User reviews

There is no doubt series 1 was just wonderful. Everything worked.

But series 2? What a mess and just so difficult to follow what was going on.

Storylines came and went. Characters briefly introduced and then dropped. No explanations given. No reason why this happened. Consistency just disappeared as well.

It took me ages to figure out what was going on and then I noticed that at least 3 if not 4 directors were used for the season - I'm still not sure who directed episode 8.

It was as if the directors had different visitons as to what the story should be and how it should be told and also as to which stories should be followed and which dropped.

We have the tenant farmers with the pigs again where the husband met an untimely fate in series 1. They're back again in series 1, a new character is introduced to the farm. He's a troublemaker for the 3 episodes. He disappears in episode 3. Hints that questions will be asked.

But then the entire story is dropped from episode 4 on. Why? As I'm suggesting, is this because the new director in episode 4 didn't like the story and just decided not to pursue it and just drop it?

In the middle episodes, we have the storyline re canals vs. Trains and which will be the future with intense negotiations by Anne with shareholder meetings and making decisions as to where she should place her money. Episode 6? Gone, not to appear again except for a brief mention of selling shares in episode 7.

We have the general election theme in two episodes and all the politics and violence. Next episode? Gone with barely a mention.

The coal mine? It comes and goes. Lots of discussion about developing it, who is in charge, what should be done but then it disappears for a couple of episodes only to reappear again with the new director in the later episodes.

In episode 5, there is a great deal made of the cook's health and eventually Anne suggests she go off for a visit to a relative to rest and recover. We expected the next episode would follow her visit and discuss developments. Nope. In episode 6, she is just not present only to briefly reappear back at Shipton in episode 7 with a short "are you feeling better?" from Anne.

We could barely keep track of characters as they came and went so often it was dizzying.

Did we enjoy this series? Not really. Will we watch a series 3? Not if they persist with multiple directors who clearly have their own visions and aren't talking to each other.

The most intriguing part of Anne Lister is that she documented her life in diaries written in a code so complex, it wasn't until long after her death in the 1930's that the code was deciphered and her diaries read.

What ruins this show for me, is that the main character of Lister speaks directly to camera to communicate her inner thoughts to the audience. As this is a period piece, I find this VERY jarring, as it pulls me out of the time period. It would have been MUCH more effective had these internal thoughts been conveyed through scenes of her writing them in her famously coded diaries. There has been a brief scene showing that, but it hasn't been emphasized enough. And if the talking and winking to camera were transferred to what would have actually happened instead, scenes of her making her diary entries, this would have been a much, much better series,

I have been intrigued by the character of Anne Lister since reading of her complex, coded diaries, so was thrilled to find this series. I'm just quite disappointed in the execution, and don't understand why creators chose to have the main character speak to camera. She's not a narrator in a modern documentary. I want to be transported to another place and time, not be yanked out of it by an actor speaking to a lens.

This is a fantastic series.... But please, please stop trying to hijack this historical drama and make it something it is not.

Anne Lister wrote a series of encoded diaries that showed her life and what it was like being a lesbian in late 18th and early 19th century England. And she is quiet explicit in her recounting of her own affairs.

She was not a LGBTQ+ trailblazer - this is another example of people trying to impose modern terminology on historical events. In fact Lesbianism has never been illegal in the UK.

Also she, unfortunately, was nowhere near as stunning as Suranne Jones, and in fact Mariana Lawton (a lover) was not happy to be see in public with Lister because of comments about Lister's appearance.

Doubtless I will get berated by several different groups for my views, but I honestly don't care. Life is too short and I am simply making the point that modern culture should stop trying to impose modern terms and new attitudes to historical events.

It is a show that history enthusiasts will enjoy, but for me after episode 3 it becomes boring while episodes starts to become more and more slower and less interesting...

Rating: 7 just because of good acting and a lot of historical details

First season was marvelous. The second one... Well everything is still brilliant except Ann Lister. They did something to the character. Suddenly she has that weird tone, weird artificial accent, weird overly accented gesturing. She's not "real" anymore. Just a character in a comic book. Like a mockup of something that use to be real.

I give "Gentleman Jack" a seven only because the side storylines are a little boring and take away from the core story of Anne Lister, a remarkable, brilliant, passionate woman who was far ahead of her corseted, stuffy time. Suranne Jones is marvelous as the star of this series, and disrupts and dazzles in every scene she is in. You root for Anne to find true happiness with her true love, Anne Walker, in a society that doesn't recognize or accept lesbian relationships or sexuality. "Gentleman Jack" has a good supporting cast, particularly Gemma Whelan as Marian, Gemma Jones as Anne's loving aunt, and Timothy West as Jeremy, but I couldn't care less about the tenants' storylines, so the series drags in those parts. The love story and Anne Lister's brave pursuit of equality and agency as a woman are what make this series sizzle.

For lovers of Jane Austen, with its own original twist.