Squad Goals (Spoilers)

Lets face it. Alexander Hamilton basically had the greatest squad in the history of ever. These four men basically invented a squad, and set goals for everyone else who wanted to form a squad in the future.

First you have the man himself. ALEXANDER HAMILTON! "A bastard, orphan, immigrant, decorated war vet, united the colonies with more debt" He was literally the first secretary of state. He founded the nationals economic system and even started the coast guard. Our country has so much to thank this man for, and lets face it his writing and rapping was phenomenal. 

Next you have everyone favorite French man, LAFAYETTE! He we was a French immigrant, who and no other reason to help the American colonies other than the fact that he believed in what they stood for. He lead troops to victory, and was possibly one of the greatest fighters on the American side of the war. He also persuaded the French send a bunch of guns and ships to help win the war! He is also one fast rapper, which is impressive as hell!

Third we got HERCULES MULLIGAN, the super cool bad ass of the group. He was a spy for Pete's sake! That is the coolest thing ever. He gained the British trust and than ripped it right out from under them! He was crucial in the success of the American colonies win. He gained insight and secrets that the American colonies needed to win, and let's face it his rap in the song "Battle of Yorktown" gets you super pumped up when you listen to it!

Lastly we have JOHN LAURENS, the cutest of the group. Look at that adorable baby face! The man was by Hamilton's side through it all, he fought hardest for Hamilton, literally taking part in a duel so Hamilton wouldn't lose his job and position. He took the chance of getting shot and dying for Hamilton, his best friend. Their friendship makes me so happy to see.

There you have it the greatest squad in the history of ever! They were the best of friends, amazing fighters, and lets face it a good looking group of guys! 

Philip Hamilton broke my heart (spoiler)

Philip Hamilton broke my heart. When I first heard Hamilton sing about the love he had for Philip in "Dear Theodosia" I felt a tingly feeling in my stomach. Hamilton knew his son would blow us ass away and man was he right.The minute we met his character in "Take a Break" I fell in love, and not just because Anthony Ramos is possibly the cutest human alive. He was so adorable trying to impress his father with his little rap for his Dad. He wanted to be like his father and give contributions to the world. He wanted to be the best just like his dad.

The line "Gotta be my own man, like my father but bolder" was when I realized Philip was going to break my heart. His father was such a cold man, so bold in fact that he wrote himself into the ground breaking his wife's heart and basically ruined his reputation in the process. The fact tat Philip wanted to be bolder than his dad made me realize that no good outcome could come of it, the foreshadowing was too strong.

Philip was extremely bold and confident in himself, which made him such a lovable character. He knew what he wanted to fight for and he chose his battles, he just chose the wrong battle to fight. He chose the one battle that would end his life and break the hearts of many, including his mother, father, myself, and everyone else who has listened to the song "Blow Us All Away".  The most heart breaking part about Philip's death was seeing Eliza so heart broken AGAIN. She didn't deserve to lose her son the way she did, especially after already having her heart broken by the man she loved most, Alexander Hamilton.

Philip Hamilton you broke my heart, but I will forever love you.

Helpless (spoilers)

Helpless, is Eliza's word. She was HELPLESS when she first saw Hamilton. She was head over heels so in love that he was her everything, this is apparent in the song "Helpless". Angelica was able to see this and realized that Eliza belonged with Hamilton, even if Angelica wouldn't be satisfied with her own life because of it. Hamilton sees this and he wants to make sure she doesn't feel helpless when he is around her because he wants to protect her. She

stayed hopelessly in love with him for the rest of her life. That is the reason she was able to be so hurt by him because she loved him so helplessly. That's why in "Burn" she was burning the letters she didn't want people to know how helpless she still was for him even after he hurt her so badly. Hamilton was her world and helpless was HER word. 

The fact that helpless is so meaningful to Eliza's character and her relationship to Hamilton is why the word choice in "Say No To This" has a huge impact. The word helpless is repeated FIVE different times during this song, but Eliza is nowhere to see in this song except once when he said he said he missed his wife. Maria Reynolds said that she was helpless around her husband, but not in the same way that Eliza was helpless, Maria was helpless because she was being beat up and bullied by him. Hamilton also calls himself helpless and all he had to do was say NO to Maria

instead of cheating on Eliza, the woman who was so helplessly in love with him. This is a huge insult to Eliza, because she was so head over heels for him, actually helpless because she couldn't even stop loving him when she find out about this affair he's been having, but he calls himself helpless because he chose to cheat on his wife. 

"Helpless" is such an amazing song in the play, with amazing music and vocals to go along with the amazing lyrics, that really shows the love for Hamilton that Eliza has, but the word helpless has so much more meaning than just Eliza's love for Alexander. It stands for the betrayal that Alexander Hamilton committed against his wife, and the sadness that Eliza has when she realizes that she is still in love with Hamilton even though she was hurt so bad by him.

 

Breakups are never easy(spoilers)

We all know that person who doesn't handle breakups well. They are pushy, mean, and aggressive when they realize they are being broken up with. Well i think Lin Manuel Miranda captures that person exactly in "You'll Be Back" sung by the character of King George III.

He fits the description of an abusive boyfriend who refuses to let his significant other(The American Colonies in this case) leave him. He brings up the fact that America depends on him. They can't leave because he supplies them with everything. Well you are wrong George, I guess you do not remember all the boy cots the colonists did. America can break free and it doesn't need you. 

Even though George tries to play the "I'm your protector" card, he also tries to play the victim card, in the sense that he will be heart broken without America. He will go insane (probably because he won't be as rich anymore). He is a manipulative person, who says and does basically everything to try to get his way.

Worst of all King George threatens the colonists with violence. He comes right out and says that he will kill their friends and family if they don't stay with Britain, thus leading to the Revolutionary war. Sorry George, but your people end up getting killed as well. 

Breakups are always hard, but some people take it worse than others. King George takes it extremely bad. I wonder what would happen if a girl tried to break up with George..... It probably would not have gone well for her, or her family, and possibly her entire village. 

Sorry George but America is a strong independent country that doesn't need a Tyrant telling it what to do and how much to pay. If you really wanted to win the war for our love, you should have had a better army!

Who lives who dies who tells your story (spoilers)

Who lives, who dies, who tells YOUR story. Have you ever thought about who was going to tell your story years and years down the road? I myself think about this a lot more now that i have listened to Hamilton. Who is going to tell your legacy is a major theme in the musical, one that really makes you think about your own self. Not only who is going to tell it, but HOW are they going to tell it.

If you look at Alexander Hamilton, his story has been told in multiple lights, showing him as both good and bad. If it wasn't for his wife, Eliza, who knows if we would even have a story showing him as good at all. She spent over half her life, more than 50 years after his death, devoted to telling his story. But we almost didn't get a story from Eliza at all, she tried to write herself out of his narrative after she found out about his affair with Maria Reynolds. Without her side, we would have never heard of all his accomplishments. We would have been left with the things he did wrong from other people such as Thomas Jefferson and John Maddison who tried to ruin his reputation, even after his death. There would be no Hamilton musical, and the world would be a little less colorful without this wonderful work of art. 

After listening to Hamilton I have been inspired to go out and get "shit" done in this world! I do not want to be seen as your average

Burr, someone who sits around waiting for things. I want to take control of my life and make sure my story ends up being a good one. Hamilton put so much effort into showing people that he was more than a bastard orphan, now I'm going to spend my life proving that I'm more than someone who is destined to be in the shadows. I want to burn so bright that my story has to be amazing! I do not just want to do incredible things, but also be an incredible person. If I sacrifice an incredible story, but leave people knowing I am a good person, then all will be worth it. I do not want to be the antagonist of anyone's story, only the protagonist in my own, or the person who helps you get through yours. 

We each only have 1 shot to make sure our story is told in the way we want! I am not throwing away my shot, make sure you don't throw away yours!

Angelica Schuyler (spoilers)

She has been reading Common Sense by Thomas Payne, some men say that she's intense or that she's insane, who is she, she's Angelica Schuyler, one of the most popular charecters in Hamilton!
I myself am a huge fan of the character, but why is there such a large fan base for a character who is only in 6 out of 46 songs? It might be because Renée Elise Goldsberry is an amazing singer/actress, or maybe its because if you take a look at the character of Angelica, she is much more complex the more you think about her.

For starters she is a woman during the revolutionary war who could read and write, which by all means was not the common trait of the day and age. Yes she may have come from a rich family, which did give her the advantage, but she used her literacy skills to try and influence the minds of many, by fighting for the rights of women. This is made clear when we are first introduced to her in the song "The Schuyler Sisters".  She clearly states that she is ready to meet Thomas Jefferson and argue that women should be put into the declaration of Independence, which also proves she is not afraid to stick it to authority that is above her.

Secondly, Angelica had an awesome, almost definite shot to end up with Alexander Hamilton. He obviously had an interest in her from the start, and pined for her many years after, including when he was married to Eliza. It is also stated many times that Angelica did in fact love Alexander, it's what the entire song "Satisfied" is about. She loved him a whole lot, but she gave it all up for the happiness of her sister. That was incredibly kind and loving for her to do, and I'm quite certain that many people in today's era would never give up the one they love for anyone. This act was incredibly brave of her to do, even though she knew she may never be happy if she gave him up.

Later in the story, when Hamilton messed up big time with his actions involving the Reynolds Pamphlet, she rushed home right away. When Hamilton thinks she's here to defend him she sticks it to him, and says that she is not there for him, but for Eliza. The love for her sister over powers any feelings she ever has herself, not caring if she will ever be happy, as long as her sister is. That is a quality that more humans need to have in the current day and age. To care for others more than your own self is a hard thing to do, but Angelica is a great example of this amazing quality.

Angelica Schuyler is not just a pretty face, with an excellent voice. She is a kind, loving, smart, and astonishingly brave character. For all these reasons, and probably a lot more, it is no surprise that Angelica is one of the most beloved charecters in the musical.

Same Actor Different Character (Spoilers)

Something quite interesting about the Hamilton musical is that there are multiple actors who play more than one character. What is even more interesting is the way that each pair of characters, played by each individual, have a connection or a parallel in one way or another. 

Take Daveed Diggs's who plays Lafayette and Jefferson. Lafayette is the French immigrant whom Hamilton befriends that helps the American army fight off the British. While Diggs's other character is Jefferson, the American ambassador to France who comes in the middle of the play (right after Lafayette leaves, very tricky Mr. Manuel Miranda) and basically tries to destroy Hamilton. Both have ties with the French, but one is Hamilton's friend, the other his enemy.

This is not the only pair of characters like this. You can also look at Jasmine Cephas Jones's characters Peggy Schuyler, the sister that is only in one song and barely mentioned again after, and Miss Maria Reynolds, the women who seduced Hamilton into sleeping with her, and helping her husband make a lot of money in the process. This one is funny because in a sense every Schuyler sister fell for Hamilton throughout the play, Peggy herself may not have, but the woman who looks and sounds identical to her sure did.

The most heart wrenching of the character parallels is John Laurens/Phillip Hamilton played by Anthony Ramos. This one will get you when you realize they were played by the same actor. Both characters wanted to fight for Hamilton so both were involved in duels defending Hamilton, Laurens because Hamilton wasn't allowed to fight, and Philip because he heard someone said something about his father. Laurens luckily making it out alive, Phillip dying while defending his fathers honor. 

Lin Manuel Miranda does an excellent job writing the characters the way he does. It is especially fascinating when you find out about actors playing two roles in paralleling parts.