Why you should be watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Until late 2012 Pride and Prejudice had been a book that I'd always liked but never loved. Last July I had coffee with a friend from work and she asked me if I was watching "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries", a webseries that was a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in vlog form. I'd seen the first two episodes back in April and then sort of let it be, and by that stage there were about 30 episodes. I devoured them and never looked back.

Over the past couple of years, I've become a bit of a television fan, and the sort of shows I enjoy the most are female-centric. More specifically, there are women at the centre of the show who have personalities beyond wanting to sleep with the hot male protagonist. Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation is pretty much my hero. Big Love, an HBO series that depicted a polygamous marriage works best for me as a study of how fundamentalist religion can oppress women simply by showing what is expected of Bill Henrickson's three wives and the women at the polygamous compounds. (The main symbolism of the show is the connection between polygamy and same sex marriage, but the plight of the women in the show was always more fascinating to me). I was raised by a feminist, and it's rubbed off on me.

Elizabeth Bennet may be the protagonist of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but one of the best things the show has done is flesh out many of the secondary characters. Jane was one of the main characters in the book, but the increased focus on Lydia (at the start a 20 year old party girl) and Charlotte (Lizzie's best friend and grad school classmate who edits the videos) makes it truly an ensemble show about four women growing up. Mrs Bennet is still obsessed with marrying off her daughters, and the parts of the Bennet parents are acted out through costume theatre, which is hilarious. The girls also take part in costume theatre as each other and most of the other characters at some point.

One of the best parts of the show is the interactivity with the fans. For my favourite TV shows, I watch them and go and read a review over on The A.V. Club, but YouTube enables immediate feedback from the fans. I love reading the comments about how insufferable Lizzie is with her prejudice (hence the title of the book - but there are more viewers than I expected who haven't read the book before), because that's definitely what Elizabeth was like in the book, and Ashley Clements plays the part to a T. Over Christmas I watched the BBC miniseries with my family, and Elizabeth's stubbornness in that adaptation is definitely matched by Lizzie's here.

The writing is amazing. Despite Lizzie's prejudices (again, see the title of the book) colouring her views of the people in her life, the show is written in a way that lets the audience make up its own mind about events. While we as the audience may judge Lizzie, Charlotte or Lydia's actions (these are the characters whose decisions we see the most of), the script does not. This is most evident in the fallout from the big event (I'm trying to avoid spoilers).

Mary Kate Wiles, who plays Lydia is easily the breakout star, and for the sections of the narrative where Lizzie is away from home, Lydia made her own videos, so that the audience could see what was going on. It was in these videos that we met Mary, who is in this version the cousin of the Bennet sisters and my favourite character - probably because she is the most like me. After Lydia's 21st birthday, she and Lizzie get into an argument, which is the catalyst for the rest of the narrative. The two don't speak to each other, and Lizzie is off at the modern equivalent of Pemberley. 

The fallout from the big event has some of the best acting and writing I've ever seen. This is a show that can depict an abusive/manipulative relationship without ever judging it, and the actors depict vulnerability in a way I've never seen in either television or film. Episode 87, which was released today/yesterday (I'm in Australia, so time zones are a bit confusing) is easily the best episode of the show to date. I watched it on my phone at work on my lunch break, because I need to be careful with the download limit at home and I cried. I cry at a lot of things, but I was blown away.

There's so much else I could say about this show, but won't, because you should experience. As much as I'm going to miss it when it's over, I'll be keeping track of the actors and writers. I'm also really excited to watch the videos all the way through.

The official YouTube channel of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is here, and you can access a playlist that includes all of Lydia's videos here.