Anne with an E - Ending Explained

"Anne with an E" charts Anne Shirley's journey from a traumatized orphan to a self-assured young woman, with the central mystery of her parentage serving as a key thread throughout the series. In Season 1, the primary conflict is Anne's struggle for acceptance at Green Gables, culminating in the Cuthberts officially adopting her after a series of trials, including a fire that proves her worth to the town. The season also establishes the iconic rivalry-turned-friendship with Gilbert Blythe, who leaves Avonlea at the end of the season after his father dies.

Season 2 expands the world, introducing Sebastian 'Bash' Lacroix, Gilbert's friend from Trinidad, who returns with him to Avonlea and faces racism. A major subplot involves Nate and Dunlop, two boarders at Green Gables who are revealed to be con men trying to scam the town with a fake gold rush; their plot is ultimately foiled. This season also introduces Cole Mackenzie, a friend of Anne's who is bullied for his artistic sensitivity and comes to terms with being gay, finding refuge and a new home with the wealthy and unconventional Josephine Barry. Marilla begins to lose her eyesight, a secret she keeps for much of the season.

Season 3 brings many of the series' arcs to a head. A central storyline involves Anne's friendship with Ka'kwet, a Mi'kmaq girl who is forcibly taken to a residential school; the heartbreaking attempts to rescue her are unsuccessful, leaving her fate tragically unresolved by the series' end. This plotline directly confronts Canada's painful history with its Indigenous peoples. The season's romantic core is the evolution of Anne and Gilbert's relationship. After a series of misunderstandings and Gilbert's brief, misguided courtship with Winifred Rose, they finally admit their feelings for one another. The series finale concludes with Anne heading to Queen's College, having received a book from Marilla and Matthew containing a diary and information from her late mother, finally giving her the connection to her origins she always craved. She and Gilbert share a kiss and promise to write, ending the series on a hopeful note for their future, despite its abrupt cancellation.

One of the primary alternative interpretations of "Anne with an E" revolves around its tone and faithfulness to the source material. While the mainstream reading sees the series as a necessary and realistic deepening of the classic story, some critics and viewers interpret it as an anachronistic projection of modern sensibilities onto a historical text. This view suggests that the show's explicit focus on trauma, racism, and LGBTQ+ issues, while well-intentioned, feels out of place and overwrites the subtle charm and optimism of L.M. Montgomery's original work. They argue the series is less an adaptation and more a 'fan fiction' that uses the characters to tell a completely different, much darker story.

Another interpretation focuses on Anne's character as a neurodivergent figure. While the text frames her active imagination and emotional intensity as products of trauma and innate creativity, some viewers interpret her social awkwardness, deep passion for specific interests (like literature), and unique way of processing the world as traits consistent with neurodivergence, such as ADHD or being on the autism spectrum. This reading provides a different lens through which to understand her conflicts with the rigid social norms of Avonlea, seeing it not just as a clash between a creative spirit and a conservative town, but as a struggle of a neurodivergent individual to navigate a neurotypical world.