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bethaven · 11 months ago

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#19 Find me in Paris

Plot: Lena Grisky is a teenage student at the Paris Opera ballet school in 1905. She's also a Russian princess and when her parents decide to take her back to Russia, she and her boyfriend Henri make escape plans. In the middle of escaping at the Garnier (the operahouse in Paris) it turns out the necklace Henri just gave her wasn't an ordinary jewelry. Suddenly, Lena finds herself at the same place - but over a 100 years into the future. She has to fit in to 21st century Paris, while Henri has to do everything to get her back. Turns out time travelling can be interesting, fun - and very dangerous.

Years: 2018-2020

Seasons: 3

My story: As with a few others, it was the name and more specific, the Paris of it all that caught my attention on Disney+ one day. Turns out I really like the whole time travelling-mystery and really wanted it to be true. What if we really could travel in time, how cool would that be?!

Teachable moments: The time travelling-part has more of a sci-fi/fantasy-element to it, but they're also ordinary teenagers with ordinary teenage problems. I think the series teaches us a lot about passions and choosing your own path, to dare to go for something you believe in.

Best character: Ines becomes Lena's best friend in the 21st century, and probably her best friend over all times. This kind and loyal brainiac really complements Lena's scattered mind and keeps her on track while needed. She's a friend everyone would be grateful to have.

Best episode: "The chosen one" (S3E25). It's the battle of battles and the day where everyone will show their true colors. Who and what is the future of time travelling?

Best quote: "Nothing you do today will change your audition tomorrow, the hard work's done, you must now put your trust into that and rest." (Armando)

Fun fact: Hannah Dodd, who plays the ballet school's it girl (in 2018) Thea Raphael, will be starring in the third season of Bridgerton. She will be playing Francesca Bridgerton, taking over after Ruby Stokes.

If you like this you might also like: The creators of Find me in Paris released a new series this year called Spellbound. It takes place at the Paris Opera ballet school shortly after the other one, but instead if being a time traveller the main character realises she's a witch. At least two friendly faces return; Jeff and Armando. Others you might like are Soy Luna, Emily in Paris, Julie and the Phantoms and Alexa and Katie.

#find me in paris #lena grizky #léna rêve d'étoile #spellbound #hannah dodd #tv series #bethaven's calendar 2023

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maelor321 · 1 year ago

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Okay but the Russian revolution part and Lena's origins are the biggest point that make me crave a fanfiction where she's more historically accurate while still being that girl who embraced French culture and managed to be free from the classicism of her position, and also make me annoyed with the show's cowardice :

Lena should be surprised of seeing so many independent countries, and misspoke by using old terms

When Lena left her time, Africa and Asia were carved up, Korea was united but contested between Russia and Japan, Eastern Europe was separated between Russia, Austria-Hungary, the German Empire, the ottoman empire and the small states of Serbia, Romania, Greece and Montenegro (Bulgaria was still a principality within the Ottoman Empire until 1908 even if independent in many matters).

Furthermore, said empires, colonial and not, were a source of pride for the leading governments and many of the ruling nations' peoples (not the opressed regions, specifically the ruling regions)

So all these independent states would be genuinely baffling.

Lena should struggle with anti German, Japanese and Turkish feelings+struggle with the change of dynamics between Russia and it's old imperial holdings and its "Slavic brethren"

When she left her time, her nation was at war with Japan, and anti-German feelings were something quite strong, which for example caused animosity toward Empress Alexandra, and she lived in France, where anti German feelings were very strong, and key in establishing Franco-Russian relationships.

As for the Turks, Ottoman-Russian relationships were historically dreadful, and Russia desired Constantinople, no way hatred of the "Heathens Turks" wasn't a thing.

I can see Lena due to her love for a poor French guy and being away from Russia not, or rather, by the time of 1905, no longer anti-semitic or anti workers rights, but these 3 feelings are an other matter.

And seeing Lena handle the weird relationship with the old imperial holdings' peoples would be fascinating in a fanfiction.

Lena should hate communists

That one is rather obvious.

Find Me In Paris: Things I’m still wondering…

So, I really love Find me in Paris, is really funny and original.

I appreciate the way they handle all the time travel stuff… I’ve watched it like a hundred of times, but I’m still wondering:

1-Why no one ever told Lena about the Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917?

Really, not even Ines, who’s like the ballerina version of Hermione Granger.

For the ones who don’t know what I’m talking about, or just wants a reminder, I’m going to make a short resume:

From 1904 to 1905 Russia and Japan were fighting a war; Russia lose it, so people weren’t very happy (they also realize some social classes needed some changes);

The Russian army repressed a manifestation in St. Petersburg (some people want to present a petition to zar Nikolai II);

It started a revolution that lasted two years (1905-1907). After it, the zar was forced to create the Duma (a sort of Parliament). Some historicals think that this was the first step of the 1917 Russian Revolution;

During WWI, the social situation in Russia wasn’t all this good, especially for the factory worker. They all unite under the ideals of Lenin, and it started the October Revolution, which led to the abdication of zar Nikolai II;

Due to some political issue (it started a civil war between the new communist government and people that still wanted the zar) Nikolai Romanov and his family (his wife Alexandra, his four daughter Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and his son Alexei) were took in Siberia and then killed.

So, Lena is a Russian princess: some people think is Nikolai daughter, but since it’s not specificated, let’s say she’s his niece.

She obviously doesn’t know about Russian nobility fate; so, she still thinks that in Russia there would be a zar, who would be one of Nikolai’s descendants.

She says on more than one occasion that she is a princess, who lives in a palace in Russia.

But the thing is this: I don’t think the old Russian nobility still lives in Russia and has all their old proprieties such as palaces.

So no one (not even the teachers) find strange that Lena goes around saying she’s a princess?

This leads me to the next point: why doesn’t Ines tell Lena about Russia 20th century history?

She knows Lena is from 1905, so she knows why she doesn’t know about it.

If I know that one of my dearest friends is a time traveler from 1900’s Russia (and part of the nobility), one of the first thing I would say to them it would be: “If you ever go back in your century, stay away from Russia! Move to the US and don’t go anywhere else!”.

I understand Ines wouldn’t say that for all the “don’t change the past because you don’t know how it could affect the future” thing, but seriously… Lena always said she wanted to go back! You don’t want to even warn her?

And later, in season 2, Lena said to Max all the truth; and she also said she wanted to go back so she could save Ines.

All Max has to say on it was: “Oh, ok. I’m really sad that you’re leaving, but that’s ok. Let’s create the most transgressive choreography that Paris Opera has ever seen.”.

And I was like… Ehm…hello?? The girl you claim to love just said she wanted to go back at the beginning of a disastrous century!! She’s leading herself into two revolutions and probably her death, but ok, let’s dance through it.

No one there knows anything about 1900’s Russian history?

And besides that, what about the history lessons or the history teacher?

What do they teach students in that school?

Oh, right…

2- Max’s family: What happened between Max and Ruben (Reuben?)? What happened between Armando and his wife? And, more importantly, where is she?

I know that since Lena is the main character, we should be worried about her background story, but really… you can’t throw us some hints about Max’s dysfunctional family and then just walk away.

I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I’m still confused about something.

If I get it right (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong):

Ruben is not Armando biological son: he was adopted in Spain;

He was a street boy, who was an extraordinarily talented dancer;

He and Max were inseparable;

At some point, their mum took them to London, where she wanted them to attend a boarding school (Arrow? Harrow?);

Max was accepted, but Ruben wasn’t;

So, Armando took the boy with him to New York (where he presumably worked for the Imperial Ballet) since their mum “can’t take care of him”;

Then something bad happened between the two brothers;

The result was that Max was expelled from his school and his relationship with Ruben was ruined;

Max said that Ruben came to visit him at school and started “acting like himself”: he made something bad, but we don’t know what;

After “breaking his mother’s heart” for being expelled (words from Armando), Max won a sort of scholarship for a European ballet school and chose to go to Paris;

Then, it happens all Lena’s stuff;

At a certain point Ruben comes back in Max life, “stealing” is brother baroque choreography and going at his school (and dancing with his chica);

In a dialogue, we discover that he and Max made a promise, but one of them broke it;

I think it was about not “entering in the other’s territory”? Like, Ruben couldn’t go to Max boarding school and Max couldn’t go to a ballet school/found a hip-hop crew?

I don’t know if I missed something or I just misunderstood things, if you can explain it to me, I’ll be happy to listen.

Anyway, I have some main question about Max family:

WHERE IS HIS MUM??

I mean, I assumed she lives in London, her son lives in Paris, it’s like an hour’s flight… why she never shows up?

Not even for his shows at Garnier? Not even when her son injured himself so bad that he ends up in the hospital and had surgery?

Is she dead? Is she ill? Like does she have cancer or something so bad that she couldn’t take a plane to go to visit her hurt son? In that case, I’m sorry for my cruel judgment.

But otherwise…I know that the others character parents never go to visit their children (the only exception were Dash and Thea’s mums), but I think that every parent would have shown up in case their child end up in a hospital.

Is she totally unaffectionate?

Because the quote from Armando: “I took Ruben to NY because he wasn’t admitted at Harrow and your mother couldn’t take care of him” sound pretty bad.

What happened between Max’s parents?

I know that married couple living in different city/country due to work isn’t uncommon, so it wouldn’t have bothered me if some word in Max and Armando’s dialogue in season 1 hadn’t been said:

Armando said that his wife decided to take the boys back to London, and it sounded to me like he didn’t totally agree with that decision.

Max said something like “don’t speak about mum” as it hurts listening to his dad talking about his mum.

So, maybe I’m seeing drama everywhere, but it seems to me that something happened with Max’s mum and/or between the parents.

My interpretation of that, after seeing that scene, is that Armando and his wife were divorcing, so Mum took her sons and moved to London (without Dad’s consent, maybe, it’s sadly common in some difficult divorces). Both the boys were obviously traumatized by that, so Ruben started acting badly (so he wasn’t admitted at school) making his mum desperate and unwilling to take care of him? And maybe Max was angry with his father for leaving mum and them (and after, for taking Ruben to NY and leaving him in a boarding school)?

Why are Ruben and Max hating each other?

Okay, they’re brothers, but we’re going a little too far, don’t we?

Maybe Max’s a little jealous of Ruben’s talent and (again) because he was taken to New York with their father while he was in a British all-male boarding school and blah, blah, blah… okay, we get it.

But Ruben?

Maybe he is jealous because he’s not Armando’s biological son? Because he thinks Armando would always choose his “real” son instead of him?

It could be, but I’m totally plotting things on this point

We know that probably Ruben was the reason for Max’s expulsion from his old school, and I presume that their parents thought it was Max’s fault, but I don’t think that’s all the story.

I mean, I personally want to know more about this.

In conclusion, dear producers: you can’t just toss at us two brothers that literally want to punch one another without a real explanation and expecting us to just walk away with that.

So…tell me what you think.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading it!

#find me in paris #lena grisky #realistically

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