Emotional Storms Bring Transformations in 'The Other Bennet Sister'
"Sometimes in life we must seize the moment and must finish what we set out to do without anything getting in our way."
It’s the penultimate episode of The Other Bennet Sister, and we still don’t know Mary’s feelings about either of her suitors, Tom Hayward or William Ryder, or indeed what their feelings are. With everyone gathered in the Lake District and planning an ascent of Scafell Pike, there’s more than a hint of drama and danger. Mary wakes early, with “… a great thought pressing upon me,” and at breakfast, is excited about the day’s expedition to climb Scafell Pike.
Mary is flanked by her two admirers, who offer her marmalade and strawberry preserves. Caroline Bingley comments on how wonderful it will be to stand at the summit where Wordsworth once stood, and Mary offers the conversation-killer that, in fact, it was his sister, Dorothy, who made the climb.
Tom and Mary wander into the inn’s garden, where they both admit to finding Caroline difficult. She makes Tom feel as though any moment she’s going to order him around as if he were a servant. Anticipating the strenuous activity planned for the day, they both begin a series of stretches as they chat. Caroline watches them and attempts to emulate their exercise, and then, realizing how incredibly silly she looks, leaves. Ryder joins Tom and Mary, and the two men essentially put on a muscular display.
