Great Expectations Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Episode Six
Great Expectations Season 1 Episode 6, “Episode Six,” switches its tone and wraps up the season on a much happier note than the actual book by Charles Dickens. Still, the changes aren’t necessarily a bad thing.
The episode sees Pip’s and Mr. Jaggers’ plan to implicate Mr. Drummle in his illegal trading fall through, leaving Pip with no fortune.
Meanwhile, Estella stands up to Miss Havisham, which decides her fate, and all of the show’s characters’ stories intersect as Magwitch and Compeyson have their showdown.
The episode does an excellent job of increasing its pace, drama, and action as it hurtles to its end, making it quite an exciting and enjoyable finale.
There are raging storms, fights, confrontations, and even a few deaths to ramp up the action. The episode also hearkens back to the first episode’s opening scene, finally showing what happens when Pip reaches his breaking point, as originally foreshadowed.
The finale is nearly flawless in terms of pacing and structure, as it smoothly utilizes rising action, a climax, falling action, and a satisfying resolution.
However, for fans of the book, it is impossible not to notice how the finale departs from its source material. Previously, the show has only slightly departed from the book, primarily in modernizing and darkening the tale.
This is why the sudden departure from the source material is surprising. What makes it even more jarring is that the finale has a happy ending.
This is surprising because Dickens’ book had a relatively dark ending for several characters, and the show has been even darker than the book in the episodes leading up to the finale.
Hence, if anything, viewers expected the finale to be even grislier than the book instead of the opposite.
This means the finale isn’t just a departure from the source material but also the show’s overarching tone. The changes may have been alright if it hadn’t been such a sudden departure.
The finale almost seems to play out as a “what-if” scenario or alternative ending to the book. What if Pip went home and remembered who he was before it was too late? What if Estella chose her fate instead of letting the world decide for her? What if Miss Havisham changed?
The finale shows what would’ve happened if the characters hadn’t made their choices too late, as they did in the book.
It’s unclear if this is the episode’s intention, but it does get readers of the book thinking about the power individuals have to change their fates.
In the book, Pip nearly died, lost Biddy, became indebted to Joe, and spent decades working alone because he pursued wealth. However, in the show, because he chooses to accept true love instead of pursuing wealth or Estella, he happily marries Biddy and becomes Joe’s blacksmith apprentice.
It’s quite a beautiful change that highlights accepting true love before it’s too late, similar to how the changes in Estella’s and Miss Havisham’s stories emphasize the importance of not losing oneself to spite and vengeance.
While surprising, the changes raise interesting questions and thoughts about potential alternative endings for Dickens’ book.
At the same time, it’s still difficult to understand why the show pushed so hard to be dark and edgy previously when it planned on giving everyone a happy ending in the long run.
The finale is a surprising change of tone that is blatantly unfaithful to its source material. However, its impeccable pacing and the questions and thoughts it raises (intentionally or unintentionally) still make it a reasonably satisfying ending for an ambitious adaptation of Dickens’ beloved work.
What did you think of this episode of Great Expectations? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Great Expectations airs Sundays on Hulu.
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Rachel Ulatowski
Rachel Ulatowski is a freelance writer from Oshkosh with a penchant for TV, film, and celebrity news. Her work can also be found on Screen Rant, The Mary Sue, and Monsters and Critics. When she's not writing professionally, she enjoys blogging, running, watching film and television, and conducting research for her future novel.