Jonathan Strange anticipation thread

[lucysnowe]

Thought I would start one as have just watched the full trailer here. Am so very exciting now!! Anyone else??

[Clawdy]

Ah! thanks, Trills

[Echocave]

Am I allowed to ask a question about Strange meeting his wife in Lost Hope without being shot for spoilerism?

[Trills]

If you ask a question about something that happened on TV already then it's not a spoiler.

[Figster]

Awwwww that was brilliant can't wait until Sunday but will be sad it's over

[Thurlow]

Norrell thought Strange's book was dangerous because it was all about the Raven King and the sort of natural magic that Norrell hates. He's just so sure that he is the only person who is right, so he feels destroying the book is a perfectly sensible thing to do - to protect his "rational, English" form of magic.

[lucysnowe]

I always feel the need to defend Norrell :) I think he feels that Strange's type of magic tends a bit much towards the faerie and they are all amoral fiends. The Raven King is human but was brought up by fairies so is not entirely to be trusted.

Norrell cried while reading the book because he know he had to murder it.

[Igneococcus]

Mr Norrell reminds me of a former colleague who never ever did anything in the lab without writing an SOP and a H&S assessment first. No wonder we didn't get on, we are like Strangites and Norrellites.
Only about 1.6 Million people watched the last episode.

[boldlygoingsomewhere]

Yes, Norrell is that type of person. He wants magic to be controlled and safe- he's dabbled with the wilder magic and does not like where it leads. My husband would be a Norrelite while I would be more of a Strangite.

It really parallels the actual history of magical societies and practitioners in this country too - from Golden Dawn ceremonial magicians to Hedgewitches.

[Thurlow]

I was having a conversation with a colleague about this the other day and it occurred to us how important it is that it's set in the early 19th century. I had always thought that Clarke had set it there because it's a fun period with the war, and the story just works better historically. But actually the first few decades of the 19th century are such a period of change, of the clash of the Enlightenment against Romanticism, of Voltaire against Byron - so the period becomes an intrinsic part of the story, with the 'Enlightenment' Norrell against the 'Romantic' Strange. It's a huge raft of English history rewritten as being between two magicians.

[Fiderer]

Thanks all. I wasn't sure how much was Norrell wanting to assert himself as the only magician and how much was genuine concern about the danger to others. Or a bit of both.

Thurlow The Enlightenment/Romantic aspect is really interesting.

I'm going to have to buy the book aren't I?

[lucysnowe]

Thurlow yes that is very interesting! The French Revolution as well and Wordsworth versus Shelley etc. I think it is a time when people were suddenly considering themselves modern, or wondering what modernity was about, while at the same time suddenly getting interested in old things (Walter Scott). You can easily imagine the Aureates etc being a bit forgotten until Norrell came along.

I really loved this episode by the way, it brought everything together and finally Stephen had something to do. I missed the pineapples and candles in people's heads though. I loved the meeting between the Gentleman and Jonathan with the former being completely nonplussed.

I haven't minded the changed but I hope the ending remains the same, esp with regards to Jonathan and Arabella. And can't wait to see you-know-who :)

[Trills]

"I have had enough of you gentlemen taking what you want of me"

"You will have to make do with me instead"

[Thurlow]

"That is not the Raven King, that is Sir.Walter Pole's butler!"

Oh, that was BLISS.

[Nagasaki]

Bertie Carvel is am.az.ing

[Trills]

It was great to see Lady Pole being a real person wth real agency. She had motivation and determination and drive.

[Clawdy]

Sorry it has finished, loved it, thought the acting was brilliant, especially the two leads. Is the book ending the same? Yes, I know I must read it...

[DandyDan]

The whole thing was bliss. But esp. Bertie Carvel and Eddie Marsan; and Childermass of course!

[WineCheeseSleep]

I loved this show so much. I'm harbouring quite the crush on Bertie Carval too, I think he could be the next Benedict Cumberbatch...

[UptoapointLordCopper]

I've just watched the final episode. I like the book ending better. But it's not bad. Not bad at all.

What will we do now!?

[Igneococcus]

I wish they would have stuck closer to the book ending. They were so good all throughout the first 6 episodes but somewhat dropped the ball in the last in my opinion. Still, best thing I have seen in a very long time and I have a whole host of new favourite actors, not only the main characters but some of the smaller roles too.
I wish Lascelles would have got the ending from the book, it's a lot nastier.

[Thurlow]

The book ending was slightly better, but I can see the cost of having whole hills and buildings landing themselves on the Gentleman might have been a little off-putting for the CGI people!

Plus I'll forgive them a hell of a lot for Norrell's wig in the final episode.

Oh, and the Gentleman's line "Stephen, why are you in a very small room?"

The one benefit it did have for me over the book is that they could run all the events alongside each other and tighten the timeline. So while I knew from the books that S&N put all of English magic in Stephen, when you see it happening visually it's even clearer.

I'm going to miss Childermass's awesomeness a lot

[UptoapointLordCopper]

I thought in the book they only ask all the magic to acknowledge the king, not channel it all into one person and then the whole place was without magic. I was quite annoyed with that. But yes, all is forgiven on account of Norrell's wig.

I hid behind the sofa a bit at Lascelles's end. The book ending is also quite nasty, but in a different way.

[Thurlow]

That's a good point, I think you're right about it acknowledging him rather than giving it as a gift.

I am very sad they didn't manage to keep in one of my favourite moments, which is when Norrell and Strange are both in the Tower of Black, and Norrell leaves the room to go and get water for their spell, and the Tower jumps and follows him and they realise that the spell has only named 'the English Magician' rather than Jonathan Strange. And Norrell says "if nothing else, this shows the need for precision in magic"

[UptoapointLordCopper]

Yes, and Jonathan Strange rolled his eyes.

But I'm slightly worried that I understand them.

[Clawdy]

What actually happened to the Raven King?