Ella Bruccoleri carried this show and she was wonderful. I was utterly convinced by and invested in her awkward Mary Bennet.
But she was also surrounded by brilliant actors, male and female.
Who was the stand-out for you, apart from Bruccoleri?
I knew about the Hill and Mary connection but I'd forgotten Indira played Caroline until the scene where Mrs Gardiner and Mary talk about the bullying. So good! Are there any other connections from the Austenverse?
Wouldn't Mr Darcy have known Mr Ryder, given they're both related to Catherine De Bourgh? Are they cousins? They didn't interact at all, and there was no mention of this. I read the book so I can't remember how it came to be that Mr Ryder inherited her estate, not Darcy. Can anyone explain this?
I was re-watching and paused on the letter Mary sent to Hill. It confirms some pretty interesting things about what happened after she accepted Mr. Hayward's proposal - she says they "married in a modest ceremony, surrounded by a few dear friends" which makes me think Mrs. Bennet and her sisters did not attend! I wonder if they were even invited, and whether they are even aware that Mary is now married...
So I grew up with Pride and Prejudice and Emma and lots of romantic books and movies. I loved the main characters and wanted to be them. But as a chubby, not easy on the eyes kinda person, I never was asked out or flirted with. I thought if I lost weight or made myself better by having a good personality and so on, someone would be interested. I spent my whole teenage life not being asked out by a SINGLE person. So I lost weight, joined societies, tried to be social and so on. Still nothing
Anyway, I always thought it was probably because of my weird looks. I know everyone is beautiful in their own way but let's be honest, there are obviously pretty people and then there are people like me
When I started watching TOBS, I could finally relate to a character so well. As a spectacles wearing, not so pretty one among my siblings, I totally felt her. And man, the heartbreak of thinking someone is flirting with you, just to have them be engaged to your friend, that was totally my life incident. I had lost weight, a friend motivated me to be more social and I went to another friend's gathering. There were a few girls and one guy. I felt some sparks and came home and told my other friend that I could feel sparks and maybe this will be the first guy to finally ask me out. Only to realise he'd been secretly dating my friend who hosted the party. When Ann introduced Tom to Mary, I was transported to my early 20s
I was feeling so connected to Mary up until 2 guys were romantically interested in her. Yeah I read widely, yeah I lost weight and tried to look pretty, but there were no 2 guys fighting for me. Not even one :( the pain of never being chosen or asked out is so unbearable, even in my mid 30s. I was so sad that even Mary had 2 suitors and I had 0. Suddenly, I could no longer relate to her
I went to a new country in my early 20s, attended so many social events, participated in conversations, enjoyed reading and socialising and did everything I could. I did them mostly to have a good time and but also to have someone ask me out or be interested in me, like all my other female friends had experienced. Anyway, I have made peace with my looks and my personality isn't too bad. I'm reparenting myself and I bring myself on dates and I genuinely enjoy my company and actually prefer my own company and a few close friends these days. But the sting of never being asked out or have someone be interested in me is always there. I related so much to Mary up until 2 guys were fighting for her and it somehow broke my heart. I was hoping she would be single and happy. Needed to vent. Thank you for reading
They really do match each other's freak! I love them together ❤️.
Had Mr. Collins shown interest in Mary, I don't think Mrs. Bennet would have told Mary not to pursue him. I don't think Mrs. Bennet even notices Mary enough to see her, but had it been obvious enough for her to notice or if it was brought to her attention I think she would have gladly pushed Mary toward him.
I've just finished reading the book after watching the show and I have thoughts and feels.
Firstly I much prefer Mrs Gardiners character in the show to the book she is a perfect Aunt and I love the Miss Baxter story line in the show.
I prefer the show
To those who had read the book first, what did you think of the shows changes?
If he took up residence in Longbourn he would be a ways away from his precious Lady Catherine. So after Mr. Bennett died why did Mr. Collins come in ordering them to leave in 2 weeks? Or was it just to move the plot along for Mary to move out?
I just finished the first episode, and I'm OBSESSED. I always thought Mary got the short end of the stick in P&P, and that there was a bit of punching down when it came to her, and I love that this show does such a perfect job of capturing the nuances of her emotions and of her own type of beauty/appeal.
The actress is a revelation.
Also, Mr Sparrow is beyond adorable, and Caroline Bingley is so exactly as I imagined her that it's almost scary. Whoever cast TOBS deserves all the accolades.
Hi everyone,
I've rewatched the show a couple of times now, as well as seen all of the recent TOBS promo, and it got me thinking about the exact emotional nature of Tom & Ann's relationship. Specifically the fact that in several of the interviews, the cast refer to her as Tom's "long-term partner". I know these things are not exactly transferable to our modern understanding of what does and does not constitute an actual romantic relationship, but I was still wondering - would having a (publicly known-about) understanding with someone about a potential future engagement have been roughly the same as being considered to be in a relationship with them? Would this have made it "ok" for them to kiss, the way Mary and Tom did after she accepted his proposal, or would this have ruined Ann's reputation, since they were not actually engaged yet?
Do you think they were at any point actually in love with each other, or was it more of a mutual fondness? I kind of understood it as the former from what Ann says to Mary at the beginning of episode 5 regarding the initial excitement of young love. Based on that scene, my impression was that at least for some time, they really were in love with each other. Although things then seem to have very quickly cooled down or faded under the strain of Tom's having to work so hard to take their relationship to the next step. Obviously they were not well-matched in the long term, but I'm still curious what others think about how they initially started out and whether it might have played out even remotely like Tom and Mary's first encounter in terms of a 'spark'.
I am also trying to understand the timeline of things. Ann says she and Tom met "three years ago this spring", but then Tom later refers to their understanding as having been made when they were "quite young", which to me made it sound like more than just a few seasons ago, especially because there would have been at least some time between meeting and forming that understanding. Obviously when you are still somewhere around your mid-20s, 3 years in one direction or the other does make a difference in how "mature" you feel, especially in retrospect, but I was still a bit surprised.
Anyway, happy to hear anyone else's thoughts on the matter. I know this relationship is not in the book and was brought in as a narrative obstacle to their relationship, but since I'm not the biggest fan of this type of scenario, I guess I'm sort of trying to find a way of making it more 'okay' in my head by trying to figure out how (emotionally) serious the whole thing was in the first place.
to anyone who bought the TOBS book with ella on the cover and/or the one with the original cover, how's the paper quality? which one is better? currently deciding which one to buy 🤔
I’m halfway through the series and I’m enjoying it very much. I haven’t read the book. I can’t help but wonder if Mr Ryder’s character is styled after Mr Crawford from Mansfield Park. Does anyone else see similarities? Mary seems to have the same restraint and self-doubts as Fanny Price (and Fanny was similarly humbled in her family setting with the Bertrams). Mr Ryder has no cares for societal conventions and is very forward with Mary, like Crawford was with Fanny. Mr Ryder followed Mary to Pemberley, just like Crawford followed Fanny to Portsmouth. Both Mary and Fanny were discomfited by the overt attentions given to them.
Only 3 episodes have aired, and i have been checking back for a week, but no new episodes are available. So frustrating!
Surprised how much I enjoyed the show. Nice antidote to the doom and gloom suffusing a lot of TV these days. (Sometimes I don't want to see current state of the world reflected back but I want happy escapism.)
It occurred to me if Mary chose Mr Ryder, she would be the wealthiest of the Bennet sisters. Mr Ryder is Lady Catherine de Bourgh's heir. Assuming he doesn't blow it, the de Bourgh fortune eclipses the fortune of Mr Darcy, more or less to be the wealthiest of the Bennet son-in-laws.
During this time, status equals wealth. A Duke is generally wealthier than a earl. A viscount is wealthier than a baron. A titled person is generally wealthier than an untitled person. Sir Lewis de Bourgh (Lady Catherine's husband) is titled; neither Mr Darcy nor his father are titled. Now, to be titled a sir, one has to do something extraordinary (Sir Isaac Newton) or be very rich (Sir Alan Sugar) or have aristocratic level wealth but from low born roots (baronetcies were created, i.e. bought, as a money making scheme for the monarch). Either way, nothing in P&P lead one to conclude the de Bourgh's did anything extraordinary else Mr Collins would not shut up about it; however, Mr Collins does repeatedly remark on their wealth.
So the de Bourgh would have a fortune that eclipses that of a rando gentleman. Now this fortune would have to massive to convince Fitzwilliam Darcy to have an understanding with Lady Catherine's daughter. If the de Bourghs fortune was small, why bother? That Fitzwilliam Darcy would give up said fortune for Elizabeth Bennet, and only for Elizabeth Bennet, can be seen as swapping something of value for another - Elizabeth Bennet is the heroine of P&P, she is, in Austen's estimation, to be the most important person in the novel-- someone so important and valuable that would equal what would cost Darcy to drop Anne and the inheritance.
It's just a fun thought. Mary may not have love Ryder but she wouldn't be unhappy. And in Austen's novels, not being unhappy is not insignificant and often the best available option for our often luckless protagonists.
