![]() Her relationship with John in the book paints her in a poor light, too - she attempts to seduce John because she's never slept with a "savage" before, and John becomes furious, calls her a whore, and beats her. ![]() In the book, Lenina simply thinks Bernard is a strange man she can use to social climb. Show Lenina seems intrigued by Bernard, and her attraction only wanes when it's clear Bernard isn't interested in exploring how their Savage Lands experience changed them. Lenina's relationships with both men are also much more sensitively portrayed in the show. While book Lenina is content with taking Soma and sticking to the social order, show Lenina sees the pitfalls of Indra's systems early on and quietly begins to undermine them. Though she's still the object of desire for both Bernard and John in both iterations, show Lenina has much more agency and character growth. Similar to Bernard, scientist Lenina is a much more nuanced and sympathetic character in the show. Steve Schofield/Peacock Lenina's Personality and Agency The way the show and the book portray this change are very different, though show Bernard just seems to embarrass himself at parties, while book Bernard actively manipulates events (like allowing John's mom Linda to die in The World State) to benefit his social standing. This differentiates him from the revolutionary John, who takes over as the main protagonist during the course of the novel. In both iterations, Bernard is positioned as the lead protagonist, but there's a catch: though he appears to be a political agitator at first, the introduction of John reveals that Bernard just wants to fit in to high society, not topple it. In the show, it just seems to be Henry who antagonizes him the most, though it's clear that Bernard also treats himself with disdain. ![]() He's also mocked by both Alpha men and women in the book, and not respected by lower caste members. In the book he's described as "physically defective" because he's too short and skinny for an Alpha. Though show and book Bernard share some similarities, show Bernard is less of a villain and more of an awkward coward. However, the focus on both Lenina and Bernard's shortcomings is more intense in the show, which uses Indra's ocular implants to stream their activities to all their peers. Bernard is labeled a misfit because he's uncomfortable with the transactional nature of sex, and struggles to go on a date at all. Lenina sleeps with just Henry for four months, a "long-drawn" thing that her friend Fanny finds disturbing. In both the book and on the show, this is what makes Lenina and Bernard stand out. Because it's believed that things like family, love, and marriage create disharmony and division, all adults are encouraged to be promiscuous and keep any sexual relationships short and inconsequential. "Every one belongs to every one else" is the guiding idea in both iterations, and the citizens frequently have sex, either casually or at big "feelies" (orgies). ![]() Steve Schofield/Peacock The Commodification of Sex The show introduces an extra layer to all this though with the supercomputer Indra, which allows everyone to monitor everyone else and ensure total conformity. This conditioning goes hand in hand with taking Soma, a drug that allows people to do away with "malice and bad tempers" and feel contentment, even while they're being taken advantage of. Once born, the children are all conditioned - using electric prods in the show and hypnopedia in the book - to stick to their designation. The five castes are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon Alphas and Betas are designated the smartest and most privileged, while the lower castes are cloned and given undesirable jobs. Human beings no longer reproduce, and each fetus is created in a lab and designated as a particular caste. In Huxley's novel, Lenina and Bernard's society - a so-called utopia that's actually a dystopia - is called The World State, and it's similar to Brave New World's New London. While the show still focuses on their evolving relationships, there's quite a few differences between the Brave New World show and the book. Based on Aldous Huxley's 1932 dystopian novel of the same name, Brave New World puts a modern spin on the tale of Bernard (Harry Lloyd), Lenina (Jessica Brown Findlay), and John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich). Though Peacock's Brave New World adaptation engages with questions of individuality, agency, and the dangers of technology, at the core of the story is also a love triangle. ![]()
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