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S3:E18 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016 Film)
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We're wrapping up Jane Austen December and our final adaptation of the year with a delightfully undead twist: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! This episode dives into the mash-up novel and its 2016 film adaptation to explore how classic Regency romance collides with flesh-eating chaos.
Hosted by Lindsey with co-hosts Crystal and Keri.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith
- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016 Film)
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Question of the Episode:
- If you could take any classic and give it a monster makeover, which book would you choose and which creature or creatures would you add?
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book—see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:31) Book Ratings
(10:34) Adaptation Introductions & Discussions (SPOILERS)
(53:18) Final Verdicts & Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Host Banter
00:00:11
Speaker
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a listener in possession of a podcast must be in want of more episodes. Welcome to Based on a Book, the podcast that aims to please.
00:00:23
Speaker
I'm Lindsay, and I'll be your master for to- today's session. And no, you are not listening to our Fifty Shades episode again. I'm Carrie, and just when I think dating's tough, I imagine doing it in 1813, during the zombie apocalypse.
Theme Announcement: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
00:00:40
Speaker
And I'm Crystal. Much like Mrs. Bennett, I can't wait to get these kids out of here. And today, we are wrapping up our 2025 adaptations the same way we kicked them off, with a zombie romance.
00:00:56
Speaker
I hosted Warm Bodies back in February, and now I'm back to close out our adaptations this year with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Adaptation Comparisons
00:01:05
Speaker
Last week, we watched three different adaptations of the original Pride and Prejudice, so today we're putting the classic and the chaos side by side as we talk about what happens when you keep the romance but add the undead.
00:01:22
Speaker
But before we jump into battle, let's start with our book ratings. And I want to start with Crystal. That's not... I don't... I am struggling with this one. I'm not going lie. i i I think... I think that I got bored with this. Only because I just read Pride and Prejudice.
00:01:49
Speaker
And Pride and Prejudice... is And zombies is literally exactly what it says it is. It's Pride and Prejudice with some zombies sprinkled in. The plot, the storyline is exactly the same.
00:02:04
Speaker
It's exactly the same. There's occasionally a short little battle where they have to eliminate the zombies. But other than that, like and I just read it. So it was like just reading it again, but occasionally we'll throw in the undead to...
00:02:19
Speaker
give you, i don't know, a little thrill or something. but i i So i I struggle rating this, i think, fairly.
00:02:29
Speaker
i would say if I hadn't just read, like literally last week, Pride and Prejudice, I probably would have enjoyed this more.
00:02:40
Speaker
And if i if I factor that in I give this three and a half afflicted. yeah I gave it the same rating, three and a half katanas.
00:02:54
Speaker
It felt like a parody of Pride and Prejudice, which is exactly what it is. I listened to the audio, which had like extra zombie scenes because the original one didn't have enough zombie scenes, apparently, which I thought was really fun.
Critique of Book's Tone and Content
00:03:11
Speaker
Thankfully, it did, because like Crystal said, this is exactly Pride and Prejudice with zombie moments. The author even says like in the beginning note of the story, like they literally wrote this book and was just editing. Like they had the book and they were just like inserting small zombie moments into the original story. Like some pages would have lots of edits. Some pages would just have one single like line of editing and that was it.
00:03:44
Speaker
But Personally, I think that there were a lot of holes in the plot. Now that we remove navigating dynamics of society and adding new dynamics of society, because there were a lot of just like inconsistencies, like whether it was like proper or not for women to be fighters, And things like that. I feel like the entire dynamic of Pride and Prejudice is a little bit out the window. Because it's like everyone kind of feels like they are on the same level.
00:04:18
Speaker
or a playing the same level of playing field during a zombie apocalypse. But like also not. Like the whole point of Pride and Prejudice is navigating society and relationship dynamics and, you know, dynamics between men and women, you know, and that just like, it's never consistent, I think, throughout the story. And because those society dynamics are essentially the main focus of the story, those inconsistencies are super obvious to me. Yeah.
00:04:48
Speaker
But that being said, I still think it's like, it's funny. It's, I had a lot, they had a lot of funny moments and I still, had I still thought it was enjoyable. That's fair.
00:05:00
Speaker
Surprisingly, I gave this book two ankle daggers. oh Two ankle daggers. Oh my God. So,
00:05:12
Speaker
The tone of the book feels very serious because like you both said, it is literally Pride and Prejudice with some zombies. But there are the weird random scenes that aren't serious. They're like they're very clearly funny. Right. Right.
00:05:29
Speaker
And I felt like it put the book in like this weird in-between place where it was like super serious, but then not super serious. And I really wanted to go one way or the other. I wanted super serious all the way through or just completely funny. And I kept thinking, why can't this be funny? Like Hitchhiker's Guide or something. Right.
00:05:52
Speaker
And it's not a letdown. It's just not what I was expecting. I think because like a lot of the lines, like the the conversation, the dialogue is exactly the same word for word.
00:06:05
Speaker
But then randomly we'll have sexual innuendo. And it's like, how do you go from so serious, you know, like and and super proper.
00:06:17
Speaker
you know, etiquette to jokes about balls. You know what I mean? Like it just felt weird. So no, ah yeah, I get that for sure.
00:06:28
Speaker
There was one ball joke that made me laugh. I'm not going to lie. I mean, a couple of them made me laugh. I'm not like they were laughable, but it just felt off putting that like one minute you're laughing at this weird sexual innuendo.
00:06:41
Speaker
and then we're right back to like, you know, making sure that, tea is served properly or whatever you know i think something that really bothered me was that there would be moments where like it was important for women in society to be fighters and to be trained as fighters but then there were moments where once you get married they don't want you to be fighting but also Lady Catherine was like the best fighter of all time and everyone wants to be like Lady Catherine.
00:07:16
Speaker
It was like those type of inconsistencies that were just like not making sense. It was like they were trying to put in being trained as a fighter was like equivalent to what they think during, you know, the book in Pride and Prejudice, how Elizabeth talks about how you have to be good at sewing, reading, and know all these languages and all this stuff. Like, you know how that whole speech she does about... Being accomplished. Yeah, being so accomplished. And she's like, I'm surprised you know this many women to Darcy when he says all these things. But also, he looks down on her for being a fighter in fighting zombies. So it was like inconsistencies like that, which didn't really make sense to me.
00:08:03
Speaker
do you think Lady Catherine... was such a renowned fighter because she was a widow. She's technically not married anymore, so maybe she went back. But they were they would talk about how they're like... you You weren't trained by the same people I was trained by when you were like younger or like things like that like growing up. you know like you weren't You didn't have the same level of training as me like in your household. like it had to be There was like a certain expectation in this society.
00:08:39
Speaker
I'm just curious if the children are trained, just children in general, girls, boys, they're trained. And then when they get married, it's up to the the man of the house to take on the zombie hordes.
00:08:58
Speaker
But then Mr. Bingley wasn't trained. Right. Or Mr. Collins. And Mr. Darcy, who is supposed to be like so highly trained, his little sister, Miss Darcy, is not very well trained. You know what I mean? And so, like, okay...
00:09:15
Speaker
Which one is it Are the men supposed to protect the women or are the women or is everybody kind of for themselves or, you know. And Mr. Darcy makes a comment in the very beginning of the book where he's kind of looking down on the Bennets in this very first scene of like a battle against the zombies, kind of opening it up, kind of looking down on them for being like fighters and things like that.
00:09:40
Speaker
And then later on saying that it's expected of women to be trained in things like this. So i was like, this doesn't really make sense because that's the whole purpose of pride and prejudice is navigate women navigating this society.
00:09:59
Speaker
and so whenever you kind of take out this element or mess with it in this way, it's super obvious because yeah Well, I also wanted to bring something up, but it's toward the end.
Adaptation Differences and Spoilers
00:10:11
Speaker
And I don't know if it's technically a spoiler because it's Pride and Prejudice. It's Pride and Prejudice. kind of know the story. Yeah. But I guess before we get into spoilers, was there anything else we wanted to discuss?
00:10:27
Speaker
Nope. I say we get into the spoilers because I need to talk about this movie. Yep. Okay. Okay, so before we jump in, here's your spoiler warning. We're about to compare this book and movie to not only each other, but also to the original Pride and Prejudice. This means we'll be discussing plot points, twists, character changes, and all the undead.
00:10:49
Speaker
If you haven't read Pride and Prejudice or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, or you haven't seen any of the movies, and you want to experience romance and mayhem for yourself, this is your chance to pause catch up, and return when you're ready.
00:11:05
Speaker
But of course, before we continue, a quick content and trigger warning. Pride and Prejudice in Zombies contains violence, gore, depictions of illness, and scenes involving zombie attacks that may be intense for some listeners. We'll be discussing these elements throughout our comparisons, so please listen at your own comfort level.
00:11:28
Speaker
So, adding zombies... What did we think? I mean, I don't mind it. I didn't mind it that much. I actually, i thought it was kind of fun, to be honest.
00:11:42
Speaker
I don't mind it. I didn't mind it. i wish there were more. i wish that was more of the plot.
00:11:52
Speaker
Because i feel like it wasn't, like, in the majority of zombie, you know, media of any kind... Like we, we get either we know or are told why, how the zombie outbreak started, which in the movie we get that, which is again, that fantasy trope that I love where they like, give us the backstory with a little show. It was so, so well done. I love that. I was watching it. I was like, Oh, I know Crystal's loving this. Absolutely. I was into it, you know, but like, we don't necessarily get that so much in the book.
00:12:27
Speaker
And then blake There's a like how we're going to cure the zombies or solve the zombie problem. And we don't get any of that. Like it's a little mentioned that maybe, be but it's not a part of the plot. It's not.
00:12:48
Speaker
And there's no resolution to the zombie issue or even a hint that there is one coming, you know? And I know that this is a series like there's a, for is there a third book? on I didn't look.
00:13:00
Speaker
ah There is a prequel and I think the graphic novel has a sequel. Okay. Because i feel like I just didn't get any any resolution on the zombie part. You know what i mean? Mm-hmm.
00:13:12
Speaker
And that really, i don't, I like zombie stuff. So not having a resolution or even like the idea of a resolution kind of put out there left me, hang i felt left I felt like I got left hanging, you know?
00:13:26
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Lindsay, you read the graphic novel. How did you think of it? I did. And honestly, gave the book two. going to give the graphic novel five katanas. Oh. Okay. That makes more sense, though. I feel like this is a story probably better told through that format.
00:13:49
Speaker
it's It's really good. And with the graphic novel, I mean, it cuts out a lot of the filler stuff. And you just get the really good zombie stuff.
00:14:00
Speaker
Okay. so I would have liked that. but and I might have to go read that now. And the artwork's fantastic. Like, it's beautiful. It's really good. Highly recommend it.
00:14:10
Speaker
Yeah. I think the reason why they changed... which we'll get into a little bit later, but they changed the movie so much, was because they needed more reason for things to be happening for the zombie purposes. Because I don't want to say, i mean, i don't want to say that it's lazy, okay?
00:14:37
Speaker
It's not lazy. It just feels... the lazy It feels kind of lazy. I'm sorry. it feels like just inserting these little scenes in here.
00:14:54
Speaker
And so not really following through. Right. But like Jane Austen is listed as the authors and she would have to be. And I guess a part of me was really hoping that this was like inspired by Pride and Prejudice that we would see some of the characters, but not necessarily the entire plot because the plot is zombies. Yeah. But that's not it. It's really not what's happening here. That's what I feel like is a big difference between Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the book, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the movie, is that the book feels like a parody. The movie feels like it's inspired by the original Pride and Prejudice story. Exactly.
00:15:37
Speaker
That's what I feel like. And I think it's really interesting the way that they did that. I think that they had to because I don't think it would have been very interesting if And how it's written in the book.
00:15:55
Speaker
I feel like the movie was actually kind of an action movie. Oh, yeah. Totally. And the book didn't quite have the action vibe at all.
00:16:07
Speaker
Not really. No. It was just, like, funny. Like, it just had, like... It was felt very silly to me. It wasn't very serious. It felt super silly and ridiculous.
00:16:21
Speaker
Changing characters, in my opinion, like crazy. There's like a very specific character I'm thinking of that they changed big time in the book.
00:16:35
Speaker
I mean, I'm not going to talk about the movie yet, but the book they changed. Poor Mr. Bennett in the book. Yeah. They changed him big time and kind of made him a jerk. Yeah. Yeah. They really did.
00:16:49
Speaker
and The aunt. The aunt that goes to Pemberley with the Elizabeth. Yep. Kind of a jerk. Yeah. They had Mr. Bennett where like basically insinuating that he's like sleeping around or something. Yeah.
00:17:07
Speaker
With like all these people while they were like doing their training. Yep. Whenever they were younger. Same with the aunt when they go to Pemberley.
00:17:18
Speaker
Yeah. Yep. I was like, why Again, they added some very awkward sexual innuendo in places where it just felt more awkward than funny.
00:17:35
Speaker
so You know? yeah There were funny moments. There was a lot that was like, you know, giggle, silly, funny. But there was a lot that was just like, that's just weird.
00:17:48
Speaker
a You know? Wait, Lindsay, what did you think about adding the zombies in it overall? Overall, i I really like the concept. I like the idea.
00:17:59
Speaker
Just don't like the execution. And even the author, Seth Graham Smith, in the Heirloom edition, he said that when the the book first came out, people were like, we want more zombies. So he added 30% more zombies And here we are still crying. We want more zombies.
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah, because in my audio book edition, it definitely said that it had the extra zombie scenes in it And I'm like, it's not feeling this way. And like you said before, it was like we would have the, you know, etiquette of this society and like the proper way of speaking and all this stuff. And then it would just like,
00:18:46
Speaker
Go rogue with different, like, you know, speech and like different types of conversations and which is fine, but like incorporate mesh it together more.
00:19:02
Speaker
Right. So having read the Heirloom Edition book and the graphic novel, there was only one scene that I found. And Carrie, you listen to the audiobook, so you can kind of back me up on this. And ah Crystal, you did too. So I guess we all got the extended edition. But the one scene that I did not see in the graphic novel was when the wall fell in London.
00:19:29
Speaker
When Elizabeth is there with her aunt and uncle. And the feast wall falls. That's not in the graphic novel. Oh okay. I'm pretty sure everything else was. Like the infant zombie.
00:19:42
Speaker
And the woman. That's in there. In the graphic novel.
00:19:48
Speaker
The carriage with the girl. Who sells the oil. The lamp oil. the lamp oil That's in the graphic novel. So okay I really don't know. what 30% was added?
00:20:01
Speaker
oh There was like, whenever I started the audio book, I was going back to the version that I have. I have this like version that's commonly, I think, seen on shelves and stuff.
00:20:14
Speaker
I would go back and check, you know, whenever they were getting added. I mean, right off the beginning, it wasn't lining up with the audio book.
00:20:25
Speaker
Lots of extra scenes in there so I thought that was interesting um but I'm happy that I listened to the audio because I still felt that it needed more I struggled through all 300 and something pages yeah is it was a little rough i I really think I would have enjoyed it more, though, if I hadn't literally just read Pride and Prejudice. Yeah.
00:20:51
Speaker
You know, I feel like I would have been a little bit more excited about it. But legit, after reading Pride and Prejudice, watching one of the movies, discussing the other three movies, like by the time I got to this, it was so much the same that I was just over it, you know?
00:21:09
Speaker
I'm actually really glad I had Pride and Prejudice in mind because it was just easier to compare the two. Yeah, true. That's how I felt too. like The fact that we had analyzed the original story so much, it felt easier to pinpoint when things were so different in
Movie vs. Book Debate
00:21:30
Speaker
the new story. That's And having never read Pride and Prejudice before and watched the movie like 15 years ago, like none of that was in my, in my mind. i could not have told you the difference between the two.
00:21:43
Speaker
Yeah, I was like so excited to watch this movie because i was like, oh, I don't remember like seeing that. I did see it one time before. i was like, I don't remember what the what's in this movie or like who's in it and all this stuff.
00:21:56
Speaker
Oh my gosh, this movie. This movie. I i had it Blu-ray, but I had to open it. It was still wrapped in cellophane. Nice. That's great. And I bought it when the Blu-ray came out, so.
00:22:09
Speaker
Oh, I had never seen it. I didn't know what to expect. I assumed that I was watching another Pride and Prejudice. It's not. I mean, it is, but like I kind of liked the movie more than the book.
00:22:22
Speaker
Yeah. Sorry, I know that we usually don't get to that to the end, but I'm excited to talk about it. you know Yeah. Again, with this, there were things that I liked about the movie, and there were things that I didn't like about the movie.
00:22:36
Speaker
Yeah. ah But... what how did we feel about the characters themselves like elizabeth bennett mr darcy did we like the actors did we like how they were portrayed in the movie what are we thinking i'm so excited to get into this because i've been waiting i've been waiting i've been keeping my mouth shut i haven't said anything we haven't discussed this at all okay so elizabeth bennett played by lily james all right In the book, I really need to talk about this because this is really bothering me.
00:23:11
Speaker
In the book, she is like a fighter. She's like, fuck these zombies, okay? She does not fuck with the zombies. She's killing every zombie in sight. She hates these things. She doesn't care. She doesn't even ask questions. All right. She is the ultimate fighter. And like, even to the point that like, she actually like laughs at Bingley and Darcy off to the side and like first scene going in because they're not touching anything. Like they're not fighting after like the sisters are in there, like five star formation, five eight star formation, like doing their thing. You know what I mean? And she is the ultimate fighter.
00:23:51
Speaker
This movie flipped it around. Yeah. They made Darcy this badass fighter. Okay. Not saying he's not a fighter because later we learned that he does, you know, he's better and he does fight a little bit in the book.
00:24:08
Speaker
But they flipped it around in this movie. And I was getting flashbacks to Silence and the silence of the Lambs, okay? When she, in the book, was like this really badass like detective, and she was very good at like not getting... like you know Her emotions were... right.
00:24:27
Speaker
She's very stoic. Yeah. Very stoic, able to do it, everything, do her job. And then they switched her in the movie, making her like getting super emotional over things. And we were like, this is not the same person in the book. They were doing that in this movie. They were making her more like demure. You know, she was feeling very emotional over zombies, over people that she knew and things like that. And i was like, this is not my Elizabeth that fights zombies. Yeah. There was only one point in the book when Elizabeth hesitated and it was with the infant zombie and the mother. And she and Jane, they were like, we'll never speak of this again. And yeah it's never brought up again. But that's ah that's the only time I can think of that she hesitated. She didn't do anything.
00:25:16
Speaker
She even like when Lydia's like going off and off on her tangent, she like pictures like cutting off her freaking head. Yeah. Okay? And you guys switched it up in this movie, making her to be this like damsel in distress all the freaking time, and making Darcy this like hero killing all these zombies and like having to like save her a lot.
00:25:38
Speaker
I was getting pissed. They did try to redeem themselves at the end, but... Yeah, not enough. Not enough, in my opinion. No, it didn't make up for what they did to her in the beginning.
00:25:50
Speaker
I was really like, i was upset about that. I was like, good because I think it was like, there was one party, she went outside and she saw somebody that came up who was a zombie that she knew. and Darcy killed. And she hesitated at the very, like at the very open, she hesitates. And Darcy kills her, kills the zombie for her. And she gets mad at Darcy for doing it.
00:26:14
Speaker
Yeah, because he swoops in like this like white knight gonna come save her, you know damsel in distress. ah are Lizzie from would never have been in distress. No. she The second she saw that zombie, dead. Done for.
00:26:30
Speaker
But also the zombies were talking. Right? Yeah, like normal people. Yeah, but this was not the same kind of zombie as a zombie zombie.
00:26:43
Speaker
Yeah, and that was just- Didn't like that at all. Yeah, that really bothered me. i did not like the switch up they did. i'm curious, what do you think of the guy who played Darcy? Sam Riley as Darcy? Hated it.
00:26:57
Speaker
Hated it. Hated it. Lindsay, what about you? He was okay. I didn't mind him. Listen, i I have seen pictures of Sam Riley. I looked him up just to make sure that, like, is this the person I think it is? Yes. And he's a handsome man.
00:27:13
Speaker
Why did they make him look so freaking goofy? Why? It's killing me. Because Darcy is supposed to be handsome, but aloof. Right? Like...
00:27:24
Speaker
They made him the goofiest looking jerk at the ball or whatever the society ball. they you know He's not as handsome as Wickham. Well, no, really. Definitely not.
00:27:37
Speaker
What did they do to poor Sam Riley? You know? ah why Also, why it was bothering me so bad that his voice was like that. His voice did throw me off. Like, the minute he started speaking, I was like, wait. He was like, wow like yeah why are you growling twenty four seven I hated it. i even I was like, he doesn't sound like that in real life, I don't think. Because I was watching it with my boyfriend. He was like, what sound like what? I was like, you can't hear that. You can't.
00:28:07
Speaker
Like, this is not Batman. yeah Literally, he sounded like he was doing Batman. It was weird. Didn't like it. i I'm not familiar with any of his work, so I haven't seen him in anything else. So I don't know what he sounds like normally. Yeah, I haven't either. i i looked at, like, his other stuff. I have not seen any of his other stuff, so I don't know either. i just, I don't like what's happening there.
00:28:32
Speaker
don't know what's happening. I don't like it. You know who i did love in this movie, though? is who Matt Smith as Parson Collins. Me?
00:28:43
Speaker
I loved it. The only reason I liked the movie. I'm just kidding. Yeah. mean yeah Like how he made Mr. Collins so much more annoying, but in the funniest fricking way.
00:28:59
Speaker
So good. He did. like I had doubts though. I had doubts at first. he For such a somewhat minor character, he stole the scene of every scene he was in. it was so perfect. Apparently they even had to cut some of Lizzie's scenes because she was laughing so hard at his reactions and stuff. so that's how the like that That's how they met. and They dated for like four or five years after that. They met on this set. Yeah, they were dating during production, i think.
00:29:32
Speaker
so funny so funny yeah he is hilarious and they got like three game of thrones characters up in here well he's from he's in house of the dragon but i literally they've got a lot of well-known actors in here we didn't even talk about sam riley having his colin firth moment in the middle lake He had his lake moment. yeah Jumping in the lake. i was like, oh, that is totally like a nod to Colin Firth right there. Well, apparently Pride and Prejudice is Sam Riley's mom's favorite book.
Character and Plot Deviations
00:30:08
Speaker
And she encouraged him to watch the BBC TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Oh, thanks, Mrs. Riley. Yeah, I love that. The second I saw that, i was like, oh, yeah.
00:30:21
Speaker
yep i called it out next i was like oh this is from a different adaptation yeah there's a lot of like there's also another like pride and prejudice like type of crossover i think mrs bennett sally phillips she's also in bridget jones diary uh which i thought was really cool i guess like a lot of the actors looked towards her for advice regarding like pride and prejudice and like also like being in like a comedy type thing so they were looking to her too and also sookie waterhouse as kitty can we talk about how she didn't have a single line not a single one not one line she didn't say a word nope like actually did not say a single word
00:31:05
Speaker
I watched the behind-the-scenes stuff and watched interviews with her. And apparently all of the Bennett sisters did their own stunts for the movie. And she apparently like messed up her arm. She had like this huge bruise on her arm from... Oh my gosh. the first I think the first fight when they get into the five-pointed star position. Yeah.
00:31:27
Speaker
She got messed up. Yeah. And then the... The actor who plays Bingley. Douglas Booth. Yeah, Douglas Booth. He was actually in another adaptation with the guy who plays Mr. Bennett. the And then there were none.
00:31:45
Speaker
oh yeah. Okay. Adaptation. i actually watched that not that long ago because my family did like a book club. We read that book and then we watched the adaptation. That one's pretty good. It's not that bad.
00:31:58
Speaker
I like that one, but they're both in that together. What do we think of Wickham? Oh, sorry. Oh, no, go ahead. Wickham? What what do we think of Wickham? You know, he looks like a Wickham.
00:32:09
Speaker
Right? He looks like a Wickham. He sure does. i think he pulled it off pretty well. He was a good Wickham. I'll give him that. He was. But this movie did a whole side quest with Wickham.
00:32:24
Speaker
Okay. That was completely out of left field. Because like we said, the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies follows along with the original Pride and Prejudice story.
00:32:36
Speaker
Just adding in zombies into the mix. Like a zombie apocalypse into the mix. okay Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the movie, we're on a completely different side quest.
00:32:49
Speaker
This is inspired by Pride and Prejudice. And we get a little bit more of the like, how are we going to fix the zombie problem? Which is what I like, you know? Yeah.
00:33:03
Speaker
Something in the book that I can't stop thinking about that I wish was in the movie. Wait, was this in the graphic novel? It's the part where Elizabeth Bennett, she's like showing off her skills to every everyone.
00:33:19
Speaker
And she literally does a one finger Yeah, she's on her, like, yeah. And then she remains on her fingers for the rest of the, you know, whatever. they like but She puts like a modesty modesty rope around her dress so it doesn't like fly up. And then she's like doing handstand and then she's up on one finger.
00:33:40
Speaker
oh yeah, it was definitely in the graphic novel. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. I was hoping to see that in the movie. I'm like, I want to see this one finger handstand.
00:33:53
Speaker
Some serious way. Oh, wait. Lindsay's showing us for anyone that's listening. i Love it Yes, that's perfect. That was something I really wanted to see, and I wish I got to see it in the movie. Yep. Since you didn't get to see it in the movie, I'll show you in the graphic novel. Perfect. thing Also, I really loved in the book, and i kept this in the movie too, is them fighting...
00:34:15
Speaker
During the initial proposal. Yes. Between Darcy and Lizzie. I loved that. That was so good. i really liked that scene. When the arguments are happening in the book and in the movie, they're physically fighting each other, which is ah really funny added touch, I think.
00:34:36
Speaker
That's how I have my all my arguments. How are you how are you doing it? mr But I just, I really love that, like, That like the anger, you know, it's not just like, you know, in original Pride and Prejudice, you know, for the most part, they're having the exact same argument. They're saying the same words. You know, the dialogue is there. um And you can tell that Elizabeth is pissed.
00:35:00
Speaker
pissed but in pride and prejudice and zombies she gets to physically exert this aggression out of her she gets to show us that rage and i loved every minute of it it was so good it was so funny How did we feel about the difference in subplots with Jane when she goes to Netherfield and she gets sick and she has to stay for a little while?
00:35:33
Speaker
i like what the movie did because when I read it in the book, I initially was like, why is no one in the zombie apocalypse being weirded out by the girl being sick?
00:35:45
Speaker
Right. like And i came by herself. Yeah. She came by herself cross not like across whatever, getting to Netherfield. And we're supposed to just believe that she's sick. We we don't... Yeah. you know There was no witness to whether or not she actually encountered any you know unmentionables you know or undesirable. What do they call them in the book? They called them all kinds of stuff. Lots of things. Yeah.
00:36:11
Speaker
I like that they don't always call them... Z-word. Yeah, zombies. They switch it up a lot. I like that. You say the Z-word. Yeah. they Yeah, they call them dreadfuls or unmentionables. But...
00:36:27
Speaker
I like that they brought that into the movie because I was really thinking at that time, i was like, no one's going to question that this girl is sick. And it's not being like, hey, are you a zombie?
00:36:38
Speaker
Because are you turning right now? Because we need to know. Right. I also love in the movie how the the gun backfired or jammed on her. And so it burned her hand. And so like when she got there and she was sick and they were like, you have this sore on your hand. Where did you get that?
00:36:56
Speaker
You know, I like that too. Yeah. Also adding in the element of Darcy being so paranoid about it is very fitting for his character. Yes.
00:37:08
Speaker
And his personality, I think. What did you think, Lindsay? Well, in the book, Darcy separates Jane and Bingley because he thinks Jane is infected. In the movie,
00:37:23
Speaker
that's it's because he overheard Mrs. Bennet. And it's back to the Pride and Prejudice. She's going to use him for his money. and it's to get the other Bennett sisters in good standing with other rich men.
00:37:36
Speaker
So that was pretty different. Yeah. Which is like so crazy to me. Like we're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and we're still talking about this. Right.
00:37:47
Speaker
This is insane. I'm telling you, Mrs. Bennett just didn't want to have to keep feeding all those girls. Yeah. Or paying for all those dresses. Yeah. She's like, we don't have the funds during the zombie apocalypse. Right?
00:38:01
Speaker
Makes sense. I want to talk about Charlotte. Yes. We need to talk about that. I'm so disappointed that this storyline wasn't in the movie. I am too.
00:38:13
Speaker
Because I think it was so well done in the book. this is the like Honestly, this is the storyline that kind of bumped up the book for me.
00:38:25
Speaker
You know, because it really does, like, add in, okay, now we, now it's not just there's zombies out there, there's a zombie in here too. Yeah. yeah You know, and how do we actually handle this? Yeah, Charlotte, she ends up becoming one of the unmentionables, and it's actually, in my opinion, kind of sad. It is. Because oh very she, no one is noticing that she's changing.
00:38:52
Speaker
You know, she it's the same storyline of, like, you you know, she is with Mr. Collins and stuff. And only Lizzie is noticing that she's changing. And, you know, right before she was changing, Charlotte was like, just don't tell anybody, blah, blah, blah, blah. And that was, like, the one time. It was, like, the one time that we saw from Lizzie that she was, like, finally being like, okay, I won't do it. But she kept thinking that she should, like, end her life for her But she was slowly changing over. and eventually like nobody was noticing even she would talk about lady catherine when they would go visit her she's like she's this well-known warrior and she doesn't even know that there's an unmentionable sitting right across from her and they don't put this in the movie at all to the point that eventually charlotte dies and mr collins writes them saying that he's gonna end his life which i couldn't tell if he was gonna do that because he was upset or because he is also sick
00:39:51
Speaker
I couldn't tell if it was because yeah he was also sick or if he thought it would reflect poorly. Right. if it Like absolve him of the, you know, i don't know, the shame of having been married to a dreadful maybe. i don't know.
00:40:11
Speaker
Yeah, I wasn't sure what direction. I mean, I guess it's kind of a plot hole. but Yeah. But the fact that he he used her favorite tree in the garden, that was that that kind of hit.
00:40:25
Speaker
the Yeah, that was sad. And they didn't put that in the movie at all. no ah Well, they couldn't kill Matt Smith. He was the best character in the whole movie. He really He was so good.
00:40:38
Speaker
I loved him. we We talked about Lady Catherine, but what about the big difference between Lady Catherine and the book and the movie? There's no duel at the end.
00:40:50
Speaker
She wants to save the Bennets and lets them stay with her Frosings or whatever her place is called. It changes. This is when, again, the book is Pride and Prejudice and the movie is so not.
00:41:09
Speaker
Mm-hmm. that it actually kind of made it more enjoyable and more fun for me because it wasn't as predictable. And I liked that we see this warrior cause you know, Lady Catherine's a warrior in, in this series or in this story. And we see her at first really pissed at Elizabeth, but then like Elizabeth, there's the duel and she earns Lady Catherine's respect.
00:41:36
Speaker
And I kind of like that, that like, Okay, I can see you're a worthy opponent. I respect you. Let's get your family safe.
00:41:48
Speaker
I thought that was kind of cool, personally. It reminded me of the adaptation that you watched where she went in to confront Elizabeth and yeah went out and was like, oh, I tested her and she passed the test. yeah That's exactly what it reminded me of, too. I was like, oh, so I get to watch this twice. like yeahp Yeah, it didn't really bother me at all about the Lady Catherine situation at all. I think What really threw me for a loop was the Wicca thing.
00:42:23
Speaker
This side, the side quest. is insane this was absolutely absurd so Wickham coming in first of all i think like like what was the purpose are we supposed to like because of this we're supposed to think he's kind of a little bit less of a bad guy because of he wasn't doing the things that he was doing before to Lydia like is this what the purpose is I don't know.
00:42:52
Speaker
i think I think we were supposed to... Because, okay, so like they painted it as him trying to save the zombies. Because he's thinking like... the zomb He's saying that the zombies have like humanity almost. Right. And as long as they don't feast on their first brain, human brain, they won't fully turn. And they can coexist with humans.
00:43:17
Speaker
Right. And so we're supposed to think that... He's potentially a good guy. But, you know, and then he takes Lydia and we find out that this whole time that it's not necessarily that he's trying to save these freaking zombies. He's actually trying to like almost control and recruit these dreadfuls to take over London. he builds an army and he tries to overthrow England.
00:43:51
Speaker
Like the switch up was crazy. At this point, like literally threw my notebook. literally like took it in and just like threw it off to the side because was like, we're in a whole new, we're in a whole new area at this point.
00:44:05
Speaker
Honestly, I like this plot better. it's It's so crazy. It's so out of left field. and sober And again, this is like, even in original Pride and Prejudice, I'm thoroughly convinced that the reason Wickham runs off with Lydia in the first place is not necessarily to marry her. It is, he chooses Lydia because he wants to bring shame to Elizabeth and Darcy, right?
00:44:32
Speaker
She wants to, shes see he knows that Elizabeth and Darcy are buddy-buddy now. And he's realized he can't win over Elizabeth ever. And he's like, I'm going to ruin you for it. I'm going to ruin you for it. So we, you know, he's constantly trying to ruin people. He's constantly trying to get back at people so that this fits his character. This is straight Wickham. I'm going to recruit a zombie army and take over England. Yeah.
00:45:00
Speaker
Because screw y'all. yeah Everybody here, everybody's been against me since birth. You know, heaven forbid I do any sort of self-reflection or growth, personal growth. I'll just use these zombies. You know what was also making me laugh? Was that Darcy just like having his hands in everything. Like having his hands like in every little like...
00:45:22
Speaker
zombie type war, zombie battle or whatever. Also, Bingley being involved in these battles.
00:45:33
Speaker
Bingley ain't gonna be... Bingley ain't gonna be there. No. So correct me if I'm wrong. In Pride and Prejudice and the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, it's Mr. Darcy and then he has a cousin who is Colonel Fitzwilliam. Yes.
00:45:52
Speaker
And then in the movie, in the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie, he is Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy. Yes. Yes. Did they just combine? Yep. The two. I noticed that. They totally did.
00:46:05
Speaker
They did. I thought that was in interesting. saying Yeah. They combined. They almost, they combined the title of his cousin with Darcy.
00:46:20
Speaker
To make him be able to, like I said, move around to other areas like that. Also, why is Darcy like leading the battles wearing this leather coat the whole time? I know.
00:46:35
Speaker
Everybody around him in a uniform, but he's in this leather coat that looks like he came out of the 60s. It's like 1960, not 80.
00:46:46
Speaker
You know like, what is happening here? And the leather coat makes it all the way to the double wedding at the end. The double wedding, which is actually from the BBC version, because that, they have a double wedding. It's actually in the graphic novel, too.
00:47:02
Speaker
Nice. Oh, really? Nice. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, oh, that's like how it is in the BBC adaptation. And then, um I don't know if it was post-credit, but there was the scene after the wedding.
00:47:16
Speaker
who yep you guys let me tell you what i haven't learned yet stay stay till after the credits stay seated until after the credits ah let me tell you what i have yet to learn you're not you're not really big into the marvel cinematic universe are you No, but okay, so if I'm in the movie theater... and I learned our lesson hard.
00:47:41
Speaker
Okay, when I'm in the movie theater, I don't leave until, like, the lights come on, okay? Okay. Because I'm like, I gotta to stay for the post-credits, like, and all that stuff. For some reason, like, the second... When I'm watching it at home, I'm like, I'm done with her ass. See ya. Like, I'm done.
00:48:01
Speaker
Like, turn off. Like, and I'm, like, not sitting there for the... ah The post credits. Whatsoever. It wasn't that amazing or anything. i missed it on his dark materials. Missed it So let me ask first.
00:48:17
Speaker
How long do you think. Wickham was. An unmentionable. Before we found out in the movie. Like when do you think. He actually got bit. I think he got bit. Before he came to Longbourn. Or married Meriton.
00:48:36
Speaker
Yeah, I think he's been bit for quite some time, unfortunately. Okay, I can see that. um He had just accepted the commission Meritan.
00:48:49
Speaker
like So he had just signed up to join His Majesty's Army. So I feel like... but He probably did that after he got bit, thinking that that was his only way to like have access to stuff. or I don't know.
00:49:05
Speaker
Well, in the movie, there's St. Lazarus. I think that's the name of it. Yep. And that's that's where the unmentionables who have not technically turned completely, they haven't had their first human brain. That's where they reside.
00:49:21
Speaker
I don't know how he found out about this place. So I don't know if it was when he first stumbled upon these zombies and then he got bit or if that's why he's there. He got bit and he knows about St. Lazarus. So he decides to go there and right build up this army.
00:49:42
Speaker
I don't know. Well, can we actually talk about Wickham in the book too? Wickham in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the book? Because they change his story here as well.
00:49:54
Speaker
They completely switch it up.
Wickham's Fate and Final Thoughts
00:49:57
Speaker
They switch it up to where he gets into like a carriage accident. so They do the whole thing where Darcy finds him and gets him to get married and all this stuff. you know Do the whole storyline because you know this is like a parody. This isn't inspired by like the movie. and he's Wickham is in in a carriage accident.
00:50:19
Speaker
He can no longer like be in the Like he can no longer be an officer. he now can't walk. I don't think he can't move. i think from the neck down, he can't move his yeah arms. He can't move his legs. He's completely paralyzed.
00:50:38
Speaker
And now, but Lydia and him aren't married. And that's like the end of their story. Yep. i was like, hello.
00:50:50
Speaker
i again, i was here for it for that one. Wickham earned every last bit of that. But also I was just like, why? i mean, he wasn't really in a carriage accident. Darcy did that to him and they used a carriage accident to cover it up. Yeah.
00:51:07
Speaker
Because Darcy at this point was sick of his shit. okay And this is a violent book. Yeah. Yeah. i was gonna say argument is violence instead of actually arguing with each other. Yep.
00:51:19
Speaker
And he was going around. making babies yeah they really played that up in this book yeah they actually did so many babies so many debts so many bastards all over england yeah oh so the um post-credit scene is literally right after the wedding they're walking away and there's a horde of zombies running at them and wickham is leading the charge Yep. Me.
00:51:48
Speaker
No idea. last I saw was them kissing at their wedding. yep no Oh, and the bridge. The bridge explosion in the movie. I completely forgot about the bridge. Oh my gosh. That was so extra.
00:52:02
Speaker
That was so extra. That was so much. Of them like riding together across the bridge. it exploded Honestly, I was like, oh, they're dead. I was so upset about the horse.
00:52:15
Speaker
I know. i Wait, we don't even know if it survived. We don't know. Well, this is, okay, I will say this is a PG-13 movie. I really wish it was rated r Yeah, me too. Because i was like, a zombie movie, PG-13. Yeah, I see that.
00:52:33
Speaker
I think the only one that could pass is like Warm Bodies. Yeah, true. Because I think that, oh man, what is that movie called? That Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter?
00:52:45
Speaker
i'm I don't know if that one's rated R or not. I don't remember. I remember that movie and I thought that was really good. It's based on a book. yeah It's a good book. Yep. I own that book.
00:52:57
Speaker
I've never read it. You should read it. Go read it. oh Next season on Facebook. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Right. So with all that in mind, think I kind of know what Crystal said earlier.
00:53:12
Speaker
yeah I have a movie. Okay. Final verdict. Crystal movie. Yeah. Carrie. Carrie. I'm going book. I think the book was better. I'm going to cheat.
00:53:25
Speaker
I think that the book was better. Yeah, I'm going to cheat. I'm going to say the graphic novel.
Fun Hypothetical Adaptations
00:53:30
Speaker
There you go. And that brings us to our question of the episode.
00:53:39
Speaker
There are tons of monster mashup parodies of classic literature out there, like Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, or Wuthering Bites, which turns Emily Bronte's story into a vampire tale.
00:53:53
Speaker
So, if you could take any classic and give it a monster makeover, which book would you choose and which creature or creatures would you add?
00:54:06
Speaker
Anyone anyone really excited about their answer? Crystal you go first. I'm kind of excited. I thought so long and hard about this. I struggle. I'm not good at puns. I'm not particularly like I don't have the comedy creative genius at all.
00:54:25
Speaker
And so I just started looking at lists of classic books and trying to think of stuff and I was just bombing it and I about gave up. And suddenly i just i saw it in my mind and I put it together and it's perfect.
00:54:39
Speaker
Peter Pan and the Mothman. Right? Okay, because J.M. Barrie is actually from Scotland, right? So the Appalachian Mountains and the mountains of Scotland are like from the original mountain chain before. like So there could be some crossover there. For all we know, Peter Pan is the Mothman.
00:55:01
Speaker
Just saying. o Could be interesting. Oh! I know, right? There we go. i love me some cryptids. and That is very interesting. I like that. Okay.
00:55:13
Speaker
Yeah. I like that. Mine. I'm excited. Oh. Mine is Jane Eyre and the Vampire. Okay.
00:55:26
Speaker
Oh. matt Picture this.
00:55:31
Speaker
ah
00:55:34
Speaker
Picture this. Okay. Jane Eyre. Story of Jane Eyre. Okay. So, you know, how he's, you know, hiding his wife, you know, hiding and his wife somewhere. The wife he's hiding is actually a vampire.
00:55:49
Speaker
Okay. She's actually a vampire and he's been hiding and feeding her his blood. And like the whole time she's like, why does he have all these marks on him? That's really bizarre.
00:56:03
Speaker
I love him anyways. I'm going to get married to him. But this is a little strange. Why is all the people I'm around have marks on them or whatever? But he's like kind of keeping his wife alive because he's feeding her because she's a vampire. Okay. And then all of a sudden she comes out.
00:56:21
Speaker
And she's a vampire and like attacks everybody, turning everyone, turning everyone into a vampire, turns him. she The girl runs away. and then she eventually sees him again. He's a vampire.
00:56:36
Speaker
The end. You've thought so hard about this story. I love it. ah I'm impressed. It's a good one. We just got the whole story. i know.
00:56:47
Speaker
Wow. i think I think it would be great. You should write it. I'll read it. I'll read it. Yeah. I'll get on that. We'll turn it into a movie and then we'll watch it.
00:57:00
Speaker
season as i least As long as ah Matt Smith is in it. There you go. There you go Okay. So I did one of my favorite stories when I was growing up.
00:57:14
Speaker
It's titled The Secret Garden dot dot dot of carnage. Ooh. Ooh. And it's the secret garden, but the garden is carnivorous. Oh, okay. The ruins.
00:57:32
Speaker
but And instead of a magical healing place, the garden is sentient and hungry and it bonds with Mary. i love it. Ooh. Love it.
00:57:46
Speaker
I like that. I didn't actually think any of the the story. That's where I ended. I mean, that's all we need. that's Yeah, that I don't know why i went there. i didn't have any of that written down. That actually just all came to me at this moment. All I had was Jane Eyre and the vampire.
00:58:00
Speaker
i couldn't leave someone couldn't even think that far into Jane Eyre. I was just like, oh, Jane Eyre, I know that. i Leave it to Carrie. Tell us the whole story. just came to me. love it.
00:58:14
Speaker
In the moment. The heat of the moment. Mm-hmm. Don't make me sing. Okay. Oh, no. Well, that's going to bring us to the end of our Pride and Prejudice and Zombies episode. Thank you so much for hanging out with us as we wrapped up the undead side of Jane Austen.
00:58:34
Speaker
Before we go, just a quick reminder that next week is our final episode of season three and our final episode of 2025.
00:58:44
Speaker
We cannot believe we're already closing out the year. i know.
Season Finale Announcement
00:58:50
Speaker
But we do have a fun, cozy, chaotic finale planned. So make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss it.
00:58:58
Speaker
And since we're about to wrap up this season, it's officially adaptation adaptation request time. So we're gearing up for season four. which is coming in 2026.
00:59:10
Speaker
And we want your recommendations. If there's a book to movie or a book to series adaptation you love, hate, or desperately want to want to hear us cover, now is the time to send it in.
00:59:23
Speaker
We are finalizing our lineup soon. So get those requests in as soon as possible. Also, don't forget to check out Libro.fm, which is our favorite platform for supporting local bookstores through audiobooks.
00:59:36
Speaker
While Pride and Prejudice and Zombies isn't available on there, tons of our other great titles are, including many of the adaptations we've covered. So thanks again for listening and hanging out with us and for being part of our little book to screen community. See you in the next chapter. Yours, et cetera, based on a book.
00:59:58
Speaker
Bye. Bye.