#“for Courfeyrac; see Tholomyes” but a little more Tholomyes

[hwashitape]

workshopping a Limbus OC……… idk!!

[grandpermitsof82]

Les Mis / F1 Cross Head Cannons (I realised I have lots of thoughts and opinions actually that must be shared)

I do not think I have seen these two objects of my hyperfixation mixed before and I aim to rectify this error of our ways cause it could be so perfect.

To establish that there's still like the current teams on the grid, Javert and Val Jean would be team principles, so would Fantine (cause girl power!), M. Mabeuf and maybe like Tholomyes (we need a bad guy team principle it's only necessary to balance out the universe also he gives Christian Horner vibes). So like Javert team principle for Mercedes, he's sexy and serious just like Toto (we love you Toto), VJ is team principle at Ferrari cause like Montreuil-sur-Mer he's here to make Ferrari great again. We can give Tholoymes Red Bull, he started great and found out he's the worst. I would think that M. Mabeuf probs like vibes with Aston Martin, he is not similar to Stroll but I think the atmosphere of the team vibes with him. M. Myriel can have Alfa Romeo, cause it's like the sister team kind of to Ferrari and I think that's cute and he and VJ would totally like have zero drama with each other. And also, I would totally be able to see Javert beefing it out like Toto does with the "I have it printed out... you change your car" and is the cute little rule abider like we know he is.

Now to start with organising teams I would like to start that Combeferre would absolutely drive for Mercedes no questions asked the vibes are correct and will not take any other suggestions. I think Combeferre and Courfeyrac would be team merc, Combeferre would be more experienced of the two and Courfeyrac gives me Mick Schumacher vibes (golden retriever vibes big time). They would have minimal team drama but you would get the best like team promo's out of them (wait omg it's giving Nico and Lewis levels of bromance before the big split of 2016).

Enjolras would drive for Ferrari, he is the french equivalent of mr. il predestinato charles leclerc, also he just rocks red (he definitely is one of the rare few that one f3 and f2 rookie season and not to mention the scarily patriotic vibes of Ferrari and tifosi). Team mates with probs Feuilly, cause they get along super well and Feuilly would be scarily good and so they like push each other with a healthy amount of competition (they give Charles and Carlos vibes, well Feuilly would definitely be under-appreciated by fans like Carlos).

Redbull gets Grantaire and Eponine (can we pretend that there's actual real diversity and inclusion in the sport). They give the biggest Maxiel vibes (love each other with so much competition on the track), Grantaire and Eponine would absolutely crash other driver interviews (probs Grantaire to Enjolras for attention). Grantaire gives strong Daniel Ricciardo vibes, the grids biggest jokester (also I mean Dani Ric literally has his own wine company and he's aussie and we aussies can drink from sun up till sun down, and he loves vegas). The team dynamic would be what Dan/Max was with Grantaire being more experienced than Eponine however I believe she could absolutely dominate the grid like Max is doing with a good car.

Special mention of the Grantaire and Enjolras rivalry because this is crucial information. It's giving Charles and Max rivalry which existed since the beginning of time, "Just an inchident = do you permit it". Hate each other (or do they), crazy competitive (would totally have shunts that were like Lewis and Max in 2021 and would each get super angry). Grantaire would totally be like Daniel and shout Enjolras' name across the paddock during interviews and team debriefs. The slow pining/slow burn where they can eventually stand each other (it's definitely a different kind of tension wink wink).

For Aston Martin the drivers would be Bahorel and Marius. Marius has the quiet and nervous energy of Lance and also would probably definitely be a pay driver (more like a pay driver like Lando is but because he's quiet and fans love drama he would definitely be called out on his money situation) he get's better as the years go on. Bahorel would have the super aggressive driving style of like Fernando and also jokes around a shit ton, definitely with Grantaire during drivers meetings, all the time (he just fits the vibe of what Aston Martin is now a days), but he would absolutely be an experienced world champion winning driver (maybe have 1 or 2 under his belt).

The McLaren pair is Bossuet and Joly. Bossuet would be like Fernando Alonso, the guy has made some of the most unluckiest team switches in history and like joined Mclaren during a not so great stage and after Joly joined the team (Joly is giving if Oscar Piastri was a hypochondriac because yes Joly would be an incredibly talented driver just doesn't have much experience on the grid).

RB/Alpha Tauri (why the hell is it named Visa Cash App RB, I hate it), would have Cosette and Gavroche. It would be impossible to not compare Yuki and Gavroche, definitely thought that swear words were normal vocab in the english language, a feisty driver with buckets of talent. Cosette would definitely be like a sort of parental figure, has experience in the team and also has a firm driving style but not careless inexperience like Gavroche so she is definitely helping him improve. Cosette would sorta be like Sebastian Vettel (cause hell yeah power to women, we love women), the most caring and adoring soul who got over the super rebellious phase that won her multiple championships and definitely has something going on with Eponine in their history (Cosette would be a former Red Bull driver who stepped out and then back into the sport).

Musichetta and Jehan would be drivers for Williams. Musichetta would definitely be in the Mercedes pipeline and like a more friendly version of George Russell, she would absolutely love the memes and is seen in the Mclaren garage all the time just to stir up rumours of all kinds like a girlboss. Jehan is like Albon (animal farm back home included, all the animals), definitely would have come from Red Bull after being dropped by them because Red Bull team higher ups are idiots. He would totally be a really good driver and drag that tractor of a car with Musichetta and put Williams in a good position for the constructors. He would absolutely have been previous team mates with Grantaire at Toro Rosso.

Haas goes to Montparnasse, don't ask why that's just the way it goes also cause I feel like he would definitely have done some shady shit in the sport (crashgate, spygate) and while he is an incredible driver he is a bit too prickly for other team mates (and also Haas previously has partnered with some sketchy people but they are on the up and up now).

[tinky-dinky]

Les Mis 2018 Live Watch: Episode 1

- How did Baron Pontmercy survive being sandwiched between two horses?

- Lil baby Marius! He’s so cute!

- I reserve judgement on the casting so far, but I am not optimistic on Lily Collins as Fantine. Slightly more optimistic on Dominic West as Valjean. Liking David Oyelowo as Javert, though.

- Why is Javert dressed kinda like a cowboy? I think it’s the short jacket. His outfit just gives me cowboy vibes:

- Tholomyes and crew are scummy dickheads.

- I don’t know why I don’t buy Lily Collins as Fantine, but I just don’t.

- Fantine, why do you trust this man? He has dickhead written all over him. Jesus, girl, use your goddamn brain.

- Lil baby Marius is so adorable. I love him. Fuck Gillenormand though (but props to David Bradley for his excellent ability to portray awful people. Man’s got some serious talent).

- Yay Nicolette for letting Lil baby Marius see his dad. Love her, hope nothing bad happens to her but this is Les Mis.

- Oh holy god that’s Dominic West’s entire bare ass. I did not need to see that.

- David Oyelowo does a good job of playing Javert as kind of an asshole but also just a guy sticking to the rules without deviation. Liking it.

- They are kinda providing a little homoeroticism between Valjean and Javert, like subtextually, and I like it.

- Oh Fantine. You silly stupid girl. Why are you buying anything this awful man is saying? His talking of abandonment for a younger lover is blatant foreshadowing!

- Dominic West Valjean is growing on me. I feel very sad for him that he’s being treated badly because he’s a former convict.

- The Bishop of Dignes! I love him. What a lovely man. He’s just so kind to poor Valjean.

- Valjean, my dude, I understand your bitterness and anger, but don’t take it out on the dear Bishop who is being so very kind to you!

- Oh, Valjean. I get that the silver stealing has to happen but I don’t like it.

- Have I said how much I adore the Bishop? Valjean steals his silver and he’s not even angry and gives him more. What a man.

- Yes, Bishop, you get him on the path to redemption. I realise I’m gushing over him a lot but I just really like this old dude politely convincing this bitter ex convict to be a better man.

- I enjoyed Valjean’s little roar. You tried, my man.

- …are they crouching in the woods to piss? are we watching three ladies piss simultaneously?

- Seriously, Fantine, so many red flags. Your friends detest his friends and he’s a smarmy douche. Run. Run far.

- …they’re not coming back, are they?

- Douchebags and dickheads.

- Told you. Shouldn’t have trusted him Fantine.

- At least they paid for the meal?

- Uh oh. Valjean, my dude, what are you doing to the child?

- Don’t steal from a literal child!

- Ah, god, you arsehole. Poor Petit Gervais.

- At least he feels bad for it, I guess. Redemption doesn’t happen overnight.

- Baby Cosette! She’s very cute.

Final thoughts on episode one:

I do not like Lily Collins as Fantine. I don’t know why. I do like Dominic West as Valjean and David Oyelowo as Javert. I think they made Tholomyes too much of an obvious douchebag. It makes me far less sympathetic to Fantine, because it was so obvious what was going to happen. And her friends warned her.

Looking forward to episode 2. A cursory glance at the cast list shows only three named Barricade Boys (Enjolras, Grantaire and Courfeyrac) which is not a good sign, but I think I’ve got at least a couple of episodes before that.

[jules-of-the-sea]

I would love to see a Blorbo ranking for your blorbos from Les Mis, if you are willing to share :)

so i made a character tierlist, i dont actually hate thenardier but its funny to hate him. for side characters: m mabeuf would be guy!!!, fauchlevent would be eh (although the graveyard scene was funny), and marius's relations would all be in eh/mildly annoying because i have no strong feelings about them.

you did say blorbo ranking though and i have no idea what exactly that entails so im just going to do everything i can think of. so heres a list of everyone on the tierlist and a few thoughts on each of them

enjolras 12/10 love of my life, top kin, red <3, hes literally just a guy god i wish i was him its all i ever want hes so !!!!!

grantaire 10/10 love him, probably more like me than enj lmao, jaded, alcoholic, cynic, ao3 always makes him an artist but i dont remember them saying that in the book??? maybe i missed it though, it did say that he knows all the best spots in paris though so thats pretty cool

feuilly 10/10 self taught king, he makes fans, he wants to deliver the world and i support him. we all need a feuilly in our lives

combeferre 10/10 (these ratings are a little redundant at this point) fan interpretation always makes him a bookworm nerdy guy (which i have also done) which i understand bc in the book hugo talks abt how he wants to learn everything and he loves progress and education, but honestly i feel like hes a lot warmer and more social than people characterize him. like they talk about how compassionate he is and how he focuses on the actual people in the revolution more than the movement as a whole

gavroche literally just a little guy, hes got his two children in his wooden elephant what more could a street urchin want

courfeyrac party guy, literally tholomyes but if he wasnt a dick, love him for it. actually thinking abt it, tholomyes was a poet right?? and hugo compares him w courf so,,, poet courf???

bossuet unlucky, actually named lesgle, bald, in a poly relationship w joly and musichetta

eponine bro she was not that close with marius in the book, and i dont think she even knew the amis. its fun to pretend she did though. also the musical makes marius actually care that she dies which is sweet i guess. also i love every queer eponine interpretation.

jehan jean provaire, medieval enthusiast, just a little guy i guess. trans/nb jehan is one of my favorite things actually

joly happy guy, apparently nicknamed jolly because of that, doctor(?), likes self diagnosing, must suck being a germaphobe in 1832

bahorel tbh i forgot like everything the book said abt him. im pretty sure he was the guy who saved marius from being kicked out of law school though?? and also visibly expresses disgust when he passes by law school??? king.

javert single-minded policeman, love the themes and internal struggle, javerts soliloquy and stars are some of my favorite songs in the musical

jean valjean all around a good guy, white bread personality but like,, nice. so i guess hes more like the pre-made pound cake you can get at the store. certified girlboss tho

cosette pretty? i like the cottagecore interpretations but also shes literally just a lonely child from 1832 so i guess its just by default. she seems like the type of girl who would be a pleasure to have in class

fantine sad lady, cosettes mom, i wish she had just gotten cosette back from the thenardiers when she had her job but oh well.

marius annoying little bitch boy mf i swear to god he deserves very little of what he gets. also isnt he like 10 years older than both cosette and eponine??? 1832 moment i guess. anyways hes not that bad but its funny to hate on him.

madame thenardier me when child abuse, kinda a girlboss in the musical but in the book shes just kinda there

monsieur thenardier little rat bitch man, fuck that guy, but also hes literally a cartoon villain and its funny

also the tierlist is made in mspaint, i would have found pictures for everyone but a lot of them arent in the 2012 movie long enough for anyone (me) to know whos who so. crunchy mspaint version

[everyonewasabird]

Brickclub 3.4.1 ‘Nearly Historic‘ part 6: Courfeyrac

It’s always startling when we get past the swelling heroic tone of the Amis’ intro, past the adoring descriptions of Enjolras, Combeferre, Jean Prouvaire, and Feuilly, and then the narrator is all, “Oh, Courfeyrac? Yeah, fuck that guy.”

What did Courfeyrac DO to the narrator? Nothing about this description is ever really borne out! It doesn’t even feel like an interior, secretly-true-but-unexpressed personality, like the sorrow at the center of Gavroche!

The text tells us his dropping the particle from his name was stupid and pointless, he’d just be another boring old bourgeois if he grew up, and he’s pretty much Tholomyes mark two. Tholomyes, the actual least sympathetic person in this book. Thenardier is more sympathetic.

I’m glad it mentions he has the soul of a paladin and not a prosecutor, but we’re seriously damning with faint praise here!

I get that it’s trying to get across the charisma and charm of certain young men, but Tholomyes was never all that charismatic and charming on the page. And also, Courfeyrac doesn’t talk anything like him? Lesgle does! Grantaire does! But Courfeyrac?

(The talk on Discord has been that maybe Courfeyrac, Tholomyes, and Theodule are simply the only three neurotypical people in this book. Which I find charming and hilarious, but I haven’t entirely made up my mind yet how true of Courfeyrac that actually feels to me.)

What does it mean when character intros diverge from what we see? With Prouvaire I speculated it was about transformation--that he was already complete at the point that he was being described and so never diverged from it. Do characters fail to match their descriptions when they become something other than what they began as, or than what they might have been? Is that what we see in Courfeyrac--that at twenty-one, he could have gone down any number of roads, and that by his death at twenty five he was on a different path?

It’s really hard to say!

He may be the most ambiguous and hard to pin down of the Amis. Not in a nearly-Tholomyes way (narrator, why?), but in that he’s got a lot of personality traits that are hard to organize into one thing. Unlike Combeferre’s or Enjolras’s or Prouvaire’s intentional-feeling contradictions, with Courfeyrac his traits are simply veering off in nigh-unrelated directions as far as I can tell. Is he the hotheaded uncompromising one? Is he the one who’s perpetually trying to make sure people are okay (albeit not terribly effectually)? Both? Something else?

I have a lot of thoughts on all this, but I think it’s going to be more useful for me to see how he comes across to me as I go.

Maybe the most important and consistent thing I get from Courfeyrac's intro right now is the level of normalcy. He’s a little closer to being an actual human rather than a hero or demigod like the descriptions that came before him, and that’s important for his being Marius’s entry into the group.

[meta-squash]

Brick Club 1.3.2 “Double Quartet”

According to wikipedia, a double quartet is a musical composition made for eight voices or instruments, or made up of two string quartets, that are often written in a call-and-response style. Also, I’m not quite sure if this is relevant, but wikipedia specifically mentions German composer Louis Spohr in the section on double quartets. Spohr wrote an opera in 1816 called Faust (which was drastically different from Goethe’s plays), to which wikipedia gives this synopsis:

Faust is torn between his love for the young Röschen and his desire for Kunigunde, the fiancée of Count Hugo. He makes a pact with the devil Mefistofeles which allows him to rescue Kunigunde from the clutches of the evil knight Gulf. Faust obtains a love potion from the witch Sycorax which he gives to Kunigunde during her wedding celebrations. Outraged at the sudden passion his bride shows for Faust, Count Hugo challenges him to a duel. Faust kills Hugo and flees. Meanwhile, Faust's first love, Röschen, drowns herself in despair. Mefistofeles seizes Faust and drags him down to Hell.

Again, I don’t know if that is relevant, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. Especially considering the “lover flees, young woman is ruined” motif. I have no idea if it was popular or even known in France at the time, but it was part of the Romantic movement, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was part of Hugo’s repertoire.

But it’s interesting that Hugo names this chapter after a call-and-response style of music. This chapter specifically is set up that way: we get information on the women, and then the men. Their affairs later on seem to also line up with this call-and-response, at least until the end of the dinner, when one half of the strings drop away and the other four are left on their own.

I don’t know enough about the different areas of France, so I’m wondering if where the men are from is at all important?

Also, who is the “Oscar” Hugo is comparing the group to?

Hugo establishes the men as “insignificant,” which I think is actually quite significant. To the other grisettes, and probably most other grisettes in their circle, these men are (as Hugo explains) common little flings. So to make someone who is insignificant to most, significant to Fantine is an interesting move. Hugo kind of does this with all his characters, on a larger scale. Aside from Valjean and Enjolras, who are exceptional, most of his other characters seem to be relatively normal people who aren’t necessarily special in a big way. The fact that he decides to focus in on them is what makes them special. And yet here it’s Tholomyes’ insignificance that highlights how unusual Fantine’s attachment to him is.

“...and in their souls that flower of purity which in a woman survives the first fall”. I don’t really know what to make of this line considering how a paragraph later he seems to insinuate that all but Fantine have already “fallen” due to their many affairs. (Which he then softens by blaming society for the women’s problems.)

“Poverty and coquetry are fatal counselors; the one scolds, the other flatters, and the beautiful daughters of the people have both of them whispering in their ears, one on each side. Their ill-guarded souls listen. Thence their fall, and the stones that are cast at them. The are overwhelmed with the splendor of all that is immaculate and inaccessible. Alas! Was the Jungfrau ever hungry?”

Hugo referencing the fall of man here, although this time it seems like only the women are punished, and not the men. Also, another Faustian reference, this time Marlowe, with the “good angel and bad angel” imagery. More references to life choices and the whole concept of having two potential paths and choosing the “wrong one.” Like with Valjean’s original crime, Hugo seems to criticize this behavior here while simultaneously pointing out the way that society demonizes these women and hurts them. I’d love to know why he uses the German “Jungfrau” here instead of just saying “maiden” or “virgin.”

We get a lot of information on Favourite in this chapter, and not that much on the other girls. She’s the eldest at 23, born out of wedlock, and has her own home. I love that she’s like Jehan--adding an extra letter to her name for the fanciness of it. We basically get an illustration of her as the sort of “leader” of the group, with everyone else looking up to her. She’s then contrasted with Tholomyes, the men’s “leader,” who is also the eldest of his group, I assume. Favourite seems closer to Bahorel’s “laughing mistress” or Musichetta than the other three; aside from her mother barging in on her life and being a nuisance, she seems much more stable than any of the others, financially (she’s been to England!) and emotionally/socially (her friends all look up to her). (I think it’s interesting that she’s not paired with Tholomyes, who seems to be her masculine counterpart?)

Fantine is “wise” while the other women are “philosophical.” Also, Hapgood translates “sage” as “good” instead of wise, for some odd reason. It seems as though Fantine is wise in the same way that Valjean has that divine element of goodness that can be kindled and relit. It’s something that she is not necessarily aware of. I’m also wondering how Hugo defines “wise” vs “philosophical.” I’m guessing that wisdom is closer to intrinsic, instinctual knowledge, while philosophy is more thought out and pondered upon. (Perhaps these definitions are based on a popular philosophy at the time? If so I have no idea which one.)

In any case, part of what makes Fantine wise is her capacity to passionately and loyally love. Which I think is an interesting move, to praise someone’s social (and possibly emotional) naivete as wise, only for her to be completely ruined because of the person she’s devoted to. Her capacity to love is also the vulnerability that manipulative men see as a good opportunity to latch on to and use her.

This “wisdom” thing is also a weird call considering Fantine’s utter lack of pretense. The other three grisette’s go by fake names, have had a number of affairs and seem more playful than thoughtful when it comes to the affairs with this group of men. Fantine is just...Fantine, and she’s the youngest, and she hasn’t had the experience the other girls have had, and she’s about to make a huge mistake (rather, by this time she already has, and Cosette is an infant). Presumably the other three women learned somehow that their affairs were just affairs, why didn’t they clue Fantine in on this game? Later on we see Favourite thinking that Fantine is “putting on airs;” but she’s also the only one tu’d instead of vous’d and they all know she’s the baby. Are the other three just wrapped up in their own stuff and too preoccupied to think that maybe Fantine doesn’t realize this isn’t a real, permanent thing? Or is this a situation of three older girls being latched onto by a younger one who doesn’t really know what to do, and aren’t really a fan of the burden of being teacher? She’s been in Paris at least 4 years and yet she’s never had friends like these grisettes? I don’t exactly know the social mores of back then, but I assume that having friends then was similar to having friends now: gossip and talk about relationships and flings and one night stands. Interesting that she either never really learned by inference that this might be that, or that perhaps she just blindly assumes that this isn’t like that because this is real.

And here we get Fantine’s backstory, and her symbolism as the Universal Grisette. So many of Hugo’s characters that are blatant “universal” symbols are either orphans or abandoned quite early in life. And so many we get a certain period of their life, then a jump, then more. What happened between infant-Fantine being found and her working on a farm? Hugo does this time-jump with Valjean and the Thenardiers, and Marius, too. I think Fantine’s about 19 when we’re first introduced to her, if my math is correct? Hugo also foreshadows the sale of her teeth and hair here.

“Fantine was beautiful and remained pure as long as she could.” An interesting callback to a few paragraphs ago. Hugo seems to imply that the other girls gave in to those “whispers” quite quickly, while Fantine did not. Part of her purity, too, is her trust and devotion to Tholomyes; she’s not giving in to promiscuity or shallow affairs like the other three, she is genuinely in love.

The way Hugo uses beauty and ugliness is so interesting. “Beautiful” Fantine paired with “ugly” Tholomyes, as with Enjolras and Grantaire, and even to some extent Cosette and Eponine.

What stands out to me is Tholomyes and Grantaire both specifically being characterized as “doubting” and also described as ugly. Grantaire gets the actual word “ugly” while Tholomyes gets this horrible description (weirdly tempered by the fact of his humor and gaiety). I know that technically Courfeyrac is paralleled with Tholomyes, but I always seem to see more similarities between him and Grantaire. The difference being that Grantaire changes and Tholomyes does not. There also seem to be bits of each of Les Amis in Tholomyes (Grantaire’s doubt and ugliness, Bossuet’s irony, Bahorel’s age, Courfeyrac’s womanizing ways, Joly’s illness, etc) but all from the negative.

Tholomyes is described in a really awful way. That “he had a play refused at Vaudeville” and “doubted everything with an air of superiority” always has me reading him as this MRA type loser who thinks he’s better than everyone else and that that’s why people hate him. He’s charismatic, but in a slimeball sort of way. Hugo tempers Tholomyes’ awfulness with gaiety and then immediately turns around ruins that “but he was funny!” by telling us this awful prank.

Oh, and then Hugo stops to interrupt himself with a question about linguistics regarding the word “irony” and whether it’s based on the English word “iron,” like, the metal. Which...???? I don’t really know what to make of? Is he trying to say something here, because if he is, I don’t get it.

“Saint January” is Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, whose “miracle” is the annual liquefying of the phial of his blood. Apparently people gather to witness this annual miracle three times a year (as well as during things like papal visits). Interesting that Tholomyes compares his rather unpredictable and cruel “surprise” with the predictable, annual miracle of the blood liquefying. It makes me wonder whether this is not the first time he has done this (he is 30, after all, and I assume has had many affairs), just with a different group of friends.

We are just as in the dark about the surprise as the women are. Hugo does the same thing here that he often does with Valjean’s thoughts. He remains an outsider to the thoughts of any of the characters in the scene, and remains in a specific location within the scene, so when the characters leave, any following dialogue or action or thought is obscured from him as a narrator.

[zevlogofamiserable]

Meta #5: Fanon, canon and my own shenanigans

If there’s a truth universally acknowledged, it’s that Prouvaire is a Cinnamon Roll too pure for this world. Hugo said it himself and that’s probably the only thing on which everyone agrees. 

Jean Prouvaire était une nuance plus adoucie encore que Combeferre. Il s’appelait Jehan, par cette petite fantaisie momentanée qui se mêlait au puissant et profond mouvement d’où est sortie l’étude si nécessaire du moyen âge. Jean Prouvaire était amoureux, cultivait un pot de fleurs, jouait de la flûte, faisait des vers, aimait le peuple, plaignait la femme, pleurait sur l’enfant, confondait dans la même confiance l’avenir et Dieu, et blâmait la révolution d’avoir fait tomber une tête royale, celle d’André Chénier. Il avait la voix habituellement délicate et tout à coup virile. Il était lettré jusqu’à l’érudition, et presque orientaliste. Il était bon par-dessus tout ; et, chose toute simple pour qui sait combien la bonté confine à la grandeur, en fait de poésie il préférait l’immense. Il savait l’italien, le latin, le grec et l’hébreu ; et cela lui servait à ne lire que quatre poètes : Dante, Juvénal, Eschyle et Isaïe. En français il préférait Corneille à Racine et Agrippa d’Aubigné à Corneille. Il flânait volontiers dans les champs de folle avoine et de bleuets, et s’occupait des nuages presque autant que des événements. Son esprit avait deux attitudes, l’une du côté de l’homme, l’autre du côté de Dieu ; il étudiait, ou il contemplait. Toute la journée il approfondissait les questions sociales, le salaire, le capital, le crédit, le mariage, la religion, la liberté de penser, la liberté d’aimer, l’éducation, la pénalité, la misère, l’association, la propriété, la production et la répartition, l’énigme d’en bas qui couvre d’ombre la fourmilière humaine ; et le soir, il regardait les astres, ces êtres énormes. Comme Enjolras, il était riche et fils unique. Il parlait doucement, penchait la tête, baissait les yeux, souriait avec embarras, se mettait mal, avait l’air gauche, rougissait de rien, était fort timide. Du reste, intrépide. 

So he’s soft… soft and soft again, but suddenly manly, suddenly brave, suddenly something. He’s also said to be an orientalist (bleh) his name comes from the romantic obsession with the medieval  (“Jehan” is just the old way to say “Jean”)… but he’s also super practical and studies concrete social, political, economical issues and like everything in his description is contradictory (he’s like that, but like that) and you don’t get much from it besides, he’s an intellectual but a dreamer … erm… kinda like the others… maybe a bit more emotional.

Prouvaire the cinnamon roll

I feel like Hugo’s depictions of the ABC is sometimes too much and too little. He describes them in full detail as if they were all protagonists with many nuances and subtleties, compares them to one another as if we already knew them (you can make a Les amis scale from the romantic Marius to the intense Enjolras) but they don’t appear much and he fails at having them “show not tell” who they are, at giving a clear impression of them through their actions except maybe for Enjolras and Grantaire. He says that one is such. but such and also such: Bossuet is unlucky but joyful, Lesgle thinks he’s always sick but is joyful, Courfeyrac is… like Tholomyes but nice… Everybody is joyful… well except Enjolras maybe. But do they show who they are through their actions?… if we ignore a few lines, they’re mostly interchangeable during the barricades scenes. Be honest. They’re not types… but they’re not complex beings either… They’re… hard to grab… to be honest...I mean like real people I guess?

As I was writing my webseries, I really tried to get as many things as I could from the book, but it was both so imprecise and yet so overwhelming with timely references that I ended up reinventing the characters and some reinventions don’t match with the popular fanon, which is both based on the musical and the Brick. (And like it’s good, the fanon is interesting and a collective rebuilding of the characters and again I love some elements of it so much! Like Musichetta/Lesgle/Joly = Poly yay!)

So, rereading the book, I ended up with something like a Breakfast Club archetype list: Enjolras, mega charismatic cold leader; Combeferre, intellectual; Prouvaire,  Cinnamon Roll, dreamer; Courfeyrac, charming, sassy (he has “de l’esprit” it means sass); Lesgle and Joly,  the fun eccentric ones, work as a duet; Bahorel, bad boy who knows the real shit; Feuilly, good boy who knows the real shit; Grantaire, sassy intoxicated unreliable bad-boyish one with a heart. I already talked about the writing of Grantaire here. I replaced booze with weed. That’s the main difference. He was easy to modernize. It was more complex for Enjolras, I talk about it here.)

Courfeyrac, nonchalant! Charming? but overall sassy/salty

… And then I had to make this work with a vlog/fanfic format, to avoid the repetition of characters, to update them and to make new political agendas carried out by my activist friends fit in. But I kept some things: Courfeyrac, Combeferre and Prouvaire are very close to my original ideas of them and Lesgle and Bê (who replaced Joly) are a duet with eccentric sass (although, I’m afraid Grantaire took a lot of the eccentric).

The eccentric sassy duet Lesgle and Bê

Now… would I say that the characters I got out of the book are more accurate than the depictions I see in the fanon? Nope… but I tried to get things from the book, in my own way. And the fact that it’s divergent from common fan-readings could prove… my cluelessness and ignorance (well if I may? I don’t think so lol. I’m French and I’ve studied Hugo a bit… and scholars don’t agree on the dude’s writing goals), but also simply the fact that the dear Totor… wasn’t so “precise” in his descriptions of the ABC, which is more of a collective that he mostly fails to present as a sum of individuals because… he gives too many details about them. I really think an efficient character description, especially if there are MANY characters, is to give key elements that can structure a coherent type and Hugo… didn’t have that goal (because he was thinking of people he knew and yadi yada and it’s a respectable goal as well). Hence, diverse interpretation and that is really interesting!

Combeferre the intellectual who wants to work together!

[lizardrosen]

11/6/19 BrickClub 1.4.1

Book Four: To Entrust Is Sometimes to Abandon

Chapter I. One Mother Meets Another

It’s sort of weird to me that Rose calls the Thenardier inn “a greasy spoon” even though the image it evokes gives you a pretty clear idea of the kind of place it would be. But that’s the eternal question in translations, about whether to keep that cultural distance and “old-timey feel” or make it more familiar. Anyway.

The description of the lumber cart is pretty awe-inspiring in its grotesqueness, and you get the sense of how Unknowable it is, because practically every sentence is a metaphor of what its components make you think of: “the mount of a giant cannon” “not unlike the color wash deliberately applied to cathedrals” “a huge chain fit for a Goliath of the galleys” “the mastodons and mammoths it could have harnessed” etc.

And amid this monstrous corpse of a vehicle, Eponine and Azelma are like “roses on a scrap heap, their radiant happiness and innocence a complete contrast to the page and a half of description that led up to them. Madame Thenardier is imposing but “rather touching” because she embodies motherhood at this moment. Hugo Is Weird About Women, news at ten.

And then we see what’s become of Fantine. The first important detail is that she’s downgraded her own wardrobe while allowing Cosette to  be “more than a match for the other two little girls for the stylishness of her outfit.” But the material change is sort of just there to indicate her emotional change: "Laughter reveals lovely teeth if you have them, but she did not laugh. Her eyes looked as though they hadn’t been dry in a long while.”

Tholomyes is a heartless DICK, but at least she’s hardened her heart towards him and doesn’t need to be sad about losing him. And “We will have no further occasion to speak of Monsieur Felix Tholomyes” YAY. (technically not quite true, because Bamatabois and Courfeyrac are both compared to him later on, but at least we never ever have to listen to him talk again).

Hugo is RUDE about people who like romance novels, and... tall women. But since this is a piece of literature, we can see the clear narrative warning signs that Fantine misses.

Cosette is a baby goth, and she leads the two other girls in digging graves for flies, and then Fantine and the Thenardiers haggle about how much she should pay to let them take care of her daughter. Of course she doesn’t think of it as haggling because she’s so grateful, but Thenardier had to pay off a bill Right Now, so it was convenient she happened to be there.

These sorts of partings are arranged so smoothly, but they are full of despair.

One of the Thenardiers’ neighbors met the young mother as she was setting out and he came back with the tale: “I”ve just seen a girl sobbing her heart out in the street.”

Yayyyy! Everything is awful!

[coelenterata]

BrickClub 3.4.1

What was Marius to do, all alone and very stupid! Hugo asks, and then immediately he goes, hey look at this group of friend-shaped young men with good political opinions!!

Anyway: you may THINK this was a time in which politics were not happening much, but actually revolution is alive and well and right here, and I’m emotional about it and Hugo is emotional about it and so should you. Also puns are good, that’s very important.

(I don’t know if I noticed this on previous reads, but it’s specifically mentioned that meetings usually happen in the place nearer to the students.....?? Hmm.)

To be honest, this is just going to be a post of me crying and yelling. I was already nearly crying, in fact, when I got to “they talked very loud about everything, and in whispers about something else”, and about how they are all family, and also Hugo tells us here already that there will be no happy ending for them. Thanks Hugo.

And then we get into individual descriptions, On A Scale From Enjolras To Grantaire, where I have just noticed that every time I expect it to go Joly, Lesgle but it goes Lesgle, Joly? Joly is less Enjolras than Bossuet is, which makes me love Joly and Bossuet both even more, somehow, but I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m going to put all my individual amis yelling under a cut. (I knew this was going to be long but jesus it got so long I’m so sorry you don’t have to read this.)

There’s a lot of yelling I don’t have to do because we all know anyway, especially about Enjolras, I feel like? But I love him so much. Hugo makes a fool of himself describing what Enjolras looks like, see a) the Forehead and b) the entirety of his looks described as “all this dawn” which actually made me emotional so I guess I’m the fool here, but also Enjolras just IS perfect, that’s just a fact. I love him. I care about him so much. “His speech was roughly inspired and had the tremor of a hymn.” is the line that hit me particularly hard this time. I want to lie down and wail about this. I’m not sure how to put into words what Enjolras is, but. Wow. He isn’t the Enjolras yet who we see later, not quite, because he WILL soften a little, but he IS already perfect, and for the softness he has... well.

(They Are In Love. I will have shipping opinions in this post, noone can stop me.)

Sometimes I want to say Combeferre is my favourite, but so many of them are my favourites, but also Combeferre is my favourite. This wonderful horrible nerd, and I started crying properly somewhere in the middle of his introduction. (I’m so glad he gets such a long introduction.) The focus on education always gets me, and that careful balance of, he would rather not have violence, but he will take violence over no progress, if he must. There is a line where Hugo describes the kind of progress Combeferre prefers in adjectives that seem like they are also about Combeferre? I’m emotional about every line in his description, but the one I copied into my notes was specifically, “but why not wait for the break of day.” (He KNOWS that that won’t be the solution, but god does he wish it were, and still he will do what he must...?)

I also love Prouvaire, unsurprisingly. (Also I’m very amused that Hugo informs us that it was NECESSARY to have this movement study the middle ages, or whatever. Hugo, standing on a chair: Romanticism Is The Best Thing To Ever Happen, Actually!) There’s a lot about his political opinions here, which I feel gets lost sometimes in the Badly Dressed Poet thing? He “paid almost as much attention to the clouds as to passing events” but only ALMOST. And hey: is this another bit of Bishop parallels?? Much contemplating, much flowers, much gazing at stars?

Aaand then I started crying about Feuilly too. Most of his introduction is about Poland really - it’s his whole spiel about Poland built into his introduction because he will bring it up whenever it is relevant and also when it’s not! I would die for him! His whole deal is that if you don’t have a family, your country should be there to be your family, and he works towards that every day! He is so determined and so... there is so much kindness in him, and all other good things.

The Courfeyrac and Tholomyes comparison is jarring, yes, except most of his introduction following that is distancing him from Tholomyes very specifically. The point here is that he is not at first glance Special in a way that seems suited for revolution, he is at first glance someone who has social skills and that’s it, but Hugo SAYS, the man inside is very different from Tholomyes. “[...] and in Courfeyrac a knight-errant.” is the line that hit me, would’ve gotten distractec by the kitten line maybe but we all know the kitten line too well at this point. A knight-errant. A knight of the round table was lost in Courfeyrac, a knight errant, medieval literary trope of someone setting out to do what is right, I have to lie down. The word in French is “paladin” GOD. I looked this up while writing this post up properly and now I’m completely sidetracked and also I guess Courfeyrac is even more a favourite now.

Where were we. Bahorel. I am very fond of him, not my favourite except he feels like he would be my best friend’s favourite so he’s still my favourite somehow? How old is he? We just don’t know! What is his goal in life? To never be boring enough to have one, presumably. He “takes hygienic precautions when passing the law school”, what’s not to love. He knows everyone, he has no respect for anything, he will fight you because you’re wrong AND because it’s fun. EXTREMELY friend-shaped, actually.

And oh Lesgle your name has been a mess even before your time, huh. The pun is really just the cherry on top. ALSO never a lawyer, love these dumbasses one and all. And as mentioned above, he is a little closer to the Ideal side of the scale than Joly, apparently. “He had considerable knowledge and wit, but he always miscarried.” The things this man could achieve if he could achieve anything ever,,, I’m SO fond of him, and how he is not surprised by misfortune anymore but still stays happy and optimistic? And his introduction overlaps with Joly’s because they love each other!!! And Joly is “an eccentric agreeable person” and also he is perfect and like Bossuet, he is cheerful despite misfortune. Granted, his misfortune is just imaginary illness, but.... there’s a thing that I have emotions about. Nothing ever seems to go right for these two, but they love life and they love each other and there’s puns everywhere too.

Hugo makes as if to stop, at that point, and tells us that all of them “had the same religion: Progress.” I LOVE THEM ALL DID YOU KNOW. And then only AFTER that line we get to Grantaire.

Sighs deeply. I don’t wanna. I feel like a lot of Les Mis fandom, somewhere out there, expects me to like Grantaire like, as a person??? And I don’t! Because he sucks! He’s a good character, but as a person I don’t like him!

Here’s an increasingly incoherent attempt to figure out this introduction?? Please skip this, dear god. Anyway. Others’ nicknames shift them into the first half of the alphabet where everyone else is; Grantaire’s takes him OUT of the first half of the alphabet. And he is kind of doing this on purpose? Dude literally you could be one of them and here you are sad in a corner taking “great care not to believe in anything.” (I know it’s not that easy, I know.) He knows a lot about Paris, is a fun enough person to hang out with for other men I guess, “trying to make his comrades believe that he was in general demand” hi yeah I do not like this man actually, and “he annoyed these young thinkers.” POINTS LOUDLY. Except he doesn’t actually want to just be there to annoy them? And that’s the thing that makes me actually like Grantaire, as a character not touched by fandom. “What we lack attracts us.” And that’s a whole big Thing. Look I love a gay crush as much as the next lesbian, what I don’t love is when people ignore that this is about wAY MORE than that. “Grantaire, crawling with doubt, loved to see faith soaring in Enjolras.” POINTS LOUDLY. He a) does not know what is happening to him and b) does NOT set himself opposite Enjolras, but attaches himself to him, leans on him, revolves around him. Hhh I have not a single coherent opinion about Grantaire. He is shitty but loves his friends, and Enjolras makes him less shitty, kind of?? Which is to say, there is love there, and if there is love there could be belief, and also because there is love he WANTS to be able to believe, and Enjolras is so much belief that he can make others believe, that’s the whole point of Enjolras. Though Grantaire seems to feel this way about the others also, if less strongly? And the others like him for being a good friend, just Enjolras does not like him, and I guess if you only read that last bit you would think Enjolras IS unnecessarily rude to Grantaire, but..... Grantaire sucks. YES, he is sad. ALSO, he sucks. (Except above all he wants to be near this light, because he isn’t completely lost, he isn’t all indifference, and he is waiting to be pulled out of that indifference? And I don’t like him as a person, and I don’t like what a lot of fandom makes of him, but OOF.)

[pilferingapples]

Alignment talk II

#OKAY BUT SOMEONE DO THE ALIGNMENT MEME WITH THE AMIS#and Javert and Valjean and Fauchelevent and EVERYONE gosh this would be GREAT

Okay I was gonna say “but I’ve DONE that” , but I guess I didn’t chart out everyone?? So here, without all the context and thus far easier for people to yell at me for u__u  But a LITTLE context from that post: 

First off, since not everyone even knows what the alignment chart means anymore let me recommend this VERY excellent summation of the idea. To  get away from the summation: what makes the alignment chart interesting to me in Les Mis terms is that it’s basically a chart crossing over ends with means, intention with strategy. What  is a character most dedicated to–the good of others, including in the abstract  (Good),  personal interests, including perhaps other people OF personal interest (Neutral) or the domination and/or suffering of others (Evil)? And how do they attempt to achieve that end, through adherence to a code (Lawful) , through whatever seems most appropriate for the situation (Neutral),  or through actual rejection of order (Chaotic)?  Basically: What do they want?  How do they want it?

And these are my best guesses-- I wrote a lot more about the general ideas at the linked post, but I didn’t actually sort everyone? boo, past Me! and anyway I’ve changed my mind about one big one. So here goes, the quick run down (I’m open to questions about Why on any of them, but listing it for everyone gets SUPER LONG, so):

Good (concerned primarily with doing good for people/beings in general)

Lawful Good: Enjolras,Combeferre,Courfeyrac?, Feuilly, the Petit-Picpus nuns, Simplice (Myriel, Baptistine)*, Georges Pontmercy Neutral Good: (Myriel,Baptistine)*, Valjean, Lesgle,Joly, potentially the Corinthe Staff?, the Madame la Marquise de R, Marguerite?  Chaotic Good: Gavroche,Bahorel, Jean Prouvaire  * Myriel and Baptistine are TRICKY, because they don’t stick very closely even to the rules and laws of the Church--but it’s because they’re adhering to what they see as the True Order/ True Law beyond that law. But Myriel has such an open interpretation of that higher order that he seems less necessarily Lawful to me than Enjolras does.  (Simplice’s hardline honesty puts her back in Codeville, and Lawful, but Myriel has no similarly rigid rule that I can tell.) 

Neutral (primarily concerned with personal matters, potentially including the wellbeing of personally-connected people) 

Lawful Neutral: Frigging. Tholomyes. I HATE HIM SO MUCH I WANT HIM TO SORT AS EVIL but I have to admit he’s more about Personal Hedonism than actually *pursuing* anything like dominance. Bamatabois, too.  UGH I HATE THEM A LOT.  True Neutral: Fantine, probably pre-Myriel Valjean, Cosette if only for lack of experience with the world in general, Toussaint, Magloire, Marguerite, potentially the Corinthe staff, Marius, Mlle. Gillenormand, Theodule, Grantaire(pre OFPD),  Magnon and Mamselle Miss, Fauchelevent Chaotic Neutral: evidently Cravatte and his gang, Eponine? 

Evil (primarily concerned with control and dominance) 

Lawful Evil:  The Senator, the Prosecutor, allll the prosecutors, Gillenormand, Frigging Fannicott, Javert (I am gonna get SO MUCH trouble for that one but I’ve thought about it a LOT and I AM READY TO DEFEND IT) Neutral Evil: Tholomyes, Bamatabois, the Patron Minette (minus Thenardier), Mme. Thenardier Chaotic Evil: Thenardier

[synchronysymphony]

marius or mary sue: an analysis

okay y’all this may be very offensive, so please don’t read it if you like Marius Pontmercy, because I’m discussing the things he does in the book that gave me Issues and it might not be Nice

ok

Marius is, first and foremost, a self-insert for Victor Hugo. This is not textually supported, so I won’t really discuss it, other than to say that since he isn’t given as much of a well-developed personality as, say Jean Valjean, the problematic things he does come off as much worse, because we have no basis for understanding them. That being said, and speaking of Jean Valjean, I can never forgive Marius for his treatment of him. He’s his father-in-law, and he’s never been anything but kind and caring, but Marius decides that because he’s a convict, he should be cut out of Cosette’s life, and left to die alone. Valjean agrees with this, because as we can see in virtually every episode of the book, he’s a self-sacrificing martyr with horrible self esteem. Once Marius realizes that Valjean saved his life, though, he turns right around, because oh! If he saved my life, all those moral objections I was making before don’t count! He must actually be a good person, because he helped me, and therefore everything’s okay! Which of course bothers me, because it seems like he’s always touted as an emblem of good moral sensibilities and all that, but really, he reshapes his moral compass so many times throughout the course of the book, and is actually quite self-serving.  I was raised to believe that we should respect our elders, and of course Marius’s background with his grandfather doesn’t give him that same ideology, but he should still have some measure of human compassion. Here’s a poor, lonely old man, obviously a goodhearted person, since he’s raised Cosette to be so lovely, and Marius ????? takes all the furniture out of the room to make him leave ?????? gosh that’s so petty, and really disrespectful! We would never see Marius treating Mabeuf this way. 

Even worse, though, it really bothers me how Marius treats Cosette, throughout their whole story together. It starts when he sees her in the park, decides he’s in love with her, and begins thinking of her as a sexual object, very much immediately. This is evidenced well in the scene where her skirt blows up and exposes her ankle, and he 1830s slut-shames her for it. He’s mad that some other man might have seen his love (his property) in an intimate way, and is intensely jealous. And of course, at this point in time, he hasn’t even spoken to her yet! (This can be contrasted with Courfeyrac, who’s canonically a bit of a player, but who chooses not to flirt with her) (citation needed -- I’m only writing this from what I remember seeing on some meta post) Marius continues on his path, following Cosette, watching her, even arbitrarily assigning her a name, and completely disrespecting any sorts of boundaries that she might have. In the book, of course, she’s okay with this, but then again, when all of this starts, she’s only 15, and quite sheltered, to boot. I know that at that age, I would have been flattered to have an older man paying attention to me, and would write off anything uncomfortable! After awhile, once his behavior scares Valjean away (understandable -- if I were a parent, I would be very alarmed to have an adult man continually staring at my teenage daughter for hours on end), he decides to break into her garden, because of course that’s what you should do to someone you want to ask on a date. In a modern-day scenario, this would be very weird– Marius, a grown adult, asks his gang-affiliated friend to scope out his crush’s address and give it to him so he can go visit and leave her anonymous love letters in the dead of night. He doesn’t consider that this might be unwelcome, because, again, he believes that Cosette is his love, and therefore belongs to him.  He continues to deny her agency as the book goes on, withholding information and money from her, and not trusting her with any life matters besides being his sweet, obedient wife. This can be seen in the scene when Valjean comes to visit the day after their wedding, and Cosette keeps trying to come in the room, but Marius won’t stop sending her away because he wants to talk about Secret Business with Valjean. Valjean is her father, and in fact, they’re talking about her inheritance, but Marius doesn’t want her input. He then proceeds to gaslight her, pretending that he’s not trying his damnedest to cut her father out of her life, and acting like a good husband, when in fact, their marriage is so full of lies that it may as well be a soap opera. This finally culminates in her reaching her dying father’s bedside, not knowing anything about him, and having to learn about his true life from a letter. However, Marius shows quite little remorse for all of this, so there’s no reason to hope that Cosette will be treated any better now that Valjean’s reputation has been redeemed. 

For some context, I’d like to compare Marius and Cosette to Tholomyes and Fantine. Of course, Marius isn’t as bad as Tholomyes, but they do behave similarly to some extent. Tholomyes consistently lied to Fantine throughout their whole relationship, and importantly, withheld information from her. He made up for it by buying her nice things and taking care of her financially, because of course the life of a parentless grisette is hard. And then he abandoned her, and of course, this is awful, and I wish I could punch him. But, these are all things that Marius does, too! In fact, he’s even less lavish in his treatment of Cosette, because he doesn’t want to use “dirty money,” so he makes her economize rather severely. Now, I wouldn’t say that Marius would leave Cosette, because he thinks that he owns her, and he’s too conscientious to walk out. But it does bear thinking about, doesn’t it? Cosette’s love story is thought to be so wonderful and special, but it’s really somewhat like her mother’s.  There aren’t a ton of other romantic relationships in the novel to compare with for further analysis, other than the Thenardiers (blah) and Eponine and Marius (which I don’t read as totally romantic but ,,,,) and Enjolras and Grantaire (who aren’t really canon, and don’t have much textual interaction), so it could be the case that Hugo thinks Marius and Cosette’s relationship is a healthy one. Still, though, there’s something to be said for partial death-of-the-author, and I think it’s okay to read this through modern eyes as well as with the context of the 1860s in mind. And when we do, we see a really problematic and imbalanced relationship between a naive young girl and an intelligent, conniving, and manipulative man whose preoccupations are first and foremost with himself (I could give examples dw). It seems like a recipe for disaster!

Marius is smart, of course, and he’s brave, and he does do some cool things. As a linguist, I can’t help but admire how he learned two languages in two months! He saved the barricade, which was cool (but also scary, because he proved that he’s just fine with shooting a man and not feeling super bad about it, while Enjolras, the proclaimed “terrible” radical leader, had to execute someone so his friends wouldn’t have to, cried about it, and decided he deserved death for doing so). And I do understand where he’s coming from, because his background isn’t good, and of course he’s missing a lot of input and things like that. But! He does a lot of problematic things, and does not fit well into the progressive ideas of the novel as a whole. In fact, he feels more like an anachronism. While Cosette represents hope, and Valjean represents salvation, and Les Amis represent change, Marius represents... what, exactly? He’s a backslide into the outdated ideals of pre-revolution morality, Napoleonic both in his outlook, and in his characterization. While every other character shows development (even the Thenardiers, albeit in a bad way), Marius remains stuck where he is, as an entitled 20-something whose main ideology revolves primarily around himself. He’s not a good hero to me. 

And so, this is why I don’t like Marius Pontmercy. 

[meta-squash]

Why did you like BBC Marius? To me he had 0 redeeming qualities and didn't even fulfill his (1) role in the plot which is to be a good love interest to Cosette.

It’s been like over a year since I watched the series at this point, so I’m trying to remember because really only “Les Amis” (read: Enjolras/Courfeyrac/Grantaire) and the Thenardiers/Gavroche/Eponine were interesting enough to leave a lasting impact. Also Tholomyes, due to the fact that he Actually Exists in this adaptation.

I think Josh O’Connor did Marius’ dorky awkwardness quite well. Marius is a character who is charming partly because you just want to pat him on the head because he’s so awkward and ridiculous but at least he has Conviction and Dedication, and partly because he’s just so blindly Nice? I think Josh O’Conner did a good job of portraying Marius’ kind of socially-awkward-teenager-with-a-crush type of behavior from Marius re: Cosette, but also his weirdness about the rebellion. Valjean and Marius have something in common, which is that they’re both extremely melodramatic. BBC Mis dropped the ball HARD on Valjean, imo, but they got Marius’ melodrama right.

I think for once the relationship between Marius and other characters was a lot more accurate. His relationship with his grandfather was really well done, and I think Josh did a good job at showing that strain and frustration and sort of teenager-like sense of betrayal. Marius wasn’t really part of Les Amis; he was Courfeyrac’s awkward Napoleon-worshiping roommate, and I think the distance between Marius and Les Amis and his sort of weird conflict between his obsession with Cosette and his knowledge of the political atmosphere was good.

Also, while I love Marius and Cosette, their love is really.....vague? In the book. Like, he becomes obsessed with her after seeing her in the Luxembourg gardens, watches her from afar and doesn’t talk to her for like 6 months, loses her, finds her again, and then when they finally do speak, they talk all night, but Hugo doesn’t really tell us what about. He basically says, in a Hugolian way, that they talk about “everything” which is a little hard to show in film form, I think. We then get quick little descriptions of them meeting up and talking without much detail, until Cosette springs it on Marius that they’re moving to England and he sits there with his head on a tree for a stupid amount of time. Then the barricade happens, he’s hurt, he’s returned to Gillenormand and revives, then he sees Cosette, and again it’s mostly summary rather than description. I think so much of their romance and relationship is half a scene and then summary-description rather than a proper scene between them, so it’s hard to capture on film. It’s a little easier in musical format because you can turn action-description into lyrics (Like “Every day, you walk with stronger step/You walk with longer step/ The worst is over”) but it’s hard to take “they talked about everything” and turn it into a concrete conversation. I think Marius and Cosette’s relationship was something that BBC Mis didn’t get a drastically wrong as like, all of Javert and most of Valjean, or the entire ending, but it’s a little skewed and weird.

Overall, though, I felt like BBC Mis Marius was most similar to Brick Marius in terms of nice-but-awkward dorkiness as well as the way that when he decides to do something, he just goes all in because he’s Melodramatic Like That.

Also, I may have missed some things in this answer because, like I said, I haven’t watched the show since like February 2019.