Things are about to get a lot more complicated for our two star-crossed lovers. Emma’s mistress has up and moved to London, bringing Emma just a stone’s throw from her darling William.

Naturally, she’s depressed about it.

William finally stands up to Daddy and breaks off the engagement with Eleanor. She’s humiliated and depressed, of course, but she’ll come to understand that it’s for the best. Someday. Maybe.

Eleanor’s father continues to be a dick and a half - William sure did dodge a bullet avoiding him as father-in-law.

Of course it’s a different time and place and I understand that social norms - especially for that class of people - were very different, but I just can’t separate my twenty-first-century-poor-American worldview from this series. Love is love, and what’s money anyway?!

It’s frustrating, sure, but I suppose therein lies the drama of the series.

Emma’s mistress requests that she attend another party with her and Emma about bursts into tears at the suggestion. Her mistress finally consents and says she’ll just come as an attendant, but it was kind of a sad scene for our girl. I must say, though, that I enjoy seeing the contrast between her uptight, repressed British-ness and her mistress’s bustling, good-natured energy.

At the party, Emma meets Eleanor’s attendant and then sees Eleanor in the hallway. Eleanor doesn’t recognize Emma as the same dolled-up lady from the party (and of course she wouldn’t, being far too wrapped up in her own self), but Emma recognizes her. If she wasn’t already feeling awful for having kissed him, she sure is now.

Back at the Jounes Estate, Vivi bitches at William for breaking off his engagement (she’s such a bitch) and baby Colin cries. It’s pretty much business as usual.

Emma spends some time writing in her journal and thinking about Eleanor and making herself feel bad for kissing Willy. I have to admit I can’t really remember if it was used in the first season or not, but I like this new device of Emma as the narrator, looking back on what’s happening from the future.

The next morning, she overhears some servants gossiping about a young man named William Jounes who broke off his engagement because of his love of a maid. She gets very upset - this is the first she’s heard of the engagement being anulled, after all - and runs away. Unfortunately, they’re able to put two and two together.

Adele sends Hans after her and he rushes off like a dog after a bitch in heat. OK, not really, but I’m trying really hard to dislike him. He’s making it harder and harder to do, though, especially given a moment between he and Emma on a bench in the park where he talks about his father and seems almost human. Knock it off, Hans. You’re the enemy!

He fixes her watch but he can’t mend her broken heart. (Aww.)

The episode ends with Emma back at a dingy place that, based on what I know of the manga, I think is her childhood home. As she walks towards the water, narrator-Emma says something to the effect of, “as I look back, I wasn’t prepared for what was to come.” I had a moment of irrational fear here, thinking she might try to drown herself.

I suppose she still might. But I hope not.

Next time: Stevens tells William to suck it up and go get his girl and Eleanor finally gives up and goes away.

Well, probably not, but it’s nice to dream.

Posted on Friday, June 15th, 2007 at 4:55 pm in Emma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.