks of personality here and there, like Peggy’s bold confession to
William that she learned to ride bareback rather than side-saddle, but mostly,
she’s the type of character who’s the love interest because we’re told she
is. I don’t remember much about her in
the second half of the season; we’ll see if she gets any more interesting in
Part Two.
In
addition to the copious Who’s Whos of British acting that I’ve already
mentioned, the episode also features Lesley Sharp (from the “Midnight” episode
of new Who series 4,) Jim Carter (Mr.
Carson!), and the always-great Jonathan Pryce.
Accent Watch
Northern
– Whittaker’s own, I think.
Recommend?
In
General
– Eh, maybe. It’s hard to say without
having seen the first season. The series
seems charming but inconsequential – maybe fun for a lark.
Jodie
Whittaker
– Not so far. I’ll revisit if things change
in the second half, but as of now, there’s just not enough “there” there.
Warnings
Drinking
and a childbirth scene (not graphic at all.)
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