Will Mr. Darcy and Amanda patch it up?
Lost in Austen, the time travel twisted bonnet adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice concluded quite satisfactorily last week, and my head is still spinning from the frenetic pace and fast work that our heroine Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper) conducted before the plot could be put right again – well almost right, since the ending was quite a surprise.
Mr. Darcy and Caroline Bingley engaged? Impossible!
In episode three, Mr. Darcy (Elliot Cowan) declared his love to Amanda; overjoyed, she in turn spills her guts sharing a bit more than a Regency gentleman could swallow about her past life of living with her boyfriend and he reneges on his offer because she “is not a maid”. Episode four opens with Darcy’s immediate announcement that he shall marry (the punt from the Cambridge end) a gloating Caroline Bingley (Christina Cole). Amanda is in shock, but has no time to ruminate as other distressing news takes over the plot. Lydia Bennet (Perdita Weeks) has run off with Charles Bingley (Tom Mison) and Mrs. Bennet (Alex Kingston) is dispondent with shame at the elopement proclaiming the she does not have an appropriate bonnet for town! Amanda and Mrs. Bennet return to Longbourn to engage Mr. Bennet’s (Hugh Bonnevile) assistance is locating the couple. The letter from Lydia revealing their design to run off together is addressed from Hammersmith, Amanda’s proclaimed home, so off the Bennet’s and Amanda go in hot pursuit.
Mr. Wickham a time traveler too? I can smell it on him!
In another eerie coincidence George Wickham (Tom Riley) magically appears and has been awaiting their arrival. Huh? Ok, this leap of plot really got me thinking about Wickham’s past actions in previous episodes and I have this pet theory about him. He is a time traveler also! How is it that he is always there to help and guide heroine Amanda to the next step? Remember in episode two when he eluded to Amanda that they were alike and that he could smell himself on her. That creeped me out, but if you interpret it in another way, include all the assistance he has given her and his being in Hammersmith to aid the Bennet’s in locating the couple without our knowledge that he was privy to Lydia’s letter, then my conclusion is that he is a time traveler also who has already read this twisted version of Pride and Prejudice in the future, passed through a worm hole time travel portal thing and is assisting Amanda in making the Lost in Austen plot turn out as it should. Just my wild imagination spinning here.
Check out your neighborhood honey bucket. It might be a time portal!
After the wayward couple are located and the indignant Mr. Bennet is injured in a duel with Bingley, Amanda is frantic to return Elizabeth Bennet (Gemma Arterton) back to her Regency father who could die. Poof, she walks through a door at the Inn and is transported back to modern day London as she exits a honey bucket parked in a construction site on the street. What is it about bathrooms that lend themselves to time portals? I do not think that I even want to touch that analogy. Amanda hooks back up with her incredulous boyfriend and they are off to find Elizabeth who is now working as a nanny when she spies Mr. Darcy wandering in a daze through the streets. Gallant gentleman that he is, he has followed her through the portal and declares his love to her again claiming that his arrogant pride prohibited him from overlooking her loss of maidenhood and accepting her love. Amanda is pleased that he is there but determined to find Elizabeth, so off they go and there she is, all modernized with short hair, working as a nanny and well acquainted with modern technology like mobile phones and the Internet. In one of the most ironic scenes in the mini-series she recognizes Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy’s name and exclaims that they are married, showing him a web site on the Internet dedicated to Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 mini-series of Pride and Prejudice. More cheerful allusions to past adaptations, and ironic bits of allegory that make this mini-series so engaging to watch.
The modernized Elizabeth Bennet introduces Mr. Darcy to the Internet!
A web site devoted to Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy? Happy thought indeed!
Elizabeth reveals Mr. Darcy’s future to him on the Internet
Now that Elizabeth has been located, Amanda returns to her flat in Hammersmith and to her bathroom’s magic time portal to take Elizabeth and Darcy back to Regency time and the novel so they can fall in love and the story will be fixed. The plot moves very quickly through a succession of resolutions which I will not completely reveal to those who have not seen the mini-series yet, but we are shown a montage at the end that Amanda experiences reliving many significant moments during her stay in the novel. I am certain that the memory of Mr. Darcy ascending from the Pemberley pond is what really convinced her not to leave, and that it gives me the perfect excuse to brazenly show the shot again.
Another excuse to show a wet Mr. Darcy
I will wrap up my recap and review by saying that this was great fun, I was not offended (as some) by the creative changes and hope that we see a twisted bonnet parody on the character of Lydia Bennet in the future. Now, that is a wild young girl whose exploits and assignations could curl anyone’s hair! I will leave you all with my favorite scene of episode four, the surprise reconciliation of Amanda and Mr. Darcy. Cheers to all time traveling twisted bonnet fans, until we meet again in this time continuum, or the next.
Mr. Darcy contemplating life without the woman he loves
Amanda surprises Mr. Darcy on the terrace at Pemberley
Amanda reminds him that they are actually not arguing!
Mr. Darcy realizing that Amanda returns his love
Mr. Darcy shows his regard for Amanda
Amanda and Mr. Darcy seal the deal!
Fantasy is now reality for the lucky Miss Price
Further reading
- Review Lost in Austen Episode Four Review: Brilliant and Bonkers at Jane Austen’s World
- Review Lost in Austen Episode Four - Dan’s Media Digest
- Recap Lost in Austen Episode Four Recap – PopSugar
- Read the discussion on Episode Four on AustenBlog
- Buy the DVD of Lost in Austen
- Read my review of episode one, episode two, and episode three
I loved watching Lost in Austen and episode 4, but I have to say, I’m disappointed by the ending. I so wanted Lizzy to end up with Darcy, and Amanda to end up with Wickham. (And the more I think about it, the more amused and slightly guilty I feel that I liked Wickham a great deal more than Darcy in this twisted adaptation!)
I have now watched Lost in Austen so many times a- my ribs hurt from Laughing and b-I think that I should stop! A fantastic ending- all fantasies coming true but could Lizzie end up with a modern Michael!? I never thought it could happen but I prefer this Mr Darcy (especially on a bus or in a wet shirt) to Colin Firth- I think i will need to see a physician. Beam me up Scottie but Lost in Austen is an absolute Triumph- Now i must buy the DVD!
Whew! All seems a bit haphazard to me! Being in the states, I have yet to even see the thing…hopefully it comes to the US/out on DVD soon…
I really have to agree with M, Wickham was infinitely more interesting than Darcy and Amanda and Wickham had way more sizzling chemistry between them as between her and Darcy. I actually thought, that the series would end with rather Amanda with Wickham, especially with what he said to her right before she re-entered present day: “Everyone you know, Miss Price, will one day pry (or prize) your fingers from the raft in which you drown, that’s the way of the world. Everyone. Except me.”
HOT! Forget the shrine to current and former Mr. Darcys, I’d much rather devote myself to worshiping the Cult of George Wickham (applies only to the Lost in Austen series)!
The things he did for and said to Amanda made me think that, the romance was between he and Amanda. That really the writer and/or director intentionally made this stark contrast between the stiff, dull, boring and unimaginative Darcy ,and the Knight in Shining Armor of Wickham with his rakish humor (what modern girl doesn’t like a man with some dry wit or flirtatious repartee) so that we’d already be prepared when Amanda and Darcy did not work out, which in my opinion they CLEARLY DIDN’T.
I guess, what I really came here to say: Was ALL of my eggs were in Wickham’s basket, and although, I found the series delightful, I was really disappointed. I was betting on Wickham because I clearly saw on signs pointing to Wickham. Can I have my own time travel series now with Wickham as my ‘Darcy’?
I was dismayed to see how few questions were answered:
1) What happens to Lizzy? Did she and Bingley get it on, or did they actually philosophize all night? In a Georgian context, it wouldn’t matter a whit, as her reputation would be shattered, regardless. But did she find a way to happiness in the end?
2) Was Amanda locked in the 19th century forever, or could she at least vacation in the 21st Century? So many time travel stories leave our modern heroine happily marooned in a time lacking any feminist gains: rights of property for women, ability to move about freely, ability to earn a decent living / pursue education and a career, birth control, and modern medicine. I would love for writers to address this for once.
3) Darcy seems unable to adapt to any aspect of modernity, and this is where he fails utterly for me: His racist comment on the bus, his continued disgust at Amanda’s ways (although he “loves” her despite them), and his willingness to write off all that he has seen in the 21st Century as a bad dream.
To make Darcy work as a fitting partner for Amanda, he would need to overcome these issues, as he finally overcame his hypocrisy over Amanda’s lost maidenhood. I would have loved to have her ask about his past, and why a man can have a past when a woman cannot. If we’re fulfilling our fantasy with time travel, I want to go to town with this one.
I am in complete agreement that Wickham would have been a much better choice for Amanda.
4) Why did Wickham end up with Miss Bingley? What does he bring to the table for her?
5) What was the secret that Miss Bingley shared with Amanda? Didn’t catch that first time around.
6) Amanda is on a mission to find Elizabeth to bring her to her injured father. She is willing to dally around brushing her teeth, and letting men fight over her for a good while before getting Elizabeth back to him. Bad form.
7) Amanda agreed to withdraw from society in exchange for the annulment of Jane’s marriage. If she stays with Darcy, will that be possible? Desirable?
In these time travel fantasies, it is usually the woman who gives up modern life to follow her love back in time. But this leaves her marooned in a place where she is without family or friends, and wholly dependent on her man, and without anything familiar or comforting. It seems like a very self effacing fantasy. I would love to see her have an out, or eventually bring the man to her world, on her terms.
I thoroughly enjoyed Lost in Austen, now that I finally got to watch it, and thoroughly enjoyed your 4-part review of it.
I too thought it charming, funny, and true to the Austen spirit of the story.