Episodes one and two had some confusing behaviour from Miss Johnson, so let’s see what she gets up to in episodes three and four!

The Surprise Picnic

We already had an episode titled The Midnight Feast in series one, so this one had to have a different title, though it was also about a planned midnight feast.

The plot of this episode is, as above, about the girls trying to plan a midnight feast to cheer Bill up, only they are hampered by Bill continuing to get into trouble for visiting the stables and riding “out of hours”.

A secondary plot involves Irene having sore hands, Gwen nearly having to play lacrosse in her place, and Irene offering to play piano for an older girl’s singing audition.

Things I liked

I don’t think there was much in this episode that particularly shone, though the mystery around Miss Johnson has deepened, definitely. It’s obvious now that she IS up to something rather than just being strange about Bill, so that is interesting. Like Ellen I thought the owl hoots were suspicious, as is Miss Johnson turning up at the stables at all hours. It can’t all be in the hope of catching Bill out.

Matron’s disappointment at the lack of leftovers – and eating a biscuit from the floor was funny.

I liked Irene’s musical skills being recognised – like how she can play something just from hearing it once – and how pleased she was to be recognised.

Things I didn’t understand

The rules around Bill riding/visiting Thunder are a bit unclear, I suppose all we need to know is that she has broken them though. It seems she can ride during certain hours (all girls can) but apparently she (and possibly all other girls) need permission to ride outwith those hours. In addition Bill can only ride if she has completed her extra prep.

The girls are very gung-ho about keeping Bill out of trouble, which I respect, but it means they are all continually breaking rules and visiting the stables themselves (and not always because they’re going to warn Bill!). At one point it’s Ellen who tells Bill she shouldn’t be there – Well neither should you, Ellen!

Likewise, having already hidden the picnic food at the stables they decide it’s too risky to have a picnic there. Yet two of them sneak out in the night (with no torches, even though they are seen with torches in the dorm) to the stables to collect the food anyway, risking getting caught and into trouble.

Things I am ambivalent about

While it was nice that they referenced Mr Young, the music teacher, it would have been better to see him!

Likewise, having Mavis in the episode, as a singer, is good as it is something actually from the books, but why make her a) a much  older girl and b) so modest about her singing ability?

The girls can make silly decisions sometimes – but planning a midnight picnic in the stables when Bill already has an order mark for visiting the stables outside of riding hours seems particularly foolish. Gwen actually says this to the other girls and for once she’s got a point!

Things I did not like

Darrell and Ellen steal the left-overs from the governors’ meeting. While they were leftovers and may have gone into the bin (at least whatever Matron doesn’t eat) this seems unusually dishonest for Malory Towers girls. In the books all food came from tuck boxes, or they begged lemonade from friendly kitchen staff.

I also hated Miss Johnson trying to put the whole class into detention as “justice” for Bill’s misbehaviour. However this is not a criticism of the show, this sort of thing happened in the books as well. I just hate that method!

The Accident

The main plot involves Thunder disrupting the girls’ French lesson by turning up at the window and making Bill go off to see what’s happened.

Secondary to that is Matron holding an unexpected dorm inspection.

Things I liked

Bill’s conversation with Mam’zelle Rougier – confusing Thunder the horse with the weather thunder was funny, as was her being in a little dwam during the lesson and making horsey noises.

The dorm inspection was a nice little bit of drama to start the episode.

I also liked how kind Miss Grayling was – she showed real understanding for Bill’s problem and genuinely wanted to help. It’s odd, as I definitely remember saying that I preferred the original Miss Grayling (Jennifer Wigmore) to this one (Birgitte Solem) but having watched these episodes I find myself really liking Birgitte Solem and unable to remember Jennifer Wigmore that clearly.

The drama of Bill and Darrell riding off to find out what had happened to whoever had been riding Thunder – and the reveal of who is was – was well done.

I continue to not know what Miss Johnson is up to. She continues to go after Bill, it comes across as a real vendetta. For example immediately assuming it is Bill when she finds some straw on the floor (there are other girls with horses, even if we have never seen even one of them. The budget presumably didn’t stretch to other horses but a girl or two in jodhpurs leaving the stables would at least give an impression that there are other horses).

Things I am ambivalent about

While I like seeing more of Irene – she’s one of my favourite book characters and Natasha Raphael is wonderful – it’s a shame sometimes in the way that they portray her.

In the books she’s certainly lost in her own musical world and will go to meals with her outdoor cloak and hat on, or water the classroom flowers on someone else’s day etc. But in the series she often comes across as just careless – it’s always Irene who puts her foot in it and accidentally spills a secret – and they’ve also made her very clumsy. Some of this is from earlier episodes but I’m just bringing it up now.

In this episode she has forgotten to tell the others about the dorm inspection Matron will be doing the next morning – this IS very Irene, but the books would have shown Matron telling her, her vowing to pass on the message, and then her suddenly getting a tune in her head that she must write down… On screen all we see is that she has forgotten, which makes her rather less sympathetic.

Also connected to the dorm inspection is Darrell’s attempts to waylay Matron in the hope that Bill will get back in time. She uses some of their science chemicals to create a green bubbly blocked sink. This explains why there was suddenly a large science/chemistry set up at on end of the dorm – for plot reasons! I had been wondering since when were the girls allowed to have, or just have, chemistry set ups in their dorm.

Not specific to this show but it’s a common trope in film/TV/books for someone to smash a framed photo – always a precious photo – and it to cause upset or an argument. And like what happened in this episode the photo – the precious part – was fine (though of course it’s possible that the glass could cut or scratch the picture, or with very old pictures the image could have transferred a bit to the glass) and the glass would just need to be replaced. So I often feel like there’s a bit of an over reaction when someone breaks a photo frame. Luckily for Jean, Bill is very understanding.

Things I didn’t understand

I was half-convinced that this was Thunder about to have his colic as Bill was worried about Thunder (in a more specific sense of him not being right) but it’s really too early in the series. But instead we later (and probably unrelated to her worries) had him turn up in his saddle.

Miss Johnson initially seemed quite angry about it all – it wasn’t even her class that was disrupted. However she doesn’t seem to be suggesting that Bill was negligent in not securing him in the stables like I thought she would.

There’s a bit of arguing from her about whether anything is wrong at all – that perhaps Thunder has just bolted from the stables – but that seems silly as he wouldn’t be in his saddle would he!

Spoilers – as above the girls find the thrown rider some distance from the school. “Quick – it’s not a groom!” Darrell cries, as if somehow, a groom being thrown from a horse is OK, but not anyone else.

It turns out to be Miss Grayling. She has been very understanding with Bill, and clearly likes horses herself but I’m not sure what she was going going off on Thunder herself. All I can think is that she was going to tell Bill not to worry about Thunder while she was banned from the stables as she (Miss Grayling) was going to visit and ride him instead.

This leads to the biggest moment of non-understanding in perhaps the whole series. With Miss Grayling’s badly broken leg she is not going to be able to work for a while. Naturally someone else will have to take charge of the school.

Matron sensibly turns to Mam’zelle Rougier, who she says has been at the school the longest. But Miss Johnson – who’s been there a matter of weeks – announces that Mr Lacey has asked HER to step in.

None of it makes any sense. Yes, Mr Lacey is on the board now, but he is presumably the newest member having only joined this term. Surely it wouldn’t be his decision? Even if so, why would he choose Miss Johnson? He did have a couple of conversations with her on the first day of term, so how has she convinced him in that time that she’s the best replacement for Miss Grayling?

Obviously it had to be one of the only three adults we ever see at the school, and for the plot of the series obviously Miss Johnson being in charge is important as it means she’ll find it easier to do… whatever it is she is up to. But it makes NO sense!

Her behaviour continues to be all over the place – she arranges some cocoa for all the third formers (perhaps trying to keep them on side) – but still refuses to let Bill see Thunder except at weekends.

The final scene is her taking a seat at Miss Grayling’s desk, smug smile firmly in place, and replacing Miss Grayling’s wartime photo with one of her self.

WHAT IS SHE UP TO?

I’m late to the party but I’ve finally started watching series 3 of Malory Towers. I will try to make this more than a lengthy summary of what happens in the first two episodes but I am promising nothing.

Episode one – new arrivals

There is a new girl, or new girls pretty much every term at Malory Towers and from the book we know that the third form’s newcomers are Wilhelmina (Bill) Robinson and Zerelda Brass. I had already read that Zerelda doesn’t appear, so let’s dive in and see who and what do appear.

Book readers will remember, I’m sure, that Darrell’s father drives her and Zerelda to school for the start of term. The episode begins with a beautiful vintage car driving through some lovely countryside, with the sound of girls’ voices played over it. At first I thought that Darrell was talking to Felicity (forgetting she doesn’t join until Darrell’s in her fourth year) but it’s Mary-Lou and Gwen, and it’s Gwen’s father driving.

Bill, on Thunder, passes them so we get our first glimpse of her – and of Gwen’s outfit. Has she forgotten she’s a school girl? What on earth is she wearing?

The outfit is somewhat explained when the new teacher – Miss Johnson – mistakes Gwen for a sixth-former – mimicking Zerelda being mistaken for a teacher. The other girls remark that Miss Johnson is someone new for Gwen to go all silly over which is a nice reference to the books.

The main storylines of this episode

First up we have a lot of Gwen-centred story. Mr Lacey is about to join the board of governors for the school, making Gwen think even more of herself and throw her weight around quite unbearably. I did wonder if she was also doing so prematurely, as it would have been deserved if it fell through at the last minute, but no, it seems as if he is on the board.

There is a little of the interesting relationship between Gwen and her father – but nothing quite as cold and mean from her father as there was last series. He does say oh, to have had a son in Gwen’s earshot which is pretty rude and you can tell from her face it has upset her. He is slightly kinder in his later conversation with her, urging her to take advantage of what Malory Towers has to offer…. become someone the school can be proud of, which is somewhat similar to Miss Grayling’s message to her girls.

Then there is Bill. Bill’s horse obsession is even more apparent on screen than in the books. She takes a horse blanket to bed so she can smell Thunder’s horsy smell, and is in trouble for how much time she spends in the stables from the first day of lessons.

This is bulked out by the idea there may be horse thieves around (Ron, who now works in the stables as well as the gardens, has been hearing lots of odd noises around the stables) – I can see her getting into a LOT of trouble as it seems inevitable that she’ll be running off to the stables at all hours of the day and night to make sure that her beloved Thunder is OK.

Also added is Bill being behind the other girls, so far behind that Miss Johnson wants her to drop down to the second form – meaning that Thunder would have to go home. This is resolved (with Darrell’s help) by Bill getting extra tuition, but that leaves her with even less time to see Thunder!

Things that I liked:

Irene forgets/loses her health certificate much to Matron’s irritation – another lovely nod to the books. Sadly we don’t get to see where she had put it for safekeeping.

Bill’s line give me a horse over horse-power any day.

Bill is mistaken for her own groom (it is assumed that a groom will ride the horse over and Wilhelmina will come in a car) and this is quite a funny scene as the girls are asking her if the Wilhelmina is hoity-toity.

Bill going to see Miss Grayling in her pyjamas as Matron told her she had to change out of her jodhpurs and wouldn’t listen to her explaining that her trunk hadn’t arrived yet.

Gwen getting a bit of comeuppance when Darrell and Bill shout boo at her (not knowing it’s her) and make her fall into the manure pile – and Mr Lacey’s obvious amusement at it too.

Darrell’s word blindness gets brought up again – so the writer’s have not forgotten about it! (Though I suspect it’s just so she and Bill can have tutoring together and go up against Miss Johnson.)

Things I didn’t quite understand

Just like in the books, Sally has the mumps and will miss the first few weeks of term. In the book this allows Darrell to spend more time with Alicia and be led into bad habits and behaviours, and sets up for Alicia and Sally to be fighting for Darrell’s friendship later on. Alicia doesn’t appear in this series so I’m wondering where they’re going to take this – it seems odd to not have Sally back unless it is actually going to be a bigger part of the plot.

Gwen – well, I rarely understand Gwen. The series has done its best to make her both likeable, pitiable and plain evil, and she continues to seesaw quite a lot here.

She immediately goes up against Bill – what have you done to your hair? and sneaks her horse blanket into the wash so that it loses the smell.

Yet she also tries to go for head of form, seeming to believe that there will be girls willing to nominate her despite her all her previous behaviours. The rest of the girls are nice and they seem pretty willing to forgive – but I can’t see them wanting Gwen in charge of them.

Miss Johnson, in general. She is not the horsey teacher of the books. (I always felt this was a good parallel  – in the book Bill and Miss Johnson butted heads, and Bill thought that Miss Johnson should be more understanding, as a fellow horse-lover. But in the end Miss Johnson saves Thunder and earns Bill’s real respect and admiration. A non-horsey teacher feels a bit different).

I also couldn’t work out her motivations. From her facial expressions it looked as if she was enjoying punishing Bill and the idea of putting her into a lower form – there were several rather evil smiles. Yet she offered to give the extra tuition – yes she was put on the spot a little by Darrell, and in front of Miss Grayling too, but it seemed a genuine and kind offer.

All I can think of is that she wants to keep Bill away from the stables – perhaps she (or someone she knows) is hiding out/hiding something at the stables. If she can’t keep Bill away from them using the rules then she’ll have Thunder sent home to keep Bill away?

Episode two – the trials

I see trials and I think witches. But no, it’s lacrosse.

The main storylines

There is a mystery surrounding Mary-Lou. Suddenly she is wearing scarves and jumpers, despite the warm weather and seems preoccupied and is avoiding the other girls.

And, as per the title, the third year lacrosse trials are scheduled. Darrell is captain so she has some responsibility but Miss Johnson is in charge.

What looks like a third, minor storyline actually turns out to be part of one of the above, and that is Ron finding a girls’ uniform dress buried in the vegetable patch.

Things I liked

Gwen being true to form and hiding the lacrosse balls in an attempt to derail the trials.

The little look between Miss Grayling and Matron about how [periods] stop around my age – I’ve no doubt that the target audience would not understand it, but older woman will!

Things I didn’t understand

Obviously I never went to a 1950s boarding school but I didn’t really get the plan to trick Gwen into signing the trials sign-up sheet.

Firstly, it seemed to me like all she had to do was say she was tricked into putting her name down and she doesn’t want to take part. (She does, actually say this, but Miss Johnson, continuing to be weird, won’t accept that.)

If that fails, then Gwen is more than capable of faking an injury or turning up but performing badly.

Miss Johnson’s behaviour continues to be bizarre. She gives the girls five minutes to find the lacrosse balls (blaming Darrell, as the captain, as she is supposed to have everything organised) and then when they do find them she tells them it’s too late and the trials are off, there isn’t enough time. Surely however much time she set aside minus the 5-6 minutes is enough? She then agrees to hold them later, but not all the girls who signed up turn up – Gwen and Mary-Lou are still talking to Ron. She refuses to let them try out as not all the girls are there – but what does it matter? The girls who don’t turn up don’t get to try out and don’t make the team. Why punish all the rest of the girls?

I have, since watching, remembered a comment I had seen about Miss Johnson that could explain it all – I won’t say what it is here as it would be a bit of a spoiler (assuming anyone is slower to have watched these episodes than me!), but I will be keeping it in mind as I watch.

Why Mary-Lou was using Gwen’s hairbrush in one scene – deliberately as far as the writers were concerned, as Gwen catches her.

Things I am ambivalent about

The reveal/resolution of Mary-Lou’s problem.

I think it is important to have periods be something we can talk about openly – and that boys/men are aware of them. There’s no need in this day and age for people to be squeamish or embarrassed. So there is a place for realistic period-related storylines in TV programmes aimed at adolescent (and preadolescent) girls.

Saying that, I thought the way it was included was ridiculously heavy-handed. Mary-Lou, out of nowhere, develops plague-like spots on the back of her neck and is completely unaware of periods despite being close to her gran who appeared to be a modern woman (relative to the times).

Gwen, on her wild pendulum of behaviour, is extremely kind when she figures out what is going on and explains things to Mary-Lou. Strangely she both calls it “the curse”, and also reassures Mary-Lou that it’s all super-easy and nothing to ever worry about. Slightly conflicting, no?

The worst part is that Ron – a teenage boy – wanders past their discussion and casually asks if its Mary-Lou’s monthlies. He found the blood-stained dress so an enlightened young man may make that leap of logic, but would a 1940s teenage boy really start talking about periods to the school girls of the school he works at? As above, I’m all for men being comfortable with buying period products for any of the women in their lives, but this just strikes me as SO unlikely for the time period (no pun intended) that it really jarred.

We are also supposed (I assume) to laugh along with the girls at Matron for being so embarrassed herself when she’s asked to deliver a lecture on biology and anatomy – it’s not explicitly said but it’s obvious it’s supposed to be about periods. It was actually embarrassing, though, to see a grown woman – a matron, who cares for teenage girl’s health – no less, give a lecture that amounted to tadpoles turn into frogs, girls turn into women, and hormones… cause unidentified “changes” to the body.

The actual lacrosse playing was fairly poor. The books always made it sound so fast-paced and exciting (even the trials). On screen Gwen stands with the ball at her feet while her opponent (an unnamed, non-speaking part) moves side to side behind Darrell, apparently held off by Darrell’s tiny sidesteps. Just go round her! This goes on for long enough for Darrell to have a conversation with Gwen before any attempt to get the ball is made. It may be that until the ball is picked up it’s not in play and couldn’t be grabbed by the opponent but it just looked so silly.

Completely unrelated to anything else I just wanted to share this shot of the gardens as they’re beautiful – the series uses lots of really lovely views of the school and grounds between scenes. In real-life this is Hartland Abbey in Devon.