#declan sower

web series meme: [1/5] heartbreaking moments - mistakes 

Mary: “You totally do. You are such a dork!”

Declan + gardening gloves = My new favourite ship. ;)

Declan does not want to talk about Mary Lennox.

It didn’t come up till Phoebe asked a few weeks ago, but it’s true. In fact, he has a strong preference on the issue, which is rare for him.

He knows it will get summed up as, “so you like her,” and it’s about so much more than just liking her. His feelings about Mary are tied up in a huge messy knot of other things, none of which he was comfortable bringing up in the family newsletter.

There’s everything she’s going through in school - college applications, being the new kid, graduating, etc.

On top of that, her parents’ death.

On top of that, her distant uncle, her explosive relationship with Medlock, the whole thing with Callie...

The way every barb Mary throws at him hurts his feelings, but never makes him angry anymore. 

The fact that he’s skipping days at the job he loves, the job he needs just to keep his family afloat, for her.

The fact that even Phoebe thinks he shouldn’t put up with her.

The way she closes up whenever they need to actually talk about something.

The secret they’re keeping (he doesn’t like secrets).

And they’re making so many exciting new plans, and this thing they have seems so fragile and important, and he’s trying not to push too far...

Right now, he doesn’t need (or want) to think about how she becomes his focal point whenever she’s there, or just why he’s been happier in general these past few weeks, in spite of all his extra worries.

Fifteen 

Declan’s reaction to the glade: perfect. Infusing the original reaction from the book with a sense of geeking out (for lack of a better term) at nature.

“You weren’t kidding. This place is amazing.” Implying that she must have got as near to gushing as she possibly can when sharing the secret. I love that it’s clear that she cares a lot about the place already.

English ivy! A nod to the door-concealing ivy of the book?

Declan’s reactions to Mary’s Maryness are priceless. 

He carries garden gloves on him. Don’t give him grief, Mary--it’s adorable.

...But he can dish it right back to her, filming her pruning efforts. Enjoying their dynamic here.

The discussion of the differences in their families was a nice touch, allowing them both some insight into each other’s behavior. Mary’s actually volunteering information into a rather painful subject--an indication that she’s starting to trust Declan, while he appears to be sympathetic, but (unlike his sister) awkward with finding just the right thing to say. I get the sense that he, like Mary, expresses himself better through actions.

Sixteen

I love that we get to see Mary’s more imaginative side in this role playing--and she’s clearly trying to be funny at first, but things like “I’m okay to drive. I’ve only had three martinis” sound more like a darkly humored attempt to process what’s happened to her parents. In fact, most of her role playing is rather dark (like the “horror movie”), which is only to be expected, given her past.

But Brit Marklan!Mary is hilarious. And the machinations to retrieve the keys give the scene the sense of adventure that the book did with wandering around a huge unknown house.

Medlock’s working on that book she’s writing (as mentioned in the multimedia)?

Should have seen it coming with those posters.

Yes, it worked. You took me aback. But I confess I am rather dubious about this decision. I’m not sure at this point what making the character a girl would contribute to the story thematically--yeah, it throws the viewers for a loop, but what else? Such a change requires good reason. The book’s concept of Colin as a sort of gender-flipped Mary, a shadow archetype to her, is rather significant. But though I do have reservations about this, I am nonetheless curious to see where this is going and why this choice was made.

And Ella DeVito does look the part, with her coloring and her eyes.

Thirteen

A lot of the elements of this scene in the book are (necessarily) gone, so I’m glad to see that at least Mary’s using her equivalent of the skipping rope at the beginning.

He’s the one who creeps up on her, rather than the other way around as in the book--but that only makes sense, considering this Mary seems much less intrigued by the idea of him and would not voluntarily seek him out.

Declan comes across more introverted and socially awkward than his literary counterpart--but still very sweet and patient, which is perfect.

(You forgot to add, Declan, that blackberries are everywhere too in Oregon. One of the most prominent features in the yard of my grandparents’ house in Portland was their out-of-control blackberry bushes. Nice to see a shout-out to that Oregon detail.)

“So did I pass?” “We’ll see.” Oh, come on, Mary. Admit it. You have no reason to dislike him.

It’s clear that she’s a bit less sure of herself here, clinging to the camera as if for security. This probably is the first boy she’s ever met who’s been pleasant to her, and she has no idea what to make of it--so it’s suspicious.

The plants are shy? Of course the glade is metaphorically an extension of herself, so...

And look at his face. He knows exactly what’s going on here. Perhaps better than she does herself.

She can’t keep up the snarky tone with him for long--note how her voice changes while she tries to explain herself to him.

And it’s not himself that Declan defends--though he has every right to--but his sister. Yet in a way he seems to be presenting his own motives too.

The first step is to admit you have a problem, Mary. You’re making progress.

Fourteen

I’m curious--how was this filmed? Crawling around on cat level? (Somehow I doubt you strapped a camera to the cat...)

This perspective was a clever idea. Not only did it give us the robin perspective that the book sometimes uses, but it also eliminated the need to struggle with actually filming the cat, which must have been convenient.

Also, Mary and Robin’s relationship is just adorable.

Something else the cat POV provides: a look into Mary’s thought processes that we wouldn’t otherwise get and her reasons for wanting to keep the glade secret.

So letting Declan in is going to be strictly a business arrangement at first. But it’s a major step for Mary to admit that she needs anybody’s help--she’s changing, though she doesn’t recognize it yet.