I don't know what it is but something about her bugs me. I don't know if it is the actress and the way she portrays the character or what. Sometimes she seems so sweet and caring. But there is also something almost predatory about her.
shareI don't think she is predatory, buit I believe she is far more aware than anyone else about what is going on and about what could happen if she does not have a plan to counteract any unexpected and/or nefarious doings. She is a lot wiser and perceptive than her quiet demeanor suggests
shareNot predatory. She seems very passive and her expressions are limited. Most of the time she has the look of a deer in the headlights.
shareHer character doesn't make sense.
(1) She WANTS to be the head of Ladies Wear, but doesn't recognize that Moray wants the entire store MORE than she wants Ladies Wear.
(2) He has a plan; she does not. She wants to be "given a job" but what is given can also be taken away.
At the interview, she was snide, and even catty (acting more "female" than management), but that kind of slyness does not engender respect or trust.
(3) She is supposed to be "in love" with Moray, but she acts like a schoolgirl with a crush.
(4) She doesn't trust Moray and trust is the key to love.
(5) She wants to "impress" everyone but Moray. That is backwards; if he is the right person for her, she should do the right thing (doing the right thing will mirror his actions) and everything will work toward their mutual goal.
(6) She is supposed to understand what is going on (so she can run Ladies Wear) but has no clue that Katherine is dangerous. That makes her too stupid to even run ladies hats; WHY can't she admit she is hopelessly naïve? She should give the department to Clara and aim higher! What difference does it make who runs a single department? She would have a lifelong friend and Clara would have the problems. (Clara seems to not internalize everything like Denise does.
Joanna Vanderham seems like a lightweight. I suppose it's just a matter of British actors not having any "say" on the character they play; they just put on the costume, and become the character, and do their best. They don't seem to be able to suggest any changes.
(Hugh Bonneville seemed to say the same thing when he was asked questions about DA. They simply have no say. They do as they are told.)
At the interview, she was snide, and even catty (acting more "female" than management), but that kind of slyness does not engender respect or trust.
Denise has zero personality and no chemistry with Moray. She's the weak link for me in this show.
shareDenise has zero personality and no chemistry with Moray. She's the weak link for me in this show.
She is blinded by ambition and has no clue what Moray is about. She is self centred but likes to show everybody how good she is. Moray should run the other way.
shareSame here! I thought she was alternately simpering and near-comatose at times, then overwrought with ambition, as if she mistakenly thought she was in "The Devil Wears Prada"! How could a Victorian woman assume she would run a huge business like the Paradise when she couldn't even own property?
Don't get me wrong...
It might be unbelievable,
But let's not say so long
How could a Victorian woman assume she would run a huge business like the Paradise when she couldn't even own property?
I adore the character she is playing, but must admit the 'more mature' Season II Denise is awfully self-centric. Without giving anything away, I do believe her updated character was written as a bit predatory. Under any circumstances, compared to the horrifyingly spoilt and unattractive Katherine, I'd adopt Denise.
shareI think the actress just didn't seem to have a very big range. She didn't seem consistent throughout. Is she naive student? Staunch Business woman? Kind hearted employer? Woman with ambition? Love sick school girl? The girl who knows it all? The girl who knows nothing?
And Moray was also weird.
I wish they would keep period pieces historically accurate. I can't believe that in that time period a Black photographer would get so many women to say outloud "wow, he's handsome!" Although perhaps I know little of race relations in England at that time. I mean my husbands great grandmother was British and she married his great grandfather who was Japanese in Canada. So maybe they were more ahead of the game.
Everyone is just totally accepting of the French buyer's preference for woman.
The series started so strong and ended so weak.
I think having Denise and Moray both choose their jobs over their lust for each other would have been much more progressive than anything they tried to force.
And sometimes, showing us how things were, as to not repeat them, or to learn from them, makes much more of an impact than trying to fit modern ideals where they don't belong.
We all know things sucked for women, hiding that fact is almost insulting.
OP I know this post started since 2014 but I'm now catching up. Just finished watching this on Netflix but I was glad to see this post cause I wanted to ask the same question.
First of all I find Katherine and Moray had more chemistry even though Katherine was a lot manipulative. But what I liked about her was that she really, really loved Moray.
Denise came on the scene and took Moray away from Katherine (and Clara to a certain extent), and yet still wouldn't marry him in the end until as she said, she won her name in the world and a fortune. She was a real career grabber. She was worse than Miss Audrey who had given up love for her career. Hopefully she will not wait as long as Miss Audrey did before she came around to marrying Moray. He might have lots of grey hair, and her too, before that marriage takes place.
I always felt she was too strong minded for him. She didn't just want to be his equal; seems like she wanted to be him as she said (or maybe better than him). I don't think she, Denise, was a good fit for Moray (and I don't like the actress for him either). They seemed mismatched. She seemed like a child and he a mature man.
I do wish it had a season 3. I would have loved to see what further took place.
Teenage love affairs are about intensity, not longevity