My thoughts on the end of Parade's End
It's been interesting to be a witness to the many thoughts about the love triangle on Parade's End. All over Tumblr, bloggers post gifsets of their OTP, either Christopher/Valentine or Christopher/Sylvia, and I've seen arguments in support of both. I really didn't have a preference during the past 5 weeks, I was simply enjoying the gradual unfolding of the story, which is essentially about the end of an era as represented by one man who personifies it distinctly. It was also a tour de force of acting, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, who is capable, I believe of carrying out almost any material presented to him with a ridiculous amount of talent.
Regardless, I have enjoyed the ride, and upon reflection, decided I agree with Christopher's choice of Valentine. Most do. Though I have seen several passionate arguments for Sylvia, calling Valentine a milquetoast, naive (as I did at one point, which she was at that point), boring girl. Sure, compared to the fiery, feisty, beautiful Sylvia, Valentine would seem the more boring, safer choice.
But Sylvia, for all her beauty and passion, is also manipulative, self-serving, and cold. She's a parasite, who uses anyone she can to get what she wants. There is a sadness to this wonderfully wrought character who probably realized early on that her beauty and charm were all she had to offer, and so she used both without impunity, until the one thing she wanted was immune to both virtues. I liked Sylvia's character and how much we can read into her desperation to hold onto Christopher. It does make us feel for her. She realizes too late that her machinations and immoral behavior caused too much damage to her marriage for it to ever be repaired. So the viewer does, in a way, find herself hoping for Sylvia's redemption, which would take the form of Christopher's love.
But that really isn't how people work. I found myself not rooting for Sylvia for a specific reason: Sylvia may be gorgeous and can work a party, but she doesn't give a whit about anything Christopher finds interesting. His passions and interests are foreign concepts to her, when she considers them at all. While she learns to appreciate his decency, she never tries to give a single damn about anything about him. And I'm projecting here when I say this (and that's okay, because we all do that, whether we realize it or not), but it's terrible to be married to someone who scorns the things you care about. It slices into you. It makes you lonely.
So Christopher meets Valentine, who, compared to Sylvia, may seem young and innocently milquetoasty. But Valentine truly cares about the world and what is happening in it. She is smart and brave and feisty in her own right. She listens to Christopher when he talks about statistics, and values his mind and principles, even when she disagrees with him. She disagrees with him, because she has her own mind and values and principles, which are important to her, and which she will state even if she has the smallest voice in the room. She follows her heart earnestly, even if it would result in being the mistress of a married man, because she feels she deserves happiness.
Viewers waited until this recent episode to see which woman Christopher would choose. What we failed to see was that there was no choice. Christopher had already chosen. If he had not been dashed about the Front, and treated so ill by his commanders, and forced to see men die in an "accursed war," he may have lived his life of decency, remaining married to Sylvia and pining for, but never having Valentine. Instead, he allowed himself to change so that he could realize happiness with someone who could be his match. I approve.
I also must say I am entirely grateful that Stoppard and Co. chose to end the series on a happy note, instead of the one in the book, which would have brought a total downer to the 5 weeks of waiting.