The Wacky World of Webisodes: Emma Approved

There have been several adaptations of the novel Emma by Jane Austen, including the 1996 version starring Gwyneth Paltrow and the movie Clueless. Now, as a follow-up to the extremely successful web-series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, there is also Emma Approved – another web-series created by the same people. Since Lizzie Bennet’s story had been so widely well received, Emma Approved had a lot to live up to.

At first, it is extremely difficult to enjoy watching Emma Approved. The plot of the web-series starts at a different point than the book, focusing on the build-up to the Taylor-Weston wedding – this is a bit confusing for those who have read the book, as the book does not focus much on that wedding at all where the web-series depends on it for character building. But that is only a minor flaw, and disappointingly the major flaw of the beginning of the series is the character of Emma Woodhouse, played by Joanna Sotomura, who is over-confident; arrogant and blind to her own flaws. Unlike Lizzie Bennet, who is still trying to find her footing as a grad student and a person, Emma seems to have it all figured out as a professional matchmaker and lifestyle advisor – unfortunately alienating the audience as a result. Because of this, a lot of viewers who had enjoyed The Lizzie Bennet Diaries stopped watching Emma Approved after its starting story arc.

However, that characterisation turns out after a while into the series to be one of the best parts. Both the character of Emma and the web-series itself require a certain amount of persistence to love, and that persistence pays off. After all, it is Emma’s slow, halting character development that is the focus of both the book and the series, and while it is hard to keep seeing Emma make so many mistakes, the resulting final form of Emma Woodhouse as a caring, humbled but still enthusiastic and driven young woman feels so satisfying and worth the wait.

Sotomura does an excellent job of portraying the slow unveiling of Emma’s bias and blindness, and episode 68 where she realises she is in love with “snarky Mr. Knightley” (as she fondly nicknames him) is done brilliantly, the closing shot of Emma’s shocked expression absolutely perfect. In fact, characterisation in this series in general is done seriously well. You learn to love Dayeanne Hutton’s nervous, shy portrayal of Harriet Smith and the confidence her character gains throughout the series; Alex (not George, unlike the books) Knightley’s general sarcastic but kind nature and his outstanding chemistry with Emma, thanks to actor Brent Bailey; and a surprise appearance by Caroline Lee of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (played by Jessica Andres) representing the book character Augusta Elton really sealed the deal on just how fantastic the characterisation and casting is.

In fact, it is that story arc – the one where Emma Woodhouse meets Caroline Lee – that truly made me fall in love with Emma Approved. Emma’s disdain of Caroline’s behaviour is hilarious and ironic given that all the traits she names her dislike for are traits she herself exhibits enthusiastically in the first half of the series. Andres plays the boasting, pretentious Caroline perfectly and gives the audience a great reason (if they haven’t already) to start sympathising with Emma and root for her. Caroline is deliciously despicable and of course the reminder that both Emma Approved and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries take place in the same fictional universe is nice, too.

The casting itself as well also was fantastic for another reason – racial diversity. Sotomura herself is half Japanese, half German, making her a woman of colour in a lead role. Stephen Chang, who plays Frank Churchill, and Tyra Colar, who plays Jane Fairfax, add to the diversity of the cast too as well as Nikea Gamby-Turner, who plays Maddy Bates. It is refreshing to see a popular piece of media be so diverse and not explain away its diversity with stereotypes or comments on race at all!

In conclusion – Emma Woodhouse and Emma Approved are both tough to love at first. But once you break through the initial discomfort, you find a faithful and wonderful character and series that touches your heart. Emma Approved is definitely Boar Approved.

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