Top 10 Best Anne with an E Moments

Fans of the books were anxiously awaiting Gilbert and Anne’s first meeting, which ended up happening in the third episode of the show. While Anne is walking to school one day, she is cornered and bullied by Billy Andrews. Gilbert witnesses the scene and shows up to protect Anne, though their relationship doesn’t remain friendly for long. One of the most iconic moments of the first “Anne of Green Gables” book occurs when Gilbert teases Anne, calling her “carrots” and she breaks her school slate over his head. The scene in the show totally does this moment justice, showing Anne’s uncontainable ire.

Another memorable moment from the novel which was adapted excellently for the screen involves a mix-up of currant wine and raspberry cordial. Anne is allowed to invite Diana over for tea, but ends up inadvertently serving her friend alcohol without realizing it. Diana becomes drunk and her parents (understandably) forbid her from being friends with Anne any longer. Luckily, in the following episode, Anne manages to get back in their good books by saving their other daughter, Minnie’s life when she comes down with a severe illness.

In the very first episode of “Anne With an E”, Anne arrives in Prince Edward Island to be picked up by Matthew at the train station. Unfortunately, she’s... not exactly who he was expecting. He and his sister, Marilla, were hoping to adopt a boy to help out on their farm. Anne, unaware of the mixup, talks Matthew’s ear off the entire ride home, charming him along the way. By the time they arrive at Green Gables, you’d have been hard-pressed to convince Matthew that he should send her back to the orphanage.

In the show’s second episode, we learn that Anne was bullied before finding herself at Green Gables. The following episode, Anne starts at the local school, and realizes that her larger than life personality may cause her to experience the same type of unkind treatment all over again. When Diana introduces Anne to the other schoolgirls, some of them are immediately mean to her, and it becomes clear that she won’t have an easy time making friends. It’s an upsetting sequence that makes the audience feel deeply for Anne, but luckily, over time, the other girls do eventually warm to her and her wonderfully quirky ways.

By the end of the show’s third and final season, it’s evident to pretty much everyone that Anne and Gilbert are in love. But they still haven’t managed to get on the same page due to a series of mishaps and misunderstandings. In the series finale, Diana confronts Gilbert on the train, yelling at him and essentially telling him to get his act together in regard to Anne. Luckily, her admonitions aren’t totally necessary. Seeing Diana jump in to speak up for her best friend—even if it means eschewing her typical etiquette—just goes to show how close the bond between the two young women is.

Part-way through the third season, Anne and her classmates are practicing their steps for the upcoming County Fair barn dance. By this point, the romantic tension has begun to build between her and Gilbert, and it’s incredibly obvious when they begin to dance. Even though they’re in a crowded room, they only have eyes for each other, and time seems to slow as they lock eyes. This feels like a moment of marked change in their relationship, and it’s certainly one that the fans who had been shipping them for three seasons have come to treasure.

After Anne publishes a controversial editorial in the newspaper, she finds herself coming up against resistance, and is ultimately taken off her writing position. The town elders attempt to control what is, and isn’t, published in the paper, with divergent viewpoints never able to see the light of day. Anne and her classmates take up the cause of freedom of speech and stage a protest to express their views. This episode is a great example of how “Anne With an E” takes a modern issue and makes it relevant even when set in the 19th century.

In the second season, Anne befriends Cole, a boy who seems to have just as hard of a time fitting in as she does. Cole ultimately tells Anne that he’s gay, in a storyline that definitely wasn’t in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novels. In one episode, they go to visit Diana’s aunt Josephine, who lives an eclectic life, surrounded by members of the LGBTQ+ community. At a party at her house, Cole feels welcome, and by the end of the season, Anne finds out that Josephine has invited him to come and live with her, so that he can openly be himself.

Much of the drama of the first couple of episodes of the show comes from wondering if Anne will be able to realize her dreams and actually stay at Green Gables—or whether Marilla and Matthew will send her back to the orphanage. At the end of the second episode however, their family’s fate is cemented when they officially ask Anne to become a Cuthbert. She signs the family bible to confirm her addition to the family, but of course can’t let the moment pass without some of her signature theatrics.

Sadly, “Anne With an E” was canceled after the show’s third season, with the season finale being forced to act as a series finale. Luckily, though we definitely would have spent many more hours with these characters, their storylines were mostly wrapped up nicely. In this episode, the students take the Queens exam, including Diana, who goes against her parents' will in order to do so. Most importantly for fans, however, Anne and Gilbert finally admit how they feel. Anne also finds some closure when she learns more about her birth parents, and is able to feel a sense of connection to the woman who bore her.