Some interesting things that Iāve noticed about Oscar Delancey (specifically, Brendon Stimsonās portrayal of the character):
***note: this is meant to be an in-depth characterĀ analysis from a neutral perspective.Ā All I want to do is get to know all of the characters better and share my findings with those whoāreĀ interested in doing the same, and I believe this info is valid whether you like the character or not***
What Iāve recently noticed is this:
Oscar avoids getting his hands dirty 90% of the time.
Shocker, right? Hang on. He definitely enjoysĀ taunting and pushing people around (most likely due to a height complex, if I were to venture a guess,)but rarely does he actually resort to physical confrontation. Heās a stereotypical bully(which is exactly how the newsies view him,) a wanna-be-gangster. Quick to talk, slow to act.Ā Even his trading card plainly states that he āusuallyĀ leaves most ofĀ the dirty work to his brother, Morris.ā
So basically, the wholeĀ āIāve been polishinā my favorite brass knucklesā thing is a front. Heās all talk, but he can afford to be because he has a brother who willingly follows his lead.
Now, what Iām not saying is that he ādoesnāt get violentā, by any means. We all know that isnāt true, seeing as the first thing we learn about him in the show is that he accepted money to beat up trolley strikers. So he clearly has no qualms with the idea of fighting. However, since we the audience donāt actually get to see that scene play out, Iād be willing to betĀ that he let Morris play Attack Dog again while he, himself, did minimal damage- as is typically the case.
In fact, there are only two particular moments in the show (that Iāve been able to pinpoint)Ā where Oscar is seen getting violent. Both occur either during or directly after Seize the Day, and both are instigated by something having to do with Morris (either that heās hurt, or his hands just happen to be full):
1. He hits Jack in the face(after Jack lands a punch to his gut) to cover Morris while heās preoccupied picking up Les.
2. (The better known moment) he punches poorCrutchie in the face, as a retaliation after Crutchie hits Morris in the ribs with his crutch.
ā¦he always seems to go for the face, which I think probably says something about his fighting style, but Iām honestly not knowledgeable enough in martial arts to know what that may be, soā¦
Throughout the entirety of the āNewsies v. Delanceyāsā fight scene, in-between the dance breaks of Seize the Day, all he really does is push the newsies away or simply try to back them off.Ā
His preferred method is pure intimidationā¦UNTIL his brother or his pride comes into the mix, then itās personal.
For example: after the Newsies run to grab Les, one of them (I think Romeo) grabs Morris by his arm and drags him a good few feet across the stage. Instead of trying to take back Les or fight off the other Newsies, Oscarās first instinct is toĀ chase after Morris. Because watching his brotherās back isĀ always top priority, regardless of the situation.
I think that, in a lot of ways, Oscar is almost like Jackās mirror image.
Bold statement, but hereās why:Ā Both are motivated, mainly, by two things: improving their situation, and the wellbeing of the person(s) theyāre closest to-in Jackās case thatās Crutchie and the boys, in Oscarās case itāsĀ his brother. Theyāre both charismatic, natural leaders, and put up a tough-guy front around other people. However, their ideals and situations contrast each other starkly, to the point where they pretty much always end up on opposing sides of any situation.Ā
But at the end of the day, if somebody threatens their family(biological or otherwise), you better believe thereās gonna be hell to pay.
For this reason, I think itād be very interesting to explore what would happen if both Crutchie and Morris somehow ended up in a potentially dangerous situation, in which Jack and Oscar would have no choice but to form a temporary truce to protect their respective brothers. Theyād be forced to try and find common ground and itād be a good learning experience for the both of them(because Jack isnāt blameless, by any means). Would they learn anything from it? Would they not? Who knows! Theyāre both proud and bull-headed to a fault, so itās anybodyās guess.Ā
(This would also be interesting on the end of Crutchie and Morris, given their historyā¦.any fanfic writers who are interested, hit me up!)
Anyway, thatās something that Iāve noticed about (Brendonās)Oscar Delancey! I might do more of these for others characters later, Iām not sure yet. I enjoy delving into characters who have very little canon info given about them. But I just found this to be a fascinating discovery and wanted to talk about it a bit.
Hope you enjoyed my ālittleā Newsies Analysis!!
