Iâm sorry for adding on to your original post, if you donât mind, but you might be on to something here. Rather, it was your post that came to mind when I listened through the full OST you linked above and it hit me how there were these intentional(?) subtle Claudine/Maya = Flora/Claire = Karen/Hikari parallels the show threw in and I found it really fascinating??? Perhaps someone else already figured this out and had posted it somewhere tooâŠ? Either way pardon me for dragging this on longer orzÂ
âdespair will definitely repeat itself
the star we have yet to reach
will someday disappear, in a small twinkle
my name is Claire
I am guilty of the sin of the stars
neither of our dreams
will come to be, they will never come to beâ
Having âbridge no ue deâ play during the ep3 Maya scene might mean as just you explained, how thereâs the despair that sharing the stage at the top will never happen because thatâs the order of things as they know. And itâs a point to note that this happened in ep3, Mayaâs mindset in ep3 where âeven alone, I am a starâ. But it wasnât just Maya who was trapped with this concept of a single star, a single winner, a single captive Claire. Itâs Hikari. From the start Hikari despaired knowing there can only be one winner of the auditions. Throughout the show she too struggled with this concept, especially after we knew what happened before she returned to Japan, and this was before Karenâs talk with her in ep4 about how they should both just win and be stars together. However at the time of ep3, both Maya and Hikari, actors of Claire, shared this despairing mindset (which would explain some of Hikariâs desperation when she broke into the auditions and Mayaâs well-controlled anger?? while she rebuked Karen in the revue)
BUT. But âbridge no ue deâ wasnât the only track that came from âStarlight (song)â. Another track, âelle est belle: utsukushii hitoâ (46:21 of the full OST vid), was also from âStarlight (song)â and it was used during the stretching scene in ep10 where for once, Claudine shared a rather tender and calm moment with Maya.
âhave faith that if weâre together, our fate will continue
our precious promise from our childhood days
I wonât give up, Iâll create our fate
I want to find you againâ
Karen sung those lyrics, an encouraging phrase to the earlier despair, and it can also be backed with Claudineâs passion, âA Flora that will climb the tower againâ. Similar to Karen for Hikari, Claudineâs always chasing Maya. Each time sheâs knocked down (literally and figuratively) she gets back up again. Claudine never gives up, focused on and seeking Maya ever since they first met in the entrance exams when she offered to be Mayaâs stretching partner. âHowever, I will not lose.â The stretching scene was also the scene where Claudine reconfirms her promise to âbecome the Top Star and prove Iâm more than just your supporting role.â. Somehow itâs competition, but it isnât one where there can only be a single actor on stage. To be Tendou Mayaâs equal was something Claudine wanted to prove. Coincidentally (or intentionally?) itâs in ep10 where Maya/Claudine realize that together they can accomplish more, together they can shine brighter.
Edit: Went to check ep3 again for something and apparently âutsukushii hitoâ played the moment Claudine reignited her fighting spirit again thanks to Futabaâs encouragement? Sheâs so passionate for what she does, for Tendou Maya, my heart is warmed
And to think for both occasions both tracks were from the same iconic song titled âStarlightâ for the stage performance of the same name with the main roles Claire and Flora played by Maya/Hikari and Claudine/Karen respectively. If this really was intentional on their part, the way they tied it together is just⊠đ