I laughed at the Sophos/Beast comparison, but the more I think about it, the more I can see it. Especially the part where Belle catches him reading a "romance" and he looks all unhappy and vulnerable and suggests, "Maybe we could just run away?" instead of facing up to the challenges of being who they are and owning their responsibilities and striving to change people's minds. I bet Sophos snuck a book or two of poetry from Attolia's library between diplomatic meetings, and he probably wanted to ask Helen to run away with him more than once. "Let's go be pirates!" or something. But like, nice pirates. Blushing pirates who deliver chicken dinners to outdoor theater productions.