Anne With An E: 5 Characters Who Got Fitting Endings (& 5 Who Deserved More)

Despite every attempt from this show’s devoted fanbase, Anne With An E was canceled after three seasons and appears to remain so for the foreseeable future. The empowering story of Anne’s growth captured hearts around the world, but she’s not the only character in the series to give voice to the underrepresented.

The show introduces many characters who aren’t present in the books upon which the show is based, like Bash and Cole, who are equally as captivating. The characters grow a lot over the course of three seasons, but a few storylines are clearly cut short. Nevertheless, some characters seem to have gotten a fitting ending, while others are left hanging.

10 FITTING: Prissy

Prissy Andrews begins the series as a seemingly shallow and foolish girl. Her main priority is flirting with her teacher, Mr. Phillips, and trying to score an engagement. Eventually, she makes it to the altar, but by now she’s realized that Mr. Phillips isn’t a good man. He won’t let her lead the life she wants to, so Prissy reclaims her autonomy by fleeing the church.

In season 3, she returns from college a new woman, mature and informed. First, she talks to her dad about contributing to the family enterprise, then defends Josie after her brother assaults her. She also joins Anne in the march for freedom of speech, and by the end of the series, she seems sure of who she is and what she wants.

9 DESERVED MORE: Jerry

Jerry’s arc in season 3 is defined by Diana’s attraction to him. He’s left heartbroken and used, and Diana hardly even apologizes for her actions. This would have been fine if season 3 wasn’t the finale, but as it is, Jerry’s story isn’t really his own.

He expresses his frustration with Diana to Anne, who empathizes with him, but then makes up with Diana anyway. Jerry and Diana never make amends, and he never gets to explore what he wants to do with his life. He’s hardly featured in the series finale, which indicates that there was much more still to come for his character.

8 FITTING: Elijah

Mary’s son Elijah causes a lot of pain to everyone around him, but he grows a lot in his short time on the show. He starts out by abandoning Mary in her time of need, but she forgives him, anyway.

After her death, he comes to Avonlea in an attempt to make amends with her family, even if he can’t make amends with her. He apologizes to Gilbert and Bash and promises to help with the farm, expecting nothing in return. He truly comes to rue his actions, and he even wants a relationship with Delphine.

7 DESERVED MORE: Bash

Bash seems to have been through it all, even before his first appearance on the show. Even after all of his struggles, he’s a lively, optimistic person who brightens up everyone’s day. However, Bash suffers a lot during his time on the show. He faces discrimination when he arrives at Avonlea, which drives him to the Bog where he meets Mary.

Just when things seem to be going well for him, Mary gets sick and dies, leaving Bash alone with their baby. Furthermore, he has to deal with Mary’s wayward son, Elijah, who eventually sets himself straight. Still, Bash draws the short straw and by the end of the series, it seems that he hasn’t completed his arc.

6 FITTING: Gilbert

Gilbert is one of the few characters who truly seems to get the happy ending they deserve. After a lonely childhood, he finally finds his place among a group of people who love him, and he finds his own family.

As a young boy, he knows exactly what he wants, but as he grows older, he starts to have his doubts. He grows a lot throughout the show’s three seasons to finally decide on a career, even if it means leaving home – and leaving Anne. Of course, he also matures enough to be the person Anne loves and wants in her life.

5 DESERVED MORE: Miss Stacy

Miss Stacy seems to have only just begun her arc when the series ends. She’s suffered a lot of loss and injustice in her life, and Avonlea isn’t the most welcoming environment for her.

However, she seems to inspire a lot of change, especially in the town’s younger generation. After a long battle, she finally earns the town’s respect, though really it should be the other way around. Still, after cementing herself into the community, she could finally begin enacting real change. The show also hints at a potential romance between Miss Stacy and Bash.

4 FITTING: Anne

Anne’s ending might just be the most fitting out of all the characters. It’s the seeming completion of her arc that makes the final episode feel like the intended series finale. The episode starts out a little rocky for Anne, and after losing hope, she’s able to gain it all back.

She comes to an agreement with Matthew and Marilla, who also bring her the missing piece of her childhood. She discovers her parents’ identities and that she’s inherited her mother’s hair. This helps Anne finally accept herself and appreciate her physical appearance. After tying up her loose ends with Gilbert and Diana, the show ends with Anne smiling at her reflection.

3 DESERVED MORE: Mary

Mary is such a pure, good person who seems to have done nothing wrong in her life. Yet, she suffers tremendously and her life is cut far too short.

Mary dies without knowing that Elijah loves her and wants to make it up to her and Bash. She dies without having raised her daughter or been properly accepted in the community of Avonlea. Although she’s already brought so much light into the world, she dies with so much of her life still ahead of her.

2 FITTING: Diana

The amount of change observable in Diana’s character is one of the most significant character evolutions in the entire series. She begins as a shallow, clueless girl, but thanks to Anne, Aunt Jo, and Cole, Diana opens up her eyes to the world around her.

She begins to have aspirations of her own and rejects the future her parents have written for her. She accepts that love is love, even if she treats Jerry poorly. This relationship is one of the few storylines left unresolved at the end of season 3, but Diana seems to have learned something from the experience nonetheless. By the end of the show, she’s begun to forge her own path.

1 DESERVED MORE: Ka’kwet

If anyone deserves more, it’s Ka’kwet. She’s treated with gross unfairness by people who have no idea of who she really is. She’s torn away from her family and forced to become someone else, though she’s never caused harm to anyone.

She makes her escape from the residential school, only to be found and dragged back against her will. Ka’kwet’s is clearly a storyline that didn’t have a chance to play out to its conclusion and is a big part of why fans have fought so hard to revive the show. Leaving her story unresolved sends the wrong message about First Nations people and equality in general.

About The Author

Svetlana Sterlin
(256 Articles Published)

After years of relocation, Svetlana Sterlin (she/her) was raised by her Russian parents in Brisbane, Australia, where she completed a BFA and contributes to ScreenRant and Our Culture Magazine. An avid cinephile and bookworm, Svetlana also writes creatively across multiple forms and genres. Her fiction and poetry appear in several printed and digital publications. Find more from Svetlana here: https://linktr.ee/svetlanasterlin.

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