Paul Dano as Pierre Bezukhov wows in War and Peace: Episode 6

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he devastation of last week’s Battle of Borodino did not cease in this final episode of one of the most notoriously complicated novels ever written.

The stress is too much for Count Rostov. Image: BBC and Laurie Sparham

Napoleon and his armies march on Moscow, the Rostovs are displaced (the stress of it all is too much for the usually-carefree Count Rostov), and the Bolkonsky household suffers even more tragedy.

I was even made to feel a twinge of sympathy and pity for Helene, who died a frightful, lonely death.    

But once again, Paul Dano as Pierre Bezukhov is the heart of the episode. His charitable efforts to prevent citizens being mistreated by French soldiers lead to him being taken prisoner and forced to endure horrific conditions in the long march back to Paris.

Image: BBC and Laurie Sparham

He watches the execution of several of his fellow prisoners: he has been forced to travel a huge emotional distance since his wide-eyed, merely curious attitude to warfare was shattered at Borodino.

Pierre has, for me, been the most interesting character throughout the series, and his development has been extraordinary – from an idealistic, Napoleon-sympathising revolutionary, to a well-meaning Count and landowner, to self-pitying Freemason, before ending up as a war-weary moralist.

Pierre epitomises the notion that character is born of struggle

Natasha and Andrei have a brief, touching reconciliation before the latter succumbs to his Borodino-inflicted wounds.

Lily James interprets Natasha. Image: Gage Skidmore / Flickr

One criticism, which again is due to the short running time of this adaptation, is that Natasha has bounced from one lover to another – Andrei to Anatole, back to Andrei, and finally to Pierre – without a realistic display of emotional turmoil. I am sure that Natasha’s character is much more believable as a heroine in the book.

Lily James has, in spite of this, been superb throughout.

Nikolai and Marya, both hardened by brutal experience, are convincing as a couple. Marya herself has blossomed as a character in the final two episodes as circumstances demanded that she take control of the household.          

The happy ending shown in the closing scene is a bit too happy (expect for Sonya, poor girl), and a little platitudinous after so much war.

The sheer innocence of it reminded me of the Shire from Lord of the Rings, where life is all sunshine and fireworks

And the final episode in general does feel a little rushed, though pacy sections in a six hour adaptation are inevitable.   

But these are minor complaints. Even Clive James, who has probably read the book more times than anyone else on earth, has called this BBC version “not half bad”.

Extraordinarily arresting battle scenes, and the emergence of a new batch of talent (Paul Dano as Pierre Bezukhov!), have made sure that this adaptation will be remembered as much more than a standard costume drama.

Already missing War and Peace? Re-read this blog from the beginning!