LBD 79

[redbrunja]

I realize that this episode is mostly set-up for Thursday's judging by the preview image

(and how thrilled am I that it's looking like Darcy is going to be a more regular feature!) but this is the first time where I have felt like Lizzie's actions were really unbelievable. That conversation felt very stilted and forced and not in the natural way that Darcy and Lizzie's conversation are, where they are understandably awkward with each other. I don't know why she didn't just say to Bing Lee, 'I hear you broke up with my sister because of what Darcy and Caroline said; that was a mistake; Jane deserved a conversation; you handled that ill.' And I'm kind of surprised that Darcy hasn't already sad something to Bing about Jane or told him to watch Lizzie's videos.

Comments

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Still have to watch 79, but I think we're entering a stage in the book where the writers have GOT to loosen up and approach this from a more modern perspective. They may have to stray from the novel, but adhering too closely makes that stilted feeling obvious.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

but I think we're entering a stage in the book where the writers have GOT to loosen up and approach this from a more modern perspective.

*nods*

They do. Lizzie AND Jane getting engaged would feel really false, and given the narrative weight on Lizzie's career, not an actual happy ending for her. (Like, what Lizzie does next career wise HAS to be a huge part of the series' resolution). Also, considering Lydia's sympathetic portrayal in this adaptation and how AWARE she is that Wickem is not good news (which I think she is), any ending that has Lydia still in ANY kind of relationship with Wickem would be a TERRIBLE ending for her.

[errant-shadows.livejournal.com]

I get what you're saying - you're probably right. I think I have to watch it again, though, because I spent the first viewing mourning the absence of Darcy.

Bing was... I don't know. For all that he and Jane are (were?) adorable together, as a couple they're kind of boring. I much prefer the spice and fire we get when Lizzie and Darcy clash.

On Darcy's part, I suppose you could argue that he felt that he'd already interfered too much in his friend's life. He'd done so before, with good intentions, and that blew up in his face. I can imagine he'd be reluctant to do so again. Plus, while he's seen the videos, that doesn't mean he's convinced of Jane's feelings. Remember, as far as we're aware, he's only seen them once, and he would have been rather distracted by other things, like Lizzie's rejection, her long-term loathing and George Wickham's appearance in her life.

He also made the point that since Bing seemed to walk away so easily, his feelings weren't that deep. Remember that Darcy is used to Bing falling for a new angel all the time. Though I wouldn't call Bing a player, he does seem to have a history of being fairly fickle when it comes to relationships. Even if Darcy was convinced of Jane's feelings, he might feel that she'd suffered enough and deserves a clean break, without being exposed to more heartbreak. We don't know how much time they've been spending together, and Caroline has been running interference, so even if Darcy sees that Bing is upset, he might think it's just taking a little longer to get over the angel than usual.

Pride could be a factor, too. First, Darcy would have to admit he was wrong, and then he'd have air his dirty laundry and expose his hypocrisy at going after someone so "unsuitable" as well as his resultant failure. He likes to keep his feelings close to the chest, so it's understandable that he wouldn't want to humble himself in such a way. At this point in the story, Darcy is still in the process of getting over himself and not letting his ego get in the way.

If Jane and Bing did get back together, Darcy would likely be exposed to Lizzie constantly as well, and he'd understandably be reluctant to put himself in the position of dealing with the object of his unrequited affections on a regular basis.

I think Lizzie may have been somewhat blind-sided by Bing's appearance as well. She did spend much of their conversation fishing for information and trying to determine, what, if anything, he knew. He bolted out of there pretty fast, too - maybe she simply in shock and didn't know how to ask. Hindsight and all that.

And they're the only reasons I can think of - which are pretty weak, actually, at least on Lizzie's part. I suspect we'll just have to chalk it up to a plot point that doesn't really translate well from the book.

That's something I am quite curious about - how are they going to deal with Lydia's fall from grace? In the book she never learned her lesson and she was stuck with Wickham forever - there's no way to do that plausibly in a contemporary setting. Even if she had married him in Vegas, there is such a thing as divorce. This Lydia is quite different and for all that she can be incredibly immature, she's not stupid. I don't know how they're going to work around that part of the story in a way that's both realistic and true to these versions of the characters.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

He also made the point that since Bing seemed to walk away so easily, his feelings weren't that deep. Remember that Darcy is used to Bing falling for a new angel all the time. Though I wouldn't call Bing a player, he does seem to have a history of being fairly fickle when it comes to relationships.

This actually makes a lot of sense to me. However, I am still frustrated by what the show is doing with Bing - for me, a big part of Darcy's characterization is that he takes responsibility for things – like, I think it's huge that after (depending on the version) having Lizzie tear him apart on the internet or declare that he's the last man on earth she'd ever marry, he realized that hey, she has some fair points, and gives her information that she should have (truth about Wickem). Plus, I think Darcy helps facilitate Jane and Bing's reunion? So I'm kind of wondering, pacing wise, why that hasn't happened yet.

In the book she never learned her lesson and she was stuck with Wickham forever - there's no way to do that plausibly in a contemporary setting.

Also, they've shown Lydia as too much of a sympathetic character for that ending to be anything but cruel.

I don't know how they're going to work around that part of the story in a way that's both realistic and true to these versions of the characters.

I'm hoping that that's one place were they really diverge from the book and go in an entirely new direction.

[errant-shadows.livejournal.com]

In the book, Darcy didn't tell Bingley about Jane until they'd returned to Netherfield and he'd had a chance to see them interact together in person. It does kind of make sense at this point for Darcy to be reluctant about further interfering in his friend's life.

Bing himself is also a factor. Book-wise, in that time period, men and women weren't allowed to correspond with each other unless they were engaged - it would have been seen as evidence of the woman being compromised. (Darcy's letter in the book could have had huge ramifications if anyone had discovered it.)

In modern times, however, there's no such communication barrier, and Bing broke up with Jane through text!!! Which is a sleazy thing to do, no matter how nice you are. Even if he didn't want to see her in person, he could have easily called or emailed, offered some explanation, but he made no effort to do so. He let himself be led by the influence of his friends, which demonstrates a weakness of character which is off-putting as well. In the book it made sense - too much attention or time spent together would have given rise to expectations of marriage, which Bingley would have felt honour-bound to uphold, and for all that it was a sucky thing to do to Jane, Darcy was genuinely looking out for his friend and trying to protect him from a future shackled to a gold-digger.

But we live in very different times, and marriage doesn't have to factor into a relationship at all. A more realistic reaction to the Bing/Jane saga would have been to let the relationship run its course, so he could "get it out of his system." Bing was under no obligation to continue the relationship long-term, and his fortune was safe, so those motivations were pretty weak. The fact that Bing let himself be manipulated like that makes him pretty useless, and then he continued to ignore Jane and never tried to contact her at all.

I can acknowledge that it's a tricky plot point to deal with, and while I think the necessary adherence to strict social mores means that it holds up in the book, in a modern setting it just falls short. Ultimately, Darcy went about it the wrong way, but he was trying to help his friend - Bing should be held responsible for his own part as well.

...

Wow, that was... not meant to be so long. In my defence, I'm a lit major - can you tell?

[fairest1.livejournal.com]

I think that Lizzie was internally a ball of awkward here because it brought home the point to her that Bing is now the only person who has appeared on screen (save her parents) that remains unaware of her videos. She avoided saying anything directly out of fear of blurting out "Why don't you watch my videos" again.

. . . current headcanon is that he won't actually be informed of the videos by anyone, but will ultimately find out after googling himself and coming up with "Bing Lee and his 500 teenage prostitutes"

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

. . . current headcanon is that he won't actually be informed of the videos by anyone, but will ultimately find out after googling himself and coming up with "Bing Lee and his 500 teenage prostitutes"

That will be a glorious day.