Episode Three of Lost in Austen, ITV’s new twisted bonnet mini-series of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice aired last week and continued to surprise UK viewers (and those lucky enough to catch a bootleg version online). Our post modern heroine Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper) is getting quite resourceful to survive in the Regency world after Mrs. Bennet (Alex Kingston) kicks her out of the Bennet home at Longbourn turning to the least likely character for help, that scoundrel George Wickham (Tom Wiley)! But in this upside down version of Pride and Prejudice Wickham is actually helpful and supportive of our heroine, contributing funds to buy her a frock and coaching her on social graces and the feminine allurements of the language of the fan! Quite funny, but go figure!
Mr. Collins lusts after his new wife Jane Bennet! Eww!
Amanda is off to Hunsford Parsonage and Jane Bennet Collins (Morven Christie) to try to fix the mess of her marrying the wrong man. Jane’s husband Rev. Mr. Collins (Guy Henry) continues to creep me out along with his new wife poor Jane who is acutely aware that she should have married Charles Bingley (Tom Mison). Meanwhile things at the Longbourn household are in turmoil. Mr. Bennet (Hugh Bonneville) is despondent over his decision to allow Jane to marry that preening Caliban Mr. Collins and sequestered in his study. Hugh Bonneville’s performance as Mr. Bennet continues to charm. If this is a caricature of the original Mr. Bennet, amazingly he has managed to make him even more droll and humorous!
Lady Catherine de Bourgh likes to win at everything!
We are introduced to the officious and imposing Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Lindsay Duncan) as Amanda dines at Rosings with the Collins’. Not only is this version of Lady Catherine commanding, she likes to gamble a bit at cards. Mr. Darcy (Elliot Cowan) thinks that Amanda is following him and in one of the funniest and sharpest repartees that we have seen in this mini-series she uses her new flirty feminine charms with fans and witty chat to win her argument. This Amanda has finally smartened up, pulling an Elizabeth Bennet on him by besting him with banter and confidence. Bravo Amanda! You are starting to figured out how an 18th-century woman gets ahead in Regency society.
Mr. Darcy surveying his Pemberley grounds
Charmed and intrigued by this new Amanda, Mr. Darcy invites her to his estate at Pemberley to meet his sister Georgiana. Mrs. Bennet mooches in on the junket and Lydia (Perdita Weeks), Caroline (Christina Cole), the despondent and boozed out Charles Bingley, and the Collins’ all travel to Mr. Darcy’s estate as his guests. In my favorite scene in episode 3, Darcy declares his love for Amanda, she asks a favour, and we get to relive one the most iconic scenes of 20th-century pop culture.
Amanda Price listens to Mr. Darcy’s admission of love by the Pemberley pond
Mr. Darcy entreats Amanda to accept their love
Amanda asks for a favour. Mr. Darcy complies with a dip in the Pemberley pond
Contrary to urban myth, Mr. Darcy does not walk on water
Pemberley pond water, the next elixir of love. Now available in a convenient poptop
Amanda having a post modern moment watching
Mr. Darcy ascend from the Pemberley pond
Mr. Darcy might be all wet, but we know he is never wrong
Mr. Darcy pledges his love to Amanda
Amanda can’t believe that this is happening!
Is Mr. Darcy supposed to fall in love with her?
Having this Darcy do the dip was sheer genius by screen writer Guy Andrews, undeniably connecting Colin Firth’s iconic Darcy plunge into the Pemberley pond in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series to this pastiche in a humorous way. The twist on this version though is that our heroine Amanda well aware of the drool factor, can not resist experiencing her own personal version of Darcy rising like a god from the water, dripping sex and irony! Is this Mr. Darcy’s version of the dip better than her memory of Colin Firth’s dip as Darcy? Droolgate. News at eleven!
Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) post Pemberley pond plunge,
Pride and Prejudice (1995). Droolgate?
Screenwriter Guy Andrews wicked sense of humor reminds me of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera where everything that is known and familiar is turned topsy-turvy. If this pattern continues my predictions for episode four are that all of the couples will attach themselves to the wrong people and that Amanda will be frantic, attempting to fix everything in accordance with the treasured storyline in the novel Pride and Prejudice. I am all anticipation! We shall see how this mixed-up imagining is all resolved this week in episode four.
Further reading
- Review of Lost in Austen Episode Three at Dan’s Media Digest
- Recap of Lost in Austen Episode Three at PopSugar
- Lost in Austen at the BBC Culture Show Blog
- Lost in Austen: Episode Three at AustenBlog
- Lost in Austen: Episode Three at Jane Austen’s World
- Lost in Austen at Wikipedia
- Lost in Austen Episode Two at Austenprose
- Lost in Austen Episode One at Austenprose
Laurel Ann (Austenprose)
Virginia Claire
RegencyRomantic
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
shelleydewees
Br. Paul Byrd, OP
Aia A. Hussein
Watched the last part yesterday evening and no, I’m not letting any cats out of the bag! But the whole show has been a delight from start to finish. My only regret is that I don’t see how they can manage a sequel.
Heartily endorse the praise of Hugh Bonneville who is not just a brilliant actor but gorgeous with it; and Elliot Cowan’s Darcy is running pretty close to Colin Firth – and that’s something I never imagined thinking.
Nicky
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