Lucasfilm take us back through the years to when Indiana – Henry Jones Jr – was just a kid with a voracious passion for learning, and focus on his relationship with his teacher, Miss Seymour.
At the heart of Young Indy’s earliest episodes is the hero’s relationship with this tutor, Miss Helen Seymour (Margaret Tyzack). When the Jones family sets out on an around-the-world lecture tour, the Oxford-based educator joins them to instruct the nine-year-old Indy. The teacher and student get off to a bit of a rocky start. After asking Indy his age, Miss Seymour adds, “And are you anxious to learn?” After taking a long pause, a recalcitrant Indy says, “Depends…” Miss Seymour is befuddled by the young American’s demeanor. “Depends?” she replies. “Depends? On what?” As if it were obvious, Indy says, “On what’s being taught.”
Traveling first to Egypt, Indy finds Miss Seymour overly strict and a little stuffy, whereas the latter finds the boy indignant and restless. It turns out that they both have much to learn about the other. Miss Seymour is in fact a sensitive, thoughtful teacher with a deep appreciation for the world’s cultures and peoples. She is firm with Indy, and maintains a rigorous standard, but she is also gentle and encouraging. Indy is eager and intensely curious. He learns to respect the value of books and scholarship, but would much rather learn about culture by running out into the streets or countryside and making friends.
