The Meraki Touch @valdara - Tumblr Blog

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eddie-redcliffe

The Other Bennet Sister - Chapter 4

bobparkhurst

dónal finn as tom hayward in the other bennet sister

fan-a-tink

No Notes | The Other Bennet Sister (2026)

pennilessandplain

fan-a-tink

Episode 4 | The Other Bennet Sister (2026)

emma-ofnormandy

The Other Bennet Sister 1.3

pennilessandplain

xanaxfarts

Moonbows

A moonbow, also known as a lunar rainbow or white rainbow, is a rainbow created by moonlight rather than sunlight. It's formed when light from the moon refracts and reflects off water droplets, like those in rain or mist, creating a visible arc of light in the sky. Moonbows are generally fainter and less colorful than regular rainbows, and they are much rarer due to the need for specific conditions like a full or near-full moon, clear skies, and dark skies.

princesssokphanny

A once-in-a-lifetime shot — the moon perfectly framed by a rainbow. Caught at just the right time. 🌈 🌕

zipadeea

One of my favorite things about Pride and Prejudice is the Bennet family’s complete cluelessness about Darcy and Elizabeth. Like, if this were a tv show about the Bennets, Darcy and Elizabeth are like, the D storyline. The whole family is trying to get Jane and Bingley together, the regiment is stationed in Meryton, Mr. Collins is taking the house, Lydia and Wickham are obviously the climax, these people have a lot going on. And then, once the regiment has left and Jane and Lydia and Mr. Collins are married and everything seems resolved: plot twist! They’ve got random nobility at the door in the middle of the night telling the know-it-all sister who has been home on and off through the year not to marry the rando rich guy they all hate simply because they’re family and loyal to each other damnit and he called the know-it-all sister ugly once.

And then, of course, they all find out Lizzy and Darcy are actually very in love and literally all of the good things that have happened to them this year are a direct consequence of Darcy loving Lizzy lolol.

lordbabyblack

happy mother's day to mrs. gardiner who saw the potential in mary long before anyone else did and filled the mother-shaped hole in her life

ceeyoutea

THE OTHER BENNET SISTER 1.03 'Chapter 3' (2026)

mephistopheles

i bring a sort of “you should maybe interrogate your so-called ‘preferences’ to make sure they’re not literal textbook examples of severe unconscious bias” vibe that my woke gay friends dont really like

thecatsaesthetics

So, another missed/should have done it this way in The Other Bennet Sister is the REASON behind Hayward and Ann. We're not given a clear answer as to why they got together, Ann says it was 3 years ago, and Hayward says it was "when they were quite young" (which doesn't make sense given his job as a junior lawyer but whatever I guess). What's interesting is Ann mocks Hayward a few different times throughout the show and that's never really brought up. Why are they even together if Ann hates poetry and hates the fact that he's a poor/constantly working lawyer? She seemed incredibly happy to show him off to Mary during that dramatic reveal, but then they show her mock him an episode later. It leaves the audience wonder why are they even together?

Instead of just leaving the audience wondering, the show could have connected it to the two-dance rule they set up. I hated they made Ann basically repeat the rule to Mary, when the audience is already aware from episode one. The two-dance rule was so dramatic in episode one, the audience doesn't need to "re-learn" it.

But what if instead of just repeating it you could have had Ann add "you don't want to end up like me" and Mary presses further, we then get the actual reveal the only reason Hayward and Ann have this "understanding" is because they broke the two-dance rule without knowing. Now Ann cannot find another match and Hayward is obligated to marry her at some point. You could then have Ann then admitted that while Hayward would be a nice husband he would also be nothing but a struggling lawyer. While it's implied Ann has issues with him working so much, flat out let her say she wanted to marry a gentleman who would have a suitable income but is now trapped in this obligation with Hayward. This would have made what eventually happens (Ann leaving for another man and the implication he's more settled) make way more sense.

This would have directly paralleled Mary back in episode one with her almost breaking the two-dance rule with Mr. Sparrow and how easily she could have gotten into an arrangement that she didn't have control over. It would have gone back to the show's defining theme that it isn't just marriage or misery, and you can be miserable in your marriage.

It would have set up the choice between a rich life with Ryder or a poor one with Hayward. That would have allowed Mary to actually reflect on if she would rather have a kind decent husband but is not rich or a flighty rich husband.

This would give the audience sympathy for both Ann and Hayward, as neither want this and they are essentially trapped by the demands of society. Which is what the show was pushing, that societies demands can cause misery. This would also give Ann some much needed depth. Outside of her friends with Mary and this "understanding" with Hayward, she has no defining character traits. But if you let her and Mary have an honest conversation about how she doesn't want to be the wife of a struggling lawyer you let the audience learn something about her.

valdara

Brilliant points. I get the story-telling need for Ann in the series (she's not in the book, where Tom just sabotaged himself through being insecure and a workaholic, which isn't dramatic enough for TV), but they super could have done better by her.

Racist tropes notwithstanding, she was always an obstacle that was going to have to be removed. I'm glad at least she and Mary were still friends in episode 10, so she wasn't 100% disappeared after the removal, but that's certainly not enough to avoid the racism entirely.

The general tokenism overall was disappointing. Other than Mrs. G and the children, there were two POC with significant speaking roles, both ultimately shunted off to background relationships as plot devices to support the leads, with the rest of the "representation" in the background of balls. There were a hundred named side characters, some with the odd line here or there, that were suitable for open casting, but somehow every one of those ended up white.

This is probably my biggest critique of the production. I do love the story, most of the writing, the adaptation of the book, and much of the main casting, and I'll still watch it over and over again. And I'm not going to defend it as the best show that's ever existed. It's a human project, and humans are messy, and if they hired a diversity consultant that person did a bad job.

#the other bennet sister #mary bennet #thomas hayward #ann baxter #jane austen