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* SpaceIsIntrospective:
** PlayedForDrama in "Stars". Javert holds much reverence for the stars, seeing them as a holy, stable point of reference that keep the dark at bay. However, this is Javert's VillainSong, and his love for the stars symbolizes his authoritarian beliefs that, as a gatekeeper of the law, he is above rule breakers like Valjean and is always in the right.
--->''Stars, in your multitudes''
--->''Scarce to be counted''
--->''Filling the darkness with order and light''
--->''You are the sentinels''
--->''Silent and sure''
--->''Keeping watch in the night''
--->''Keeping watch in the night''
** Subverted in [[spoiler:"[[DarkReprise Javert's Suicide]]"]] when Javert, having been shown mercy by Valjean, has a VillainousBreakdown and now finds the stars "black and cold". Without his point of reference and unable to cope with moral ambiguity, [[spoiler:he kills himself]].
** PlayedForDrama in "Stars". Javert holds much reverence for the stars, seeing them as a holy, stable point of reference that keep the dark at bay. However, this is Javert's VillainSong, and his love for the stars symbolizes his authoritarian beliefs that, as a gatekeeper of the law, he is above rule breakers like Valjean and is always in the right.
--->''Stars, in your multitudes''
--->''Scarce to be counted''
--->''Filling the darkness with order and light''
--->''You are the sentinels''
--->''Silent and sure''
--->''Keeping watch in the night''
--->''Keeping watch in the night''
** Subverted in [[spoiler:"[[DarkReprise Javert's Suicide]]"]] when Javert, having been shown mercy by Valjean, has a VillainousBreakdown and now finds the stars "black and cold". Without his point of reference and unable to cope with moral ambiguity, [[spoiler:he kills himself]].
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* WeddingDeathJuxtaposition: Cosette and Marius marry near the end of the show. When they get home they find Cosette's surrogate Valjean dying, and he is accompanied to heaven by the spirits of Cosette's mother Fantine and Marius' HopelessSuitor Eponine. It is a BittersweetEnding: Cosette and Marius will have a happy life together, while the deceased characters know [[DoomedMoralVictor their ideals will live to see another day]].
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For the rest:
* LesMiserablesTheatre/TropesAToF
* LesMiserablesTheatre/TropesGToL
* LesMiserablesTheatre/TropesMToR
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This page is for tropes that have appeared in the musical ''Theatre/LesMiserables''.
----
* SanitySlippageSong: [[spoiler:Javert's Suicide]].
* SecretIdentity: Valjean as the mayor.
* SelfMadeMan: Valjean as Monsieur Madeleine.
* SellWhatYouLove: When Fantine loses her job, the first thing she sells is a precious locket (in the movie version, it contains a lock of Cosette's hair). Her hair (and crowning glory) [[TraumaticHaircut is next to go.]]
* SexyDiscretionShot: “Lovely Ladies” usually includes a few.
* ShooTheDog: To make sure Eponine isn't caught in the crossfire, Marius sends her on an errand to deliver a message to Cosette. He may be ObliviousToLove but doesn't want a dear friend killed because of his actions. [[spoiler:[[GutPunch It doesn't work]]]].
* ShownTheirWork: [[CompressedAdaptation A lot got cut out]], but especially listening to the Complete Symphonic Recording, telling details from the original text sneak in: for example, M. Thénardier making his first fortune by robbing the dead after the battle of Waterloo, the fact that Valjean's CriminalDoppelganger is mentally disabled, etc.
* ShutUpHannibal: Valjean in response to Javert before he sets him free from Les Amis. Also combines with a speech "You are wrong, and always have been wrong. I'm a man, no worse than any man. You are free, and there are no conditions, no bargains or petitions. There's nothing that I blame you for. [[WellIntentionedExtremist You've done your duty, nothing more.]]"
* ShutUpKirk: "[[MemeticMutation You know nothing of Javert!"]]
* SilverFox: Javert is sometimes portrayed this way.
* SlaveGalley: The 25th Anniversary staging has Valjean serve time in one of these, despite being a huge anachronism, although the shore prisons in 19th century France were still called “the galleys”. Other productions are usually more accurate.
* SomewhereSong: "Castle On A Cloud", "In My Life" and "Do You Hear The People Sing?"
* TheSongBeforeTheStorm: "One Day More"
* SongOfPrayer: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJBPyj58uKY Bring Him Home]]", which is actually referred to in the script as "The Prayer", has Jean Valjean praying for the safety of Marius prior to the final battle at the barricade.
* SourSupporter: Grantaire. [[spoiler:Proved right.]]
* SparedByTheAdaptation:
** [[spoiler: Mme. Thénardier.]]
** Also, the gang member Claquesous, who in the novel goes to the barricade under the name Le Cabuc, shoots a civillian and is promptly executed for it by Enjolras. In the musical he never appears again after "Attack on Rue Plumet."
* SpoiledBrat: Éponine as long as her parents can afford it, which they do by conning their customers.
* StalkerWithACrush:
** Éponine joins the fray at the barricade just so she can stay close to Marius.
** [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Also Marius]], considering he begs Eponine to find out where Cosette lives so he can sing to her outside the gate.
* StayWithMeUntilIDie: Both [[spoiler: Fantine]] and [[spoiler: Éponine.]]
* SternChase: Javert hounding Valjean for decades. (Which is really an artifact of adaptation distillation/compression; Javert is not such a monomaniac in the book.)
* StillWearingTheOldColors: Thénardier wears a Napoleonic uniform at the start of the play as a remnant from his supposed days as a soldier.
* SungThroughMusical
* SuperStrength: In all versions of the musical (film included) Valjean's twenty years of slavery has toughened his muscles and sinews, allowing him to perform almost superhuman feats such as '''singlehandedy''' lifting a shipmast or a fallen cart that a '''dozen''' men cannot even ''budge'', and effortlessly carrying grown loved ones across his shoulders to safety while running at a brisk pace.
* SurvivorGuilt: "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." "Oh my friends, my friends, forgive me / That I live and you are gone..."
* TakeAThirdOption: Javert is stuck between arresting Valjean or letting him go in a certain climactic scene. Instead, he [[spoiler: commits suicide]].
* TakeCareOfTheKids: Fantine, depending on the actress, she might not be aware of her impending death -- however, Valjean is, and he assures her before she dies that he will raise Cosette and take care of her.
-->'''Fantine''': Take my hand, the night grows ever colder; Take my child, I give her to your keeping.
* TemptingFate: "This time there is no mistake," sings Javert proudly when boasting about how he's at last [[CriminalDoppelganger apprehended Jean Valjean]] -- to Jean Valjean himself. Valjean himself verges into this when (in some versions) he asks Javert if he's ''sure'' that he's not Jean Valjean.
* TenorBoy: Gavroche, who is ideally played by a prepubescent boy, definitely fits in terms of range, but lovestruck and idealistic Marius fits best for personality.
* ThatManIsDead: "Jean Valjean is nothing now!". Later he declares "I'm Jean Valjean!". The rest of the play deals with how he can reconcile who he was with who he had become.
* TheyveComeSoFarSong: "Who Am I?" and "A Little Fall Of Rain"
* ThirdPersonPerson: Javert doesn't ''always'' refer to himself in the third person, but he does do it a lot more than other characters.
* TogetherInDeath:
** What Éponine hopes will happen to her and Marius. [[spoiler: Sadly (for her), he survives.]]
** In a non-romantic version, [[spoiler:Fantine]] reappears to escort [[spoiler:Valjean]] to the afterlife.
%%* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[EverybodyDiesEnding Most of the cast]], actually. Notably {{averted}} with Cosette.
* TraumaticHaircut: Fantine gets one to pay for her daughter
* TriumphantReprise:
** "ABC Cafe" uses a triumphant version of "At The End Of The Day" in its dialogue.
** "One Day More" uses "I Dreamed A Dream" and "Who Am I?" as its primary melodies.
** "Building The Barricade" used triumphant melodies of "ABC Cafe" and "Red And Black".
** "Epilogue" is this to "Do You Hear The People Sing?".
* TurnTheOtherCheek:
** Valjean, to the extreme.
** And the Bishop of Digne.
* UnholyMatrimony: The Thénardiers; they do seem to genuinely care about each other...just not their children.
* UnusualEuphemism: This gem from "Lovely Ladies" is certainly an interesting one:
-->"Think I'll drop me anchor in that harbor over there!"
* UptownGirl: Marius and Cosette, either way you look at it: on one hand, he appears to be a poor revolutionary falling for a rich philanthropist's daughter, but on the other hand, he's a wealthy baron's son, and she's the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute.
** Played straighter with [[StreetUrchin Éponine's]] unrequited love for the upper-class Marius.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Several parts of the story are inspired by real life events Hugo witnessed, was a part of or was told about:
** Hugo himself saved a prostitute from arrest for assault.
** So are parts of the love story between Cosette and Marius.
** The June revolts of 1832.
** Both Valjean and Javert are based on the same person: Eugene Francois Vidocq, a reformed criminal who went on to reform the French police.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Who exactly was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Maximilien_Lamarque General Lamarque]] and why was he [[InformedAbility so significant]]? It's ''much'' better explained in the novel and some non-musical adaptations.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: While sung by an AntiVillain, "Javert's Suicide" still counts.]]
* VillainousBSOD: [[spoiler: "Javert's Suicide."]]
* VillainyFreeVillain:
** Well, ya know, Valjean ''did'' break his parole and all. And becoming a rich mayor under a false identity ''is'' grounds for a fraud investigation. And, in the book at least, the Thenardiers swear blind that Valjean kidnapped Cosette. Technically, Javert is in the right to want to rearrest him. Technically.
** And that's why Valjean doesn't kill him, because he's knows Javert is just following the law.
-->'''Valjean''': There's nothing that I blame you for. You've done your duty, nothing more.
* VillainSong: Thenardier's "Dog Eats Dog" definitely fits the bill. Showcasing Thenardier's true roguery and greed, it's the darkest, most sinister song in the entire show.
* TheVillainSucksSong: Mm. Thenardier's part on "Master of the House" show how she hates her husband.
* WelcomingSong:
** "Prologue": EstablishingSeriesMoment
** "Lovely Ladies" and "Master of the House"
** "Look Down Reprise ": We are welcomed to the WretchedHive known as Paris.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Speaking of which, Javert plays this trope so well that he even has [[InspectorJavert a whole sub-trope section dedicated to him]].
* WhatAreYouInFor: Doesn’t actually get asked, but Valjean does tend to answer it rather often nevertheless…
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The catalyst of the story, Valjean's nephew for whom he stole the bread, is never seen nor anything said about him after Valjean gets out of prison.
* WhatIsOneMansLifeInComparison:
** Valjean brings this up when arguing with himself over revealing himself or not - all the good he's done for the town vs. life in Toulon for Champmathieu. Then he reasons that all the good he's done would mean nothing if he let Champmathieu go in his place.
** Enjolras brings this up to Marius as to why the latter should favor the revolution over pursuing love and chasing after Cosette.
--> '''Enjolras''': Who cares about your lonely soul? We strive towards a larger goal, our little lives don't count at all!
* WhatIsThisFeeling: "Valjean's Soliloquy", "In My Life" and [[spoiler:"Javert's Suicide "]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Fantine isn't too happy when Valjean comes to her aid when she's being arrested since, as she says: 'You let your foreman send me away/Yes you were there, and turned aside...'
* WhatYouAreInTheDark:
** Comes into play several times. First of all, Valjean chooses to out himself in "Who Am I?" when he could have passed his whole life in peaceful anonymity. Then, When Valjean is given the duty of executing Javert as a spy. He could easily kill the only man who knows him personally enough to track him down — but without even thinking about it this time, he fakes Javert's execution and lets him go free, giving him his address for good measure so the two of them can settle things later. Many of Valjean's finest moments involve this trope.
** Eponine also gets this. Marius trusts her to lead him to Cosette, the same girl that she bullied as a child. Eponine loves Marius and resents that he can't see it. She leads him honestly to Cosette's house, and then screams an alarm when her father's gang tries to rob the place. Her father kicks her out as a result, and threatens her harm if he sees her again. [[spoiler:She also joins Marius on the barricades after delivering his letter to Cosette, despite him giving her a message to explicitly keep her out of danger]].
* WideEyedIdealist: Marius, Enjolras, heck all the [=ABCs=] except Grantaire, though some productions emphasise this more than others.
* WithCatlikeTread
-->'''Valjean''': "But when the house was still/I got up in the night/Took that silver/Took my '''FLIIIIIIGHT!'''
* WorkingOnTheChainGang: The opening song is about the torment the men face in it. Although whether there are actual chains is a matter of production. The “replica” staging (which is generally low on props) did not have any, but the 25th anniversary staging rectified that.
* WronglyAccused: Champmathieu when mistaken for Valjean.
* WhyDontYaJustShootHim: What [[spoiler: Javert asks after being unmasked and captured by the students on the barricade]]. Answer: They don’t want to waste ammunition… yet.
* YankTheDogsChain:
** On the verge of being thrown into prison, Fantine is rescued by Valjean, who promises to bring her daughter to her and pay off all of her debts. When we meet Fantine again, she's lying in a nice, clean, warm hospital, and there's calm music playing. It'll all work out, right? Why does the music echo the line "[[ForeShadowing If there's a God above, He'd let me die instead]]"? Oh, no...
** Valjean believes himself safe in his new identity only for Javert to make the whole thing crumble and put Valjean in front of the terrible choice of going back to prison or let an innocent go to prison in his place.
** Some versions of the show have Gavroche climb over the barricade to collect ammo to a triumphant, fast-paced instrumental of "Do You Hear the People Sing" - [[spoiler:until he's shot and slowly bleeds out]].
** Cosette and Marius have managed to get to Valjean when he’s still alive – only for him to die ten minutes later.
* YouAreNotAlone: how [[spoiler:Eponine]] dies. Also the fact that [[spoiler:Grantaire often dies alongside Enjolras - he refuses to let the man he idolizes die alone]].
* YouAreNumberSix: Despite the fact that the book hardly mentions Valjean's prison numbers (yes, in the book, he has two), the musical is [[ArcNumber crazy about this one]]. Counting reveals that Javert calls Valjean more often by his number than his name. Valjean refers to himself as "24601" once, to represent him deciding to submit to authority for the sake of clearing an innocent man.
-->'''Javert:''' Five years for what you did; the rest because you tried to run. Yes, 24601-\\
'''Valjean:''' My name is Jean Valjean!\\
'''Javert:''' And I'm Javert! Do not forget my name! Do not forget me, ''[[InsistentTerminology 24601]]!''
* YouAreWorthHell: Even if he doesn't return her feelings, Eponine considers [[spoiler:dying with Marius better than living without him and knowing she could have done something to save himd. In some productions, she takes a bullet for him and tells him it was WorthIt]].
* YouShallNotPass: When her father attempts to rob Valjean and Cosette, some productions have Eponine guard the front door and attempt to talk down the gang. They respond by tossing her aside, so she screams in alarm instead.
----
----
* SanitySlippageSong: [[spoiler:Javert's Suicide]].
* SecretIdentity: Valjean as the mayor.
* SelfMadeMan: Valjean as Monsieur Madeleine.
* SellWhatYouLove: When Fantine loses her job, the first thing she sells is a precious locket (in the movie version, it contains a lock of Cosette's hair). Her hair (and crowning glory) [[TraumaticHaircut is next to go.]]
* SexyDiscretionShot: “Lovely Ladies” usually includes a few.
* ShooTheDog: To make sure Eponine isn't caught in the crossfire, Marius sends her on an errand to deliver a message to Cosette. He may be ObliviousToLove but doesn't want a dear friend killed because of his actions. [[spoiler:[[GutPunch It doesn't work]]]].
* ShownTheirWork: [[CompressedAdaptation A lot got cut out]], but especially listening to the Complete Symphonic Recording, telling details from the original text sneak in: for example, M. Thénardier making his first fortune by robbing the dead after the battle of Waterloo, the fact that Valjean's CriminalDoppelganger is mentally disabled, etc.
* ShutUpHannibal: Valjean in response to Javert before he sets him free from Les Amis. Also combines with a speech "You are wrong, and always have been wrong. I'm a man, no worse than any man. You are free, and there are no conditions, no bargains or petitions. There's nothing that I blame you for. [[WellIntentionedExtremist You've done your duty, nothing more.]]"
* ShutUpKirk: "[[MemeticMutation You know nothing of Javert!"]]
* SilverFox: Javert is sometimes portrayed this way.
* SlaveGalley: The 25th Anniversary staging has Valjean serve time in one of these, despite being a huge anachronism, although the shore prisons in 19th century France were still called “the galleys”. Other productions are usually more accurate.
* SomewhereSong: "Castle On A Cloud", "In My Life" and "Do You Hear The People Sing?"
* TheSongBeforeTheStorm: "One Day More"
* SongOfPrayer: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJBPyj58uKY Bring Him Home]]", which is actually referred to in the script as "The Prayer", has Jean Valjean praying for the safety of Marius prior to the final battle at the barricade.
* SourSupporter: Grantaire. [[spoiler:Proved right.]]
* SparedByTheAdaptation:
** [[spoiler: Mme. Thénardier.]]
** Also, the gang member Claquesous, who in the novel goes to the barricade under the name Le Cabuc, shoots a civillian and is promptly executed for it by Enjolras. In the musical he never appears again after "Attack on Rue Plumet."
* SpoiledBrat: Éponine as long as her parents can afford it, which they do by conning their customers.
* StalkerWithACrush:
** Éponine joins the fray at the barricade just so she can stay close to Marius.
** [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Also Marius]], considering he begs Eponine to find out where Cosette lives so he can sing to her outside the gate.
* StayWithMeUntilIDie: Both [[spoiler: Fantine]] and [[spoiler: Éponine.]]
* SternChase: Javert hounding Valjean for decades. (Which is really an artifact of adaptation distillation/compression; Javert is not such a monomaniac in the book.)
* StillWearingTheOldColors: Thénardier wears a Napoleonic uniform at the start of the play as a remnant from his supposed days as a soldier.
* SungThroughMusical
* SuperStrength: In all versions of the musical (film included) Valjean's twenty years of slavery has toughened his muscles and sinews, allowing him to perform almost superhuman feats such as '''singlehandedy''' lifting a shipmast or a fallen cart that a '''dozen''' men cannot even ''budge'', and effortlessly carrying grown loved ones across his shoulders to safety while running at a brisk pace.
* SurvivorGuilt: "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." "Oh my friends, my friends, forgive me / That I live and you are gone..."
* TakeAThirdOption: Javert is stuck between arresting Valjean or letting him go in a certain climactic scene. Instead, he [[spoiler: commits suicide]].
* TakeCareOfTheKids: Fantine, depending on the actress, she might not be aware of her impending death -- however, Valjean is, and he assures her before she dies that he will raise Cosette and take care of her.
-->'''Fantine''': Take my hand, the night grows ever colder; Take my child, I give her to your keeping.
* TemptingFate: "This time there is no mistake," sings Javert proudly when boasting about how he's at last [[CriminalDoppelganger apprehended Jean Valjean]] -- to Jean Valjean himself. Valjean himself verges into this when (in some versions) he asks Javert if he's ''sure'' that he's not Jean Valjean.
* TenorBoy: Gavroche, who is ideally played by a prepubescent boy, definitely fits in terms of range, but lovestruck and idealistic Marius fits best for personality.
* ThatManIsDead: "Jean Valjean is nothing now!". Later he declares "I'm Jean Valjean!". The rest of the play deals with how he can reconcile who he was with who he had become.
* TheyveComeSoFarSong: "Who Am I?" and "A Little Fall Of Rain"
* ThirdPersonPerson: Javert doesn't ''always'' refer to himself in the third person, but he does do it a lot more than other characters.
* TogetherInDeath:
** What Éponine hopes will happen to her and Marius. [[spoiler: Sadly (for her), he survives.]]
** In a non-romantic version, [[spoiler:Fantine]] reappears to escort [[spoiler:Valjean]] to the afterlife.
%%* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[EverybodyDiesEnding Most of the cast]], actually. Notably {{averted}} with Cosette.
* TraumaticHaircut: Fantine gets one to pay for her daughter
* TriumphantReprise:
** "ABC Cafe" uses a triumphant version of "At The End Of The Day" in its dialogue.
** "One Day More" uses "I Dreamed A Dream" and "Who Am I?" as its primary melodies.
** "Building The Barricade" used triumphant melodies of "ABC Cafe" and "Red And Black".
** "Epilogue" is this to "Do You Hear The People Sing?".
* TurnTheOtherCheek:
** Valjean, to the extreme.
** And the Bishop of Digne.
* UnholyMatrimony: The Thénardiers; they do seem to genuinely care about each other...just not their children.
* UnusualEuphemism: This gem from "Lovely Ladies" is certainly an interesting one:
-->"Think I'll drop me anchor in that harbor over there!"
* UptownGirl: Marius and Cosette, either way you look at it: on one hand, he appears to be a poor revolutionary falling for a rich philanthropist's daughter, but on the other hand, he's a wealthy baron's son, and she's the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute.
** Played straighter with [[StreetUrchin Éponine's]] unrequited love for the upper-class Marius.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Several parts of the story are inspired by real life events Hugo witnessed, was a part of or was told about:
** Hugo himself saved a prostitute from arrest for assault.
** So are parts of the love story between Cosette and Marius.
** The June revolts of 1832.
** Both Valjean and Javert are based on the same person: Eugene Francois Vidocq, a reformed criminal who went on to reform the French police.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Who exactly was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Maximilien_Lamarque General Lamarque]] and why was he [[InformedAbility so significant]]? It's ''much'' better explained in the novel and some non-musical adaptations.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: While sung by an AntiVillain, "Javert's Suicide" still counts.]]
* VillainousBSOD: [[spoiler: "Javert's Suicide."]]
* VillainyFreeVillain:
** Well, ya know, Valjean ''did'' break his parole and all. And becoming a rich mayor under a false identity ''is'' grounds for a fraud investigation. And, in the book at least, the Thenardiers swear blind that Valjean kidnapped Cosette. Technically, Javert is in the right to want to rearrest him. Technically.
** And that's why Valjean doesn't kill him, because he's knows Javert is just following the law.
-->'''Valjean''': There's nothing that I blame you for. You've done your duty, nothing more.
* VillainSong: Thenardier's "Dog Eats Dog" definitely fits the bill. Showcasing Thenardier's true roguery and greed, it's the darkest, most sinister song in the entire show.
* TheVillainSucksSong: Mm. Thenardier's part on "Master of the House" show how she hates her husband.
* WelcomingSong:
** "Prologue": EstablishingSeriesMoment
** "Lovely Ladies" and "Master of the House"
** "Look Down Reprise ": We are welcomed to the WretchedHive known as Paris.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Speaking of which, Javert plays this trope so well that he even has [[InspectorJavert a whole sub-trope section dedicated to him]].
* WhatAreYouInFor: Doesn’t actually get asked, but Valjean does tend to answer it rather often nevertheless…
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The catalyst of the story, Valjean's nephew for whom he stole the bread, is never seen nor anything said about him after Valjean gets out of prison.
* WhatIsOneMansLifeInComparison:
** Valjean brings this up when arguing with himself over revealing himself or not - all the good he's done for the town vs. life in Toulon for Champmathieu. Then he reasons that all the good he's done would mean nothing if he let Champmathieu go in his place.
** Enjolras brings this up to Marius as to why the latter should favor the revolution over pursuing love and chasing after Cosette.
--> '''Enjolras''': Who cares about your lonely soul? We strive towards a larger goal, our little lives don't count at all!
* WhatIsThisFeeling: "Valjean's Soliloquy", "In My Life" and [[spoiler:"Javert's Suicide "]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Fantine isn't too happy when Valjean comes to her aid when she's being arrested since, as she says: 'You let your foreman send me away/Yes you were there, and turned aside...'
* WhatYouAreInTheDark:
** Comes into play several times. First of all, Valjean chooses to out himself in "Who Am I?" when he could have passed his whole life in peaceful anonymity. Then, When Valjean is given the duty of executing Javert as a spy. He could easily kill the only man who knows him personally enough to track him down — but without even thinking about it this time, he fakes Javert's execution and lets him go free, giving him his address for good measure so the two of them can settle things later. Many of Valjean's finest moments involve this trope.
** Eponine also gets this. Marius trusts her to lead him to Cosette, the same girl that she bullied as a child. Eponine loves Marius and resents that he can't see it. She leads him honestly to Cosette's house, and then screams an alarm when her father's gang tries to rob the place. Her father kicks her out as a result, and threatens her harm if he sees her again. [[spoiler:She also joins Marius on the barricades after delivering his letter to Cosette, despite him giving her a message to explicitly keep her out of danger]].
* WideEyedIdealist: Marius, Enjolras, heck all the [=ABCs=] except Grantaire, though some productions emphasise this more than others.
* WithCatlikeTread
-->'''Valjean''': "But when the house was still/I got up in the night/Took that silver/Took my '''FLIIIIIIGHT!'''
* WorkingOnTheChainGang: The opening song is about the torment the men face in it. Although whether there are actual chains is a matter of production. The “replica” staging (which is generally low on props) did not have any, but the 25th anniversary staging rectified that.
* WronglyAccused: Champmathieu when mistaken for Valjean.
* WhyDontYaJustShootHim: What [[spoiler: Javert asks after being unmasked and captured by the students on the barricade]]. Answer: They don’t want to waste ammunition… yet.
* YankTheDogsChain:
** On the verge of being thrown into prison, Fantine is rescued by Valjean, who promises to bring her daughter to her and pay off all of her debts. When we meet Fantine again, she's lying in a nice, clean, warm hospital, and there's calm music playing. It'll all work out, right? Why does the music echo the line "[[ForeShadowing If there's a God above, He'd let me die instead]]"? Oh, no...
** Valjean believes himself safe in his new identity only for Javert to make the whole thing crumble and put Valjean in front of the terrible choice of going back to prison or let an innocent go to prison in his place.
** Some versions of the show have Gavroche climb over the barricade to collect ammo to a triumphant, fast-paced instrumental of "Do You Hear the People Sing" - [[spoiler:until he's shot and slowly bleeds out]].
** Cosette and Marius have managed to get to Valjean when he’s still alive – only for him to die ten minutes later.
* YouAreNotAlone: how [[spoiler:Eponine]] dies. Also the fact that [[spoiler:Grantaire often dies alongside Enjolras - he refuses to let the man he idolizes die alone]].
* YouAreNumberSix: Despite the fact that the book hardly mentions Valjean's prison numbers (yes, in the book, he has two), the musical is [[ArcNumber crazy about this one]]. Counting reveals that Javert calls Valjean more often by his number than his name. Valjean refers to himself as "24601" once, to represent him deciding to submit to authority for the sake of clearing an innocent man.
-->'''Javert:''' Five years for what you did; the rest because you tried to run. Yes, 24601-\\
'''Valjean:''' My name is Jean Valjean!\\
'''Javert:''' And I'm Javert! Do not forget my name! Do not forget me, ''[[InsistentTerminology 24601]]!''
* YouAreWorthHell: Even if he doesn't return her feelings, Eponine considers [[spoiler:dying with Marius better than living without him and knowing she could have done something to save himd. In some productions, she takes a bullet for him and tells him it was WorthIt]].
* YouShallNotPass: When her father attempts to rob Valjean and Cosette, some productions have Eponine guard the front door and attempt to talk down the gang. They respond by tossing her aside, so she screams in alarm instead.
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