Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

A More Horrible Ending

Fair warning: I’m going to assume that anyone who wanted to watch Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog has already done so. If you haven’t, you’re too late, since it only ran for a week and it’s since been pulled. If you want to see it, then buy it on iTunes or wait for the DVD to come out or torrent it.

Which is a longwinded way of saying "Here there be spoilers."

Now, I think the vast majority of us will agree that, as a whole, the DHSAB project was excellent. (Who knew Neil Patrick Harris could sing? Not I.) I believe we are also in similar agreement that Acts 1 and 2 were near-perfect.

The problem, however, comes with Act 3.

Really, at this point anyone who is surprised by Joss brutally slaughtering an innocent, beloved character has only themselves to blame. And yet, the interblogwebosphere is aglow with thousands of flames, as if an oilfield of fandom was ablaze with thick, viscous clouds of "OMG HOW COULD YOU JOSS" or "Her death totally undermines her status as a strong feminist character" or "Blah blah blah rattle pootie tootie" rising into the sky, their acrid odor choking all observers.

As you may have guessed, I too have some problems with the execution of Act 3. I also think Joss fumbled a critical scene — but not in the way you think I think he did. My thoughts, let me show you them:

Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is, fundamentally, about loss of innocence. Some salient points, below, and then my rewrite of the scene.

Act 1

* Our protagonist is named Billy — not Bill, not William, but Billy, a child’s name. * His alternate persona, Doctor Horrible, dresses entirely in white, the color of purity. (If you wanted to get really fancy, you could mention that while he has black goggles, they sit, unused, on his forehead instead of being worn properly. This is indicative of the dark future which looms over him but has yet to claim him.) * Captain Hammer, however, is dressed in blacks and browns, shades associated with corruption. * Based on all of this, and the way both interact with Penny, it could be reasonably inferred that Billy is a virgin, and Captain Hammer clearly isn’t. Billy = white gloves = innocent; Captain Hammer = black gloves = not at all innocent. In fact, it’s hard to find a single redeeming quality about ol’ Hammer.

Act 2

* At this point we can see the beginning of Billy’s change to "true" evil. The man who in the first act refused to fight someone in Dooley Park "because there’s kids there" is now opening wondering, in song, if "throwing poison in the water main" would change anything in the way the human race behaves. He even states outright that "It’s plain to see/ evil inside of me/ is on the rise." * Instead of objecting to murder on moral grounds, his arguments turn toward style. "Killing’s not elegant or creative." He’s already on the slippery slope. * And then, during the confrontation with Hammer in the laundromat, you can practically see the change come over him as he decides that, yes, murder is his style after all:

It’s a brand new day And the sun is high All the birds are singing That you’re gonna die How I hesitated Now I wonder why It’s a brand new day

* This is also the first time that Billy self-identifies as "evil".

Click on the link for more :

http://lurkingrhythmically.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-horrible-ending.html