Les Miserables (episode 3)

Last night I was able to catch up on Les Miserables' episode 3 and as always, it did not disappoint. I LOVE that we're getting to spend time with subplots that were only hinted at in the musical versions; it's leading to a better and deeper understanding of these characters.  Episode 3 focused on Valjean's promise to Fantine to bring Cosette to her, Fantine's death, and Javert's obsession with finding Valjean and bringing him to justice for his past sin of stealing 40 sous from a young boy (you can find my review on that episode here).  Javert flushes out Valjean by telling him that he has found the "real" Valjean and he is standing trial in Arras for his theft of the 40 sous. Valjean, racked by a guilty conscience ever since the theft, goes to Arras to see for himself.  When the (innocent) man is being condemned for Valjean's crime, Valjean steps up and declares himself as Jean Valjean.  A powerful scene, as Valjean identifies 3 fellow former prisoners and calls out Javert for accusing the wrong man.  Having never really had clarity on this in the musicals, I appreciated the filmmakers for making this scene. I never knew for sure from the musicals whether or not Valjean actually went to Arras to reveal himself, or if he remained hidden to protect himself.  If this was explicitly stated in the musicals, I've missed it numerous times!

Which brings me to an observation: Valjean's acknowledgment of who he was.  He was guilty, taking the place of an innocent man who had nothing to do with his crimes.  A reverse picture, really, of how Jesus took our place. A completely innocent Man Who paid for guilty sinners with His blood.  Even with the risk of (re) imprisonment, Valjean took responsibility for what he had done.  He was clearly at peace with this decision, because he willingly turned himself over to Javert. He only escapes when he realizes that the woman he'd tasked with fetching Cosette refused. He makes a promise to Fantine, albeit after she dies, to find Cosette and take care of her.  He's put back into the Toulon prison hulks, but 2 years later, we see him free; he (presumably) escaped somehow.

This leads to him finding Cosette and forming a father-daughter relationship with her. He sees how harshly she is being treated by the Thenardiers, and because of his promise to Fantine, he buys her from the Thenardiers...at great cost.  This is another picture of redemption-it may be free for US, but it was NOT free for Christ.  The great cost wasn't 1,500 francs; it was His blood. Cosette did nothing to warrant being bought for such a high price; she just existed.  She was the embodiment of a promise, and Valjean goes to great lengths to ensure that promise is kept. We then see the development of a beautiful father-daughter relationship over the course of the last 20 minutes or so of the episode.  Valjean will stop at nothing to keep her safe, healthy and happy. The episode ends with Javert being angry at Valjean escaping yet again from his grip.

Next episode appears to be a jump forward in time with an older Cosette and Marius. If you have not yet gotten into this series, then what are you waiting for?