Johanna - 1848
John Owen's children, Edgar and Christabel, hear her high pitched screeches and walk over in annoyance. Edgar orders her to come down, as the tree is on their property, but she refuses. In anger, Edgar calls for his father but is ignored. Johanna smugly taunts them a second time, leading to the Owen children running off to tell John in person. John displays irritation at their whining and tells them to go inside. He glares at Johanna before also making his way back into his house.
Johanna leaps down from the tree and runs back home so that she can get ready to sell potatoes. Her grandmother Sarah tries to go over the neighbourhood orders with her, but Johanna insists she is already familiar with the whole routine and hastily begins to leave. Sarah calls her name impatiently and Johanna goes back to give her grandmother a kiss on the cheek.
One door is answered by old Mrs Banks and Johanna offers her twelve potatoes. Mrs Banks begins reminiscing about Sarah's wedding, before coming back to the present and realizing she needs to buy some potatoes. She tells Johanna to wait while she goes to get some money. Johanna sees a painting of a rich lady hanging on the wall and walks inside in curiosity. She quietly continues through the hallway and past a couple more paintings, coming to a stop when she sees a man standing completely still.
The man suddenly moves and winks at her much to her surprise, and she runs back the way she came until she is outside the house again. Mrs Banks returns and gives Johanna her payment as well as a gift for Sarah. Johanna tries to find out more about her grandmother's wedding but the old woman hastily shuts the door.
Johanna pushes her cart past the schoolhouse just as several students are coming out to play. Edgar Owen is among them and he calls her by an offensive nickname. His friends join in and Johanna climbs over the fence to attack him. Edgar easily overpowers her and pins her to the ground, before grabbing a jar of honey and pouring the contents over her head. The other boys cheer him on only to be interrupted by the arrival of their teacher Mr Thompson. They all scatter and Edgar Owen feels ashamed of himself when he sees his parents drive by in a carriage.
Mr Thompson stares down at Johanna and sternly tells her to leave, as she is not a student at his school. Johanna does so in humiliation and later stops outside the Owen's place where she has a short rest by their chicken enclosure. A frog's croak catches her attention and she smiles as a plan comes to her mind.
While snooping around the place, she narrowly avoids being seen by her aunt Maryann, who works as a maid for the Owens. She then comes across the Owen family's bowls lined up in a row, covered with white cloths that have each person's initials printed on. She finds the one that is Edgar's and places the frog inside, squeezing it's body hard to keep it quiet. As she runs back outside, Maryann realizes her presence and calls her name. Having been discovered, Johanna turns around and lies that she simply wanted to pay her aunt a visit. Maryann isn't fooled though and suspects that her niece has done something unusual. She tells Johanna to leave immediately due to her being forbidden from coming to the big house.
On the way out, Johanna bumps into her aunt's friend George, whom is holding a bunch of flowers. He asks her what she is doing at the Owen's place, before running away at the sound of John Owen's voice.
Back at home that night, Sarah washes her granddaughter's hair and rubs it dry while demanding to know what happened. Johanna explains the incident at the schoolhouse and Sarah reminds her of the importance of turning the other cheek. Johanna complains that Christabel Owen has red hair too, yet nobody ever teases her for it. Sarah hands Johanna a piece of paper to read from while she brushes her hair, and claims that life will be much better once they move to Bathurst.
Johanna sighs and begins to read the page aloud, which turns out to be a letter from her uncle Davey who already lives in Bathurst. The flowery language in his letter sickens her and she finds delight in twisting it's message into something more vulgar and immature. Sarah snatches the letter from Johanna's hands in disgust and threatens not to take her on an outing the following day.
The next morning, Johanna climbs up the tree again and looks out at Edgar's bedroom window. She hears him scream as he discovers a frog in his bowl and she laughs in amusement. Maryann runs to see what the fuss is about and sees Edgar dumping the frog onto the ground. She gets down and manages to catch it, before it becomes clear to her that the prank was her niece's doing.
Sarah arrives and tells Johanna to come down from the tree so that they can go on their arranged outing. She waves fondly to Maryann as they leave and laments that her daughter cannot join them.
They visit the grave of Johanna's deceased mother and Sarah solemnly plants some flowers in respect. Johanna grows bored and asks her grandmother when they will leave. Sarah sadly explains that she wishes to spend her birthday with her departed husband and daughter, to which Johanna reminds her that she never knew either of them.
Sarah begins to describe Johanna's mother to her, though Johanna only wants to know about her father. Sarah refuses to tell her anything and claims that it is all for her own good. Johanna is not convinced.
The scene changes to Johanna sitting at the bottom of the fig tree while picking petals off a flower. She hears Christabel chanting a nursery rhyme as she passes by wheeling a doll along in a little cart. Johanna tiptoes forward in the hope of sneaking up on the younger girl, but Christabel spins her head around and tells Johanna to stay away as she is filthy.
Christabel brags that her father will whip anyone who intrudes on his property and Johanna accuses her of lying. Christabel counters that she at least has a father and haughtily skips off to where he is waiting, leaving her doll behind.
Johanna watches miserably as the two walk away and becomes determined to find out her father's true identity. On her regular potato round, she decides to ask each customer what they know about him, but they all give differing and often contradicting answers.
Johanna reaches home dripping wet from the rain and Sarah demands to know why she took so long. Johanna ignores her grandmother and starts changing into some dry clothes straight away. Sarah raises her voice and Johanna admits that she felt the need to ask the neighbours after her grandmother refused to tell her anything. Sarah briefly loses her cool and finally gives Johanna a vital clue: one of his legs is shorter than the other.
Maryann returns from work and scolds Johanna for always wandering near the Owen's house. Johanna demands to know the reason why but Maryann instead repeats Sarah's statement that things will be better in Bathurst. Johanna argues that they will never be able to go there at the rate they are currently selling potatoes. Maryann snaps at Johanna that she has had enough of her niece's mischief and that she will lose her job if the pranks go on further.
On particular day, Johanna goes from house to house knocking on each door but receiving no responses to her own dismay. Things begin to look up when she catches sight of men entering the local tavern and she follows them in. They are fortunately all eager to buy from her and each take turns to make their payment. As coins are dropped into her hand, Johanna takes a quick look down at each man's feet but none match her grandmother's description.
It comes down to just one potato left in the cart and Johanna is unsure who to sell it to. A familiar voice calls out to her and she realizes it belongs to the man she saw in Mrs Bank's house. She asks him about her father and he tells her that she will have to ask at the big house. The bartender yells at him to leave while Johanna makes her way outside. She remembers the last potato and pauses to throw it as far as she can, resulting in a few patrons diving to catch it.
Disobeying her aunt's warning, she goes to the Owen house and knocks three times. Maryann answers the door and Johanna scurries in before she can be caught. Maryann is unsuccessful in her attempt to catch her niece and Johanna finds her way upstairs and into a large room with an exotic bird display. She stares at it in awe and imagines hearing bird calls before being stunned by the sight of John Owen looking back at her.
She calms herself down and asks him what he knows about her father. He pours a drink for himself and hesitantly takes a sip before revealing that she is the only mistake he has ever made. Johanna nearly breaks into tears from the shock and calls him a liar. She runs outside in despair with Maryann and the Owen children following after her.
Feeling shattered, Johanna collapses on her bed as soon as she gets home. She tries to get some rest but the sound of John Owen's voice at the door troubles her. She listens in on the conversation he is having with Sarah and pretends to be asleep when her grandmother returns to her bedside. Sarah gently nudges Johanna and shows her the banknotes John has given them.
Johanna goes to say goodbye to George the day before she leaves for Bathurst and wonders why Maryann has decided not to come with them. The sudden arrival of her aunt forces Johanna to hide and she waits until George and Maryann have left to come out again.
A pair of boots catch her eye and she notices that one of them has a raised sole, while the other does not. She realizes that they belong to John Owen and the sight of him limping into the room only solidifies the fact.
As they get ready to leave for Bathurst, Sarah gives Maryann a final hug before she climbs into the cart with Johanna and they are driven off. They say farewell toMaryann and George, who sends his regards to Davey.
They pass the Owen children playing near a fountain and Johanna throws a potato, splashing them with dirty water and ruining their clothes. She waves goodbye to the graves of her grandfather and mother, before she and Sarah excitedly anticipate all the things they will do in Bathurst.
Tropes
- Foreshadowing: Johanna makes a comment about Christabel's hair being just as red as her's. It takes on a whole new light at the end of the episode.
