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And so, after four series of gentle storytelling and impossibly bright sunshine, Lark Rise to Candleford has come to an end. Of course, those who managed to remain immune to its charms will meet such news with indifference, but for those of us who fell in love with this mild mannered world during back when Dorcas seemed to only have one “one weakness”, the final episode marked a bittersweet farewell.
This short final series of Lark Rise was mostly concerned with tying up all the loose ends, and giving the main characters a happy ending. The only real blot on the landscape was the fact that Brendan Coyle didn’t return: his charisma has been missed throughout this series, but ultimately it’s been shown time and time again that, for all their problems, the Timmins found their happy ending the day they met each other, and so their reunion would have been a nice addition rather than an essential element to the final episode.
Even if we missed out on one reunion, there were unions enough to satisfy even my soul. I’d be a bare-faced liar if I told you my eyes remained dry as Thomas found out that Margaret was “with child” ("What child?") – Mark Heap has long been stealing the show here as Thomas, while Sandy McDade showed off her flare for comedy marvellously throughout this series. The Pratt sisters, too, were allowed to be genuinely happy for the Browns, leaving a positive final impression of their characters. Laura and Daniel have somewhat faded into the background in this series, but Laura’s scene with Emma last week was a beautifully played moment by both the actresses.
I was undoubtedly most happy to see that Minnie, my absolute favourite character in the show, was allowed a substantial role in the final episode. Ruby Bentall has been perfect from the start as the dippy but charming maid, and to see her stand up to Caroline Arless was a thing of beauty. I wasn’t sure about the return of Dawn French, as she was one of the weakest elements of the first series, but she’d really improved, bringing a welcome level of depth to the role. Alf proposing to Minnie in the middle of the street as she held a cabbage was a fitting end for this unexpectedly touching romance.
Of course, the real talking point at the beginning of this series was whether or not Dorcas would find herself a husband. Perhaps six episodes wasn’t quite enough to establish Gabriel unequivocally as the one for her: there will always be those who pine for the days of Sir Timothy or James Dowland, although my personal favourite was the sexy bearded teacher James Delafield, who turned up for one episode and stole my heart. But Richard Harrington managed to breathe sufficient life into the role to make it work, and the parallels between Gabriel and Dorcas were apparent without being spelt out for us. As always, it was Queenie who could see the truth of the matter – Linda Bassett has consistently been one of the best things about Lark Rise to Candleford and it was good to see her get her moment too. Julia Sawalha’s twinkling eyes, simpering smile and whispery voice have been the thing that have made this programme work, and she was on top form right through to the end.
When Dorcas finally got her man, it was an unashamedly romantic moment, and rightly so, quite frankly. Lark Rise to Candleford has always been an unashamedly romantic programme, and while this was a nigh-on perfect ending, I for one will miss it greatly.
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