That's because USians are terrified of radical change, probably because they've been stuffed by decades of red scare. Every American product I've ever seen features revolutionaries as equally bad as the system and often worse of as good but naive and totally hopeless.
Anyway rational conservative R vs crazy sjw Enjolras is not only disrespectful toward Enjolras or Hugo himself, but it's a strong misinterpretation and a disservice to brick Grantaire as well. Grantaire is extremely pessimistic about the human nature and thinks history repeats itself so change is difficult but he also states that:
-Progress is the right direction
-It would be better if progress would be achievable gradually
-Revolution is necessary
(Those first three points are very similar to Combeferre's opinion)
-Imperialism = patriarchy and he despises both evidently
-Western Europe has a superiority complex
-Countries that wage war aren't worthy of being defined civil
-Economic inequality is bad and rich people should redistribute their wealth
-He goes with Combeferre after the to be free burn
-He thinks tyrants are ridiculous
He is no conservative, he doesn't support any conservative point, he hates status quo as much as Enjolras.
He's so full of self doubts and doubts in general that he wouldn't be able to commit to any praxis, he constantly second guess himself and I think many young people today relate to that so they sympathise with him. Instead of taking action he copes chasing dopamine to distract himself: food, alcohol, drugs, smoking, gambling, fighting, sex etc. He's in excruciating pain if he lets himself think without a buffer of distraction. But that's not being rational or sensible, this is avoidance and he knows it.
But Enjolras pushes him toward reality, toward a unfiltered vision of the world and of what it needs to be done. Enjolras is likely cold water in the face of the drunkard. Enjolras is right and Grantaire himself knows it. He also believes that Enjolras' determination is just and it's not mania. That's why he loves him.
And in the end he takes a stand beside Enjolras, because he loves him yes but you can read in the brick he shows in the eyes the lights of the battle his friends were in and he yells long live the Republic twice before asking Enjolras the permit to die with him, one was to attract the attention of the soldiers, one was a statement. He believes in the end and this is a positive development, so where do you get he was right all along in his nihilism?
