#in another translation (probably maude) dolokhov calls him “petrusha”

[emeraldelysium]

omg it's the duel between pierre and dolokhov! (rambling analysis between the show and the book under the cut)

it's really interesting to compare these chapters to the duel (song). in the book, this happens far before the whole thing with anatole and natasha (like 6 years before). notably some characters & lines are different, all in favor of how the plot in the show has to move a lot faster, e.g. several paragraphs when dolokhov misses his shot become just three lines in the song ("missed, missed / oh my mother, my angel / my adoréd angel mother"). nesvitsky becomes anatole, and nikolay, who is dolokhov's second, is absent (denisov does get to stay though!) anatole being pierre's second is both for the convenience of a known character (the cast is cut WAY down in the show, for obvious reasons) and to further pierre & anatole's relationship for the audience. in the book, nesvitsky has to tell pierre how to hold a gun because he's never done so before (and then goes "oh yeah, i totally knew that. i just…forgot" because he doesn't want to admit it lol), which comes out in anatole's lines warning pierre to hold his fire. book pierre also seems more reluctant/willing to admit how stupid this is, but his apathy makes him go through with it (anatole is the one to acknowledge this instead, which is a great line because lucas steele is amazing "OOOOHHH this is horribly stupid :(", and pierre's apathy is shown in the show through his reply to hélène (who is there in the show but absent in the book, good for both showing their terrible relationship and to make the audience think pierre died for a sec) it makes sense for musical pierre to be more caught up in the heat of the moment though, and regret it afterwards, which leads nicely into dust & ashes

#great comet is SO well written. very good adaptation. i'm still mad about the tonys #ALSO before this whole thing when dolokhov is like taunting pierre with his toast #in another translation (probably maude) dolokhov calls him “petrusha” #briggs drops the dimunitive entirely and opts for “my dear little pierre”. which is. a choice! #natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812 #em reads war and peace