And thus, another season of Victorian Romance draws to a close. Unlike season one, though, there’s no room for a third season - and, really, no need.

Did I absolutely love this finale more than I’ve ever loved any other finale before it? Well…no. But it did fit the series pretty well.

Did I cry a few times and get all gooey inside over the happenings? You bet your sweet ass I did.

How many times did I cry? Let us count them…

#1

After William returns from finally receiving all of the money he will need to secure the South American business venture (98% of it from one man, who previously did not want to invest) he is happy, of course, but he smells a rat. A rat named Hakim. So when he returns home he’s a little upset at being “undermined” but Hakim gently reminds him that it’s not unmanly to seek and receive assistance.

Then they hug and I started to cry. Oh yes. It was adorable. And I laughed through my tears when Hakim joked that he wasn’t ever going to let go of William and give him up to Emma. Oh, you jokester! (He was joking, right?)

#2

Papa Jounes and William share a moment, man to man, business partner to business partner. It’s only a handshake, and William’s wearing gloves which I think dulls the intimacy a bit, but it’s a good start. Maybe in a few more years they’ll be able to embrace awkwardly.

It was enough to make me start up again, at any rate.

#3

The grand finale!

William is late…Emma is not there.

Emma is late…William is not there.

But then! A man, sitting alone! Could it be? COULD IT BE?!

It is!!!

They embrace and it’s beautiful.

I start to sniffle, tears of joy at their happy reunion.

Then William says he loves her.

Then William asks her to marry him.

THEN SHE SAYS YES.

And then…and then…

Bathed in the golden rays of the setting sun, our lovers kiss. And I weep like a little baby.

Final Thoughts (and a Bit of Venting)

I’ve mentioned before that it’s a little funny to me to be so enamored of this series though I don’t generally enjoy Victorian romance novels and I think by the end of this second season, my adoration was beginning to wear just a bit thin. That’s not to say that I didn’t love it - I did - or that I’m not going to buy it as soon as I can - I am - but there is a part of me that cannot help but be disappointed. It’s more the fault of the genre than the fault of the series, but as the series is emulating the genre…well.

One of the things I hate about Victorian heroines is that for the most part things don’t happen for them - things happen to them, things happen around them, but they lack the ability to make things happen for themselves and that sort of passivity is not only boring, I think, but also weak-willed. Emma is no exception. Until this final episode, where she struggled against Hans to go back to her room and retrieve the handkerchief and later ran off by herself to get it, she didn’t really do a whole lot. She didn’t even have very many lines, compared to most of the other characters. No, Emma did a lot of staring wistfully out of windows and looking down at the floor, teary-eyed.

This is part of her character, sure, I get it, but it’s also frustrating as all hell. You love him? Be with him! You want him? Go to him! There are not many things I hate more than people who sit around lamenting the state of their lives without taking an active position to do something.

(Naturally, this is my 21st-century-independent-woman mindset revealing itself, and I can’t deny that this series is a period piece set in a period vastly different from my own reality.)

Another thing that kept me from really adoring the conclusion to this series - and, really, the entire series, because I knew it was coming all along - is the way Emma and William ended up. She assimilates right into his world, starts pumping out babies, and they live happily ever after on their grand estate with servants and gardens and absolutely no passion. The series ends with them standing side by side, smiling serenely, not even touching. This is what they struggled so much for?! This is what I waited for?!

I know it’s sort of a “British” thing to be very aloof and unemotional, and they both try very hard to be proper Victorian Brits, despite the obstacles they faced and overcame. The thing is, though, that they’re not typical Victorian Brits - they faced obstacles and overcame them! They each married far out of their stations and from that marriage should have made a unique, unconventional union. Instead…it strikes me as very blah.

From all this, it sounds as though I didn’t like the series or its ending, and that’s untrue on both counts. I loved it and I loved the ending and I thought it fit very well. Like I said, my problems mostly stem from an aversion to the genre itself.

As an aside…I thought the manga handled everything much better. The anime storyline veered off in a different direction entirely, but it just wasn’t as satisfactory.

And with regards to both of them, I’ll still scratching my head wondering why the hell they didn’t just give England the big F YOU and set sail for America, to start all over together.

Now that would have been a cool story: “Frontier Romance Emma,” hell yeah!

Posted on Friday, July 27th, 2007 at 7:34 pm in Emma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.