I always feel a T.V show or book should move you in some way,make you feel or realize something or its failed its purpose,I felt a number of emotions whilst watching this show.
It wasn't 100% historically accurate & the charcters were to nice even the ones who came off nice but I think the mean charcters were as mean as they could have been made for a children's T.V show,I also loved how the bad charcters especially matron got slowly more & more evil as the series progressed,I also loved how the people around them kept trying to stop them or get them caught but failed until the very end when they all got what they deserved.
As you guys know I'm a sucker for a love story & even tho this show was made for kids I absolutely loved all the little pices of romance Harriet and Mithius waa the the cutest thing this was built up from all 3 series.by the end of series 3 you could definitely see how much they loved eachother. It was adorable to watch and I think for actors so young to pull that off was pretty amazing & I really hope we get to see more of this story when they arrive in New.York.
I also loved the romance between nurse Winterson & the constable which was a random love story but developed over a few episodes with them not being able to be together becuase of work so having to reject the other to the constable proposing & them finally getting to be together,I'm really hoping that in series 4 we get to actually see more of there relationship or maybe even to see them get married & raise a family.
Although I say all of this I wish Hetty & Vince got more of a storyline there was one episode where they had to work together started playing games in the flour. Vince then got Hetty a Dominoes set & they played together but Vince being Vince is messing with someone & it ends up in a fight but I think they should have maybe given it another few episodes after this one or started a storyline between them in a earlier sires,I'd love to maybe see them bump into eachother in later life & end up together,that could be intresting.
There were alot of individual storylines I enjoyed thought these 3 series so I'll start with series 1 & pick a few of my favrouites
The very 1st epiosode shows Mithius running away I thought this was done really well especially with the whole escape being planned & carried out then him coming back,this only being found out as someone had began stealing food,Gus made you feel so believable & I love how Mithius was so petrified he would do anything against his friends to keep anything else happening to him (getting any type of punishment) but soon realizes that he needs his friends & they need him.
I belive this is a important lesson because its teaching kids that you need to face up to your mistakes, not run away from them &also be prepared to face punishment,it also shows the importance of sticking up for your friends & standing your ground when you know somthing isn't right.
Another 1 of my favourite from series 1 was one where Eliza comes back & Hetty gets really upset because Jem has shared their secret squirrel house with her, also never mentioning her to Eliza so she gets really upset, her friends all help to get Jem to the hospital by sending a letter using invisible ink along with Eliza's letter, Jem then comes & tells Hetty that he hasn't forgotten her but never mentioned her to Eliza because he was still upset about her having to go back to the hospital,despite all this we only ever see Eliza
a handful of times when she juniors have to move into the seniors room, Eliza then loses all her friends as she keeps sucking up to Hetty & gets upset when Hetty keeps a letter from Jem from her.
I think this shows life from the perspective of a child with the elements of fun that Jem has given Eliza,it also gives us a insight into Jem's emotions about having to leave Hetty & Gideon as we get to see how he is clearly still upset & angry about it.
This also gets Hetty to open up about her past life with Jem & how for years she's been beliving that he's coming to save her,this has been the only thing keeping her going without that she gets so down,proving how powerful somones imagination or belief system can be I think this important to see because I think people forget that when things get hard people tend to make stuff up to keep themselves going. Allowing them to live lives that don't really exist.
I also loved the couple of episodes that ended series 1 with Hetty having to look after Charlotte, these couple of episodes showed you that even the rich & poor could/can have things in common & that everyone no matter who you are you are always need at least 1 friend, at the end of the series Hetty runs away to the circus to find Madame Adeline who she thinks is her mother but turns out not to be.
this shows Hetty at her most venerable as she really believes this lady is her mother then she realizes she isn’t & realizes the reality of her life ,this is interesting as she then has to figure out who she wants to be again, I think children need to hear/see this message on screen to make them realize that plans can change but that’s okay as even if it takes a while you can adjust & go along with them.
There is one episode where Matron brings back a girl she has sold because there has been a fire in the mill where she sold her.
Blanche (the girl from the mill) starts causing trouble amongst the other girls & also sucks up to matron alot, when she finally starts to fit in then her friend from the mill shows up & she has to help her escape, in the end they end up leaving together Blanche to go to work as a servant in a wealthy household & Jess (her friend) to go to a hostel for homeless girls, it was intresting to see this friendship along with the friendships that Blanche also managed to make during her time at the foundling hospital. It was also attention grabbing to see a dodgy Victorian deal as its probably not somthing that would come to mind as you think of the Victorian era so getting to see another part of Victorian history was a good history lesson
Another episode where we get to see what Matron is really like is the Jack in the box episode where she uses all the foundlings are slaves to make toys for a dodgy busniess so she can make some extra money, the paint starts to make the children sick so they sabotage the toys by cutting all the wires so they won’t pop up. Matron’s plan then ends with her getting no money (as she can’t sell the toys) Matron gets more evil throughout the series & by the end she tries to send Hetty to a mill telling her that she’s sending her to be with her mother. Hetty manages to escape & gets matron expossed for all her crimes. Matron manages to escape & Hetty goes into service in the Calendar household but she keeps a book containing all of Matron’s dodgy deals, of course Matron wants her book back which ends with the Calendars eldest daughter Emily being kidnapped. Emily has dressed up as a servant so she can go for a tutoring session as she wants to become a doctor when 2 boys working for Mr.Grace ( the man Matron does deals with) go to get the book, as they can’t find it they kidnap who they think is Hetty eventually Emily returns home safely and Matron & Mr. Grace get what they deserve. These storylines were some of the best as they show the sort of dodgy deals that would have taken place in Victorian London, the hardships of Victorian life factory life & show a handful of friendships,hard work,plots & people working together to make a difference.
One storyline I found the most interesting was the friendship with Hetty & Ida,Hetty only found out Ida was her mother after being put in the tench, Ida knew she wouldn’t be able to claim Hetty as she didn’t have a stable job or husband but seeing Hetty suffering so much made everything slip out,when Matron finds out Ida loses her job at the hospital,but Hetty is determined to find her so goes out looking whilst doing this she meets a flower seller named Sissy who she befriends & helps her sell her flowers. Before getting taken back to the foundling hospital by Miss.Smith.
Hetty's relationship with Ida was very intresting as Ida just started out as some random kitchen maid but as time grew on Hetty started to trust Ida more & more,ut was only because of Hetty being put in the tench that we discover who Ida really is,What I loved about this was that in a show that's based around these children having been given up as babies so there isn't really any family connections other than the ones Hetty has with Jem & Eliza but as for most of these children they know nothing of any family so to get to see Hetty & Ida's relationship develop was really intresting & touching. It also gave the show some wamth,I think this is really important because the show can be quite cold at times.
I also liked how the T.V show was in some ways very different from the books,in the books we only get to see Hetty & the girls lives throughout their time at the hospital although in some ways I wish the T.V show was the same to the books as I found Hetty's tales after she leaves the hospital very interesting as their was always alot going on & she was in a new setting almost every book. I'm not quite sure how her now being in one place with family will work as well although I would love to find out more about the Calandars as all we know so far is that they have lived in India & that they are rich so this needs elaborating on a bit, but there is something mysterious about the way they won't let Edwin leave the house & I think we need to find out what condition he has,I also think Emily Calendar wanting to become a doctor could potentially become a very interesting story especially if her parents allow her to follow it.
but I'm also hoping that the series wont completely revolve around the calendars or their household so much so that Hetty will get to see other parts of the country & maybe even, I'm also hoping that we maybe get to see her go back to her foster family or meet up with old friends/ acquaintances along the way.
Whilst watching series 4 I hope we somehow get to see some of the characters from the founding hospital,I also think it would be interesting if we got to see Walter & his dad reunite as they've already met once so they know who the other is or any foundings finding their parents or any other relations.
I hope you guys liked this review,I've now decided that I probably won't write anymore reviews for T.V shows that are over a series long & if I do I'll probably write them series by series as this took over a month to write & I nearly gave up on it more than once,but I really hope that if you read this far you enjoyed it especially as it took so long to write.
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