BBC War and Peace: Episode 3

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he third episode of War and Peace ditched its battles in favour of the ballroom. A focus on the “peace” aspect of things led to a slower-feeling episode, light and feathery, with only a couple of mentions of Austerlitz to dampen the general mood of courtship and matrimony. It was all very Pride and Prejudice.

The lack of any combat scenes meant that Napoleon was irritatingly absent; is he doomed to remain a minor character, tugging on the strings of history from afar?

Pierre remains confusing, perhaps because he is an enigma even to himself. His obsession with finding the noblest way to live sees him flirting with ideology and changing his grand conception of life on an almost hourly basis.

Pierre and Andrei buddy up. Image: BBC and Laurie Sparham

In this episode, he duels Dolokhov, forgives Helene for her affair, and argues with Andrei about life. Three hours into this series, it is hard not to see this conversation between Pierre and Andrei as a pivotal moment.

Andrei has been living the simple life, remaining in the countryside and building his own home, while staying away from as many people as possible. His illusions and delusions of finding glory and fulfilment in war have vanished and, guilt-wracked over his treatment of his late wife, he vows to remain as passive as he can. The way forward, he reasons, is to withdraw from society – a position reminiscent of Tolstoy’s own obsession with the hermit’s life.

Pierre and Andrei argue and swap life philosophies. It is often said that War and Peace is about “how to live the good life”, and this conversation marks the first overt exploration of this theme so far.

The beautiful Natasha. Image: BBC and Laurie Sparham

Persuaded to leave his country house, Andrei accompanies Pierre back to St. Petersburg, and swiftly falls in love with Natasha Rostov. This sudden dance of the passions quickly reaches its climax (naturally) at a grand ball. The genuine happiness of this scene is offset by Pierre’s onscreen realisation that he also loves Natasha. Poor Pierre.

A few other things: I was disappointed that Rebecca Front’s character seems to have disappeared (no longer in the thick of it, if I may).

What comes as a surprise is Dolokhov’s sudden proposal to Sonya. Nikolai does not react well to this news, and promptly loses a huge sum of money (which he doesn’t have) gambling to Dolokhov. He is forced to ask his father for a hefty loan, and Adrian Edmondson is fantastic as this bubbly, but already financially-troubled bon vivant.

The episode began with a duel and ended with a ball, and miles of emotional distance were travelled in the hour. It still, however, managed to feel like a kind of filler.

Does a six-hour adaptation of a thousand page novel have time for a filler episode?

There are three hours left, and I’m sure that I do protest too much – War and Peace: Episode 3 did, after all, contain the crucial meeting between Andrei and Natasha, and has set the emotional scene before war impinges, as it always must, once again on the aristocratic peace.