War and Rest in Peace...what a deadly finale! Six characters meet a grisly end during bloody climax to the gripping series

It has gripped fans for six weeks with its epic tale of love, loss and conflict.

So it was unlikely the BBC’s adaptation of War and Peace was going to go out quietly.

But viewers were no doubt shocked that the final episode saw quite so many characters meeting such a grisly end.

Tuppence Middleton's Princess Helene, pictured, was one of six War and Peace characters to die in the finale

Fan favourite James Norton's Prince Andrei was also killed after succumbing to wounds from the battlefield

Princess Helene met her maker after taking a fatal dose of medicine trying to get rid of her unborn child

In total six died during the bloody climax to the series, including Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, played by heartthrob James Norton.

He died from wounds sustained during the Battle of Borodino which was portrayed in last week’s episode. Fellow soldier Anatole Kuragin also died off-screen after his leg had to be amputated.

Anatole’s sister, Princess Helene Kuragina, played by Tuppence Middleton, tragically met her maker too. She took a fatal overdose of medicine in a bid to get rid of her unborn child. 

There was a happy ending for Lily James' and Paul Dano's characters Natasha Rostova and Pierre Bezukhov, pictured, who declared their love for one another

In a flash-forward, the couple were shown very much in love and cradling their child, pictured

She had been cast out of society for becoming pregnant to a man who was not her husband.

Her dramatic demise saw her dying in a white dress, soaked in blood.

The elderly Count Rostov died from what appeared to be a combination of old age and the trauma of witnessing his country being invaded.

His young son Petya was also killed while riding a horse into battle, shortly after signing up to fight.

One of the focal points of the series was the battle between Napoleon's French forces and the Russians

Dano's protagonist was taken as a prisoner of war who endured hardship before his happy ending

But the beard he came back with, pictured, became the talk of social media after the episode ended

Newly introduced peasant Platon Karataev was shot dead in a tense scene after striking up a friendship with Paul Dano’s character Pierre Bezukhov while they were both prisoners of war. 

To intensify the human tragedy, producer Andrew Davies focused on the desperate emotion of Karataev’s dog, who howled pitifully when its master was shot and did not want to leave his side.

The only respite in the harrowing 80-minute finale was the budding romance between Natasha Rostova, played by Lily James, and Bezukhov. 

The BBC adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic averaged around 5.4million viewers over the series

It caused some controversy last week when it showed a naked man just minutes after the 9pm watershed

They shared a passionate kiss as they finally admitted their true feelings for one another – and were free to plan a future together after the deaths of Pierre’s wife Princess Helene and Natasha’s former fiance Prince Andrei. 

The final scene – set a year in the future – saw them cradling a baby together.

War and Peace has faced criticism for featuring too many characters and for being hard to follow.

But this TV version of Tolstoy’s masterpiece has also won many fans. An average audience of 5.4million viewers have been watching over the past five weeks.

Reaction to the series was overwhelmingly positive, with thousands taking to social media to wax lyrical about the show.

Many said Sunday nights would not be the same again and praised the BBC for handling the adaptation so well.