From Mansfield With Love ended on Sunday. In some ways, I thought it might be past time, and, yet, somehow, even though I knew the web series needed to end, I found it incredibly hard to say goodbye.
My sister recommended FMWL to me back when they were about a month in. At first, I was not really sure about it. I had never seen an adaptation of Mansfield Park that was really as good as I wanted it to be, so it was hard to even get started. I did appreciate the concept, however. The videos were presented as the brainchild of “Frankie Price’s” brother Will. Because he was traveling in the Navy, he did not have reliable access to Skype, so it was hard for them to keep in touch. His idea was for Frankie to make little videos about her daily life, as an employee at Mansfield Park, a country mansion turned hotel, and then when he did have a good internet connection, he would download them.
For the first few months of the series, it was the perfect explanation for why this rather shy girl would be sharing her personal thoughts and feelings on the internet. But by the last few months of the series, this setup made very little sense, and it stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit far. Happily, by that point, I did not care. I was totally hooked.
There were so many things I loved about this show - from the choice to include some videos from Mary Crawfords’s perspective, to the great sibling relationship between Frankie and Will, to the pop culture references, to the little trips and changes of scenery.
But, this review is already getting kind of long, so I will try to limit myself to only talking about one or two of the many things they did really well.
One of the biggest highlights of FMWL for me was Frankie’s relationship with Henry Crawford. We watched as he started toying with her feelings for his own amusement, and then accidentally grew to care about her (in his own complicated way). Between the strong writing in that section and Peter Jennison’s performance (which started a little shaky but by the end was very compelling), Henry Crawford finally appeared on screen in all of his infuriating complexity. He was impossible to simply hate, but he was equally impossible to love. As such, there was much debate in the comments of each video about whether or not Henry deserved Frankie’s love, and if Henry could find redemption through that love. Eventually Frankie answered those questions herself as she declared, “It is not my responsibility to make Henry Crawford a better person!”
Saving the best for last brings us finally to our leading lady. Holly Truslove was a magnificent Frankie Price. Sometimes with webseries, I notice moments that pull me out of the story. The episodes are short, and there is little time to become completely immersed in the characters’ world, and I become so very aware that they are actors as I notice the choices they make - but, not so with Holly. She made Frankie feel so real to me. Honestly, I wanted to be her best friend. In the final episode, Frankie thanks her viewers and says the only word that really describes how she feels about her audience is “love.”
Well, Frankie Price, fictional though you may be, you are my heroine, and I love you too.
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