bendthekneejon

[bendthekneejon]

Hamilton and Leitmotif

Oh my, does Lin love using leitmotif. 

First, an explanation. What is leitmotif? 

Basically, a leitmotif is a small recurring musical theme that’s associated with a person, a situation or an emotion. 

As a non-Hamilton example, we can hear the Thenardier’s leitmotif in almost all of their songs (Master of the House, the Waltz of Treachery, Beggars at the Feast, Dog Eat Dog, etc.). When you hear those notes, you think of the Thenardiers. That’s a leitmotif.

Hamilton is IN LOVE with leitmotif. Here are some examples: 

Hamilton:

- The way his name is sung. Hamilton, being overconfident and self-important, sings his name a certain way in Alexander Hamilton, What’d I Miss, Satisfied, etc. He actually sings it this way regardless of the song’s melody (thus demonstrating his self-importance). When he is not so confident (Aaron Burr, Sir), he sings it with the song’s melody. 

- Other leitmotifs include /why do you write like you’re running out of time/ and  /I am not throwing away my shot/. 

- In a cut workshop version of The World Was Wide Enough, Hamilton sings “I know this puts me in a difficult spot/But I’ve got to throw away my shot/, reprising his leitmotif and, in a way, bringing it full circle

Burr: 

- Talk less, smile more

- Wait for it

- If you stand for nothing, what’ll you fall for. Interestingly, when Burr finally decides to stand, he does fall, metaphorically speaking. He falls from the public eye, he falls from his own values, he surged forward as he has constantly been encouraged to do one time in his life, and the ramifications were lifelong. 

- Both of these leitmotifs are used by Hamilton or in Hamilton songs. Hamilton tells Burr he has to listen to his “talk less/smile more” leitmotif to manipulate him, and uses “wait for it” both in Hurricane and in The Room Where it Happens, once to mock him (RWIH). In Hurricane, the inclusion of Burr’s “wait for it” leitmotif almost sounds like Burr is mocking him.

Eliza: 

- Her most reccurent melody is her “look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now”, which first appears in the Schuyler Sisters. It is repeated in That Would Be Enough and Non-Stop. It is repeated to her in It’s Quiet Uptown.

- This leitmotif is reprised on “further down, further down” during Schuyler Defeated. 

- Her phrase “if I could grant you peace of mind”. During That Would Be Enough, she sings “If I could grant you peace of mind (….) that would be enough.” However, when it’s reprised in Non-Stop, she sings “If I could grant you peace of mind/Would that be be enough?” Implying that she has realized that Hamilton is indeed “non-stop” and their family and her will never make him “satisfied”. Then it is reprised again in “Best of Wives and Best Of Women” with “that would be enough”, another indication of how their relationship is repairing itself. 

Laurens: 

- Laurens gets one of the only prolonged solos in “The Story of Tonight.” His leitmotif “tomorrow there’ll be more of us”, is repeated in the scene where Hamilton learns about his death (not on the album, but here!) 

- His line “raise a glass to freedom” is repeated during both Story of Tonights. It’s also the last line Hamilton sings in the show. 

Angelica:

- Angelica’s “he/I will never satisfied” is repeated in several songs. Obviously in Satisfied, then in Non-Stop, then turned around darkly in “The Reynolds Pamphlet” (You could never be satisfied/God I hope you’re satisfied) 

YASSSSSSQUEEN

Washington: 

- His leitmotif “History has its eyes on you” is repeated several times, but it’s also repeated when he’s not there. 

- It is repeated in the song of the same name, then in Yorktown, then in Non-Stop and One Last Time (all with him there). Then it is repeated in Hurricane, perhaps with Hamilton finally realizing what he was saying. 

- Not quite a leitmotif, but an connection between two characters: in WLWDWTYS, Washington steps forward during “she tells my story”. When Eliza sings “I speak out against slavery”, he steps back into the shadows and says nothing. This is meant to reflect the shame of the fact that while Eliza spoke out against slavery, he did not.

- skywalkinggreys has wisely pointed out a Burr-Washington connection using his leitmotif: Burr doesn’t seem to realize that history DOES have its eyes on all of them, while lines like “don’t be surprised when your history book mentions me” and “history is happening in Manhattan” show us that the other characters do. When he sings “I’m the villian in your history” he is finally realizing this. 

King George:

- Thus guy exists on leitmotifs. All his songs are of the same leitmotif. 

- Examples: “oceans rise, empires fall” “da da da da da, da da da da da da da”

Philip:

- You knock me out/I fall apart are used twice, both to refer to Philip (after his birth and after his death)

-  “I probably shouldn’t brag but dag, I amaze and astonish”, where he shares a leitmotif with his father. 

(source)

[bendthekneejon]

i’m sorry women but if my wife cheated on me and then suggested an open marriage on our wedding night and then her lover showed up at our wedding and drank the wine (which my parents paid for) and then she was willing to let me go to prison to appease her dad and told me to stop talking about it so much and then said to me “i don’t love you but i love you” and that she was too good for me i might also ultimately betray her. like i might do that too

[bendthekneejon]

Emilia was so angry at Dany's ending that she wrote a modern AU Dany fanfic 🤣🤣🤣

stars: they really are like us 😂

[bendthekneejon]

got/asoiaf meme ♕ [1/8] creator’s choice | Daenerys Targaryen + official titles and epithets (as of A Dance with Dragons)

All kneel for…

[bendthekneejon]

“I stand by Daenerys. I stand by her! I can’t not.” - Emilia Clarke

[bendthekneejon]

List of Show!Dany quotes that are not in the books

Actually, most of show!Dany quotes are not in the books, because the show adapted very few of book!Dany’s quotes, and almost none of her iconic book quotes. But I wanted to make a list of popular show Dany quotes or bad/negative show!Dany quotes that I frequently see in edits, but that are NOT in the books:

When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me, and destroy those who have wronged me. We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground. Turn us away and we will burn you first.

I didn’t come here to argue grammar.

The people will rise for their rightful queen when I return.

I’m no ordinary woman. My dreams come true.

I am not your little princess. I am Daenerys Stormborn of the Blood of Old Valyria, and I will take what is mine. With fire and blood, I will take it.

All men must die, but we are not men.

I will answer injustice with justice.

That is why I’ve ordered Daario to execute every master in Yunkai.

They can live in my new world, or they can die in their old one.

Angry snakes lash out. Makes shopping off their heads that much easier.

I’m not a politician, I’m a queen.

Round up the leaders of each of Meereen’s great families and bring them to me.

Who’s innocent? Maybe all of you are, maybe none of you are. Maybe I should let the dragons decide. (Pause) I don’t want to overfeed them.

I’m not going to stop the wheel, I’m going to break the wheel.

One day your great city will return to the dirt as well. (At your command?) If need be.

I do not have a gentle heart.

And I swear to you that those who would harm you will die screaming.

A man who fights for gold can’t afford to lose to a girl.

People learn to love their chains.

A mother does not flee without her children.

show!Jorah to Dany: “You must be their strength”, with show!Dany answering: “As you are mine”.

I shall show you no mercy.

There are many more, of course, but I wanted to focus on either popular quotes or lines people use to say Dany is “stupid” or that she is “evil”. I also didn’t include lines from season 6-8, because those obviously can’t be compared to the books, because we still don’t have them.

[bendthekneejon]

When I look up “dany ptwp” the first link that comes up is:

Requirements for being PTWP:

- born amidst smoke and salt (Dragonstone, where Dany was born, is described as having smokey and salty air)

- born under a bleeding star (Dany is reborn, like a phoenix, under the bleeding star)

- wake dragons from stone (check, check, check)

But no. It has to be either Jon or Dany’s son. Of course. Can’t be anything fucking else.

[bendthekneejon]

[bendthekneejon]

Anyone else feels like d&d watched avatar the last airbender, saw azula’s ending and went like BINGOOO!! This is it!! She’ll get paranoid, trust no one, want to burn the entire city to the ground, go freaking crazy, etc.

Instead in this case it was like Katara turned into Azula ugh.

[bendthekneejon]

When GOT ended, I deeply regretted having watched the show and read the books. I felt like going back in time to like 2013 and stop myself before starting to avoid going through the pain I went in May 2019. But I tried to think...what benefit for me came out of watching GOT/reading ASOIAF? I started writing. I know I’m not a pro, but this activity has become so important to me, personally and spiritually. It changed my life. 

If it wasn’t for this show many of us wouldn’t have started writing fanfic (and then, writing original fiction too). Same with those who do fan art. Thanks to our love for this show we started writing, drawing, etc.. So many people in this fandom have created so many beautiful works of literature and visual arts. 

Be proud of it. 

Don’t feel like you’ve wasted your time. 

[bendthekneejon]

What are your thoughts about the significance of Dany seeing Drogo and her unborn son in the house of the undying vision? Do you think this could at all imply that she may not survive the war? Thank you for your infinite wisdom!

No my interpretation is that in season 2, she knew nothing of Westeros so that vision was bit of a prophesy/foreshadowing for season 7, during which Dany arrives at Dragonstone when winter finally hits the continent. As someone who brought fire magic back to world when she birthed her dragons, it’s kind of interesting that soon after that she’s been given this warning about the threat of ice magic halfway across the world. She hasn’t seen King’s Landing ever in her life. Yet she is shown exactly what it could turn to come winter. That’s some quality Azor Ahai level stuff going on here. 

In the vision when she’s so close to touching the throne, she hears her baby dragons helpless & calling her to come rescue them and she abandons the Iron Throne to go beyond the Wall in her vision. In Season 7, Dany’s argument with Tyrion was so significant because when Jon (technically also her baby dragon LOL) calls for help, she abandons her conquest for the throne and risks everything to go beyond the Wall and save him.

In the vision, beyond the Wall she finds her dead husband and child but she has to leave them as well to go save her dragons. And during the Wight Hunt, she has to watch a child, Viserion die and watch the man she loves die too but she’s forced to leave them behind for the safety of her remaining dragons.

Also it’s interesting that Dany only meets Drogo and Rhaego in that tent, considering how only their namesakes (reincarnations?) Drogon and Rhaegal survived the Wight Hunt. 

I’m sure back in season 2, when the death of Drogo & Rhaego were so fresh someone might have gotten the impression that perhaps one day Dany might go beyond the Wall and die. That it was her idea of peace in afterlife. But Seven seasons later, it’s pretty clear that Drogo was simply her origin story and not her idea of peace/destiny in a way that something like…house with the red door or having her own Targaryen-Dragon family would be. Also we have already seen her go beyond the Wall at this point. The way things unfolded, I feel it’s pretty clear that the vision wasn’t tied to her death. Though I didn’t get the impression that it was even during Season 2, I only found out about that interpretation recently. 

The vision was presented to her because she entered the House of Undying to save her family - her children/dragons but she didn’t linger onto any of the distractions/loss in her past/foreshadowing and in the end she defeated the warlock because the fire magic within her and the magic of her dragons finally unified and worked stronger together. Its even stated in this scene that the dragons are stronger in Dany’s presence. 

And guess what the narrative conclusion of the wight hunt was? The last two Targaryens/Dragons putting their strength together for the singular goal of defeating the “Undying” Night King. 

And thanks, you’re too kind. This was a really sweet ask. I hope this helped. For me, wight hunt was the conclusion for the foreshadowing presented in the HoTU vision in Season 2. 

[bendthekneejon]

SORRYYYYY for the dany meta spam! I’ve been catching up with meta I had saved on my likes since 2019 lmao

[bendthekneejon]

No one will be left to die. You are all my people. I will not abandon Meereen to the fate of Astapor. It grieves me to say so, but Westeros must wait.

[bendthekneejon]

man I really loved tonights episode

that scene where Jaime kills Cersei in the throne room with his Ned’s Valyrian steel, claiming justice on behalf of the Starks and fulfilling Maggy the Frog’s prophecy? or when Cersei stabbed him with a knife and he staggered forward and collapsed on the Iron Throne, mirroring when he killed the Mad King? i especially loved when Daenerys walks in and sees his corpse sitting there and understands what he did.

and the part where Sandor cuts of the Mountain’s head and leaves his body burning? talk about symbolism! i’m especially glad that they didn’t kill Sandor off unnecessarily. i also really liked how he lost his eye in the fight and used the strip of cloth to bind it and how it made him look just like Beric.

that part where Grey Worm stopped the Northmen from killing the unarmed Lannister soldiers was really cool too. you could see how conflicted he was about it, but he knew he couldn’t lose himself to hate. i knew he wouldn’t betray Missandei’s memory.

i was certainly concerned about Daenerys throughout the episode, but she really came through in the end. when she realized that Cersei had hidden casks of wildfire around the city and knew that she couldn’t risk the lives of the civilians with her dragonfire. and how she instead flew straight to the Red Keep to take the fight directly to Cersei? really really good.

when Arya saw Gendry across the battlefield and tried to maker it to him but was being held back by the crowds? that was incredible. and how he could hear her scream his name over the noise of the battle and ran towards her voice even when he couldn’t see her? i can’t wait to see them reunite in the next episode.

[bendthekneejon]

Mad Dany not being foreshadowed for seven seasons.

[bendthekneejon]

I just realized something.

Everyone accuses Jon of “thinking with his dick” when it comes to Dany and that this is why he couldn’t see the “tyrant” inside like “Smartest person in all of Westeros (apparently)” Sansa could.

However, I come back to this line:

“What if the Seven Kingdoms, for once their whole shit history, were ruled by a just woman and an honorable man?”

Davos ALSO thinks Dany is just as good. He’s not thinking with his dick. He’s not into Dany. So what is his motive for thinking Dany is a good person? Why does Davos not see it either? Tyrion loved her so he’s out as an unbiased opinion.

But Davos isn’t from the North, he isn’t from Team Dany.

He’s been by the side of a man who thought he was “the savior” and so he knows the signs of someone desperate and deluded.

Shouldn’t Davos have recognized that Dany was on the way to “madness” or that she had the ability to burn down an entire city without reason or remorse? Shouldn’t Davos, like Smart Sansa, have noticed all this and been suspicious of Dany? Shouldn’t he have seen the makings of an “untrustworthy tyrant”?

[bendthekneejon]

So this will probably be a controversial post, but I have to vent.

Something that really annoys me about s8, specifically how they treated Sansa and Daenerys relationship and why I get irritated when other fans of both Sansa and Dany act like we should all just be happy Sansa at least got her happy end is that like sure Sansa got what’s she ‘wanted’ but all it did, all any of her character did in s8 was reinforce the idea that so many antis perpetuate, that one of the two must lose for the other to succeed, when thats total bullshit. Like no, I’m not happy Sansa’s charcter was used to reinforce that. I’m mad.

Daenerys didn’t have to get completely fucked over in order for Sansa to ‘win’. Sansa didn’t have to backstab and betray Daenerys to triumph either. All of it was dumb fuckery designed for THe dRAma and bc the writers can’t understand that powerful women aren’t immediately hostile and threatened by each other.

So no as a matter of fact I’m not happy with s8 Sansa, she wasnt Sansa and she was barely even a charcter. She was a tool the writers used to tear down other female characters and give the writers some cheap female empowerment points.

And honeslty it unnerves me that so many Sansa fans are okay with this. That wasn’t Sansa, it wasn’t even a fully 3 dimensional character. It was a caricature. I don’t care if she got her happy end when it’s hollow, unearned and she only got it to shield the writers from the backlash of the rest of the trash they vomited in our faces this season.

Like how, as a Sansa fan, can you be happy with how they treated her character? She got relegated to a useless side charcter, who’s only contribution of note was to betray Jon and Daeneys for her own political gain. How can someone as both a Dany and Sansa fan be okay with how Sansa was so blatantly and disrespectfully used to tear Daenerys down? Because they gave us a nonesensical and rushed qitn scene? How can that make you happy?

I for one, wanted to see Sansa do something. Plot against Cersei. Give crucial advice or intelligence. Come up with a plan. At the very least lead. But we didn’t get any of that. So once again: no I’m not happy. I’m not happy as a Dany fan and I’m not happy as a Sansa fan. I’m furious as both. I’m mad they obviously didn’t give a shit about Sansa’s character, background, integrity or intelligence. I’m mad they butchered Dany for shock value. And I’m extra mad they used one of my favs to sabatoge the other for literally no reason other than plot convenience.