Sorry, fans, this is not really Anne that we know and love
from the Anne of Green Gables series. First to explain the problem and
difference between this series and the books, I will have go back and compare
the series side by side with the books. But, first let me rant a bit.
(Spoilers)
This Netflix series I feel does not understand who Anne of
Green Gables or Anne Shirley Blythe is. Anne Shirley is more than just a red
hair girl who loves her imagination. Infact, I don't think they even got her
red hair down.
Anne's red hair was a complex issue about how Anne thought about herself. She thought she wasn't pretty and she always wanted to have nutbrown hair or even raven black hair like Diana Barry. In the Netflix series, Anne mentions her hair a few times and does get mad at Gilbert for teasing her and calling her carrots, but I got the feeling that was not the reason she hated Gilbert. She did not hold a grudge against him because he called her carrots like she did in the book, she just stayed away from him because she did not want to be bullied at school. Anne would never be bullied at school in the book, she would never allow herself to be bullied. Anne was too strong headed to allow herself to be bullied, she said what she thought and would not back down. Anne getting bullied in the books was impossible.
Plus, in the book, Anne only needed one friend to for herself to be happy, and that friend was Diana Barry, her kindred spirit. In the Netflix series, The girls who bullied her at school told her not to talk to Gilbert. So, when the time came for her to get teased by Gilbert it only felt like she wanted to make the girls stop bullying her. In fact, there is one time she told Gilbert to go away and stop talking to her just because she saw the girls staring at them through a window. This is not the Anne of the book.
Anne in the book, hated Gilbert for quite sometime (a year only passed in the 1st season of the Netflix series, oppose to the amount of years that happen in the first book) (although it is unknown how long Anne held a grudge in the book, it definitely seems longer than a year.)
Anne in the book, makes a lot of decisions because of her red hair. This Netflix series barely spoke of her red hair, and although, they did have her dye her hair green accidentally like in the book, it does not have the same impact since she never held the grudge against Gilbert in the first place. Also, despite the fact that they tried to make this Anne a romantic, they failed and this does not feel like the true Anne romantic of the book.
To describe and compare the list of things book Anne was compared to Netflix Anne I have prepared two lists:
The thing that gets me the most about this series Anne oppose to the book is how damaged this Anne really is. She is not the bumbling girl that she is in the book, instead, she is a girl who needs psychological help from all her bullying and beatings she got in the past.
This series Anne confidently explains that she can do everything thing a boy can so they do not need a boy to help on the farm, and then proceeds to do nothing to help on the farm thus proving that they need a boy to help on the farm. Which is why they get a boy to help out, and then she gets mad at him because he is going to get her sent back to the orphanage or something. (They said if they hired a boy, that meant they were keeping her, she apparently wasn't listening.)
Not to mention, for some reason they make Gilbert lose his father in this series. This was quite annoying because now we have two depressed characters in the series. If this wasn't enough, they made Matthew almost commit suicide. Seriously, does everyone need to be depressed in this series?
Now I decided to do a case and point questionnaire comparing book to Netflix series:
What would Anne do if this happened?
Overall, the Netflix series made me feel depressed where as all other versions of Anne I am excited and enjoy watching them. I have tried to gather enough courage to watch 2nd and 3rd season but, everytime I hear about the characters or plot being ruined I get depressed once again and cannot bring myself to start either 2nd or 3rd season. I have seen all of 1st season. Also, the most faithful adaptation I have seen so far is Anne of Green Gables the anime version. Yes, Japan made an anime for Anne of Green Gables.
Here is a really good review on the Netflix series and how it cannot compare to the books:
I also found a another review that has a particularly good line about the difference between book Anne and Netflix Anne:
''Walley-Beckett’s Anne walks around with a giant chip on her shoulder, ready to crumble at the slightest provocation.''
For me, this pretty much sums up the Netflix Anne.
Another review points out things that had me nodding and agreeing.
'' In a world where Superman no longer smiles, Archie Andrews is an ennui-filled singer-songwriter and Belle’s mother in “Beauty and the Beast” tragically dies of the plague, of course Anne has PTSD.''
Although, I do not agree with their overall review I did enjoy this line.
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