Even in an adaptation that takes a turn for Darker and Edgier, a series about the World's most beloved Heartwarming Orphan is bound to have moments that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.
Season 1
Episode 1 - Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny- Matthew thinks of various ways for Anne to stay. He even arranges for a French boy from town - later revealed to be Jerry - to help Matthew work the farm, and suggests Anne can keep Marilla company.
- Anne initially misinterprets Matthew's hiring of Jerry, believing it is another way to get rid of her. Before Anne and Marilla leave, Matthew tells Anne the truth. Elated, Anne hugs Matthew, promises never to forget him, and even tells Marilla she knew he was a kindred spirit from when they first met.
- After Mrs. Spencer introduces Anne and Marilla to another potential guardian, Marilla is clearly distressed over the state of the place, and the woman's character. This leads Marilla to reconsider sending Anne away, unwilling to potentially let Anne fall back into another broken home.
- When Anne asks Matthew if he really wants her to stay, Matthew reaches out and gently pinches her arm. This is a callback to when Anne first arrives at Green Gables, and she told Matthew she had been pinching herself all day, afraid she was dreaming.
Episode 2 - I am no Bird, and No Net Ensnares Me
- When she is still furious at the Cuthberts for sending her back to the orphanage, Matthew convinces Anne to give them another chance with one impulsive explanation said to a concerned onlooker: "She's my daughter." Cue Anne crying Tears of Joy and rushing into Matthew's arms.
- Marilla and Matthew letting Anne sign the Cuthbert family bible, officially adopting her. Anne is beside herself with joy of becoming "Anne Cordelia Shirley-Cuthbert of Green Gables," and Marilla even indulges Anne's desire to make a ceremony out of it all by preparing a toast.
- Mr. Avery, the milkman who services the orphanage. Anne catches a ride with him to the train station, and he is the first person in the episode to be kind to her, listening with interest to her stories and sharing his breakfast with her.
Episode 3 - But What Is So Headstrong About Youth?
- After Anne becomes ostracized at school for her quirkiness, but above all for revealing the relationship between Prissy Andrews and Mr. Philips, Marilla attempts to apologize to Mrs. Andrews about it on Anne's behalf. Instead, when Mrs. Andrews insults Anne, Marilla defends her, knowing how horrible Anne's upbringing was, and the awful things she was subjected and witness to. Marilla leaves Mrs. Andrews speechless, and certainly regretful.Mrs. Andrews: You didn't do Avonlea any favours bringing that…trollop into our midst.
Marilla: (Aghast) I beg your pardon?
Mrs. Andrews: You heard me plain.
Marilla: Well, hear this: you can hold Anne responsible for what she said—
Mrs. Andrews: I can and most certainly do.
Marilla: But you can't hold against her what she's seen or been exposed to. That's not her fault! That child has endured more than any of us can know or imagine. It's a shame progressive parenting doesn't seem to include compassion. But perhaps you'll muster some up in church on Sunday…and thank the good lord that poor Anne has finally found safe haven. I know I will. - Even though he's just had a slate cracked over his head, Gilbert jumps to defend Anne to the teacher, saying it was his fault for teasing her.
Episode 4 - An Inward Treasure is Born
- Ruby and Anne bonding as the former stays at Green Gables. Anne is kind and understanding to Ruby despite the other girl having shunned her at school, and Ruby realizes Anne, though hardly ordinary, is a likeable person.
- Anne play boxing with Matthew. The moment is full of pure father-daughter love.
- Marilla telling Anne she should make her own decision regarding her future. She says she couldn't choose for herself, and it's obvious she doesn't want Anne to be held back by similar circumstances. This in turn encourages Anne to return to school.Marilla: You've got a good and nimble mind, Anne. I don't see why you should limit it.
Episode 5 - Tightly Knotted to a Similar String
- Marilla, awkwardly yet tenderly, rubs Anne's back as she cries over the shock of her menarche.
- Fighting his crippling shyness, Matthew buys Anne her first ever, brand new, fashionable dress. The sweet girl's pride is almost enough to make up for Anne's falling-out with Mrs. Barry.
- Following Mrs. Barry's forbidding of Anne and Diana associating with one another, Marilla later that night enters Anne's room as the latter sleeps, gently brushes her hair, then kisses her forehead. Even though she has trouble expressing it, Marilla truly cares for Anne, and wishes to comfort her.
Episode 6 - Remorse Is the Poison of Life
- Mrs. Barry allowing Anne and Diana to see each other again after Anne saves Minnie May from dying of croup.
- Not to mention how happy the girls are to see each other the next day.
- During John Blythe's wake, Marilla has a flashback to when her and John were in courtship. It is revealed the ribbon Marilla gifted Anne was given to her by John. The fact Marilla would give Anne such a precious object shows how much Anne means to her.
- What is perhaps more heartwarming than the reveal that Josephine Barry and her "bosom friend" were life partners is Anne's reaction to it. She is taken by surprise, then understands and accepts the truth in a matter of seconds.
Episode 7 - Wherever You Are Is My Home
- Anne is worried that she might be sent away because of Green Gables' financial troubles, but Marilla sets her straight.Marilla: (Aghast) Not keeping you? You're a Cuthbert, for better or for worse!
- Jerry is unable to sleep in a bed by himself, used to sharing with his siblings, and asks Anne if he can stay in hers. She agrees.
Season 2
Episode 1 - Youth is the Season of Hope- Matthew teaching Anne how to swim at the beach.
- Anne, realizing that Jerry is missing out on the wonder of books because he is illiterate, becomes dedicated to teaching him how to read and write. The two have officially become true friends.
Episode 2 - Signs are Small Measurable Things, but Interpretations are Illimitable
- Anne and Diana eating lunch with poor bullied Cole, which inspires the other girls (sans Josie) to do so too.
- Matthew giving Jerry Anne's cracked slate to help him learn his letters. It's especially sweet since earlier in the episode, Jerry mistook Matthew's amazement at his farmhand being able to write for displeasure.
Episode 4 - The Painful Eagerness of Unfed Hope
- The Barrys playing out in piles of leaves after mending their bonds.
Episode 6 - I Protest Against Any Absolute Conclusion
- Jerry makes Anne a Christmas card, the very first letter he writes. She's too touched to even call attention to him spelling her name without an E.
- Despite surprise that Gilbert brought a black man back from his travels, the Cuthberts do their best to treat Bash with more respect than he's been given in his whole life. Anne even calls his skin "extraordinary."
Episode 7 - Memory Has as Many Moods as The Temper
- Josephine and her friends' descriptions of Josephine's late life partner. Although living in an era when they could not love openly, Josephine and Gertrude clearly lived a long life full of love.
Episode 10 - Growing Good of the World
- Matthew building a fence around the chicken coop so he would not have to kill Anne's friend the Fox.
Season 3
Episode 2 - There is Something at Work in My Soul Which I Do Not Understand- Marilla fussing over Anne as they say goodbye at the train station.
- We get a glimpse of Aunt Josephine and Cole's life together - Cole is dressed extremely well, thanks to Josephine's wealth, and he carries himself with much more confidence and elegance, compared to before when he was bullied and painfully in the closet. One can imagine how much he got to flourish since the last season, with the support of an older, wealthy gay woman with her own community of unconventional artists, many of whom we saw in the last season to also be LGBT, or at least LGBT-friendly. Josephine and Cole snark at each other affectionately, like they really are a great-aunt with her favourite grand-nephew, their respective company clearly having done very well for one another.
- Cole escorting Anne all the way to the orphanage and back, sticking to her and defending her when one of Anne's former bullies insult her. All the way back to Charlottetown he has an arm around Anne.
Episode 3 - What Can Stop the Determined Heart
- Matthew bonding with Delphine. He entertains her by showing her around Green Gables and naming animals, and later, he plays peek-a-boo with a saucer.
- Anne, the Cuthberts, the Barrys, the Lyndes and Mary's washerwoman friends banding together to make Mary's last and Delphine's first Easter spectacular.
Episode 4 - A Hope of Meeting You in Another World
- After Anne and Marilla's fight, Matthew stands up for Anne and insists on letting her go to Nova Scotia to learn more about her birth family. Eventually Marilla relents and helps Anne in her quest for information, and the two of them reconcile.
- Cole and Aunt Josephine helping Anne out once more, helping her dress up to look like an independent older woman without need of a chaperone, so that she could visit the church for their records on her family.
- Anne uncovering her roots. While she's saddened to know her birth parents really did die, she's relieved to know they didn't willingly abandon her. She also discovers that her parents were from Scotland and manages to send a letter to their hometown asking for more information about them.
- Diana spending time with Jerry and his family and finally getting a taste of freedom away from her smothering parents.
- Jerry's youngest sister calling Diana "princess".
Episode 5 - I Am Fearless and Therefore Powerful
- Anna suggesting an obituary for Mary on the Avonlea Gazette, something for Delphine to hold onto when she's older, and Gilbert writing a beautiful one."In Memory of Mary Hanford Lacroix: Mary Lacroix was born on a winter's day in 1865. As those who knew her well can attest, her presence was felt like an endless summer. Her smile could lighten a room where no candles were lit. Her laugh could warm a home with an empty hearth. Fierce yet kind, she could cut a man down with her sharpness of tongue, but would bandage the broken wing of a sparrow, such was her sense of justice. For she was as generous in spirit, as she was with her cinnamon-sugar glaze, constantly rebutting the lack of sweetness in this world. Her life was not short on challenges. And still, she held no grudges, believing instead that grace is perennial, like the green, green grass. Whatever Mary did, she did fully, unwaveringly, with open arms. Whether it be raising her beloved son Elijah, or welcoming her precious daughter, Delphine, into this world, she lived life with both her hands. And when she left this world on April 6, 1899, her hands were held tightly by Sebastian, the love of her life. She was laid to rest in the place she called home. Avonlea."
- Bash reading the obituary to baby Delphine.
- Gilbert gives Bash a draft of the obituary to read over, and Bash is so moved by it that he reaches over to grip Gilbert's hand. Gilbert responds by returning the grip with both hands, because they're brothers.
- Mr and Mrs Barry read Mary's obituary, and they both express shame for having declined Mary's repeated invitations to the homestead because of their prejudice. Mrs Barry suggests they buy Bash and Gilbert's apple harvest for export into England, in order to ease their financial situation, and Mr Barry takes her up on the idea, stating that they should "have the dear boys over to dinner" to discuss it.
Episode 6 - The Summit of My Desires
- Bash learning how to knit so he can make Delphine a pair of booties, which she wears to the carnival.
- Despite being one of Miss Stacy's fiercest detractors the previous season (and meddling incorrigibly in her love life this season), Rachel defends her to a pair of women who are scandalized by her wearing trousers to the fair, even calling her "an exceptional person".
- Gilbert introducing Winifred's family to his own: Bash and baby Delphine. Winifred and her parents, for their part, take to Bash very warmly and sincerely, and coo over little baby Delphine.
- To cheer Anne up from the liniment cake public humiliation, Matthew and Marilla take her for a hot air balloon ride, which they earlier denounced as unsafe.
- Anne seeing Josie distressed during the county fair dance, and leaving the dance number to ask her what's wrong. She only knows that Josie and Billy got up to something earlier on, and that Josie looks very upset from it while Billy is on the sidelines looking smug. Anne immediately senses which way the wind is blowing and plunges right through it, marching up to Billy and calling him out for hurting Josie in front of everyone.
Episode 7 - A Strong Effort of the Spirit of Good
- The male-dominated town board votes to limit the control what the newspaper writes about, effectively restricting the freedom of the press, condescendingly speaking over Rachel (the only woman on the board) and enraging Miss Stacy. Here's the heartwarming part: Miss Stacy goes to speak with the Cuthberts, and when Marilla asks for Matthew's opinion, he says, in his usual bumbling manner, "I reckon you've heard from about enough men on this topic."
- Anne's heartfelt apology to Josie after her newspaper article gone wrong, and then Josie showing up later at their town hall protest. Josie smiles brightly at Anne, running up the stage and holding her hand.
- Out of the entire Andrews family, it is Prissy who stands up for Josie! She calls her parents out for their hypocrisy and, as her father continues to show his sexist standards, goes out of her way to join Anne's crew in their protest.
Episode 10 - The Better Feeling of My Heart
- When Anne and her friends arrive at their boardinghouse all dressed like young women for the first time instead of little girls.
- Anne and Gilbert finally have the Big Damn Kiss we have all been waiting seasons for! THREE TIMES!
- Elijah comes to the Blythe-Lacroix house, sober and repentant. Bash isn't ready to forgive his stepson at first, but Elijah's place on the farm is solidified by him holding Delphine. He's so touched, he weeps.
