*Episode premise spoilers.*
Peter Davison skipped a few episodes in the second half of the season, so we’re now arriving at the season 1 finale. Some major developments have happened since then, so I will be spoiling some stuff from the episodes that I didn’t review.
Miss Walker’s family’s relentless interference into/judgment of her life drove her to a breakdown. She’s been drowning in religious guilt over her and Anne’s relationship, and so she pushed Anne away before being taking by her sister and unscrupulous brother-in-law to their home in Scotland—ostensibly for her health, but really so her brother-in-law can try to manipulate her. Anne has embarked on her long-waited European travels without Miss Walker, and while she’s been enjoying all that Denmark has to offer, she can’t stop herself from wondering if Miss Walker is all right. And in short, she very much isn’t.
I really like this episode. The scenes of Anne’s travels are well pitched—in addition to her broken heart and worries over Miss Walker, she’s had other recent disappointments to bring her down. There’s a part of her that can’t help but be delighted with everything she’s doing and everyone she’s meeting on her travels, and she’s such a singular woman that she quickly gains fascinated admirers wherever she goes. But she can’t fully lose herself in these enjoyments. In the back of her mind, there’s always a portion of her thoughts that are on Miss Walker.
I like that, while Anne is tough and swaggering and independent, there’s also a softness to her that she’s unable to guard entirely. It shows that some of her brusqueness is camouflage to try and protect her heart. As she says at one point, “I’m not as strong as you think. Well, I am, obviously…but sometimes I’m not.”
Miss Walker’s family were so determined to keep her out of the clutches of “sin” that they punched a hole in her mental health, and for all that they worried about Anne’s influence over her, they’ve now dropped her into the lap of someone who really does have self-serving intentions towards her. As Miss Walker struggles to put the pieces of herself back together, we see the parallels between her and Anne. While Anne acts tough and hides vulnerability, Miss Walker appears weak but possesses an inner strength that a lot of people don’t realize she has. It takes extraordinary circumstances to awaken that strength, but once she unlocks it, she’s determined to retake the reins of her life.
There are some great scenes between Miss Walker and her older sister Elizabeth, who’s trapped in a “respectable” but cruel marriage. It’s lovely to see these two women, who’ve both spent major parts of their lives being overpowered by those around them, figuring out how to fight for each other. These scenes are filled with sisterly love, thoughtful insight into the lives of women in Victorian England, and a simmering tension over the fear of Elizabeth’s husband. Just well done all around.
Peter Davison comes into the episode through a letter Miss Walker sends to her cousins. In response to it, Mr. Priestley is appropriately concerned but altogether hapless when it comes to actually doing something about it. He dithers ineffectually, worrying about getting on the wrong side of Elizabeth’s husband and mumbling over scheduling, all while simultaneously declaring how much he really does want to help. There’s a moment where he declares, “I’ll deal with this,” with all the backbone of a wet noodle.
As I said at the start of these write-ups, I wrote my season 2 reviews as the episodes were airing, then circled back to rewatch season 1 and review these episodes. So, when I start my season 2 posts next week, it’ll be from the perspective of a me who hadn’t seen season 1 since 2019.
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