Here's why the Bluebell King is hot (a very self-indulgent post)
After rewatching Marigolds, Bluebells, and Hugh for the fifth time, I present to you this analysis of why the Bluebell King is hot. Spoiler: it's not just because Luke plays him
Shout out to @cerealistlover for convincing me to post this. I initially fangirled in her dms, but this post is a little more structured because I rewatched the longform yet again. Yes, this is just an excuse for me to fangirl once more. I even made gifs
Behold! Luke!
Look at him. At this point, we have no reason to suspect that's he's not a normal tree, but he commands attention anyway. He becomes the centrepiece pretty much immediately and takes up as much space as he can (it helps that the stage is small). It projects confidence, but his facial expressions add a lot! He looks calm and collected, but he also observes. The whole time, he's looking mostly at the audience (so, into the forest, which he rules over) and sometimes at Hugh. It paints a picture of him as someone who is both powerful and patient enough to get whatever he wants. He's like a wolf ready to pounce
All of that is when he's still motionless. Regardless of if you know the tree's alive or not, the attitude is there. Luke 100% decided the tree was alive before he even climbed on that chair
And then he MOVES. And look at HOW he moves!
His motions are almost languid, I'd say. There's no need to rush. He has those he wants where he wants them, and he's confident they can't escape. He quite literally has Hugh in his grasp! He is fully aware of his power, and he looks down on those around him
Going back to what I said about observing, he does it more clearly when he stops pretending! On the gifs above, we can already see that his attention is fully on the person speaking, but he turns his head slowly. Later in the scene, however, he switches faster. Remember how I said he's like a wolf ready to pounce? It's much more clear here
And let's talk about his expressions again! It was kind of visible in the first gif, but this one makes it more obvious how differently he regards Hugh's mother (who needs a name...) and Inga. I can't pinpoint what exactly changes in his expression when he looks at Inga, but he sees her as a nuisance at best. She's a child, and she's not interesting or useful to him. But when he looks at Hugh's mother, he starts to smile. Because all of this was to have her back. He's spent over ten years doing whatever he could to bring her to him again, and he has won
Speaking of smiling and winning, look at this. This is the face of a creature who finally has what he wants. He's cocky. He is confident these humans can't do anything to stop him
And one more thing! After Hugh's mother says, "I was drawn in by his sweet, sweet scent and his many colours. I was like a tiny bumblebee," he licks his lips. While looking directly at her. Which I am very normal about
"Come to me, bumblebee" I AM EXPLODING
In conclusion, Hugh's mother was right to fuck that tree
Bonus gif: this one moment when Luke and AJ realise they mixed up the names
