Rauch, Jones, Munday Final Lair
I liveblogged the final lair as seen from here, Geronimo Rauch has a more violent take on the phantom and I found it was really interesting how it affected the show.
I like how he tries to stroke her cheek in “joys of the flesh” and she flinches away.
she looks so terrified. like she legitimately fears being killed here. and his voice is tender and pleading up until “pity comes too late”, and then he’s just firm
it feels like he’s not even listening to her in “this haunted face…” he’s just looking at her and arranging her with the bouquet and admiring her dressed as his bride
His way of speaking is so musical and where he puts his inflections is so interesting. you can see him becoming the showman when raoul comes. and his little laugh at “your lover makes a passionate plea” and he keeps laughing after!
points at face in “the world showed no compassion to me” but he still sounds so amused. he has the upper hand and he knows it.
he laughs after he puts the noose on raoul!!!!
oooh you can see the lightbulb go off in his mind at “except perhaps christine” like oh! bonus blackmail! this is great!
he’s so proud of this he has to take a little breather after “point of no return” and goes to look at his music again
he’s not even LISTENING to her he looks a little surprised when she sings “HATE” his mind’s so caught up in his grand plan
he moves towards raoul and christine yells NO and gets between them oh very good
he grabs her into an almost hug at “do you end your days with me” and it would be a cheek caress if he wasn’t physically keeping her from breaking away
we get a “no” after “why make her lie to you to save me” like “that’s not what will happen! she won’t be lying” but he’s beginning to doubt
it’s a rather quick realization as he realizes oh shoot it wOULD be a lie and he’s not happy with that. his last “past the point of no return” ends in a sob
her “angel of music” is so ANGRY it’s fantastic. it’s like she sees that she’s finally getting through to him now. it’s like she’s using what she knew he’d listened to before: “angel of music” as an “oh? so you’ll only listen to me if i’m singing what you want me to? playing the role you wanted me to be in?”
“you deceived me” also gets another “no” from him
oh gosh he does a gentle chin lift and THEN he chokes her. wraps his hand fully around her throat at “you try my patience”
and he staggers back and stares at his hand in horror
you can see him mouthing “no” at himself before “pitiful creature” like he’s trying to deny what he just did. at the “what kind of life have you known” you can see he’s shaken and questioning what kind of future they’ll know. he’s breathing heavily and trying to not panic. he keeps flexing the hand that he’d wrapped around her throat. like he can still feel it there
he was NOT expecting that kiss he flinches downwards from the first kiss. and just stares at her before the second like he’s seeing her for the first time
he’s taller for the second one. and his hands reach up to cover hers before he pulls away
he examines her hand after the kiss, just staring at her in disbelief. i do feel like it’s 50% can’t believe she touched him so gently and 50% looking for bruises. checking to make certain that he didn’t hurt her more
and then he stares at her face and walks away. and then looks down at his hand (the strangling hand)
she runs for raoul and he stops her with a “NO! no” making her stay back before burning the rope
the “take her” is so firm. said in the same way he’d say “protect her”
hearing the mob gets us a covering ears along with the “leave me alone” and he’s starting to break
OH he loosens his collar and undoes it! he’s finding it hard to breathe
he’s no longer collected no longer in control because he’s realized the only way he can maintain control is through violence and he’s horrified at himself for that
at “angel in hell” this might just be a coincidence but he moves his hand (the strangling hand) up to his own throat for a moment. mimicking what he’d done to her earlier
christine screams when he runs at them!!! and they are RUNNING they KNOW their lives are in danger
oh this man is Not Okay. he crawls on all fours to that monkey music box
his “hide your face” is whispered to the monkey as his hand barely manages to come up and touch the monkey’s face before dropping away. of note is how gently he’s touching the monkey. like he’s afraid to let his hands touch it
he hears christine and scrambles up to see her. and he nods to her as she walks up to him but he does NOT think she’s staying. that nod is more like an “it’s okay you can say what you need to” nod. which, as this is a phantom with little to no listening skills, is pretty significant. he’s listening now, even though it’s already too late.
she holds out the ring and he just stares at it like “i don’t care about that” and he doesn’t reach out for it! he actually steps back a little before the “christine i love you”!!! i also feel like he emphasizes that “you” like it’s HER that he loves. not the ring not the marriage but HER.
he gives her such a sad nod but she doesn’t leave. you can see him go “since you insist” before reaching out to her, with both hands, tenderly covering her own
okay. so the angle of this boot made this tricky to see. but for a moment there it looked like he was examining her ring finger and i thought he took the ring and put it back on her. i don’t think they actually did that because he’s holding the ring when she runs off but for a moment there i got so excited can you IMAGINE
but since he didn’t put the ring back on and clearly did move her hand my theory now is that he’s looking at her hand again just like he did after the kiss. he’s taking this as an invitation to feel her touch one last time. she puts the ring in his hand because he wasn’t going to take it. (and if you want additional angst he might be imagining what it would take to keep her, how that hand would look covered in bruises)
he still holds his hand out to her when she leaves, but more like he’s trying to ask if she really meant to leave this ring with him. not like he’s trying to reach for her to come back. and we get another “no” as he bends over in physical pain realizing she’s not ever coming back again before putting the ring on
AAA he reaches out for her when she’s singing on the boat, but then shakes his head and pulls back! and then stares at his hands again before going for the veil!!!
you can see him reminding himself that these hands have hurt her, that he doesn’t deserve her, that letting her go is the best way to love her. I’m very in pain
In conclusion this is a fantastic final lair, I absolutely love how Jones plays a Christine who’s very aware of the danger and yet trying to just make him listen to her and Rauch plays an Erik who is dangerous and a very real threat. Even when he’s not near or touching Christine or Raoul you can tell this is a man who has killed before and will kill again, and the realization he has that any affection he gets from Christine will stem from hurt and fear is what breaks him. This Erik does not want her to stay because he knows she deserves better and wants her to be safe, and he knows he can’t guarantee that she’ll be safe around him. If you haven’t already I recommend you give it a watch!
