Episode 3 ended with Miss Matty grieving Mr. Holbrook. Episode 4 starts a short time later.
Mr. Holbrook's belongings are being auctioned. At the auction Miss Pole buys a picture of him to give to Miss Matty (aww 😊), and Dr. Harrison buys a piece of furniture that turns out to be a lady's sewing box. He's embarrassed when his landlady Mrs. Rose tells him what it is, so he offers to let her use it. Bad idea, Dr. Harrison!
If he only knew the trouble that thing would cause...
Mr. Carter sends Harry to take a letter to Lady Ludlow. Harry opens the letter and reads it, and loses it shortly after. Lady Ludlow is not happy. She's even more unhappy to learn Harry can read, and that Mr. Carter taught him. So she gives Harry a job in the cowshed, and asks Miss Galindo to take Harry's job with Mr. Carter.
Miss Pole comes to visit Mrs. Rose, with the news that Queen Victoria has had a new baby: Princess Alice.
(I love interesting historical facts, so now I'll go on a brief tangent. Princess Alice (1843-1878) was the third of Victoria and Albert's nine children, and the first to die. She married a German prince and had seven children, two of whom died before her. One of Alice's daughters, Princess Alix, became Empress Alexandra of Russia. Yes, the last Empress of Russia. And another daughter, Princess Victoria, was the grandmother of Prince Philip.)
Now, enough history. Back to Cranford. Miss Pole sees the sewing box. She immediately recognises it as what Dr. Harrison bought at the auction, and jumps to the conclusion that Dr. Harrison gave it to Mrs. Rose because he's in love with her. Naturally, the first thing Miss Pole does is run and tell Mrs. Forrester. (It never ceases to amaze me that she didn't tell the whole town 😃)
Dr. Harrison hasn't a clue about this. He visits Sophy's father to ask permission to court her.
On his way back from the rectory, Dr. Harrison meets Miss Tomkinson. She still thinks he intends to marry her sister, so she tells him that she has set aside a dowry for Caroline. Poor Dr. Harrison doesn't know why she's telling him this.
Mary has been having headaches, so she goes to Dr. Harrison. He tells her that she has a problem with her eyes, and asks Dr. Marshland -- an expert on eyes (and on causing trouble for his friends) -- to see her. He diagnoses far-sightedness, and gets her a pair of glasses.
Miss Matty has shares in a bank that has just failed, leaving her with almost no money at all. With Mary's help she tries to conceal how bad her financial situation is from her friends. Poor Miss Matty 😢
Trouble is brewing for Lady Ludlow. Her wretched son demands more money to build his villa, but she's no money to spare. Rather than sell land to the railway, she decides to put a mortgage on her estate. Mr. Carter strongly advises against this.
Miss Pole and Mrs. Forrester tell Mrs. Rose about Dr. Harrison's supposed interest in her. They do their best to make the marriage happen, even dyeing Mrs. Rose's hair!
May Day arrives, and Martha has a scheme to get money for Miss Matty. She'll marry Jem Hearne and they'll become Miss Matty's lodgers. Jem is less enthusiastic about this plan.
Disaster strikes for Dr. Harrison. Miss Tomkinson tells Reverend Hutton that she expects the doctor to marry Caroline. Rev. Hutton immediately goes to confront Dr. Harrison. Mrs. Rose arrives in the middle of this scene, and says she is engaged to the doctor. Poor Dr. Harrison doesn't understand any of this.
The scene starts out hilarious, with so many misunderstandings all being revealed at once. But then it becomes sad when Dr. Harrison has to watch Sophy walk away, and knows she thinks he's been unfaithful to her. Ouch, poor guy 😢
Now take a deep breath and keep tissues handy, because the final episode has arrived.
Jem has gotten over his reluctance, and he and Martha have just married. Miss Matty and Mary are waiting to welcome them.
News of Miss Matty's financial troubles has spread. Her friends get together to give her money while not letting her know who it's from, and Captain Brown suggests she makes more money by setting up a tea shop. So she does, with Mary's help.
Dr. Harrison is in disgrace. Few people believe he's innocent, and Dr. Morgan tells him to leave Cranford. Mary comes to the rescue when she proves that the valentine sent to Caroline Tomkinson was in Dr. Marshland's handwriting. Dr. Marshland reappears to apologise for his actions. But poor Dr. Harrison is still forbidden from seeing Sophy, who's caught typhoid fever.
An explosion at the railway injures Captain Brown and Mr. Carter. Captain Brown isn't seriously injured (astonishing, that the character who was first to die in the book survives the series and the sequel!). Mr. Carter's injuries are much worse. Dr. Harrison decides to amputate his leg. This is one of those scenes that is incredibly hard to watch. Luckily we don't see the operation itself, but what we do see... And it's all for nothing in the end, because Mr. Carter dies 😭
Sophy is dangerously ill, and Dr. Morgan's treatment has only been making things worse. So her sisters fetch Dr. Harrison against their father's wishes. And she recovers!
Before he died, Mr. Carter made a will leaving all his money to Harry, on condition that he gave Lady Ludlow enough to pay off the mortgage on her land. So now Harry's going off to school.
Earlier Mary sent a letter to Major Gordon. Now he returns, just in time to join Jessie in singing Loch Lomond again. Aww 😍
And Major Gordon isn't alone. He's found Miss Matty's long-lost brother Peter, and brought him home too!
Now there's only one thing left, and it's the most adorable moment of all.
Cranford has one of the best weddings in period drama. The hardships the characters had to go through to get here, the material to make the dress (people who've seen the series will understand the significance of that), the cuteness of the wedding itself... It's all just perfect. The only thing that could make this ending better would be if we'd seen Jessie and Major Gordon's wedding.
So, my overall opinion of the series?
It. Is. Amazing. It's so funny (Miss Pole's antics come to mind), so sad (why did Mr. Carter die? He's my favourite character!), so adorable (Jessie. Major Gordon. Loch Lomond. Enough said.), and generally just so good.
As I mentioned in part one of this review, it doesn't adapt the book the way Little Dorrit or Bleak House. But for once that's a good thing. Cranford the book is... it's not dull, but nothing much happens in it. It's just about the villagers and their lives. That wouldn't translate too well to TV. And Miss Matty in the book has much less of a personality than Miss Matty in the series. Yet at the same time the series is remarkably faithful to the book in that many incidents and lines are lifted directly from it -- the oranges, the cow in its pyjamas, the cat and the lace...
Is it available online?: Not as far as I know, unfortunately 😔 But it can be bought on Amazon!
Rating of these episodes: 10/10.
Overall rating: I'd love to give it 20/10, or even 100/10. But that would be going too far, so instead I'll give it 10/10. Incidentally, Cranford is one of only two series (so far) I'd give 10/10. (The other is Bleak House, if you're wondering.)
Mary has been having headaches, so she goes to Dr. Harrison. He tells her that she has a problem with her eyes, and asks Dr. Marshland -- an expert on eyes (and on causing trouble for his friends) -- to see her. He diagnoses far-sightedness, and gets her a pair of glasses.
Miss Matty has shares in a bank that has just failed, leaving her with almost no money at all. With Mary's help she tries to conceal how bad her financial situation is from her friends. Poor Miss Matty 😢
Trouble is brewing for Lady Ludlow. Her wretched son demands more money to build his villa, but she's no money to spare. Rather than sell land to the railway, she decides to put a mortgage on her estate. Mr. Carter strongly advises against this.
Miss Pole and Mrs. Forrester tell Mrs. Rose about Dr. Harrison's supposed interest in her. They do their best to make the marriage happen, even dyeing Mrs. Rose's hair!
May Day arrives, and Martha has a scheme to get money for Miss Matty. She'll marry Jem Hearne and they'll become Miss Matty's lodgers. Jem is less enthusiastic about this plan.
Disaster strikes for Dr. Harrison. Miss Tomkinson tells Reverend Hutton that she expects the doctor to marry Caroline. Rev. Hutton immediately goes to confront Dr. Harrison. Mrs. Rose arrives in the middle of this scene, and says she is engaged to the doctor. Poor Dr. Harrison doesn't understand any of this.
The scene starts out hilarious, with so many misunderstandings all being revealed at once. But then it becomes sad when Dr. Harrison has to watch Sophy walk away, and knows she thinks he's been unfaithful to her. Ouch, poor guy 😢
Now take a deep breath and keep tissues handy, because the final episode has arrived.
Jem has gotten over his reluctance, and he and Martha have just married. Miss Matty and Mary are waiting to welcome them.
News of Miss Matty's financial troubles has spread. Her friends get together to give her money while not letting her know who it's from, and Captain Brown suggests she makes more money by setting up a tea shop. So she does, with Mary's help.
Dr. Harrison is in disgrace. Few people believe he's innocent, and Dr. Morgan tells him to leave Cranford. Mary comes to the rescue when she proves that the valentine sent to Caroline Tomkinson was in Dr. Marshland's handwriting. Dr. Marshland reappears to apologise for his actions. But poor Dr. Harrison is still forbidden from seeing Sophy, who's caught typhoid fever.
An explosion at the railway injures Captain Brown and Mr. Carter. Captain Brown isn't seriously injured (astonishing, that the character who was first to die in the book survives the series and the sequel!). Mr. Carter's injuries are much worse. Dr. Harrison decides to amputate his leg. This is one of those scenes that is incredibly hard to watch. Luckily we don't see the operation itself, but what we do see... And it's all for nothing in the end, because Mr. Carter dies 😭
Ow, my heart 😭
Sophy is dangerously ill, and Dr. Morgan's treatment has only been making things worse. So her sisters fetch Dr. Harrison against their father's wishes. And she recovers!
Before he died, Mr. Carter made a will leaving all his money to Harry, on condition that he gave Lady Ludlow enough to pay off the mortgage on her land. So now Harry's going off to school.
Earlier Mary sent a letter to Major Gordon. Now he returns, just in time to join Jessie in singing Loch Lomond again. Aww 😍
And Major Gordon isn't alone. He's found Miss Matty's long-lost brother Peter, and brought him home too!
Now there's only one thing left, and it's the most adorable moment of all.
😍
Cranford has one of the best weddings in period drama. The hardships the characters had to go through to get here, the material to make the dress (people who've seen the series will understand the significance of that), the cuteness of the wedding itself... It's all just perfect. The only thing that could make this ending better would be if we'd seen Jessie and Major Gordon's wedding.
So, my overall opinion of the series?
It. Is. Amazing. It's so funny (Miss Pole's antics come to mind), so sad (why did Mr. Carter die? He's my favourite character!), so adorable (Jessie. Major Gordon. Loch Lomond. Enough said.), and generally just so good.
As I mentioned in part one of this review, it doesn't adapt the book the way Little Dorrit or Bleak House. But for once that's a good thing. Cranford the book is... it's not dull, but nothing much happens in it. It's just about the villagers and their lives. That wouldn't translate too well to TV. And Miss Matty in the book has much less of a personality than Miss Matty in the series. Yet at the same time the series is remarkably faithful to the book in that many incidents and lines are lifted directly from it -- the oranges, the cow in its pyjamas, the cat and the lace...
Is it available online?: Not as far as I know, unfortunately 😔 But it can be bought on Amazon!
Rating of these episodes: 10/10.
Overall rating: I'd love to give it 20/10, or even 100/10. But that would be going too far, so instead I'll give it 10/10. Incidentally, Cranford is one of only two series (so far) I'd give 10/10. (The other is Bleak House, if you're wondering.)
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