MovieChat Forums > 1864 (2014) Discussion > Episodes 7 and 8 on BBC4 - spoilers

Episodes 7 and 8 on BBC4 - spoilers

posted 9 years ago by badgerking10
2 replies | jump to latest

Episode 7 is a truly astonishing piece of television. But, I had a couple of niggles with episode 8... Firstly, Johan is going to the trouble of traipsing all over Denmark, delivering letters and photos to the loved ones of the dead. But, despite being Laust's magical guardian angel, he merrily hands that frankly beautiful letter written to Inge to her cold-hearted bitch of a mother... Even with the mother desperate to prevent it, it surely wouldn't have taken very much extra effort to make sure it was given to Inge herself... That was a bit annoying... Then, while everything was wrapped up neatly, if rather sadly for the gang in the 1860s, I felt Claudia got a rather rubbish ending... Maybe I've seen too many cheesily happy endings in my time. But, I was expecting the whole experience to prompt her to sort her life out a bit... As it is, she's left with a corpse on her hands and the police presumably still wanting to talk to her and the credits roll... A bit unsatisfying... I hope the Baron's at least remembered her in his will... Anyway, on the whole, I thought this was an excellent series.

[–] adrianh0001 9 years ago

Couldn't agree more about ep. 7 - great stuff. Maybe that final scene in ep. 8 was to allow the possibility of some sort of sequel? (although it's difficult to see quite how that could work).

[–] jay_guevara-1 9 years ago

Then, while everything was wrapped up neatly, if rather sadly for the gang in the 1860s

A bittersweet finale. From the moment the war began, I knew the outcome would involve tragedy because war destroys the lives of everyone involved, from those who fight to those left behind. There was no way there could be an outright happy ending to a drama like this and would you really have bought a "and they all lived happily ever after" conclusion? Probably not. :)

I felt Claudia got a rather rubbish ending... Maybe I've seen too many cheesily happy endings in my time. But, I was expecting the whole experience to prompt her to sort her life out a bit... As it is, she's left with a corpse on her hands and the police presumably still wanting to talk to her and the credits roll...

Claudia does have an arc to her character, the young lady that we see during the closing moments is markedly different from the one we were introduced to on the school field trip at the start and it's implied that, if nothing else, she'll come away from this experience as a better person. Similar to the loathsome Didrich, who is shown as a man gradually learning to be genuinely affectionate and loving human being, instead of a abusive, toxic individual. Though there should've been some form of karma for his actions but as other dramas like The Wire or Oz have shown, not everyone in life always gets what they deserve, good or bad.

Anyway, on the whole, I thought this was an excellent series.

Me too. :)