‘War and Peace’ episode 4 preview: Lily James on playing Natasha; also, new sneak peek

We are now halfway through the BBC’s adaptation of “War and Peace,” and you have to believe that as we progress now things are going to get even more complicated, tragic, and at times brutal. The Tolstoy novel was certainly epic, but nowhere in it did it dictate that there would be a happy ending for any of its characters.

The character who is the for-certain leading lady is Lily James’ character of Natasha, a woman who wants love, ambition, and a happy future. Unfortunately, she lives in an era where not all of these things are easy to come by; therefore, it ends up leading to some trouble down the road. In further previewing this episode in a new interview with the Express, the actress had the following to say:

“As she goes on an enormous journey from child to woman, you can see all her flaws … She’s very unabashed, but in spite of that you still really like her because she has a huge heart and a beautiful soul … She lives in the moment and she’s completely uninhibited, but of course that leads to disaster.”

It is thanks to all of these (plus James’ performance) that we want to so easily root for the Natasha character through her transgressions, her more romantic moments, and her pain. With that being said, we don’t get the sense that show executive producer / writer Andrew Davies fancies himself to be someone interested in messing around with the source material.

Just to get you all the more excited for Sunday’s episode, you can watch a sneak peek for it right now below. Also, if you head over here, you can see a synopsis for what lies ahead!

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