Anne Shirley

Episode 12

It's always interesting to me what adaptations leave out. This second episode of the Anne of Avonlea section of Anne Shirley cuts the pacing by half (it covers three chapters compared to episode eleven's six), includes a church scene of the sort that the Anne of Green Gables generally omitted, and then is careful to end the episode on a very different note than its source. In this case, I can understand why; in the book, Marilla remarks that Rachel Lynde would tell her that Davy needs “a good spanking,” and even though this takes place over a hundred years ago, it's not an acceptable remark to make today.

But more importantly, it would have undercut the point of this episode. This week introduces Anne's de facto siblings, Davy and Dora Keith, Marilla's orphaned third cousins. In a move she likely never would have considered before Anne, Marilla takes the twins in (they aren't officially adopted at this point in the book, but I suspect that's some backstory the anime is cutting out; not a terrible choice, for the record), and nothing shows how much she's softened like her treatment of Davy. Davy is like an even more impish Anne – he more or less knows what's right and wrong, but he also can't quite help himself from acting out. But where Anne got herself into trouble with ill-considered actions that largely only affected Anne (cordial and liniment cake incidents notwithstanding), Davy's behavior ropes everyone in. And that's more or less the point – Davy, recently orphaned and no doubt keenly aware that adults more overtly welcome his well-behaved twin, is simply trying to be noticed. He's starving for affection and attention, and that leads him to misbehave.

We see this most clearly in his repeated questions about Paul Irving. Anne, in a perhaps misguided attempt to set Davy straight, compares him to her angelic student. She's hoping that Davy will want to emulate Paul, but instead the insecure little boy sees Paul as his rival. By acting the opposite of Paul, he hopes to be noticed by his new big sister, but he's equally afraid that his behavior will make Anne (and Marilla) mad at him. He doesn't quite know how to act, and so he acts out. It's Gilbert and the “carrots” jab all over again, albeit in a different context.

Like little Gilbert, Davy doesn't mean any real harm. He's too young to understand that locking Dora in the neighbor's barn and then hinting that maybe she fell into the well is going to terrify the adults. He thinks it's funny to watch them run around like headless chickens. This is very well shown by the expressions on his face – he's got a bit of a sly smile that's subtle enough that panicked Anne, Marilla, and Mr. Barry don't notice it. Every single time he misbehaves, we can see that he's aware of what he's doing, and the way he acts around Anne specifically lets us know that he wants her to spend time with him. He's terrified of losing her to good boys like Paul Irving, but he doesn't know how to express that, and is resentful of the place he perceives Paul as having in Anne's heart. Simply put, everything he does comes from a valid place, and punishing that by more than “bed without supper” would undercut the message – as well as the idea that Anne and Marilla learned the patience and love they're showing the twins from gentle Matthew.

One negative note for this episode, I don't love the way Davy and Dora's faces are drawn – they look oddly cartoonish when compared to the other characters. It does allow for Davy's expressions to come across clearly, but given the scene where Anne and Gilbert notice the burgeoning affection between Diana and Fred – and the entire sequence only demonstrated through their facial expressions – I don't think that's a great excuse. But I'll tuck that complaint away with my annoyance at Anne and Diana's hair being down and skirts too short: it's not how I would have done it, but I'm still happy to see Anne of Avonlea animated and generally pleased with this episode.

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Anne Shirley is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.