Noni Hazelhurst
I really like Noni Hazelhurst, she is a great Aussie icon in my opinion, but oh god, she was just AWFUL in this. I really want to blame the writing and the directing, which is generally sh*t.
shareI think she's superb! I've encountered some malevolent matriarchs in books and film, but I think Elizabeth Bligh takes the cake!!!
"Forget it, Jake. It's the internet."
I also think she is fabulous in this series, and she is by far the most interesting character with the most depth and the one who grows and changes the most. Everyone else is one-dimensional compared to her.
shareShe may be an icon, but she ain't no Maggie Smith and her character's no Dowager Countess Grantham.
shareSo...?
shareI agree with you, sasha99.
Over the three series she seems to have grown the most, from a very unlikeable harridan to someone you can really feel for. No spoilers here, but, if you've finished series 3 then....
When watching series 3, and certain scenes in it with Mrs. Bligh, I was reminded of a character that she had a lot in common with, but couldn't remember who.
It was only after awhile it came to me: The Dowager Duchess of Tintagel in the excellent tv adaption of Edith Wharton's "The Buccaneers."
If you saw it, we saw a remarkable scene in which the devastated Dowager Duchess, watching the young people make decisions about whom they love and whom they marry, looks vacantly into space and says something like, "They get to choose? We never got to choose..." and she lets out a tragic sob after a rigid life of duty, duty, duty and no happiness.
The aristocratic Victorian woman, married off as chattel to a Duke, who devoted herself to duty with no idea that she could ever make a decision for herself that involved happiness was so tragic.
That's what Mrs. Bligh reminded me of. Later era, but still. Same idea. She had some sympathy from me by the end.
I think that even in the first season she is one of the most interesting caracters – and not unlikable or malevolent.
Unlike Regina, Evil Nurse or Evil Cop, who have no apparent reason for ther behaviour – Elizabeth does!!
She is definately NOT soft or a ”sweet old lady” – but look at her story…
She does everything she feels that she HAS to do, to protect her family, and her social status – which are the most important things in her life. She has dedicated her life to this and sees Sarah a a threat – so of course she does everything she can to get rid of her!
She has been raised to think that James’ sexuality is a choise – something he CAN change or be cured of if he makes an effort. And even if he doesn’t, she knows that it is something a wife can learn to live with. As she did…
She also know that a persom CAN learn to live without the person he or she loves – as she did…
But she is not insensitive to other peoples pain or weakness – she understands that the sacrifices she made had a price – bus she paid the price and expects others to be just as strong.
And she truely cares about other peoples feelings. Look at the situation in season 1, where she finds out that Jack was the one to find his friend dead – she rushes of late at evening to find him, because she KNOWS that he needs her help. She makes sure that Bill gets a proper funeral. And even if she doesn’t understand the ”ritual” that Jack and Bill had – after the funeral she still goes looking for Jack again, and offers to be there if he needs her – so he will never have to face his demons alone.
I see her as a strong and determined woman with very strong principles. She WILL protect what is important to her – no matter what…
I agree. I think that she is also the character who has undergone the biggest transformation in the show, able to look at situations from a different point of view, adapting herself to new things and by doing so, becoming more able to hold the family together. I just hope season 4 will see the back of Evil Cow, I cannot stand her nose, her false words and all she represents; too evil by far and no redeeming points. I cannot stand her lurking behind the doors (why is she always there at the right moment?) and G is an absolute fool to have married her; he will have a hard time getting rid of her; she clings to him like a bad suit. I hope Elizabeth comes trumps when she finds out that S is carrying G's baby (if the baby survives after the poisoning) and that she gets rid of EC. I have to say, E is responsible for EC's presence in G's life so it seems only right that she can also find a way to get rid of her.
shareIt was only after awhile it came to me: The Dowager Duchess of Tintagel in the excellent tv adaption of Edith Wharton's "The Buccaneers."
If you saw it, we saw a remarkable scene in which the devastated Dowager Duchess, watching the young people make decisions about whom they love and whom they marry, looks vacantly into space and says something like, "They get to choose? We never got to choose..." and she lets out a tragic sob after a rigid life of duty, duty, duty and no happiness.
This is a very wise comment. Elizabeth reveals at one point that her husband turned out to be a closeted gay, so she was trapped in a marriage of duty. No wonder she became bitter. All the more remarkable that she grew out of it and became a loving person later in the series. share
Absolutely right. In a scene at some point, George even tells his mother as much:
that she can't let others find true love and be happy, because she couldn't find true love and be happy.
Elizabeth must be from a younger generation than this duchess from "The Bucchaneers".
But it would take a long time for these conventions to die out in upper class circles.
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