BBC viewers were outraged on Sunday night when the final edit of Great Expectations ended – with an ending other than Dickens.
Steven Knight’s adaptation, starring Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham and Fionn Whitehead as Pip, has been embroiled in controversy over changes made to the book, including its depiction of opium addiction and sadomasochism.
Episode one was watched by 4.4 million viewers, but 2 million were knocked out by the penultimate episode, ahead of Sunday night’s finale.
In the Dickens classic, Miss Havisham’s wedding dress is burned in a tragic accident that leads to her death – but the BBC’s re-imaging of Olivia purposefully sets the dress on fire as part of a revenge twist and emerges unscathed.
Viewers flooded Twitter in anger, with some calling the show “an abomination” and others insisting “it’s not right to ruin the ending,” claiming the show “makes a mockery” of Dickens’ penultimate completed novel.
Not happy: BBC viewers were outraged on Sunday night when the final edit of Great Expectations ended – with an ending other than Dickens
Not too happy: viewers were outraged by the choice to change the ending
After burning the dress, Miss Havisham is seen saying, “I am stronger than you.” I am stronger than this house. I am stronger than fire.”
Furious viewers wrote, “What an abomination? The only way to describe BBC’s Great Expectations. The last episode they even changed the ending…
‘Why? Why? Why. Total RUBBISH… Why would anyone think changing the ending of Great Expectations would be a good idea?!… Right, I avoided Dickens for years. Finally read Great Expectations and loved it. It’s a PERFECT story. Why the hell would they change it??? And this ending?? Complete nonsense…
“It’s not right to spoil the ending of a famous novel. It makes a mockery of the story when Pip & Estella don’t end up reuniting. Dickens himself realized this. 3 times the BBC screwed up GE adaptations’.
In their vitriol, users continued: ‘@bbc once again throws up his arrogance in a horrible adaptation. Too bad… BBC 1’s so-called Big Expectations are actually bad expectations. Utter nonsense. Waste of license payer money…
Screen: Written by Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight, the series stars Fionn Whitehead as Pip and Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham
Shocking: The penultimate episode only managed to pull in 1.5 million, about 2.9 million less than the first episode – it’s been mired in controversy over wakery allegations and the inclusion of opium addiction and sadomasochism
‘Who ordered this rubbish?… Well, call me a traditionalist if you will, but that last episode of the new ‘Great Expectations’ on BBC last night took way too many liberties with the story for my liking. I spent most of it saying “that’s not what happened!”. Much prefer the latter…
“I’ve been reading Dickens since I was ten and watching TV adaptations and movies of his work since I was eight, in the 1950s. I’ve never seen anything this bad, terrible script, wooden acting from different actors, I hate it! What a turkey!…
“Agree, some of the acting was terrible – I felt like I was reading Am Dram actors. Struggling to watch it and get engaged/keep up with the storylines…
“Let’s just say examiners grading essays on #GreatExpectations will find it pretty easy to tell which candidates have read the book and which have just seen it on television…. I don’t even know why I keep watching #GreatExpectations . ..
‘Hysterical’: Low expectations: BBC’s awakened adaptation of Dickens classic loses nearly 2 million viewers (Fionn Whitehead pictured with Shalom Brune-Franklin as Estella)
“I think I just want to get to the end. This adjustment is not an improvement. If the intention was to attract a younger audience, I don’t think it will. I’ve taught the novel several times over the years, and this is too much.”
Despite the anger of some, others were far more favorable, writing, “I love it, I noticed the character Jagger was so much like the character in taboo played by Tom Hardy, then he realized Tom Hardy was producing Great Expectations…
Enjoyed every episode. Great cast, okay, they changed the ending, but why not.’
In the penultimate episode, viewers were shocked to see Mr. Pumblechook, played by Matt Berry, with his buttocks bare, being spanked over a bed by housewife-turned-dominatrix, Mrs. Gargery, played by Hayley Squires.
Miss Havisham was portrayed as an opium addict who smokes with Estella.
The show was also criticized for repeated references to the British Empire’s connections to the slave trade and use of profanity.
