Les Miserables episode 3 preview: Jean Valjean’s important choice

January 6, 2019

As we approach Les Miserables episode 3 airing on BBC One next week, there are a number of different things worth thinking about. What’s one of the biggest ones? A lot of it really comes down to finding a way to build up tension for a story that is already known.

While we wouldn’t necessarily say that the Victor Hugo adaptation is one of the most-overexposed out there, we do think that we’ve seen it spread throughout popular culture in a rather substantial manner. Much of that has happened mostly through the lens of the popular musical, which has taken center stage even in the promotion for most of the series. There’s been some blowback that this show isn’t trying to reproduce the musical and, in the process of that, there were people who were expecting some singing here. What are we getting instead? Well, think along the lines of a gritty story defined by relationships, betrayals, and also struggle. Jean Valjean (or at least the show’s version of him) has been through quite a bit already and the message that we’ve got at present is rather clear: We’re far from the end of the road. There are some very-important moments coming next week, in particular when it comes to Javert trying to force him to do some of what he wants.

Below, CarterMatt does offer up the Les Miserables episode 3 synopsis with some more information as to what’s coming up:

A tormented Jean Valjean (Dominic West) is forced by Javert (David Oyelowo) and his own conscience to reveal his true identity, but a promise to Fantine (Lily Collins) changes everything.

Things are looking up for the Thenardiers (Olivia Colman and Adeel Akhtar) when a rich stranger arrives at their inn, but their joy is short lived.

The fact that this series has Colman on board speaks to the ambition of it — we’re not sure that there is a better British actress that you can get for a role these days. Les Miserables really has to utilize the cast mostly in order to generate some of its promotion — after all, it’s going to be harder to do it just via the story itself. The vast majority of viewers already know the story.

What do you want to see when it comes to Les Miserables episode 3? Be sure to share some of your thoughts now in the attached comments. (Photo: BBC.)

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