Yesterday I just sat down and listened to the finale after a while of continuously skipping it when listening to the cast album, and this is a collection of thoughts/feelings that re-listen made me think of.
☾☾☾
The finale of Great Comet is the only song from the show I haven’t 100% memorized, BECAUSE I don’t listen to it nearly as much as all the others, BECAUSE it’s so beautiful, and satisfying, and bittersweet, and wholesome, and soulful, that I think it deserves more than to be listened to casually like I do with the rest of the cast recording.
I’ve listened to it about four or five times overall (I believe) and it’s made me cry every single time, but in a different way than how Natasha & Pierre makes me cry. Is it because it signifies that she show is ending? Is it because Pierre’s finally getting this revelation and his soul feels all this unearthly joy? Is it because of all the cast singing in a huge chorus, matched with the wonderful music/lyrics? I honestly don’t know, but it’s so, so special.
It’s not a climactic finale, it’s not a sad or depressing finale, it brings the story full circle, but it’s not a completely open one either: it’s a new beginning, but for it to come, for them to “blossom into a new life” they need to experience this catastrophe (the comet) first— and we all feel saddened because of that, but we’re also feeling a sort of happiness from seeing Pierre’s arc reach a satisfying point, and seeing that he’s not bothered by the comet makes us think “ok, well, maybe this thing we considered a “catastrophe” is not that bad, if I look at it in a different way”.
The thing is, during that scene all the various characters sit alone in their part of the theatre and you see (or, the people they happen to be sat near to, do) their own relationship with/reaction to the comet, and all of them are reasonably distressed by it; this enforces our conflicting (but I believe they conflict in a harmonious way) emotions.
We want to be Pierre, we want to be happy and unbothered, and whole, but we see the rest of them in despair and we understand them and it’s a beautiful concoction of feelings, which everyone in the audience perceives and experiences in a different way.
☾☾☾
So that’s it! I hope it made sense, and let me know what your opinion on the finale is in the comments if you feel like it :)
Comments (3)
HEHHEHE
Basically Pierre when he sees the comet lmao
Reply to: :headphones: :hearts: 𝑘.𝑎.𝑝. :hearts: :headphones:
OMG U RITE U RITE