Anne with an E (Season 1 & 2)

⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by KathleenQ)

When this show first came out it took me some time to get past the fact that the writers were creating entirely new characters and plots from the book -- I worried it was getting the Hobbit Treatment. But after coming to terms with this creative choice I was able to appreciate it as an entirely separate piece of art.

The Amazing:

• The casting of this show is absolutely inspired. Every choice is perfect. Every actor manages to capture the exact spirit of the character. Especially Anne, Marilla and Matthew.
• The creators have unparalleled respect for teenage girls. I've never seen anything like it (except maybe Eighth Grade). In a culture where teen girls are not taken seriously at best and openly mocked/reviled at worst, it's incredibly refreshing to see them portrayed as complex, insightful human beings with much to offer. Even when characters are being silly, they're presented sympathetically.
• The show is beautiful in every way, perfectly capturing Anne's sensitive and artistic perspective on life.

My Quibbles:

• I feel the writers are unrealisitically optimistic about how its protagonists would deal with issues like racism and homophobia (considering its setting, in a rather isolated rural community in the 19th-century), especially if they're all church-goers. (Anne is the exception because she's an unspoiled heathen, even in the book.)
• Gilbert is unrealistically mature. I love him, but he has the poise, wisdom, and level-headedness of a 40-year-old doctor, not the 15-year-old farm boy he is. Are we really supposed to believe an untrained teen boy can properly diagnose a breech baby and successfully perform an external version on a woman in labour??? That he will gallantly stand up to a racist train conductor without batting an eye??? This feels like a bit of wish-fulfillment on the part of the writers. (Cole, too, is preternaturally insightful about LGBTQ issues.)

But a little unrealism notwithstanding, it's a beautiful and inspiring show. I look forward to the next seasons.