The Return of Misselthwaite

So, I have not exactly been sticking to the plan of writing on here every day. (I am really going to try to change that). To make up for not writing individual posts, I will be making a weekly recap post soon. I will also make a seperate post, where I discuss the premiere of LLL, and establish some theories and hopes for what might happpen in the series. A lot of exciting things have been happening, and I look forward to sharing more of my thoughts with you.

As my original plan dictates, Mondays are supposed to be a discussion of The Misselthwaite Archives. Since my last post, the series has returned from its five week hiatus, with an even clearer focus than before. As usual, Sophie Giberson is the highlight of this show. She really understands who Mary needs to be as a character, and she takes intuitive leaps in order to insure that as an audience, we are getting a nuanced and fully realized person. (One that might not always be fully depicted in the script). With that being said, the writing is still strong, and the transmedia is great.

Narratively, the show has also reached a pivotal point. Prior to the hiatus, Callie cautiously agreed to make a trip to the glade. Similar to the original character in the book, Callie is unwell. However, most of her problems are psychological, rather than physical. While she does have a lot of severe allergies, she uses them as an excuse for always staying in her secluded basement. She is an agoraphobic hypochondriac, and she has learned how to use her illness as a means of manipulating people into doing what she wants. Mary is the only one who sees through this. Callie is initially unreceptive to the idea of going outside, but Mary, and Declan are able to convince her to give it a try. However, things go almost tragically wrong right before they make their initial attempt. In the first episode back, Mary brings her cat to visit Callie. Unaware that Callie is severely allergic, she places him on the bed. Mary does not notice when Callie stops breathing. While Mary is depicted as being a self-centered person, it is not until Callie almost dies, that she shows any true signs that she cares about another human being. Despite her feelings of genuine remorse, the episode ends with Declan accusing her of being a selfish brat. Early series Mary would have dismissed this accusation entirely, but the three most recent episodes show Mary taking those words to heart, and actually doing something to try to repair the damage she has caused in the lives of the people who are closest to her. With only eight episodes left in the series, it will be interesting to see how things wrap up. Will Callie make it to the glade? Will Mary decide what she wants to do with her life, and will she be able to utilize the friendships she has made, to forge new paths and continue to make tangible growth? We will know for sure by the end of August. Until then, I will continue to post on Mondays, although my commentary might not always be plot related. I feel like it becomes too much of a plot summary otherwise, and I would like to move away from that. And, as originally promised two weeks ago, I will be writing multiple posts about Classic Alice, starting tomorrow.