The Abbreviated Monte Cristo

Hot Insane Take: Ode to Baron Danglars, the Accidental Feminist! LOL, hear me out, peeps! We hate Danglars for The Conspiracy and stealing the life, family, marriage and promising future of young Edmond Dantes. He's also a weasel and money grubber, and after Edmond was sent to D'if, he was the only one gleefully rubbing his hands. After Napoleon's return, Danglars skedaddled off to Spain, forming an alliance with Fernand and doing some war profiteering. But, after looking at Danglars' full arc, he has one saving grace. He's an Accidental Feminist! Unlike Dantes, who carried major (and unjustified) permanent resentment towards Mercedes and kept grumbling about her "unfaithfulness" and "infidelity" even til the end, Danglars put no such requirements on his womenfolk. He was practical and calculating, not madly head over heels in love. Danglars had no illusions about love or an all-encompassing romantic bubble to pop. ...

In the year 2024: The Problem with Haydee Oof, where should I start? It's pretty obvious that now in the 21st Century, Book!Haydee's "slavish" (literally) devotion to the Count, her age, her status as his ward/foster-daughter make it unpalatable for her to stay with her Book! ending, as a romantic partner for the Count. People are sensitive to "grooming" these days, it's not uncommon for people to interpret the Count+Haydee relationship in that way. With Modern Sensibilities frowning on such things, it got changed in the latest 2024 screen adaptations. The 2024 TV Miniseries Haydee is "Algerian" and her father, Ali Pasha was an "Algerian" ...