Review / commentary I wrote on Letterboxd last year, thought I'd post it here since it's so long... It's way more than a live commentary of the show than a real review but I believe I said some interesting things. Please, excuse me for the bad grammar and the absence of capital letters!
EPISODE 1
The opening sequence is so good.. i love how it shows their characters and their relationship to one another. and also their relationship to their father and what he's going through. it's not so much but i love they added this because i believe it adds to their characters, too. they're their father's daughters!!
maya hawke's jo is honestly so good.. as is willa fitzgerald's meg!!!!!!! i think she's my favorite meg out of all the adaptations i've seen. she's just her yknow??
i love how well they're represented in the very start of the show. i love that meg is doing needle work on the sofa, watching over her sisters, while beth is sitting in the corner with their cats. jo laying in the middle of them all, ranting, and amy coming in with a smirk and a way to show that her manners are better than jo's.. it's them. it's so much them. and the way amy sits like a kid because she's one.. and i LOVE that beth is speaking up and bantering (in her own way) with her sisters. i love that she's really part of them and not kinda an outsider.. yes she's sick and shy but she's also full of youth and joy.
"I can't help that I like boy's clothes and work and manners. Being born a girl is the most disappointing thing that ever happened to me."
jo march i love you dearly..
i have to say i love the soundtrack so much!!!! it's so comforting..
LAURIEEEEEE i love him my boyyy.......
i love that they show more of his relationship with his grandfather!!
i'm happy that they show meg and beth acting as joyful and youthful as their sisters because they're often dismissed as the serious and quiet ones when they're as much michevious as their sisters!!!!!!!! meg wants to be an actress but the 1994 movie absolutely didn't give me that feeling. and it put beth on the outside. here, they're playful and happy and loud and i love them!!!!!!!
when i first came across little women, i instantly got fond of jo, obviously. i think she's the one people will most likely love because she's free spirited and funny and brave and all of that. she represents feminism and womanhood in an interesting sense for this time. but i also absolutely loved amy because she's the kind of characters i can't help but love dearly. a little selfish, a pest, but overall caring and tender with a great heart and an even greater character development. and, of course, i couldn't help but care about beth. lovely, lovely beth. my beth. the one i feel the most connected to. i see myself in her. i love her more than everything....
but even if i loved meg as much as the others, i felt a little distant from her. she was the big sister. the responsible one. i cared for her but not with as vigorously as i did for the others. she was my outsider. but now, i'm finally seeing her for who she really is. a heart so big and full of love and dreams. and a life a little bit too small for her. but she doesn't mind. i'm really starting to love her more and more and more. she's the one sacrifying her dreams and hopes for another life. a more comfortable one. to be fair, it's not really a sacrifice. it's more of a trade. as she's growing up, she's letting go of her childish dreams. she build the life she wants for herself. a life just like her heart. full of love.
and it's so admirable!! and now that i'm more grown up, i feel like she's the one i want to be. i want to find my life the same way she did. even if it means letting go of my dreams. because i think it's okay to replace childhood hopes with adult realities. as long as we don't lose our love. just the way meg did.
anyway coming back to the show!!
i love that laurie and jo's first meeting isn't at the party but casually on the street. it's cute. i totally can imagine that laurie saw them all go outside and he just grabbed the first thing (a football) and went outside just to have an excuse to meet them!!!!!! there's no way my boy was playing with a football on christmas morning alone in his courtyard lmao!! and i like that there's no awkwardness or whatever. i love that jo is just oversharing and laurie is doing the same. they're both so chaotic and in need of a friend!!!!!!!! i love them!!!!!!
also i have the same scarf as laurie. :]
i'm sad they didn't keep the dancing scene between jo and laurie tho.. it really was one of my favorite scene.. just them fooling around..... my babies.......
the hair scene is soooo funny lmao i love their reactions to jo burning meg's hair it's literally so on point!! they're my silly little girls..
i also looooove the scene where meg asks jo to swap one of her gloves with one of hers. so they both have a nice one and a spoiled one.. it's such a tender attention. something so little but it shows how much meg cares about her sister and her manners.. they're adorable.......
"If I do anything really wrong, will you wink at me?"
"I will do no such thing. I shall raise my eyebrows. That's much more lady-like!"
jo and meg's relationship is so important to me!!!!!! they both rely so much on each other..
also i love that each of the girls has an art form that they truly care about. like jo has writing, amy's painting and drawing, beth plays the piano and meg loves acting. it represents them so well, too!!!!!!
like jo loves to talk and her mind is full of everything that she experiences and she has so many ideas about the world and her way to express it is by creating stuff that she can share with her sisters!! reading isn't for everyone but stories are a perfect way to connect with people. storytellers are the backbone of society as they're the one sharing history. jo is a pillar in her family in this sense. she's the keeper of her sisters' feelings and dreams and hopes. she doesn't need a journal because everything she writes reflects her mind and emotions. she's an historian. and i think that's why it's so meaningful that she writes her family's story at the end. it shows how important writing is for her. not only because it's her passion and her dream. but also because it's her way to cope with anything. every word is a part of her. she's literally an open book.
amy isn't really fond of words or learning academic things. she doesn't like school except for the social part of it. but she still has so many dreams and ideas and her creativity flows through her fingers. she draws and paints and that's her way to show others how she feels and how she perceives the world around her. she can seems prim and proper but isn't scared of getting her hands dirty in pursuing her art. and she loves trying new stuff and techniques. she won't let anything get in the way of her creativity. and it's really showing in her character. how she handles things and acts with others. art is all about errors and trials. redoing the same thing fifteen times until you get it right. amy is the same. she hurts people, she makes mistakes. she makes amends and try to correct her attitude. but she's also young. so she doesn't always get how her actions can impact others. just the same way she'll paint something for herself, without thinking about the way others will interpret it.
as for beth, she's truly just like music. always around. always there. in the background, discreet but important. playing piano is her way to show that she's here. that she exists. and she conveys her emotions and feelings through the music. she's really not good with words or social settings. playing piano gives her something to do when there's other people around and it also gives her a voice. she's the quiet one but she still has stuff to say. and i can totally imagine her playing loudly when no one's home. or writing music when it's the middle of the night and a bad cough is keeping her up. it's her escapism out of her house and out of herself.
and meg.. she's an actress in the flesh. she's great at portraying the characters that jo writes for her but also at being the person people need. she's the best at playing roles. big sister, confident, perfect daughter, helpful lady, good friend. she thrives in society because the world is her scene. she enjoys making pretend. losing herself in someone she's not really. and i think it's the reason why it was so easy for her to set aside her dreams for another path. being a wife and a mother is just another role, for her. not that she's pretending and that she's miserable!!! meg loves experiences and learning about people. that's how she is the best at manners and etiquette. social cues are her language. she's going off script. she's the best at improvising.
and what i love the most about all of that is the way marmee is soooo supportive of them. she's ready to fight so they get the chance to pursue their dreams.. i love her...
"Let us be elegant or die..." is really one of my favorite quote from the book and i'm so happy they kept it!!!!!! i just love it so much..
beth and her dolls make me so happy too.. she's so cute........ my baby.. and the scene with marmee asking her to go outside and take part in the world.. i just care so much for her.......
i LOVE laurie and jo's relationship and the way they're complementing each other but not really.. laurie wants to be part of a family. he wants to have the freedom of pursuing his passions and being able to dream. jo wants to have the rights and the means of going out in the world and acting the way she wants without anyone telling her what to do. they work so well together because they found a companion in the other. a dream. they're soulmates. not because they have the same ideas and share the same dreams but because they both know how it feels to want to be someone else.
laurie doesn't want to pursue his grandfather' dreams of career for him. he wants to be free. but the second jo express envy towards what he has, he jumps on the occasion and tells her they'll go together. because all he wants is to be with her. and all she wants is to see the world... it's kinda like the scene of when laurie goes to college in the 1994 movie.
but i have to say, their relationship doesn't work as well in this show as it does in 1994. i can't really pinpoint what it is exactly but yeah.. they don't feel as compatible amd comfortable with each other as they do in the 1994.. idk..... but yeah it's not really the same to me..
amy deserved to watch the seven princesses of the diamond lake............
beth trying to overcome her fears.. my baby!!!! i just know how it is to be petrified by fear.. i love her :((
also yes amy is really mean and she didn't have to burn jo's book and if it was me i would have a really hard time forgiving her but also amy is twelve, she's a kid. she's the baby sister who wants to spend time with the grownups or the older kids. and also, she really admire meg and wants to be a lady just like her. so when it's jo who gets to spend time doing lady-like stuff, it seems unfair. i totally get why amy acted like that. even if it was uncalled for and terrible and selfish and cruel and everything. in that moment, amy was hurt. and she only thought about the way of hurting jo back. and if you think about it, amy seems really passionate about the play meg and jo went to so it makes sense that she's mad she can't enjoy just because of her age and insignificant stuff like etiquette. so she wants to clap back at jo... but i've been a little sister. i've been a big sister. i know how it feels to be left out because of the age. i know how it feels to have something you care about ruined because kids can't think about the consequences..
i also love how the reaction scene is played. how no one is forgiving amy and they're all making sure she knows it was wrong. no one's comforting her and she's learning it the hard way. i like that. because in the 1994 movie, meg is comforting her on the spot. and the argument is really downplayed. it seems as it's only a simple thing. so yeah i'm glad they treated it that way!!! also i like that they showed amy apologizing and how she reacts when jo tells her she can't.
"I don't mind if you cry, Jo."
"Tears are an umanly weakness."
"You're not a man!"
i really like the lake scene.. all the fear and guilt jo's feeling. the way she just goes toward her sister without even thinking about the risks. and how she can't think straight because she's terrified of losing her dear baby sister.. it just paints sisterhood so well. like, of course some days you'll hate your sister because of something she did. but it doesn't mean you're not ready to do anything for her.
and the aftermath.. jo's guilt...... when she talks about her anger.... i can't help but find myself in her words. i know what she means because i've felt like this before.. and it's so comforting when marmee tells her that she's just like her..
"But I am angry. Almost every day of my life. I've been trying to cure my rage for forty years."
and then everything is over with an exchange of excuses. and smiles.
the scene with the vaughan on the boats is adorable too!! i love bow playful they are.. and beth doing her best to overcome her anxiety and being just so kind and nice..... she's a treasure.
and it's a pleasure to see more of meg and john's relationship!! it doesn't feel so out of nowhere. they both have a interest in each other and show it casually.. they're adorable. i really like them together.
and the development of beth and mr. laurence's friendship!!!!!!! it's really heartwarming to see that they found comfort in being each other's companion.
"I thought silence was her best memorial."
EPISODE 2
i really love kathryn newton's portrayal of amy.. i think she's the best at acting both younger and older than her own age. her 12yo amy doesn't stand out too much and i like that. and i still get the feeling that she's a younger girl than she is without trying too much. she's unbearable but still really lovable yknow? meg sharing her happiness of being able to stay with her friends and go to a ball with amy is so cute.. i love their moments together and their relationship.
and i'm happy that they showed john taking care and helping marmee and being part of the family even before proposing to meg.. he's such a gentleman tbh!!
oh how i love meg.. it's really this version that made me fall in love with her.... seeing how she's envious of her friends but still admits that it's okay and that's how life is..
i think the show emphasis a lot on jo and laurie's differences instead how showing how well they work together. lot of their scenes together are just them arguing because laurie isn't happy with is life and jo has to remind him to be grateful and how lucky he is and blah blah blah.. i wish they could've added some scenes where they're just spending playful time together without the need of telling us about their differences..
but as much as i don't really like their friendship the way it is in this adaptation, i also think it's what made me really like amy and laurie's relationship. because they spend so much time showing us that laurie is different from jo that when he's with amy (who's also very different from her) then they seem perfect for one another. without even trying to hard. and i think it's pitiful they did it this way.
laurie being jo's platonic soulmate and amy's romantic soulmate shouldn't exclude one or the other. he's both. he found himself in jo because of the troubles of their lives and their dreams. and he found himself in amy because of their joy and love of the same dreams.
if jo is the sun then laurie is the moon. and amy is the stars around. they can and should all exist together.
also i hate the discourses that amy wanted laurie because he was jo's friend first. or that laurie loved amy because he saw her as jo's replacement!!!!!! omg!!!!
their love is so much more than that?? i truly believe that amy admired him since the first time they met. she saw kindness and spirit and novelty in him and that's why she was jealous of his connection with jo but never really meant to get in the middle of them. if laurie liked jo it was alright for amy as he would still be a part of their family. and then, her admiration and fondness turned into love as she grew up and jo rejected him.
as for laurie i'll wait until i rewatch the rest of the show to share my thoughts!!
i love how beth's reaction at amy's "punishment" is shown!! she's furious and isn't afraid to show it. and the way she's taking care of her little sister. of her baby sister!!!!!!! beth is terrified of everything but as soon as something happens to one of her beloved sisters, she's unable to contain her anger. she can be so discreet but i love that she's explaining to amy why her teacher should be punished.. it's just so important to me that beth is a real character with a real personality instead of just being the sick and quiet one. of course she'd be indignated that her baby sister has been hurt at school!! and of course she'd tend to her wounds with all the kindness of her heart.
i also loved how, earlier in the episode, she reminded amy of something marmee had told them. she was strict but fair and still so full of love and kindness.. i really adore her......
and the way she shout at jo because she's playing their parents' favorite song.. it's her way of comforting her sister and herself. it's her way of saying "it'll be okay"... :(
also. meg at the ball. i love her. she's not being herself but i don't really see it as something bad? she's an actress so she's just acting and enjoying a life she might never have in the future. it's her one and only chance of playing pretend.. and i love her for that!! she only start to care when she realises that people mischaracterizated her way too much. and she's mad they thought her sweet and loving mother could have made PLANS of marrying her of with an heir!! she's stopping the role because people didn't get her character!! and it started to affect her family. and no one can touch her family!!
i love her so much :((
amy putting her foot in whatever was in the bucket is so stupid and funny i love that she's really just a little girl experimenting with life and art and doing errors lmaoooo
"And can't you see I'm being incommodate by my art?"
beth is really way too good.. i'm devastated..... i love her :((
the way she's really putting everyone before herself.. she's unable to cross the road to play at mr. laurence's house but won't hesitate a single minute to run and ask for help for others. she has such a kind soul..
laurie trying to convince amy to go stay with aunt march is really one of my favorite scenes.. of course she's crying and kicking and screaming and of course he's screaming back because he just wants her to be safe..... and he knows exactly what to say to calm her.. he knows exactly how she feels because that's probabky how he felt before moving in with his grandfather. he knows what it is to stay weeks on end in a dull house with a cross old man!! and he knows solitude and wouldn't wish it to anyone. especially amy. because she's a social person, just like him. i think they both strongly rely on other people to feel good..
and i know he's offering to come and see her because it's one of the only way to make her go. but it's also because he enjoys her company!! he doesn't mind spending every day with her.
she's acting like a spoiled brat and they both know it very well. but he doesn't mind. because he knows how she really feel inside. she's hurt and scared not for herself but for her dear sister. she knows it's serious and she's already so anxious about her father's health........
and beth.. oh my beth..... i love her :(
i love the way laurie gently keep up with amy's antiques but still tells her when she's going too far. i love that they both know they can better themselves and are agreeing that they can do it. they're good for each other.
"If you want to look revolting in your coffin, that is entirely up to you."
the scene of mr. laurence closing the piano is heartbreaking. he's ready to grieve for the second time.. :(
laurie trying to kiss jo while beth is sick is one of the worst scenes EVER. everything about it is soooo wrong omg... my boy!! her sister is on her death bed!! don't try to kiss your best friend!!!!!!!! i HATE it.. why did they include this?? it was so unnecessary....... it really feels like they're just trying to show us how their relationship can't work in any way possible but it's wrong!! they're the best of friends!! just not made to love each others.. why can't they be just friends??????? i'm kinda pissed about it..
and the problem isn't that laurie is in love with jo because i think it's okay. my problem with this whole scene and their relationship in this adaptation it's that it feels so empty and shallow?? as if they were friends only because laurie loves her?? as if he doesn't care about beth dying?????? yes he's in love with jo but before everything else he loves the march family!! he loves meg and amy and beth too! he's their friend too!! and i'm kinda sad that they took out the whole private club and theater out of this adaptation because i think it added a really important part of his relationship to the marchs..
making him act as if he doesn't care about beth is revolting.
also yes laurie is flawed. he thinks he will be able to make jo love him. he's so sure that he will make her care about love.. but i think that's part of his character. he's an entitled teenager.. it's not a good thing but i don't think it's that bad...... until he kisses her out of nowhere........ :||
marmee coming home, beth getting better and the others making her a snowman.... love them all so much :(
meg taking care of beth<3333
laurie buying a pack of oranges because he thought jo was at the dentist hhhhhh i love him he's so caring and nice ;;;
jo's speech about growing up i love her!!!!!
THE NEW PIANO!!!!!!!!!!!! and their father!!!!!!!!!! it's a happy christmas indeed omg.....
i love john and meg!! my babies!!!!! the way she says "I will marry well because John loves me!" before realising and adding "And I love him." with such genuineness.... yes you love him my darling you do!! and not only because he does or you're defying your aunt march.. she's so happy with him..
all of them singing for their parents and friends.. the smiles they're sharing..... oh how they care so earnestly for each other...
beth cutting every story jo published in the papers omg she really is her biggest fan!!!!! and she's probably jo's muse.. :(
it's so important to see the way jo sees her writing versus the way her father sees it. for her, writing and publishing stories isn't about recognition or art anymore but it' a way to provide for her family. something she longed to do for the longest time. it's the closest thing from being a boy she'll ever have. she can help her parents and sisters by selling her thoughts and ideas. it's no longer a passion from the heart but the mean to have a better life.
and it's so interesting to see her father trying to make her understand it shouldn't be this way... he's so right when he tells her, "You must also nurture yourself and that means to nurture your writing. It's more sacred than you allow yourself to think." like!!!!!!!!!!
writing was her passion. what she lived for. what she longed to do forever. she saw it as the key to her castle in the sky. and now, she can use it to help the ones she loves but her father isn't wrong when he says it's sacred. because if a passion becomes labor then it's not a passion anymore. and i love the way he wants to protect her from losing the one thing she's really passionate about..
"There are too many things I have to achieve by it, Father."
meg is soooooo pretty in her wedding dress omg.. and them wearing all flower crowns and surprising marmee.. i love them i love them i love them so much......
and i love how they portrayed marmee's love of her daughters. she's not interfering a lot in their lives, letting them make their own experiences. but she's always there for them. a shoulder to cry on, strong arms to support them. and the way she's closing the door to cry after seeing them and feeling overwhelmed by her love for them.... it's wonderful to see how much she loves them.
and aunt march coming to the wedding!!! it makes me so happy..
seeing how amy takes good care of beth is so heartwarming.. i feel like their relationship is the one that's the least shown and it's so sad because i just know they both love each other so much!!!!!
"Beth's fading away."
oh laurie i swear to god stop trying to change jo's mind about marriage or about you!!! the girl's not interested!!!!!!! move on!!!!!!!!!! i love him dearly but he can be kinda annoying when he wants.......
EPISODE 3
meg is pregnant!!!! my baby!!
"Our house is full of stories, lives unfolding, wings waiting to take flight."
amy is sooo pretty!!!!!! my beloved
beth hiding her pain.. no my love......
i know jo thought it was her that'll go to europe with aunt march and their cousin or whatever because she worked for the old lady for years and it wasn't a good job but she kept up with it because she was certain there would be a reward. i get that she can be frustrated that she wasn't choose but, to be fair, she did it to herself.. amy is thrilled to go to europe but she also knows how much jo wanted to go.. but it's not her fault nor her place to care.......
twins!!!!!!!!!!! meg got twins!!!! i'm so happy for them..
i love beth and laurie's special relationship. they have something unique. not so much in words but little acts every day. him saluting her when he pass by the window. sharing smiles on the lawn. i'm sure he buys her some new music sheets every year for her birthday. and she knits him a new scarf or slippers for his. she admires him as much as he admires her...
oh please laurie stop trying to kiss jo it's just painful to watch...................
jo misunderstandings beth and thinking she's in love with laurie will never be not funny to me omg jo wake up!!
i'm sorry but i really can't understand jo and laurie's friendship in this adaptation. they just seem to never agree with each other. they're always arguing about everything and nothing.....
friedrich uuuuugh let me throw up..... i like this version of him better than the 1994's one but i still absolutely hate him............ weird old man.. i don't care if he's good with children and have a nice mind or whatever i hate it.
amy in europe!!!!!!!! my love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the fact that she keeps reading jo's stories even on the other side of the world.. it's so comforting to know they'll always find a way to be all together....
laurie stop!!!!!! move on!!!!!!!!!!!!! stop confessing to her!!!!!!!!! it's so awkward!!!!!!!!! i hate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ughhhhhhh
even if it could seem manipulative or whatever to cry after being rejected even if he knew that she would reject him, i like that they played it like this. because it sends us back to that time where beth said to jo that she could cry and jo replied it was an unmanly weakness. but now, seeing her best friend cry, she can know that even men cry when they're sad or hurt.
and i think jo is really sorry that she can't reciprocate his feelings (because she's a lesbian) and if she could have, he's the only one she would've wanted by her side. he's her soulmate, after all. her companion. they shared everything but not love..
ALSO that's part of why i don't understand why she'd choose friedrich over laurie when she's literally has no romantic feelings for any of them. she literally said to laurie that she would never love him or anyone that way but yet she still decides to go with friedrich?? it doesn't make any sense to me. i understand that she's mostly interested in his mind and ideas and sees in him a good companion for her lonely life but still......... i hate it..... jo should have ended alone or in an ambiguous relationship with another same spirited young woman...........
this part of the story will always make me a little bit pissed..
anyway i love that they showed laurie and mr. laurence's relationship!! and that he cares about his grandson's happiness.....
beth and jo at the beach.. no beth don't let yourself die....
amy and laurie in europe!!!!!!!! my loves!!!!!!
marmee's reaction is heartbreaking. truly heartbreaking. no one should go through that. nobody should have to bury a child...
"I could keep her safe here. And now she's going to go so far away from home."
i'm so sad........
"So many fresh flowers I might as well climb into a vase."
oh amy i love you.. and laurie my baby......
beth.. my beth..... my darling... it's so unfair
i love the scene of laurie and amy in the river.. they're so adorable....... i love them so much....... :((
the way they never said once the names of meg's children lmaooo
jo running to take amy in her arms :((
laurie's little speech to jo is really heartwarming.. it's what they both needed to hear and say..
i love seeing them all together at last.. that's what they truly deserve.......
