#they're mirror images! two sides of the same coin! and the musical is absolutely genius in how it portrays that

[bumblingest-bee]

my les mis hot take is that the idealogical conflict between valjean and javert is much more compelling in the musical than in the brick. obviously they share the overarching idea of forgiveness vs. punishment, but hugo writes it as a very straightforward "good guy christian and bad guy atheist" whereas the musical offers, in my opinion, a much more interesting juxtaposition of worldviews. characterizing javert as devoutly religious makes their conflict that of two different interpretations of christianity: black-and-white, fire-and-brimstone legalism vs. love and forgiveness. that, to me, is what makes valjean and javert such compelling foils and parallels to one another.