I know adaptations can be different from the original stories but this... I think it some of the "improvements" (or alterations) North and South suffered in this case were not only unnecessary, but they made it more difficult to understand the story and the characters. For example: when Margaret first sees Mr. Thornton, he is brutally beating a man, one of his "hands", who is already lying defenseless on the floor. How can she get to like him at all, when she knows he is capable of doing something like this? I think the way they originally meet in the book makes much more sense and it would have been better to keep it like that. Then, Margaret and Mr. Thornton barely speak to each other in the series!! It makes it very confusing (and almost ridiculous) when he suddenly decides to propose to her. As another reviewer already said, it makes you wonder "when did they fall in love??!!". It also looks like somehow Margaret started having feelings for him almost from that day on. Why? The ending felt quite weird for me (the scene in the train station), and not credible at all. I would have preferred it if they kept it a little bit more similar to the one in the book. I think the underdeveloped relationship between Margaret and Mr. Thornton is the worst part of this adaptation. Both characters change a lot throughout the story (in the book), not only because of each other, but because the people around them and they end up completely changing their minds about many things. Thus, in the book, the feelings they have for each other are perfectly understood. As for the rest, the actors were quite good and I really liked how they recreated this small industrial town and the rest of the characters. The relationships between Margaret and Bessy and Mr. and Mrs. Thornton were particularly good.
Review of North & South
