Candy Candy episode 11 review; the bonds of love still hold.

       This episode begins with Candy finding out from the gardener that Mr. Brighton will be visiting the Leagans, and this means that Candy will see Annie again. But, when Mrs. Brighton and Annie arrives at the house,  Annie refuses to acknowledge Kurin’s presence, and when Mrs. Brighton see’s Candy she asks for a private room to speak with Annie. Later, we see Mrs. Brighton telling Candy, in Annie’s presence, that it must not come out that Annie came from an orphanage, so if Candy values Annie she’ll act like she doesn’t know Annie, with much sadness Candy agrees.

 

       When Candy returns to her barn she sees Neil messing around with something, and it turns out that he’s hiding a broken spur. Later, we see Eliza and Neil invite Annie for a horse ride even though she’s frightened of the idea. Outside the barn, Candy drops to her knees and lifts Annie on to the horse. When Annie mounts the horse, Neil scrapes its backside with the broken spur causing the horse to run off in terror with Annie screaming for help. As Neil and Eliza place the blame on Candy she mounts the other horse and gives chase to Annie.

 

        When Candy catches up with Annie they tie the horses up and sit down for a talk, and while Candy talks about Pony Home, Sister Lane, and John, Annie says nothing. Candy tells Annie that they’re alone so she can talk. Annie breaks down in tears telling Candy that she had to/was forced to forget everything; Pony Home, Candy, John, and everyone else, she has to be a Brighton, she has to do this to protect her future happiness. Just as Candy is about to say something to Annie, a car from the Leagan’s shows up and tells Annie they came to her, and that Candy’s in trouble.

 

        When Candy and Annie return to the house, Mrs. Leagan and Eliza blame the whole thing on Candy saying that she was the one who caused the horse to bolt. Candy denies everything and says Neil was the one who did it, Candy rushes into the other room and tells Neil to be a man and tell the truth, and Neil refuses. Candy assaults Neil and tells him if he ever goes near Annie again she’ll make him pay. After the other servants save Neil from Candy, Mrs. Leagan and Eliza try to get Annie to say that this was Candy’s fault. Annie looks from Candy to the others and she begins to cry and tells her mother she can’t take this. Mrs. Brighton defuses the situation by saying that if Candy did this she never meant to hurt Annie, so an apology should do. Candy looks around the room and sees Annie in tears. Candy then apologizes to the group and runs off in tears back to her barn.

 

       While Candy is crying in the barn, the gardener tells Candy that he’s sorry because he saw everything and didn’t have the courage to say anything. Candy tells him that she’s sad not because people tried to blame her, but she’s sad because she lost someone she considered to be her sister. The gardener tells Candy that she didn’t lose Annie, because when Annie screamed in terror, she didn’t call for her mother or father, she called for the person that she loved and trusted the most, Annie called for Candy to save her. When Candy stops crying she sees Mrs. Brighton and Annie leaving, so when Candy rushes from the barn to chase after them she sees that Annie has tied her beautiful hair ribbon to a tree near the barn where Candy is living. Candy takes the ribbon inside and says that this is a token of the friendship that Annie still feels for Candy. Well, that’s all for this episode.

       Well, Candy finally gets to see Annie after about three years have passed since she left Pony Home and Annie refused to acknowledge either Kurin or Candy. Annie left Pony Home to find her happiness and in exchange for a nice house and a “mother” and a father, she’s sold her soul.

       While Annie was at Pony Home she was a quiet and shy girl, but now Annie is not only quiet and shy, she’s now a broken and unhappy child. Sister Lane reminded Candy about the promise of false happiness by telling her that nice dresses and a nice room is not true happiness, but she should have saved the speech of Annie. Sister Lane also told Candy to not let herself be broken, and while Candy suffers at the hands of the Leagan’s, she is still Candy and she still owns her soul. Annie is a broken and unhappy girl, and while she may sleep in peace she has to live the nightmare of renouncing her true self.

       While Annie was forced to renounce Candy and her own self-worth she did manage to leave Candy a small message that she still loves her. Maybe this gesture is a small flicker of hope that Annie can one day come to terms with her identity and her own heart’s desire, but until that day comes, Annie will be just a bird inside a gilded cage.

 

Candy Candy episode 10 review; The barn princess and her court of loving friends.

       This episode begins with all the kids at Pony Home being read a letter from Candy telling them how great of a time she had at the dance, she includes a drawing of her dress, and they think that Candy looks like a princess.

        Meanwhile, back at the Leagan’s house, Candy gets the news that since she’s not a member of the family they’re moving her from the house to the barn. While Eliza and Neil try to depress Candy, she vows to make friends with the horses and not let this action get her down.

        Later, Candy spots Anthony outside the house and when he sees her she goes over and they talk. Candy offer to help him with some lifting, but when she trips and falls, Anthony notices the rough appearance of her hands and he doesn’t seem happy. Later, as Stear is driving his car down the road he almost runs over a little boy who’s walking down the road, and back at the barn, Candy is washing down the horses.

        When Stear arrives at the house, it turns out that the boy is none other than John who’s walked all the way from Pony Home to see Candy in her dress. Just as Candy is about to tell John about the barn, Dorothy comes out of the house and plays along with helping Candy pass off that everything is all right. While Candy isn’t too happy about this, she decides to go along with Dorothy by showing John Eliza’s room and passing it off as her own.

       While the Leagan’s weren’t supposed to be back until late it seems that they’re coming back earlier than expected. As Candy is modeling her dress for John, Eliza walks in the room and begins insulting both Candy and John, but before it can go too far the mother walks in and tells Eliza to cut it out. We then find out that Sister Lane has come to fetch John and the mother says that they need to keep up appearances for the honor of the Leagan household.

       Well, it seems that John felt that if he ran away it would force a meeting between Sister Lane and Candy, so they could check on her. Later, as John is playing with Kurin he finds out that candy is sleeping in the barn but Candy tells him not to tell the sisters. Candy tells him that the only way she’s not a princess is if she gives in to the real princess.

        That evening, Sister Lane, Candy, and John share the same bedroom and Sister Lane tells Candy that now she can be a peace after seeing her. John tries to spill the beans about Candy’s treatment, but Candy stops him from doing it. We can see that Sister Lane knows something is terribly wrong here, but all she does is cry in silence.

       The next morning, Mrs Leagan has Candy ride with Sister Lane and John halfway beck to Pony Home, and as they’re driving down the road Stear and Archie catches up with them in Stear’s car. After Stear and Archie introduce themselves and tell Sister Lane that they’ll look after Candy, Sister lane asks to speak to Candy in private. She tells Candy that she had come to take her back to Pony Home, and that she knew Candy was having a tough time here, but she feels better after knowing that Candy has friends that love her. She tells Candy that putting on a pretty dress and sleeping in a nice room is not happiness, but she also says that now that she knows Candy has so many friends she won’t force her home. She tells Candy that happiness is having a warm heart and good friends, and Candy agrees with her.

       After Sister Lane and John leave, Stear asks if anything happened between her and Anthony the other day, and Candy tells them it was her hands. Later, when Candy’s inside the barn Anthony stops by and gives Candy a rose and tells her that he didn’t know they were working her so hard. He tells Candy that next time they meet he’ll make that her birthday and he’ll give her a even nicer rose. Then, Anthony holds his arms out for Candy and when she takes his arms he promises her that next time they meet it’ll be her birthday. Well, that’s all for this episode.

        Well, every time something nice happens to Candy something equally bad or even worse come along to spoil it, ahhh…….such is life for our poor orphan. What I found very interesting was that even though Candy always sent nice letters to Pony Home Sister Lane knew that something was wrong with Candy. What was equally interesting was that Sister Lane had come to take Candy back  but decides to leave Candy there once she sees that while the Leagans treat her poorly she’s surrounded by other loving people.

       I liked the warning about false happiness that Sister Lane leaves Candy with that “putting on fancy dresses, and living in a beautiful room is not true happiness. Trues happiness is the warm hearts of your friends”.

        The meaner and crueler Eliza treats Candy the more Anthony, Stear, and Archie despises her for her actions, and while Eliza desires Anthony she’ll never have him because his heart belongs to Candy. I really look forward to watching Candy enjoy a moment of sweetness when Anthony gives Candy her birthday present.

 

Candy Candy 5 review, a flower in the attic.

       This episode begins with Candy telling Sisters Lane and Pony that she will be going to Lakewood to find her happiness. When Sister Pony asks her why the sudden decision, she tells them that Annie and everyone is always saying that you must find your own happiness so she’s going to find it herself. Sister Pony gives Candy her own cross as a gift, and Sister Lane gives Candy a new set of PJ’s as a gift. Sister Pony tells Candy to be strong and not to cry when things get tough, and Candy asks them not to tell the other children that she’s leaving. The next morning Candy goes and says her goodbyes to all the children before they awake, Sister Lane says that of all the children Candy will be the hardest to let go.

      As Candy is walking away from Pony home Kurin tries to leave with her but she tries to give him the slip but he won’t leave her so she tells him to come along. As Candy is walking to Lakewood she runs into Tom and his father, Tom seems to be doing very well with his adoptive parents. Tom and Candy have a lasso contest and Tom finally beats Candy, he tells her that he always did his best because of her. When Candy tells them that she’s being adopted by the Leagans Tom asks her if she would be better off with a regular family, she tells him that she will always be Candy.

      Tom’s father thinks that it’s a bad idea for Candy to move in with the Leagans but he keeps his thoughts to himself, and her tells her to be strong, cheerful, and not to cry. When Candy gets to the Leagan’s house she thinks that it’s right out of a fairy tale, but as she walking up to the door some children (Eliza and Neil) dump water on her from above and make fum out of her. So, Candy uses her lasso to capture Neil, but as she demands an apology, Neil’s mother comes out to see whats going on. Later, Candy gets introduced to the family by Mr. Stewart, and Candy wonders where the prince on the hill is.

 

      When Candy tries to talk to Neil and Eliza with a friendly tone their mother tells her to call them mister, and miss, and Candy asks if that’s the way siblings talk to each other. The mother asks Mr. Stewart what was Candy told, well, he says that Mr. Leagan wanted Candy as a playmate for Eliza. So the mother tells Candy she’ll be treated as a daughter but she shouldn’t think of Neil or Eliza as her brother and sister. Later, a maid (Dorothy) comes to show Candy to her room in the attic, on the way up Neil and Eliza try to throw a cat at Candy but she dodges it and it hits Dorothy knocking her down the stairs. When Neil uses Candy’s new PJ’s as a rag to wipe his shoes, Candy attacks him, then Neil and Eliza are saved by Mr. Stewart.

      Later in her attic room, Candy says that even though the room isn’t the prettiest it is still a room just for her. Later the mother calls Candy downstairs where she tells Candy to apologise or leave, and Candy says that she’ll leave rather than live with such horrible people. Just then, Mister Leagan walks in and tells them the he thought that a strong country girl like Candy might strengthen them up, as they begin to argue with him he tells everyone to just let it go, and then he retires form the room for the night.

      After the father leaves the room, Neil and Eliza still demand an apology from Candy but she refuses to apologize, so the mother tells Candy that if she refuses she will fire Dorothy. They make Candy kneel and apologize in order to save Dorothy’s job, and later when she’s in her room Candy breaks down in tears even though everyone told her to be strong. As Candy is crying in her room, Dorothy comes in and consoles her, and Candy asks her if she’s unhappy and why she just doesn’t leave. She tells Candy that she has eight brothers and sisters, and that whenever she’s unhappy she just thinks about them.

     As Dorothy and Candy are talking, Kurin knocks over a picture and it turns out to be Candy’s prince on the hill, and Candy asks if Dorothy knows him, and she says yes he comes around every once and a while. So, Candy resolves to stay and tough it out because she’ll soon be with her prince. Well, that’s all for now.

      Sometimes fairy tales come true and sometimes they don’t, and it looks like Candy’s tale is about to turn in to a Brothers Grimm dark tale. Candy the bright, cheerful, outgoing girl who’s never lied in her life has just walked into a den of wolves, and since she’s never dealt with those kind of people she’s in for a rude awakening. Mr. Leagan’s intentions might have been in the right place by wanting Candy to change his children, but he clearly doesn’t like strife so he won’t stand on the side of right.

     Candy, at this point should have gotten the hell out of that house but decides to try and tough it out after talking with Dorothy. When Candy finds out that her “prince on the hill” visits the Leagan every so often it just strengthens her resolve to stay, ah-love, what a powerful thing. This anime is great shojo melodrama, the romantic dreams of a sweet young girl collides with the cruel reality of a uncaring household, while life for Candy will be dark and foreboding, it will make her moments of joy even sweeter.