Apple Tree Yard starts on Sunday! [MNHQ message: No spoilers please, including what happens in the book!]

[Destinysdaughter]

I really enjoyed the book so looking forward to this. It's in 4 parts with Emily Watson playing the main character and Ben Chaplin as her lover. BBC1 9pm

Good article about it here.

www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/14/emily-watson-apple-tree-yard-middle-aged-women-infidelity-sexuality#comments

Slightly disappointed by the ending. Was expecting a bigger twist of some sort in return for the misery of watching.

Re. the perjury, didn't she say she went straight to the party i.e. lying about going for a drink and 'intimate contact' with Mark on the way there.

No ambiguity for me on whether she told Mark to hill him. Seems clear she didn't mean it literally, but he really does have some kind of mental illness if he doesn't understand that. Haven't we all said we'd like to kill someone in a flippant way. Doesn't make us guilty of conspiracy to murder.

You beat me to it DumbledoresArmy! I hope he isn't missing Neil the baby too much.

In the book, when the police officer is on the stand it's also revealed that mark used to watch the security camera feeds at the hoc and point out the 'fit' women and go after them.

I think BC is quite hot and imo he'd fit with your TV/film idea of spooks being really attractive when actually they probably mainly blend in with the crowd.

Couple of questions

If George is dead who on earth told the barrister about the coffee- I'm easy - conversation?

And why didn't she just deny the affair- it was only her word against Marks. Or did she think they were going to pull a cctv clip out?
They should have kept the bit where Gary deleted the laptop evidence. I felt like he knew about the affair anyway.
If Mark genuinely thought she wanted him dead, then he was covering for her, so he why tell the barrister the sex details? He want throwing her under the bus

The defence psychiatrist is also the new vet in the Archers I think.

And, if he intended to kill George for Yvonne, surely he wouldn't have done it in broad daylight?

I thought it was all really good, I read the book not long after it came out and yet very little of the book came back to me while I was watching it, I couldnt remember the ending at all.
I cant understand why so little of the book stayed with me!

Absolutely brilliant series I thought.

Also Dave coaches, well I just recognised him from
Harry Potter.

Theyll have to get a move on if they want to put extra CCTV in Apple Tree Yard.

Its Valentines Day next week.........

ferris I thought that the "I'm easy" quip was reported by Yvonne's other colleague, who was with them both at the time.

In the programme, all three are surrounded by students, who could've overheard. I think one of the students was the one who tried it on with Yvonne in Episode 1. I may be imagining that bit, though.

I can't believe the police hadn't seized her computer.
She had so many opportunities to tell Gary about her affair.
I found it a really intense show to watch.
It was very well done.

we're assuming Apple Tree Yard exists as a real place; haven't yet googled it but it may well be made up ( they can make fake street signs, you know.)

Nah it's really, can't imagine heading there as a romantic Valentine's Day thing to do though

It is a real place.

I meant it's real, not "its really"

Possibly was the same student, there was a student sitting a few rows back who reacted to her saying it (I recall as I thought only a sad prat would think she actually means she's open to having sex with anyone).

TizzyDongue that's interesting that the book really make it look like she meant for MC to kill George but that is not how it is portrayed in the tv programme. We see that scene and it starts with Mark asking her in a kinda joking way what she would really like to happen to George and that's when she talks about killing him punching his face in etc and it is all very light hearted and at no point does the viewer feel there is any intent behind it so I feel she didn't mean it but due to his personality disorder he took it literally. if I had read the book though I would think different so I am wondering did the screen writers deliberately want us to believe Yvonne was innocent or just film it really badly

Loved this.

At the end it was very clever- he told her he hadn't told anyone that she asked him to kill George and she implied that he had taken this too literally as people do just say things.

But she had just admitted that she had lied to him about her being a brilliant scientist. So she is also a fantasist, almost as deluded as he is!

So she has maybe created her own version of events too and she did want Mark to kill George.

George was almost childlike in the final scene, also a victim?

The tone of her voice and facial expression when she asked Costley to beat up George were serious - she knew what she was doing by planting the seed in his head. He played her so she played him.

Apple tRee Yard is a real place but it didn't look like the TV version on street view when I looked last night.

Well that's another 4 hours of my life I won't get back. So many plot holes, so many ambiguities. Only saving grace was the good acting.

I think they played each other

But he wasn't made out to be so dim in the book she plays into his ego rather than him not being as intelligent

In prefer the book ending but did enjoy it

I don't know if she was being totally honest when she said she wasn't a 'brilliant scientist'. It could have been tongue in cheek. What's a 'brilliant scientist' anyway? He knew who she was, so he could easily have googled her - as an academic she'd have a profile online so he could easily check what she did.

I think it was disappointing. I'd not read the book on the basis of the series but friends say the book is better. The plot is very thin, and in the book evidently her daughter isn't pregnant.

Hmm... not sure I liked the TV series - it's given me a completely different perspective to the story in the book.

Book - I thought MC was more powerful, attractive and manipulative and Yvonne was totally smitten and vulnerable, until the twist at the end where it planted the seed that she had actively asked him to kill George.

TV - Didn't think MC was at all attractive - always looked slightly weak and a has-been IMHO. Also didn't really 'feel' the sexual attraction between them - she just seemed to be 'going along with it' rather than really desperately wanting it.

Now I'm thinking perhaps I didn't read the book closely enough and got the wrong end of the stick!

Watched last night but shattered so didn't reply. Havnt read replies so my thoughts then will go and read

So she played /set him up? She hinted she wanted him dead and face kicked in , knowing or hoping he would do that

Yet played the innocent through out the whole series

I felt sorry for her lover - he didn't betray her when could have

ALso felt sorry for his wife. He obv likes to play around regulally and few weeks later fingering the police woman

Clever. Assume that was what the twist was