@loverboycharlie @delusional-mess @hijustanotherfangirl @insecuregodcomplex
YOU ALL ASKED SO YOU ALL RECEIVE
So obviously, Henry is Rapunzel, Alex is Eugene, and Mary is Gothel.
Just from the start we see how Rapunzel is a princess (first similarity), how she has glowing magic hair, and how Gothel wants the powers her hair contains. And because she can’t get them by cutting a piece of her hair, she kidnaps her and raises her as if she was her own, on a high tower away from society.
Rapunzel is artistic, she likes the arts (second similarity just on the start of the movie. Even though Rapunzel is a painter, and Henry is a writer, these are both art forms).
The first song introduced on the movie is When Will My Life Begin, where Rapunzel basically sings about what she does in a day and how she wonders when will her life start because she feels as if she’s not truly living. This is something than also happens to Henry. Meanwhile Henry is not literally stuck on a tower in the middle of nowhere, he do is metaphorically stuck on the castle, on a royal life he never wanted but couldn’t avoid (just as Rapunzel never wanted to be kidnapped —obviously—, and how she couldn’t have done anything to avoid it, since she was a baby).
And then i'll brush and brush
And brush and brush my hair
There’s this thing with Rapunzel and her hair than parallels Henry and his status so much it hurts.
We can see (or rather hear) than Rapunzel takes a long time brushing her hair, not only because it’s logical since it’s so long and it’s always detangled somehow, but because in When Will My Life Begin she says so, she brushes, and brushes, and brushes, and brushes her hair. She repeats it several times, which means she does it repeatedly, and a lot. Her hair is the theme of the movie you could say, it’s called Tangled, she’s kidnapped and used for her hair, etc. She always has her hair in mind, and makes time to brush, and brush, and brush, and brush it.
Rapunzel’s hair=Henry’s status.
Meanwhile Henry does several things all day, his status is always there. He does things because his status, he gets treated in a specific way because of it, etc. And just as Rapunzel takes care of her hair, Henry takes care of his status. He has a public persona, he follows rules, he plans on having a miserable future where he marries a woman and can never truly be himself, and where his status stays the same. The thing with Henry and his status is than it’s what people see when they look at him, which is the same as Rapunzel with her hair. Mother Gothel sees her not much as a person, but as her hair. Sure, she knows Rapunzel is a person, in the same way everybody knows Henry is a person, but they don’t really see him in the same way they would see someone else, the see him as The Prince of Wales. Mother Gothel objectively knows Rapunzel is a person, obviously, and she’s not mean and horrible to her (at the start of the movie), she “cares” for her, she tries to get her the special paint she wanted, she acts as if her locking Rapunzel on the tower was an act of love and care. Mary knows Henry is a person, obviously, and she’s not directly mean to him, she “cares” about him, she claims she only wants to protect him (will dwell into it more below).
Also, when Rapunzel gets her hair down the tower all than can be seen from the outside is her hair, not her. She is inside the tower, anyone that’s outside wouldn’t even see her, just her hair. Just as people don’t see the real Henry, only his public image and status.
Then we have Eugene and how he is a thief who has issues with the palace. Alex is pretty against monarchy, so, similarity.
On your own, you won't survive
Sloppy, underdressed, immature, clumsy
Please, they'll eat you up alive
Gullible, naive, positively grubby
Ditzy and a bit, well, hmm, vague
Plus, I believe gettin' kinda chubby
I'm just saying 'cause I love you
Mother's here to help you
“I’ve always thought of myself as a problem that deserved to stay hidden. Never quite trusted myself, or what I wanted. Before you, I was all right letting everything happen to me. I honestly have never thought I deserved to choose.”
The whole songs fits, but I chose that specific part for a reason. She’s pointing out all of Rapunzel’s worst traits (some are not even real, but she makes her believe they are. We will get into that now) and claiming than because of them, she can never go outside, they would eat her alive.
Mary made Henry believe than he was a problem than deserved to stay hidden, than he should do not what he wanted, but what he had to do, than he didn’t even deserve to choose because that was not the way things were.
There are many quotes I want to put her to demonstrate my point, but they fit better with Mother Knows Best (Reprise), so we’ll wait.
Mother Gothel made Rapunzel believe than she would not be able to survive by herself outside, and (on Mother Knows Best (Reprise)), than Eugene couldn’t possibly like her (Why would he like you? Come on now, really! Look at you, you think that he's impressed?).
Also during the Mother Knows Best scene, there’s a part where Rapunzel is lighting candles and as she lights them, Gothel extinguishes them. Could represent Rapunzel / Henry having hopes of a different life, one outside the tower / palace, and mother Gothel / Mary breaking these hopes. And after the song, Gothel says “I love you very much dear” (also, she calls Rapunzel dear, just as Mary calls Henry dear), to which Rapunzel replies “I love you more”, and Gothel says “I love you most” while touching her hair and kissing the top of her head (her hair). She does not love her, but her hair. Just as Mary doesn’t exactly love Henry, but Henry obeying and giving them a good image.
The next scene, we have Eugene running from the guards and finding his WANTED poster, and the scene of how they just can’t get his nose right. He doesn’t seem to care much for them, just than they are not a good portrayal of him. And when the others (I forgot their names) say “who cares”, he answers “well it’s easy for you to say, you guys look amazing”. This could be referring to the public perception of Alex vs of June and Nora. Now, I’m not comparing June and Nora to those two guys, because of obvious reasons, but this specific conversation does look like them.
I talk a lot about Alex’s public persona, and how he’s the most private one out of the White House Trio (I have a whole fanfic just analysing every sentence of the book. Please read it. It takes me a lot of time), and I feel like this could show it. He doesn’t care about the tabloids and rumors (after all, in the first chapter we see Nora and him having fun with them), but they are not him, they are not good portrayals of him at all. Alex has a public persona, more than one. One for the public, one for the people he’s closest to (at the start of the book, not at the end). We can also see this in Eugene during Tangled, Flynn Ryder isn’t his real name, but most people know him by it.
June and Nora are not so secretive, and while June doesn’t like tabloids and stuff, she is not as secretive as Alex is, so media always has a more accurate portrayal of June and Nora than of Alex.
While running from the guards and Maximus, Eugene finds Rapunzel’s tower. The thing is, he wasn’t looking for her. He climbed the tower, but not to find her. Reminds me of Alex going to Philip’s wedding not for Henry, but because he kind of has to.
Instead of asking Rapunzel to let down her hair (since he doesn’t know her at this point), he climbs the tower by himself, alone.
Then Rapunzel hits him with a pan (for a second time) and hides him in a closet (ha). When he wakes up again, he’s tied to a chair by her hair.
The first time she hits him (immediately after he gets there) might be Rio and the horrible first impression he gave Alex. The second time is the cakegate. After all, the cakegate happened because Henry panicked.
When Eugene wakes up in a chair tied by Rapunzel’s hair, is Alex spending the weekend at Kensington. After all, this happens while he’s inside the tower / palace, and he’s surrounded by Rapunzel’s hair / Henry’s public persona (at this point, Alex still saw Henry as his public image, not the real him). Also the first thing he noticed when he wakes up is the hair, rather than her, so.
When Eugene first talks to her, he says “Hi, how you doing? The name’s Flynn Ryder, how’s your day going, huh?”. Just as how Alex talks to Henry, very unprofessional and like he would talk to anyone.
“Something brought you here, Flynn Ryder. Call it what you will, fate, destiny”
Alex and Henry’s different perspectives. Henry is more romantic, believes in fate and destiny and has a more romantic view of the world, for good and bad (his fate is to live an unhappy life, he can’t do anything to stop it, that’s just what he has to do), Alex is more realistic.
I’m not going to go scene by scene, because I would never end, so
I don’t really see a correlation with Rapunzel wanting to see the lanterns and Eugene agreeing to take her, but that’s because rwrb isn’t based on tangled, so everything isn’t going to fit.
We get to the I’ve Got A Dream Scene
I have dreams like you, no, really
Just much less touchy feely
They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny
Tanned and rested and alone
Surrounded by enormous piles of money
I've got a dream (she's got a dream)
I've got a dream (she's got a dream)
I just wanna see the floating lanterns gleam
Shows a difference between their dreams and them.
Alex wants to be president, Congress before 30 (at the start of the book), while Henry simply wants to be a writer and have control over his life.
Also this reminds me of this scene
“If your mum weren’t the president and you were just a normal bloke living a normal life, what things might be like? What you’d be doing instead?”
“Ah,” Alex says, considering. He stretches one arm out in front of him, makes a dismissive gesture with a flick of his wrist. “Well, I mean, obviously I’d be a model. I’ve been on the cover of Teen Vogue twice. These genetics transcend all circumstance.” Henry rolls his eyes again. “What about you?”
Henry shakes his head ruefully. “I’d be a writer.”
When they’re walking through the tunnel Eugene says “Didn't know you had that in you back there. That was pretty impressive”. He also begins to ask her questions about herself. Alex slowly knowing the real Henry.
When they are almost dying from drowning, Eugene confesses “My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert.” Alex breaking down all of his walls around Henry.
And after, Rapunzel says “For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Ryder”, to which Eugene responds “Well, then you'd be the first”.
You cannot tell me that isn’t Alex-coded because it is. Alex insecurity runs deeps, which is why he hides himself so much. Henry shows him otherwise. This could be “You’re good” scene.
Finally, Mother Knows Best (Reprise). This could be after the e-mails.
No?! Oh, I see how it is.
Such a clever grown-up Miss
Fine, if you're so sure now
Go ahead, then give him this
Don't let him deceive you!
Give it to him, watch, you'll see!
That's how fast he'll leave you
I won't say I told you so
The queen purses her lips. “Henry,” she says, returning to him, “wouldn’t you have a more pleasant go of it without all these unnecessary complications? You know we have the resources to find a wife for you and compensate her handsomely. You understand, I’m only trying to protect you. I know it seems important to you in this moment, but you really must think of the future. You do realize this would mean years of reporters hounding you, all sorts of allegations? I can’t imagine people would be as eager to welcome you into children’s hospitals—”
“Stop it!” Henry bursts out. All the eyes in the room swivel to him, and he looks pale and shocked at the sound of his own voice, but he goes on. “You can’t—you can’t intimidate me into submission forever!”
“We can entertain hypotheticals, but the fact of the matter is that anything but maintaining the royal image is out of the question,” the queen says, setting down her teacup. “The country simply will not accept a prince of his proclivities. I am sorry, dear, but to them, it’s perverse.”
“I have been ruling this country for forty-seven years, Catherine. I believe I know its heart by now.”
The Kingdom Dance could be the V&A museum
Now, I See the Light (this song made me see the rwrb similarities for the first time)
All those days watching from the windows
All those years outside looking in
All that time never even knowing
All of Henry’s life he has been stuck on this royal life, watching from the windows to a life he had no access to, or at least thought so.
All those days chasing down a daydream
All those years living in a blur
All that time never truly seeing
Things, the way they were
Alex having a “fire under his ass” for years.
If you notice, Eugene keeps on pushing Rapunzel’s hair out of her face, because he doesn’t care about it, but about her. He wants to see her. Just as Alex doesn’t care about Henry’s public persona, but about him.
UPDATE I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT THIS
The “you’re my new dream” scene, is really similar to
“You’re really not frightened of what might happen?”
“No, I mean, of course I am,” he says. “It definitely stays secret until after the election. And I know it’ll be messy. But if we can get ahead of the narrative, wait for the right time and do it on our own terms, I think it could be okay.”
“I know I need to start rehabilitating my image if I want any chance in politics, but part of me is like . . . really? Right now? Why? It’s weird. My whole life, I was hanging on to this imaginary future person I was gonna be. Like, the plan—graduation, campaigns, staffer, Congress. That was it. Straight into the game. I was gonna be the person who could do that . . . who wanted that. And now here I am, and the person I’ve become is . . . not that person.”
Nora nudges their shoulders together. “But do you like him?”
Alex thinks; he’s different, for sure, maybe a little darker. More neurotic, but more honest. Sharper head, wilder heart. Someone who doesn’t always want to be married to work, but who has more reasons to fight than ever.
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