Anne – Tightly Knotted to a Similar String

By: Miranda Sajdak

We’ve now hit Episode Five of “Anne” and this one aptly titled “Tightly Knotted to a Similar String.” There are many instances in this episode where we encounter new relationships, get some great backstory and explore familiar moments from the books and prior films.

The episode opens in the schoolhouse with Anne (Amybeth McNulty) and Gilbert (Lucas Jade Zumann) competing – among other students – in the class spelling bee. Anne wins, but the real purpose of the bee soon becomes clear as Mr. Phillips (Stephen Tracey) feeds the students words to entreat – and then flirt – with Prissy Andrews (Ella Jonas Farlinger), a nice plot point that emphasizes that their relationship is still alive and well.

This episode continues with a great opening event as Anne gets her first period. While this particular plot has started to become near-cliché in modern coming of age film and television, it feels fresh here, if only for the period (pun not intended) take on things. Seeing a menstrual cycle through the eyes of the 1800s makes for a new take on a familiar trope and the writer does a great job of expressing what that development would feel like to an orphan who hasn’t ever had anyone to raise and instruct her on what to expect as she’s coming of age. It’s a nice, comedic opening to a show that’s been in desperate need of more comedy and this episode does a good job of providing some more much-needed humor. Here we see both Marilla (Geraldine James) and Matthew (R.H. Thomson) coping with Anne as she struggles with first thinking she might be dying and later realizing she’s, as they say, now “becoming a woman.”

At first, Anne is devastated by this development, but she refuses the suggestion that she might stay home from school as she’s just now caught up to Gilbert and feels she must continue to pursue her academics if she’s to compete with him. In school, there’s a continuation of the menstruation plot as we see Anne and the other girls discussing when they got theirs/whose breasts are developing and that it’s a bit frustrating to have to keep all these developments a secret. So, too, the girls spend some time wondering what boys have to cope with as they grow up and it’s clear that this is one of a few Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus moments in the series.

Anne’s period also comes up as a topic of discussion for Marilla and Rachel Lynde (Corrine Koslo), as the two spend a good deal of time together in this episode. They both note how glad they are not to have to cope with menstruating any longer and Rachel remarks that she would rather be pregnant again than have to go through another period, which sets up a great one-liner from Marilla who also later notes that she can’t imagine how Rachel managed to have ten children. It’s especially nice to see Marilla evolve in this episode and there are some wonderful moments from actress Geraldine James brings both humor and kindness to bear here, as she steps more fully into the role of Anne’s mother.

In addition to Anne’s period as one main plotline, there are a few other big events in this episode. First of all, we get some of Gilbert’s backstory. It becomes clear that he is the man of the house and has to care for his sick father. Each morning we see that Gilbert must get up, make his father breakfast and make sure everything is ready for their hired woman (presumably a nurse) to come care for him during the day before Gilbert runs off to school. It’s clear he has more than academics to contend with and we also understand how hard it must be for him to want friendship with Anne and get rejected, as he struggles with his own issues at home. Anne brings him his books after school one day, when ordered to by Mr. Phillips, and hopefully learns a bit about what he has to face in his life. It’s nice to see Gilbert have a bit more present struggle, as past iterations have had him caring for his ill father prior to this year of school, but having to do it while trying to stay ahead of class is a nice touch.

We also get to see some more of Matthew’s story here, as he decides to go get Anne a dress of puffed sleeves. Rather than the twenty pounds of brown sugar, Matthew is convinced to step into the local boot shop where he manages to purchase many extra and unneeded pairs of footwear that Marilla is irked by. Later, he returns to town and heads to the local dress store where he encounters an old friend from school. It’s clear she had some feelings for him back in the day – feelings which may still exist – and remembers that he once left a button on her desk as a gift before he left school for good. This brings up some sad memories for Matthew, as he recollects why he had to leave: his brother had died. He shares a moment of sadness with Marilla later as the two reflect on how different life would be for them if they hadn’t had to cope with sorrow so young. Matthew asks the dressmaker to tailor a new dress for Anne, fresh with puffed sleeves, and she does so. When he sends Jerry (Aymeric Jett Montaz) to pick it up, he delivers a button to her – from his best Sunday shirt. Hopefully, we’ll see more of this relationship develop as it’s nice to see Matthew have some hope of a young love rekindled and gives us some more explanation for why he’s so reticent in expressing his emotions now.

Another easily recognizable storyline in this episode is the raspberry cordial tea with Diana (Delila Bela). Yep, we’ve now hit that point. There are some marked changes in this one; Marilla doesn’t tell Anne which shelf the cordial is on and Anne also drinks it. The first beat is a nice choice, as it makes sense that Anne would grab the first red-colored bottle she sees, but the latter choice doesn’t fully work. While it’s interesting to see Anne get drunk alongside Diana, it doesn’t add much to their conflict and misses out on a potential beat of Anne sick. In fact, neither of them seem to get sick. Instead, they share a fun-filled afternoon of imagining and playing dress-up and are interrupted only by Diana’s mother, Mrs. Barry (Helen Johns), who arrives to take Diana home and scold Anne for her wicked ways. This feels like it would make more sense if Diana had gotten drunk and Anne hadn’t and it’s even stranger given that Anne had tasted the real cordial before when she became Anne Shirley Cuthbert in Episode Two. But it’s not problematic enough to spoil the episode – just noteworthy in that it doesn’t fully work in an otherwise really well-crafted installment of the show.

Diana’s mother forces Anne and Diana to stop fraternizing, even in school. Marilla attempts to smooth things over, but it does no good. Anne and Diana take a moment to say goodbye to each other, each presenting the other with a lock of hair to seal their friendship forever. In school, they’re forced to sit apart and Anne must sit next to Josie Pye (Miranda McKeon), an unfortunate choice that emphasizes the struggle she will face while separated from Diana’s friendship. As in past weeks, it truly feels like this series is improving as it goes and it’s going to be a joy to watch how the producers round out the last three episodes.

Once again, it was noticeable that this episode had a female director and it’s worth taking a moment to highlight just how well this show has done in consistently hiring women behind the camera. It’s great to see different takes on a girl coming of age, but especially from a woman’s perspective and these directors have so far done a wonderful job. This episode in particular felt like it gave us a great sense of the natural world around Green Gables, with some nice shots of plants and the snowy landscape to give us a feel for Anne’s surroundings.

The episode completes with Matthew presenting Anne with her present – the puffed-sleeve dress. And here, as is familiar, it’s a different color than in the book, but the blue complements Anne’s hair nicely and the dress itself is notable in its fashionable look when compared with Anne’s other dresses. Anne, Marilla and Matthew head off to church together with Anne eager to get there just a little late, so she can show off her new style.

And, thus, ends episode five of Anne which has only improved with time. This is perhaps the best episode to date, as it incorporates humor, much of Anne’s expected melodrama and a couple of very familiar plotlines while giving us some unfamiliar backstory to help move things forward. It’s a great episode in what’s turning out to be a really solid retelling of the Anne story.