Sorry for the missive... :peolivetOctober 12 2011, 13:45:19 UTC
Awesome post, per usual. I actually think this starts with the idea that Mary put her life on "pause" for two years at the beginning of S2.
Seriously. What WAS she doing? She didn't marry. She ONLY mentions Carlisle AFTER Edith mentions Matthew's engagement. What happened when M/C "met at Clifton?" Was she seriously considering him? Has Mary had a dozen suitors and turned them all down? Did she walk around in a daze?
Two years is a LONG TIME. Long enough for Matthew (whose feelings for Mary I've NEVER questioned) to get engaged! I get Mary's older now, but she's still stunningly beautiful! However, simply by making Mary unattached, JF was begging for this to happen
( ... )
Re: Sorry for the missive... :psilverducksOctober 12 2011, 14:23:13 UTC
Interesting... I do agree that Fellowes is caught in a corner a bit, he HAS to have something to keep M/M apart, it can't just be their stubborness.
I just wish Mary and Matthew had more stories away from each other.
Actually, up until now, I've really liked the whole show and M/M and all their interactions. I'm just really worried what the future will bring - I think DA my just fall down the wrong side of the good story vs ridiculous edge
Re: Sorry for the missive... :peolivetOctober 12 2011, 14:55:21 UTC
The problem with M/M having more stories away from each other is...they aren't the "main characters." DA is an ensemble show, so everyone needs screentime. :p Matthew at least has "the war" -- but if you think about how many new characters have been added this season (Lavinia, Carlisle, Vera, Ethel, Lang) as well as the more "minor" characters who have more prominent storylines (Branson, Moseley, Dr. Clarkson)...screentime is at a premium. In a way, it makes perfect sense that L/C haven't been developed -- there's been no time! :p
As for DA turning ridiculous...well, this is the show that had a perfectly healthy man die during sex, and a late-in-life pregnancy ended on a bar of soap. :/ I'd say whatever soapy path they take...they crossed that line a LONG time ago... ;)
Re: Sorry for the missive... :psilverducksOctober 12 2011, 14:59:40 UTC
Yeah, I agree about the lack of time, but it would still have been nice (but then, IMO they should just cut out all the Anna/Bates and put other stories there instead :-) )
TBH, considering time frame, I actually think they do a good enough job on Lavinia and Carlisle.
As for being ridiculous, I could forgive the Pamuk and soap incident, but this one just feels too much! Especially as I just know the Mary/Matthew/Lavinia fallout will make me want to pull my hair out in frustration and be too melodramatic!
Re: Sorry for the missive... :pepea_pteroentaOctober 14 2011, 13:34:19 UTC
I think the issue with the soap-opera style plots is, as Laura hints at, the problem is not with an overly dramatic plot but how it's dealt with.
The Pamuk incident on paper is ridiculous (and I'm not going to lie if I say that I laughed quite a lot at Mary, Anna and Cora dragging his body while Daisy peeps round the door) but what made it work is how its effects impacted on Mary (mostly) but also on Cora and Daisy and how it changed their relationships and the sobriety with which that was dealt with.
I firmly believe that a plot can be as implausible as you like so long as the human fallout is done believably. So I really hope you're wrong, Laura, about the M/M/L fall-out - I haven't read any spoilers on that side of the thing so you may have information I'm not aware of - but I perfectly see your point there.
Re: Sorry for the missive... :psilverducksOctober 14 2011, 15:02:43 UTC
Rest assurred, I know no plot spoilers about the actual emotional fallout and what not, I'm just speculating that it'll probably be very frustrating and melodramatic with what happens to the characters (all of them really).
I think if any show can get away with this sort of thing, it IS DA, so I'm hoping they do. I'm prepared for the worst anyway, (in terms of soap opera OTTness) so I can't be disappointed! LOL!
I don't think I could stop watching it, but I may just end up ranting a lot if the show doesn't pull it off...
Re: Sorry for the missive... :pepea_pteroentaOctober 14 2011, 13:29:26 UTC
Very good points about Mary's life being on hold... but it always has, hasn't it? I find Mary having done nothing for the first two years of the war to be less amazing than the fact that she had three seasons in London before S01 starts and is still unmarried! Bex and I have been discussing it a lot for the "Mary's first season RP" we're going to be doing but there's an aspect of it that just doesn't make sense, even if she did have Patrick on the back burner? Did she refuse lots of people or, for some reason, did nobody offer for her? I have opinions on that, but that's probably too much of a tangent for here
( ... )
Re: Sorry for the missive... :pepea_pteroentaOctober 14 2011, 13:30:07 UTC
but if she had (ahem) Matthew right now, she'd have to...do something else with her life! So, I have to believe this Matthew-centric focus will dissipate once she...has (ahem) Matthew. ;p
Agreed. Maybe I'm projecting here, but I don't see Mary as a naturally clingy or slushy person in a relationship. She would be very private and keep things behind closed doors that are meant to be! I don't think M/M's married life in public would be terribly different to what it already is!
Seriously, I think this all turns on what happens when M/M get together. If Mary is still all about Matthew, I'll accept her character has fundamentally changed to make her more popular. But if she gets her groove back, then...war has a way of distinguishing between the things that matter and the things that don't. ;pI hope you're right
( ... )
Re: Sorry for the missive... :psilverducksOctober 14 2011, 15:20:19 UTC
Maybe I'm just one of the audience Fellowes is catering too, but it would drive me insane and make me scream if they prolonged Mary/Matthew til series 3 and had them marry other people
( ... )
Seriously. What WAS she doing? She didn't marry. She ONLY mentions Carlisle AFTER Edith mentions Matthew's engagement. What happened when M/C "met at Clifton?" Was she seriously considering him? Has Mary had a dozen suitors and turned them all down? Did she walk around in a daze?
Two years is a LONG TIME. Long enough for Matthew (whose feelings for Mary I've NEVER questioned) to get engaged! I get Mary's older now, but she's still stunningly beautiful! However, simply by making Mary unattached, JF was begging for this to happen ( ... )
Reply
I just wish Mary and Matthew had more stories away from each other.
Actually, up until now, I've really liked the whole show and M/M and all their interactions. I'm just really worried what the future will bring - I think DA my just fall down the wrong side of the good story vs ridiculous edge
Reply
As for DA turning ridiculous...well, this is the show that had a perfectly healthy man die during sex, and a late-in-life pregnancy ended on a bar of soap. :/ I'd say whatever soapy path they take...they crossed that line a LONG time ago... ;)
Reply
TBH, considering time frame, I actually think they do a good enough job on Lavinia and Carlisle.
As for being ridiculous, I could forgive the Pamuk and soap incident, but this one just feels too much! Especially as I just know the Mary/Matthew/Lavinia fallout will make me want to pull my hair out in frustration and be too melodramatic!
Reply
The Pamuk incident on paper is ridiculous (and I'm not going to lie if I say that I laughed quite a lot at Mary, Anna and Cora dragging his body while Daisy peeps round the door) but what made it work is how its effects impacted on Mary (mostly) but also on Cora and Daisy and how it changed their relationships and the sobriety with which that was dealt with.
I firmly believe that a plot can be as implausible as you like so long as the human fallout is done believably. So I really hope you're wrong, Laura, about the M/M/L fall-out - I haven't read any spoilers on that side of the thing so you may have information I'm not aware of - but I perfectly see your point there.
Reply
I think if any show can get away with this sort of thing, it IS DA, so I'm hoping they do. I'm prepared for the worst anyway, (in terms of soap opera OTTness) so I can't be disappointed! LOL!
I don't think I could stop watching it, but I may just end up ranting a lot if the show doesn't pull it off...
Fingers crossed they do!
Reply
Reply
Agreed. Maybe I'm projecting here, but I don't see Mary as a naturally clingy or slushy person in a relationship. She would be very private and keep things behind closed doors that are meant to be! I don't think M/M's married life in public would be terribly different to what it already is!
Seriously, I think this all turns on what happens when M/M get together. If Mary is still all about Matthew, I'll accept her character has fundamentally changed to make her more popular. But if she gets her groove back, then...war has a way of distinguishing between the things that matter and the things that don't. ;pI hope you're right ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment