...Obviously whores shouldn't be allowed to just back out of doing their job? Conradí doesn't even go to whorehouses, he's had no trouble finding women to fuck without needing to drop money on it, but if the whores can just change their mind that defeats the entire point of them. (It has not even slightly occurred to him that there might be parallels between his behavior and Fantine's ex.)

Should have said yes and then bitten his dick off. It's what Voshrelka would have done.

Not that she would have been anywhere near any of this situation in the first place. On account of absolutely never having a child, ever, with anyone, and even if she did she'd find a competent family that would accept the child as their own without bribery, and if she couldn't she would then have killed the child as a babe, and run off into the woods where the rules are 'If you eat regularly and nothing kills you, you're doing great.' She supposes that if she cared about some random child that did not have the misfortune of coming out of her womb she might, at best, take the child with her into the woods.

But Voshrelka does not like children.

This whore is awfully touchy about being called a whore.

This music-play is making city folk seem very stupid. Of course you shouldn't trust a strange man's assurances just because he says he'll never leave you, if you aren't even married.

Jonatan really wishes he understood what the archmage was hoping to convince people of, or for that matter what lessons the commons were going to take away from it. "Consistent enforcement of the law is bad?" "Prostitution ought to be outlawed for the sake of the virtue of both sexes?"

Liushna is still deeply baffled by human sexual behavior. Why would you...want...to run out on your significant other...or fuck a stranger...

But these behaviors, while still inexplicable, are not new to her. Everyone except Valjean and Fantine needs to be sat down by...humans don't have Rokoa...their grandmothers and have some sense scolded into them. Maybe Valjean and Fantine too, they're not making amazing life choices, but better than the people around them!

(Elie is among the people who would be panicking except Nefreti, when dropping off the children from babysitting, says, 'oh, there's a play that Shelyn wanted to show the convention! She'll invite you too as long as you are a well-behaved audience member and don't take it as Geb kidnapping you!')

A runaway cart runs through the middle of the city, trapping someone under it. Valjean ignores the protestations of the bystanders that it's too heavy and too dangerous and personally rescues the trapped man. Javert is shocked by his unusual strength, and tells him that he reminds him of the missing convict Jean Valjean. However, he also tells Valjean that he could not possibly be Jean Valjean, because the real Jean Valjean has just been rearrested, and is set to be tried and sent back later that very same day.

Valjean agonizes about what to do about this, but ultimately decides to turn himself in to save the falsely accused man, running into the courtroom in the middle of the trial, revealing his true identity, and partially removing his shirt to reveal the brand on his chest that marks him as a convict. (He then flees.)

He — she — she could have—

Can I condemn this man to slavery?
Pretend I do not feel his agony?
This innocent who wears my face
Who goes to judgеment in my place

—only she can, she did—

This is all extremely affecting and Laia's fully weeping about it but she can't figure out how it helps Fantine at all for another family to be raising her child! Is the policy at her job that you can't work there if you have a child? What is the point of that policy? Or is it that she's not married, except why didn't she just pretend to be a widow if that was it?

Raimon's grabbing the armrests of this sproingy velvety theater seat really hard throughout the part where Fantine's a whore. He doesn't start shouting at her to work indoors, because he's aware she's an actor, but GIRL, WORK INDOORS.

Lluc didn't WANT to leave his girl with the babies and no man around to take care of them. He was KIDNAPPED. He decides that probably Cosette's dad was also kidnapped because otherwise what does this play have to do with anything.

Blai was sort of expecting a running theme of theft in sympathetic circumstances and is surprised when Fantine turns prostitute instead of pickpocket but it's not a narratively satisfying sort of surprise.

--It's--

It should be irresponsible of Valjean to turn himself in to save a stranger. But...it's not. If his sister and nephew are still alive, he hasn't reconnected with them--presumably--and if he has any other kin then the play hasn't seen fit to bring them up. 

It's sad, of course, tragic, that he doesn't have any of his own heart's people who are relying on him to the point where he has to stay free for them. 

But...

Since he doesn't...

The self-sacrifice on behalf of someone he doesn't even know is deeply moving. 

He did not cry when he turned himself in to face justice. It's kind of ridiculous that he's crying now.

She's still so confused about what she's supposed to believe! People should turn themselves in for crimes but it's okay if they run away afterwards? Maybe it's some kind of test, and they're not supposed to just agree with it?

So we will get to see Valjean executed? Excellent.

The budget for this looks pretty high so they could probably afford an actual convict for the scene and not just do something lame with blood and minor illusions. 

(She isn't clear how she got here from the seminary, or what time has passed. But everyone else in the room seems to be sitting watching calmly, so she will too. A Chosen has to maintain her Dignity.

Maybe this is Egorian where she's a respected priest and she's just momentarily forgotten the intervening years. Or maybe this is some kind of lesson arranged by her Lord. Visions aren't unheard of, though they're supposed to be rare. She always knew she was special.)

The message is clearly that places without the strong hand of Asmodeus are terrible for everyone. The convict was let out for no reason and did more crimes. The Good priest is a sentimental idiot who'll run out of silver in a week. The women are pathetic and the country is obviously too poor and Lawless to have orphanages. Even the lawman isn't enjoying himself.

Its a bit heavy handed for her tastes to be honest, but the production quality makes up for it. And sometimes you need to be blunt to get the message across to the peasants and dumber nobles. 

Valjean returns to the hospital where Fantine has taken ill and is having delirious visions of Cosette. She asks Valjean to care for Cosette once she's dead, and he swears that he will take her in and protect her. Fantine dies. Immediately after this, Javert shows up to confront Valjean! Valjean begs him to give him three days to ensure that Cosette is cared for, but Javert refuses, saying that men like Valjean can never change. They argue in a duet (audience members particularly good at following the voices may catch that Javert was "born inside a jail"), and Valjean pledges to bring up Cosette. The two of them fight, but Valjean manages to overpower Javert and escape.

The next scene starts with a small child on stage. She sings unhappily about her imagined ideal life and reveals herself to be Cosette. A woman comes in, yells at her, and complains about how Fantine isn't sending her enough money and she should never have taken her inn. She then sends her to fetch water from a well in the woods, ignoring her objections. Meanwhile, another young girl, Eponine, shows up; the woman treats her much more kindly, and uses her to insult Cosette by comparison. The inn fills up with customers, and the woman's husband (Thénardier) sing about how how he's a "totally" "honest" "businessman" (it quickly becomes clear that he is not.) Madame Thénardier comes back and sings about how much she hates her husband, for reasons entirely unrelated to the fact that he's a scammer.

Valjean finds Cosette in the woods and brings her back to the Thénardier's inn to negotiate her adoption. The Thénardiers attempt, badly, to pretend that they actually like Cosette, express concern that Valjean might have ill intentions towards her, and then immediately let her go as soon as he offers them a lot of money.

The musical is treating the woman Thénardier like she's a really bad parent, but as far as Victòria can tell she's being way nicer than most parents would be? She never even hit Cosette.

(Also, wow, Javert sucks. She hopes he gets what's coming to him.)

She's sending a child into the forest alone? Is she trying to get her killed?

Okay, that fight scene was pretty good. The singing is actually pretty great, maybe the gladiatorial games can start having singing too.

Presumably Fantine took care of Cosette for long enough to somehow - for some reason - give her the idea that it's normal to expect a life where you don't do any chores? Study hard and learn Unseen Servant and until then shut up, Cosette. (Seriously, though, Fantine obviously does not know Unseen Servant. Unless her spellbook got fucked up at some point? Maybe actually this plot makes complete sense if Fantine was a wizard and lost her spellbook.)

This innkeeper must not be watering the wine nearly as much as he thinks he is if none of his customers are sober enough to notice he's robbing them and shank him for it. Is the audience supposed to be able to figure out how Fantine's related to the Thenardiers? They seem like an extremely random choice of foster family if Fantine's not either of their sister or anything.

Why would you swear an oath to raise a child while the law is after you? Even if you have Lawful reasons to be opposing formal law enforcement (Valjean... doesn't obviously...?) then you have to acknowledge that it's at least inconvenient to the project of raising a child. Maybe chaotic people just swear oaths for dramatic effect and actually he means that he would really like to go raise the child but this might fall through for any or no reason.

Maybe Cosette was a city girl before Fantine gave her up, and is struggling to get used to rural chores like fetching water from the well in the woods. You have to abbreviate a lot of stuff to fit a plot this temporally extended into a reasonable runtime. These actors could maybe have used a workshop on portraying physical punishment without impairing the recipient actor, though, she'd be buying the emotional notes from Cosette here more intensely if she were singing all this after getting beaten.

How much is this currency worth, Laia is curious if Cosette is more expensive than she was.