ext_50434 (
violetcreme.livejournal.com) wrote in
house_of_eliott2012-01-15 11:57 am
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Episode Discussion : Series 1, Episode 1
Welcome to our little episode discussion! We start with the first episode - put your thoughts in the comments and debate away! *g*
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I am instantly drawn to Bea, Stella plays her with such fire and determination, from her very first scene trying to persuade her father into letting Evie to go art school to her fury with Arthur at her father "runing her life" when she finds out about his second life - I love her. She's not easy to like, certainly, she's shrewish and hot headed but as a character she's amazing. LOVE HER! Despite Stella being rather stunning, they do make Bea look so very drab and washed out, quite clever considering how she shines later on.
I was also struck how very Edwardian everything is, from the clothes to the interiors. The sisters are in buttoned up to the neck blouses and corsets and everything is dark brown and red, plus those huge veils for the funeral! So very different to how we leave them in 1928, it's a real eye opener how much changed in such a few short years.
Ah, Penelope. I love her too. Really everything that happens throughout the whole series is down to Evie going to help Tilly and her mother here, if you trace it through. Fabulous story telling.
And finally, JACKKKKK! Although a Jack I don't love quite as much as later on as he is rather annoyingly pompous here a little (only a little) creepy towards Evie. Not to mention how incredibly insulting he is to Bea ("You'll do though"). In the book by Jean Marsh she tips a bucket of iced water over him at that point, and that's one thing I would very much have liked to see left in. He deserved it. Buuuut, I tend to think that him chosing Bea over Evie with a rather weak excuse has more to the with the fact that he's quite impressed with her/taken with her rather than purely pratical business thoughts. That's my theory anyway and I'm sticking to it!
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Bea is the character that stands out from the first episode certainly. She must've been named for Beatrice in 'Much Ado About Nothing', the character traits and similar situations they share would make it too much of a coincidence otherwise?
One character I'd certainly not remembered is Molly their maid. Loved her scenes, especially teaching Evie to dance.
Evie: "I've only ever danced with Bea."
Molly: "It's just the same with a real man, except there's less to get in the way."
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I'm not overly familiar with Beatrice in Much Ado, but I do know they certainly share many of the same characteristics so it seems likely. Plus, as another layer, she might have been named after Shakespeare within the show too, as later on she calls herself 'Benedict' when tricking Jack with his film sponsorship so maybe she knows her namesake?
I love Molly, they should have kept her in somehow!
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I do wish Molly had stayed longer though, maybe up until they opened the House of Eliott or at least as a guest star now and then. The actress played her pefectly I thought.
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Very glad they altered the characters for the show, although I suppose having the relatives plotting against them and even Arthur as the *real* half brother would have made for better drama?
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Arthur ends up being very creepy with Evie. Burrrrrr. I love how, in the first episode, asks her to make sure there are handles on the inside as well as the outside.
I do wonder what Arthur must have been like before the war and how the war had changed his personality. What is the buttoned up exterior hiding?
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Both Jack and Arthur have this creepy attitude towards Evie in the first episdoe, luckily Jack gets over it soon but Arthur is just :shudder:
I suspect that was just Arthur and the War mostly left him in it's wake, I don't think he has a sensitive soul, he'd be a pragmatist about it I think.
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Oh, yes, and maybe I am crazy, but I think fic about Arthur and/or Aunt Lydia's adventures in Boston could potentially be v cool. And also very funny.
But then I am probably crazy.
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I mean, Bea and Evie *go* to Boston on their American trip, it should have been mentioned that they saw Lydia and Arthur!
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And there should be fic about it, yes. ;-D
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Drab Bea
Bea's fashion sense comes across as quite odd at first. She'd been so cooped up looking after the house and Evie that she never got the chance to get into clothes. It's rather like most of us when we are teenagers finding our feet with clothes but it's happening to her in her thirties! Bless her.
Re: Drab Bea
I suppose her clothes must have been quite daring for 1920 when most women were still corseted and very similar in neutral colours - those silk waistcoats and blouses she got from her father were quite something on her I think, although she did have a few awful numbers too like that black dress sack thing. She definitely found her fashion voice in series 2, but it's all about experimentation early on!
Re: Drab Bea
You're right about the clothes being daring. I like Daphne's response "What a devy idea, why didn't my dress maker think of that" (I think that's how it goes, not got up to that scene yet!).
Re: Drab Bea
They clearly both have talent for dressmaking, but don't yet have any idea about fashion itself. Daphne looks more 'trendy' than either of the Eliott sisters for example.
Penelope
I love how in episode 2 Penelope flogged Jack tickets to a charity ball and then disappeared off. Funny how later she describes a charity ball as "grotesque"!
Re: Penelope
Maybe Pen flogged tickets for a ball she wasn't responsible for! LOL!
Extra reading material
"Among the Bohemians" talks about the lifestyle of artists such as Augustus John and those who frequented the Cafe Royal etc.
I absolutely loved the book "Singled Out" which discusses the lives of the million extra women Molly mentions in episode one. When there was 1080 women for every 1000 men after the war many of them never married. This book shows how some of them had successful and interesting lives.
Re: Extra reading material
Extra HoE reading for everyone too if anyone's missed it:
http://www.motherservice.org/content/house-eliott
An interesting read, some of it is spot on, other stuff is a bit 'huh?' but well worth a read!
Re: Extra reading material