my bf and I have been listening to the great comet again and to say I’m overanalyzing is a bit of an understatement hahaha
SO we know some liberties are taken when Malloy adapted the musical from war and peace, an important part being the reason for Andrey’s absence (also his widowed CHILDREN!!). In TCG, Andrey is fighting in the Napoleonic wars, whereas in W&P he’s just…traveling abroad for a year???? I feel like this change affected the way we perceive Natasha’s character more than anything. Her decision to elope with Anatole is much more understandable within the context of W&P but ALSO:
When I was listening to Letters and also Pierre and Andrey I noticed nobody really mentions any letters from Andrey (unless I’m mistaken!). We don’t even know who he told that he was returning from the war!! I’m assuming it’s implied it was his family or Pierre but like… THERE IS NO MENTION, therefore when Natasha is suddenly receiving letter after letter from Anatole (Dolokhov ghostwriting them lol), I can completely understand why it makes her feel like she is actually loved compared to Andrey’s distant and restrained version of it. Andrey in fact returns Natasha’s letters to Pierre but there isn’t really any mention of her needing to return any of his letters when Pierre visits (to be fair she isn’t asked to return Anatole’s either but the difference is we do actually know of their existence compared to Andrey’s LOL)
Anatole was upfront, direct, and passionate, in a way that Andrey never could be. The two men are complete juxtapositions of each other
I think it’s interesting knowing how different these two are and how they both are presumed dead after the invasion, like they were both doomed to die by not loving Natasha lololol OOPS
Natasha and Pierre finally getting together made my heart so happy 🥹 AND DAVE MALLOY’S epilogue omg he knew we were starving ALSO the Donmar warehouse’s production was so good I wish London was real wtf
Now going back to Pierre, he seems like the right amount of control and passion Natasha needed the whole time, she needed someone comforting like Andrey but not distant, someone passionate and loving like Anatole, but not so volatile, and there lies Old Pierre :’)
Considering Pierre’s loveless marriage to Helene, it just was very satisfying that too characters with good hearts that just want to love someone good are able to find each other and AGHHHHHHH anyways I’ll shut up now
titsay
