*Warning this article contains spoilers about the Hamilton ending*
The feature length film version of Hamilton dropped on Disney+ over the weekend. At a time of general despair about America's role in the world, Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical is a reminder that America can still create beautiful things. Ok, the muscial is very long but it's an incredible production that brings a seemingly-boring phase of American history to life.
One of the most unexpected elements of the musical is its ending. Hamilton doesn't end when the titular character loses a duel to Aaron Burr, but rather tells the story of what happened to Hamilton's wife Eliza in the 50 years after her husband's death. The musical ends on a shriek from Eliza, after she has explained how she opened New York City's first private orphanage and seems to have joined Hamilton's ghost in the afterlife.
Hamilton ending
So what does Eliza's gasp mean? This shriek has become the subject of heated debate online since the weekend. Some obvious theories are that she could be reacting to seeing her husband's ghost, or that she herself is about to die.
However, a far more compelling theory is emerging: that Eliza herself - as she stands at the front of the stage and gazes out into the darkness - has caught a glimpse of the audience in the theatre, and shattered the fourth wall.
Importantly, this gasp comes after Eliza has finished singing the song 'Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?' which deals specifically with historical legacy. Eliza tended to the legacy of her husband after his death and - according to this fan theory - is awestruck to realise a crowd has gathered hundreds of years later to witness his (and her) story be told.
I love when people interpret endings differently, but Eliza's gasp at the end of Hamilton is not her seeing Alexander after her death, she'd already died and seen him a few seconds before. The gasp is her breaking 4th wall & seeing that the story she told lives on. #HamiltonFilm
— ᗩᗪᒍ - twitch.tv/adjstreams & StreamGood.gg (@adjstreams) July 3, 2020
tl asleep?
okay i can’t stop thinking about the end of #Hamilton where Eliza gasps. apparently it’s her realising her husband’s story was told “who lives, who dies, who tells your story” and ultimately breaking the 4th wall... in the best way possible, can someone pls hold me pic.twitter.com/GniQSsjEeE— the summer agapé turned petty (@agapethamar) July 7, 2020
SO DOES ELIZA GASP AT THE END OF HAMILTON BECAUSE SHE BREAKS THE 4TH WALL AND SEES ALL THE PEOPLE *FINALLY* HEARING ALL ABOUT HER DECEASED HUSBAND’S LEGACY TO WHICH SHE HAD DEVOTED ALL HER LIFE FOR??!?!??
“WHO TELLS YOUR STORY?” AND SHE TOLD HIS STORY!! I CRI— katie is missing era (ia for a bit!!)🌻 (@reyreyalltheway) July 4, 2020
Many Twitter users have been floating this theory to Miranda and the producers of the film and musical, and at the moment, we're no closer to a resolution. But this is the explanation we're going with for the Hamilton ending until there's further clarification.
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