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Title: Yes, it's beautiful, but it's more than that
Review: Beyond the obligatory enthusiasm about the lush settings and costumes, this is a lovely full arc of character development. Robert Merivel enters as an immature, self-absorbed goofball, with an irrepressible spark of the man he could become glinting through the coating of muck. He gets dragged through a series of harsh refining situations and emerges with the dross burned off. The final act of restoration (and you thought that only referred to the historic time period) is a solid two-tissue moment.Robert's friend Pierce is a charming jewel of a character who doesn't make anywhere near the drastic developmental leap that Merivel does, but doesn't need to -- he's a perfect balance quiet integrity to Merivel's extreme dramatics.
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