Okay this was going to be a joke but it turned into character analysis… enjoy.
London Love Never Dies Phantom is so badass for showing up maskless to confront Raoul. He knew he was going to win the bet (let’s not forget he is the one who suggested it) and wanted the vicomte to be left, on some level, traumatised that Christine left him for a man with such a severe deformity because yes, the LND deformity is more shocking than the original one.
Raoul makes his case worse when he makes all of his arguments, comebacks, whatever you want to call them, about Erik’s physical appearance (“…foul as sin, hideous, horrible…”), which he seems to feel better about ten years after Christine confronted and moved something in him (“This haunted face holds no horror for me now, it’s in your soul that the true distortion lies.”) because, let’s be honest, Erik’s behaviour in this sequel shows a lot of maturity and control.
He isn’t angry anymore, he understands his wrongs and wants to right them. Maybe he understands why Christine didn’t stay (looking at you, Ramin’s nod in the 25th), and grew to accept it, worked on himself, and now believes he has earned a second chance. In his mind, he is the one that now deserves her, even more so with Gustave in the picture (in this case he might even feel it’s his duty as well, but for him it’s a delight).
The truth is that Erik has become the healthier choice for Christine by the time the events of the musical happen. He is a respected businessman, who has learned to love himself and dedicated ten years of his life to build his dreamland, where he helps others like him feel safe and accepted so they won’t have to go through the same as him, we see this in “Beauty Underneath”, something Christine taught him about, no doubt.
Not only that, but Phantasma is a charming attempt at helping others see what’s different with, not even compassion, but straight up wonder and amazement.
The Phantom is the ultimate example that some people just deserve a little bit of love (Final Lair kiss) to realise their worth and change for the better.
The MINUTE Christine kisses Erik he becomes a changed man. He lets her go with a man he was clearly jealous of, and he disappears from her life for both their own goods. Erik becomes incredibly selfless while also taking care of himself (GROWTH!).
It isn’t until he feels accomplished and happy on his own that he decides to contact Christine. Even after the rush of emotions inside him tempt him to return to his old ways when he sees her again, Erik gives her the freedom to leave him and is okay with just hearing her sing one last time. No wonder some of Christine’s final words to him are “…take the love that you deserve…” because he should never have had to earn it.
Erik deserved love the moment he was born, and every time he was denied it, he deserved it even more. Going back to the final lair, he is so angry when Raoul, a handsome aristocrat, who is also Christine’s fiancé, asks for compassion. What’s his answer? “The world showed no compassion to me!” Sometimes the actor is sarcastic and sometimes just plain mad which means Erik is either trying to cope or simply gave up on it. If anyone is long overdue compassion, it’s him, not Raoul.
Minutes later he learns love when Christine kisses him, and later on in a certain scene we never get to see (yep, it’s “Beneath a Moonless Sky”), and then a third time when they reflect on what happened that night. “I woke to swear my love…” and what’s the next line? That’s right, “and found you gone instead!” Erik left.
Christine was to be married, and he didn’t want to hurt that part of her life. He also felt ashamed of himself, but he never says it was because of his face, all he says it he was “ashamed of what he was” (someone an engaged woman cheated with? In THAT period in time), not only that but he was afraid to face her. He took the love she had given him and left before it could turn into hate (after all, it had happened in the past… “tears of hate”, anyone?). So yes, this is the first sign of Erik taking care of himself and a further demonstration of his selflessness that we first see in the Final Lair.
After all, what he does with that little bit of love is work on himself and become the man he believes Christine deserves even though she might never even get to see it. He knows she wants him to be okay and as long as she is too, then they both can be alright with being away from each other.
*cue LND overture, the new chapter in their story where Erik finds out Christine isn’t okay at all*
Once more, character development at its absolute finest!
So no, Raoul, you’re not hurting him in the least by calling him ugly. After all, he has found the beauty underneath as well as the love that he deserved (yes, Gustave, that’s you).
Erik discarding his mask for one of the most important scenes in the show is such a power move in his journey to acceptance. Unmatched.
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