Les Miserables (BBC Miniseries)

For me, the best bit of the six and a quarter hours was JVJ holding back the entire French army with nothing more than an old mattress. What a guy!

He went down hill fast too didn’t he? One minute he was picking spuds out of the veg patch, next he was in bed about to croak.

No ghostly visitations either, I note.

I admit those words were in my head at the end:

You will live, Papa, you're going to live
It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye!

Yes, Cosette, forbid me now to die
I'll obey
I will try.

On this page
I write my last confession
Read it well when I, at last, am sleeping
It's the story
Of one who turned from hating
A man who only learned to love
When you were in his keeping.



😭😭😭

“Les Coïncidences”

Isn't there a bit in the novel (earlier on) where his hair changes colour overnight? Looks it up - yes, but it's after the courthouse bit. Mum was complaining about his lack of grey throughout!

Just caught up with the final episode tonight? Dominic West really did win me over as JVJ over the 6 weeks. At first I wasn’t too sure about David Oyelowo’s portrayal as Javert, but over the series, but again, the character development during the episodes won me over in the end. The other cast members contributed equally as much to make a great series (the Thenardiers I thought were were brilliantly done with just the right amount of menace)

Just how bad was that wig that the young lad who played Gavroche had to wear? The wig department at the BBC should hang their heads in shame for that effort.

That final episode for me was the best of the series. The street battle scene was great but it was the aftermath that was totally heartbreaking as the camera panned across the dead bodies.

Overall, a really well done piece of drama by the BBC.

The first half of the episode, everything up to Javert's suicide, was quite outstanding. The falling of the barricade, particularly the execution of Enjolras and Grantiere, was heartbreaking, brutal and intense. Javert's suicide was unbearably poignant and acted superbly, as was Baron Pontmercy's delight at getting Marius back.

Then everything just kind of fell to sh*t. Marius barely reacted to finding out he was the only survivor of the battle then it was never brought up again, Valjean aged about 25 years in six weeks and was merrily hucking plants until the very second he saw Cossette, at which point he hilariously fell to his knees and said "I'm going to die soon", which is one of the most unintentionally hilarious lines I've ever heard. It also was far from clear to me where Valjean was or how Cossette knew he would be there, unless I missed something?

Agree with all of this. He was in Digne where he met the bishop so it makes sense he would go there but I don't know how Cosette knew this. I'm confused about how much she knows at that point.

Have just finished, see what you all mean about the six weeks, that vegetable patch must have been a real killer. I am now a little less baffled than after Russell Crowe fell into that weir though only slightly less so. So the ending, is pretty grim still then?
Some class acting in this, Dominic West superb, loved DAvid Bradley and Adeel Akhtar and Olivia Coleman had a ball didn't they, thought David Oyelowo rather short changed with that writing.
Oh yes and everyone in Paris most helpfully in the same place at the same time.

I mostly enjoyed this, i'm curious what reading the book would add but i'm almost certainly never going to actually do that.

Also, Javert is AWFUL! Completely heartless and I really dislike him.

I predict a confusing ending to the final episode....

I took it to be that after everything, all the death, nothing really changes