Well, Miss Summerson, here we are again -- Wait, wrong series. Welcome to my review of the last two episodes of OMF, and let's find out what happens to the host of characters we met last time.
Episode 3 begins with Rogue Riderhood almost drowning. Then the scene switches to Bella at a party. She tells Mrs. Lammle about John's proposal. Is anyone surprised that this is a bad idea? Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam's disappearance has been discovered... and talked about.
Lady Tippins, Eugene and Mortimer
Mr. Boffin has begun to change. He's become more selfish, and very interested in learning about misers.
He gets worse and worse throughout the episode, behaving like a tyrant to John, and greatly alarming Bella. Then he goes to visit his old home, and tells Wegg that he's going to sell the dust mounds. This infuriates Wegg, who hopes to find something important in the dust mounds.
Betty Higden has become ill since she ran away. Lizzie finds her just before she dies, with the Boffins' letter still in her pocket.
Lizzie and Betty
Bradley Headstone and Eugene are both looking for Lizzie. Headstone asks Riderhood about her, and Eugene asks Jenny. Neither of them has much success. While Eugene is at Jenny's, he meets her "bad child" -- actually her drunken father, but this isn't explained in the series.
Bella, John and Sloppy go to Betty's funeral. Afterward Bella and Lizzie talk. Lizzie admits that she loves Eugene but doesn't expect to ever see him again. Bella begins to show the changes that have gradually happened to her character. She shows more of these changes in her talk with John later, when she worries about how Mr. Boffin has changed.
Also, John gives her his coat. Aww!
Bella, John and Sloppy go to Betty's funeral. Afterward Bella and Lizzie talk. Lizzie admits that she loves Eugene but doesn't expect to ever see him again. Bella begins to show the changes that have gradually happened to her character. She shows more of these changes in her talk with John later, when she worries about how Mr. Boffin has changed.
Also, John gives her his coat. Aww!
So cute 😍
Eugene pays Jenny's drunken father to find Lizzie's address for him. Mortimer is understandably worried by his friend's behaviour, and angry when he learns what it's about. After "Mr. Dolls" leaves, Eugene tells Mortimer that Bradley Headstone has started following him all over the city. Eugene amuses himself by leading Headstone on wild goose chases every night (another example of Eugene being a jerk!), and takes Mortimer with him on one. Mortimer, showing he has more common sense than his friend, is alarmed by this.
Meanwhile, the Lammles want money. Mrs. Lammle has an idea of how to get it: by telling Mr. Boffin that John proposed to Bella. Mr. Boffin is furious. He dismisses John after insulting him terribly. Bella proves that she's changed for the better when she immediately goes to John's defence.
Mr. Boffin doesn't relent, so Bella leaves the Boffins and goes home. John meets her on the way, and we get one of the cutest scenes in the series -- made hilarious because it happens in front of Bella's father. Who's also John's landlord!
This is possibly the eeriest scene in the series. It's not the scariest (that comes later), but there's something oddly surreal about it.
Meanwhile, the Lammles want money. Mrs. Lammle has an idea of how to get it: by telling Mr. Boffin that John proposed to Bella. Mr. Boffin is furious. He dismisses John after insulting him terribly. Bella proves that she's changed for the better when she immediately goes to John's defence.
Bella: "Don't give me money, Mr. Boffin! I don't want money!" Me: *cheers*
Mr. Boffin doesn't relent, so Bella leaves the Boffins and goes home. John meets her on the way, and we get one of the cutest scenes in the series -- made hilarious because it happens in front of Bella's father. Who's also John's landlord!
Aww... and also, HAHAHAHA 😂😆
Sadly, the wedding scene is quite disappointing. We don't even get to see the wedding itself! And there's no mention of the Boffins secretly watching 😞 What a let-down.
Wegg has found something in the dust mounds after all: a will, made by John Harmon Sr., dated later than the accepted will. (Anyone else having flashbacks to Bleak House here? I almost expected Inspector Bucket to walk in when Wegg showed Venus the new will.) It leaves the entire fortune to the Crown. So unknown to Mr. Boffin, his riches aren't his at all. (Or so it seems...)
Riderhood has a new job: operating a lock on a river. Eugene passes him in a boat, and shortly afterward Headstone appears on foot. Eugene has found where Lizzie's staying, and Headstone is following him. Lizzie meets Eugene and tells him to stop following her.
Shortly after she leaves, Headstone attacks Eugene. This is that aforementioned scariest scene, and some people might want to skip it. Believe it or not, the series manages to show how terrifying the attack is better than the book does. The book's description is (thankfully) vague, and is over in three paragraphs. The series shows just how violent it was.
Lizzie hears what happened and runs back. She's too late to see who the attacker was, but she's in time to save Eugene from drowning. Yay!
But also: ouch 😥
Now for Episode 4, when all the plots are (eventually) resolved.
Eugene survives, but is terribly injured, and the doctor fears he'll die. Riderhood finds Headstone with blood on his clothes the next morning.
Jenny's "bad child" has died, a scene that's for some reason much less sad in the series than it was in the book. On the bright side, Mr. Riah gets a (very) brief appearance! Yay!
Eugene survives, but is terribly injured, and the doctor fears he'll die. Riderhood finds Headstone with blood on his clothes the next morning.
Jenny's "bad child" has died, a scene that's for some reason much less sad in the series than it was in the book. On the bright side, Mr. Riah gets a (very) brief appearance! Yay!
Mr. Riah and Jenny. It's about time the series remembered Mr. Riah's existence!
Mr. Venus tells Mr. Boffin about the second will and Wegg's blackmail plot. Wegg visits Venus while Mr. Boffin is there, and Mr. Boffin overhears their conversation for himself.
Mr. Boffin hides and listens to Wegg's plot. (As a side note: they included him hiding behind the alligator! I love spotting little details lifted straight from the book 😃)
Riderhood follows Headstone to the river, and sees Headstone throw his blood-stained clothes away. This is that scene I really wish wasn't in it, and when I'm watching I skip forward as soon as Headstone goes to the river and starts undressing.
Mr. Riah appears again! Yes! (Is it obvious who's my favourite book character?)
By now news of Eugene's attack has spread. Charley has heard about it, and realises Headstone did it. He immediately goes and confronts Headstone -- not because his former teacher tried to murder someone, but because this could affect Charley's prospects! What a selfish brat he turned out to be. Headstone is a much less pitiable character in the series than in the book, but he has some moments where it's hard not to feel even a tiny bit sorry for him. This is one of those moments.
Eugene's (slowly) recovering, but he's still badly injured. He asks Mortimer to ask Lizzie to be his wife (why he didn't ask her himself, when she spends almost all her time by his side, remains a mystery).
Mortimer goes to invite John and Bella to the wedding. John, who knows Mortimer would recognise him as "Julius Handford", pretends to be sick and hides upstairs. So Bella goes to the wedding alone.
And it's one of the sweetest, but also the saddest, weddings in period drama!
😍😭
Disaster strikes when Mortimer takes Bella home. She forgets her gloves, and when he goes to return them, he comes face-to-face with John.
Bella is astonishingly calm about this. If I was married and learnt my husband had gone by a different name, I'd want an explanation immediately. Bella basically just shrugs and waits for John to decide when to explain.
The Lammles' get-rich-quick scheme has failed, so they're leaving England. Unfortunately, before they leave they meet a rich young couple and insinuate themselves into their friendship. I really wish the series had given them some comeuppance, instead of letting them get off more or less scot-free.
John tells Bella he has a new job, which comes with a new house. He takes her to see the house, and she discovers that it's... the Boffins'! And the Boffins themselves are waiting to welcome her!
Now the truth is revealed. Mr. Boffin's miserliness was a plan he and John cooked up, to show Bella the error of her ways and see if she truly loved John. And Bella finally learns that her husband is actually John Harmon, and he kept the truth from her because he didn't want to ruin their happiness.
Wegg and Mr. Venus arrive shortly after this. Mr. Venus explains the entire scheme and apologises for his share in it. Despite this Wegg tries to go ahead with his blackmail. He fails spectacularly, because there's a third will he didn't know about. Nor is this the end of Wegg's humiliation. John is not happy at all about his plan, and neither is Mr. Sloppy. Wegg gets thrown into a cart full of rubbish! 😄 (But what on earth is up with Mr. Sloppy's "disguise"? I don't remember anything like that in the book, and it doesn't make much sense in the series.)
Meanwhile, there's another blackmailing scheme in progress: Riderhood wants money from Headstone, or he'll reveal his crime.
Unsurprisingly this doesn't go well. It ends with Headstone killing Riderhood, and killing himself to do it. As mentioned earlier, Bradley Headstone is far less tragic in the series than in the book, but it's still hard not to feel sad at his death.
And now we're nearly at the end. Bella and John have a baby, Eugene is recovering and Lizzie has no more stalkers, it's strongly implied that Jenny will marry Mr. Sloppy, and the Boffins have no more Weggs to deal with. Everyone can live happily ever after!
Poor Mortimer, though. It's a pity Dickens didn't give him a wife, when the rest of the main cast are happily married by now. But it doesn't seem to bother him much, so I guess it's a happy ending for him too.
But wait! We're not quite finished yet! Mr. Twemlow finally gets a few words in! (Though for some reason his name is changed to Tremlow here. Weird 🤷)
And his short appearance almost makes up for his almost total lack of appearances until now, because he gets his best scene from the book... and it's possibly the best scene in the series too 😃 Society, in the form of Lady Tippins and her "friends", disapproves of Eugene marrying Lizzie. Mr. Twemlow defends the marriage, in a pretty awesome speech. I'm disappointed that the series doesn't include Mortimer shaking his hand afterward, but I guess offering him a drink serves the same purpose.
But why on earth does the final scene take place on a boat? There was nothing like that in the book, and it doesn't even make any sense. Did the director think that since the series started on a river, it should end on a river? Not even Dickens carried the water metaphor that far!
Anyway, my thoughts on the series overall:
It's very good, and probably the best adaptation of the book made so far. It's not perfect, and it wouldn't be one of my favourite Dickens adaptations (mostly because my favourite Dickens adaptations are so good rather than because OMF is bad in any way). But it's still a great series and well worth watching.
Is it available online?: It probably is somewhere, but I don't know where. You can buy the DVD on Amazon, or you might be lucky enough to find it in a shop like I did 😃
Rating of these episodes: I'd a terrible time deciding a rating for it. I'd give it 8/10 for Eugene and Lizzie's wedding alone, but I'd subtract a point for a certain scene, and then add that point back again for Mr. Twemlow... So unless I change my mind again, I'll rate it 8/10.
Overall rating: 7/10
Starting on Sunday: a trip to Cranford. (But probably not including a Return to Cranford... Then again, who knows?)
The Lammles' get-rich-quick scheme has failed, so they're leaving England. Unfortunately, before they leave they meet a rich young couple and insinuate themselves into their friendship. I really wish the series had given them some comeuppance, instead of letting them get off more or less scot-free.
John tells Bella he has a new job, which comes with a new house. He takes her to see the house, and she discovers that it's... the Boffins'! And the Boffins themselves are waiting to welcome her!
Now the truth is revealed. Mr. Boffin's miserliness was a plan he and John cooked up, to show Bella the error of her ways and see if she truly loved John. And Bella finally learns that her husband is actually John Harmon, and he kept the truth from her because he didn't want to ruin their happiness.
Wegg and Mr. Venus arrive shortly after this. Mr. Venus explains the entire scheme and apologises for his share in it. Despite this Wegg tries to go ahead with his blackmail. He fails spectacularly, because there's a third will he didn't know about. Nor is this the end of Wegg's humiliation. John is not happy at all about his plan, and neither is Mr. Sloppy. Wegg gets thrown into a cart full of rubbish! 😄 (But what on earth is up with Mr. Sloppy's "disguise"? I don't remember anything like that in the book, and it doesn't make much sense in the series.)
Meanwhile, there's another blackmailing scheme in progress: Riderhood wants money from Headstone, or he'll reveal his crime.
Unsurprisingly this doesn't go well. It ends with Headstone killing Riderhood, and killing himself to do it. As mentioned earlier, Bradley Headstone is far less tragic in the series than in the book, but it's still hard not to feel sad at his death.
And now we're nearly at the end. Bella and John have a baby, Eugene is recovering and Lizzie has no more stalkers, it's strongly implied that Jenny will marry Mr. Sloppy, and the Boffins have no more Weggs to deal with. Everyone can live happily ever after!
Poor Mortimer, though. It's a pity Dickens didn't give him a wife, when the rest of the main cast are happily married by now. But it doesn't seem to bother him much, so I guess it's a happy ending for him too.
But wait! We're not quite finished yet! Mr. Twemlow finally gets a few words in! (Though for some reason his name is changed to Tremlow here. Weird 🤷)
And his short appearance almost makes up for his almost total lack of appearances until now, because he gets his best scene from the book... and it's possibly the best scene in the series too 😃 Society, in the form of Lady Tippins and her "friends", disapproves of Eugene marrying Lizzie. Mr. Twemlow defends the marriage, in a pretty awesome speech. I'm disappointed that the series doesn't include Mortimer shaking his hand afterward, but I guess offering him a drink serves the same purpose.
But why on earth does the final scene take place on a boat? There was nothing like that in the book, and it doesn't even make any sense. Did the director think that since the series started on a river, it should end on a river? Not even Dickens carried the water metaphor that far!
Anyway, my thoughts on the series overall:
It's very good, and probably the best adaptation of the book made so far. It's not perfect, and it wouldn't be one of my favourite Dickens adaptations (mostly because my favourite Dickens adaptations are so good rather than because OMF is bad in any way). But it's still a great series and well worth watching.
Is it available online?: It probably is somewhere, but I don't know where. You can buy the DVD on Amazon, or you might be lucky enough to find it in a shop like I did 😃
Rating of these episodes: I'd a terrible time deciding a rating for it. I'd give it 8/10 for Eugene and Lizzie's wedding alone, but I'd subtract a point for a certain scene, and then add that point back again for Mr. Twemlow... So unless I change my mind again, I'll rate it 8/10.
Overall rating: 7/10
Starting on Sunday: a trip to Cranford. (But probably not including a Return to Cranford... Then again, who knows?)
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