Emma Garland is wonderful. She’s a very modern woman for someone living in 1940’s London during the Blitz. She’s the assistant manager in a posh London hotel so she has a lot of responsibilities and difficult decisions to make but she does so with confidence and a level-head.
Emma is caring and kind and while she’s always quick to believe the best in people she isn’t gullible. She listens to people and her friendship with singer Betsy is wonderful and Emma never judges her promiscuity. Emma is a very open and tolerant character, especially compared to how you normally see characters in the 1940’s behave. She treats everyone fairly and is a great manager of both staff and guests at the hotel.
I love her relationship with her father who is the hotel’s manager. There’s a moment when she undermines him in order to do the right thing and he says how as her boss he’s disappointed but as her father he’s impressed. I loved that moment because they both wanted the same thing but their hands were tied and it was Emma who thought outside the box to get the results she and her father wanted.
Emma Garland is a strong, independent woman who is loving and very much loved. She’s a brilliant character and always made logical choices and was very relatable. What a pity the show she starred in, The Halcyon, has been cancelled after just one series – I would’ve loved to see what she went on to do.
Elena Square Eyes 