Many “Hamilton” fans got their first chance to see the play performed when it arrived on Disney Plus last weekend. For fans who had only listened to the cast album, the filmed version of the musical contained several moments that were a surprise — particularly the show’s ending.
The musical ends with Eliza Hamilton giving the final words of the show, but the film — unlike the cast album — includes a dramatic gasp from Eliza as she stands at the very edge of the stage.
After watching the moment on Disney Plus, many fans of the show have begun debating the meaning of the ending, according to Bustle. And now the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, has weighed in on the debate.
There’s a wide range of fan theories about that final moment. Philippa Soo, who played Eliza in the original Broadway cast and the filmed version, addressed some of the theories in an interview in 2016, according to BuzzFeed News.
“People are like, ‘Is it Eliza going into heaven? Is she seeing Alexander? Is she seeing God? What is it?’ And it’s kind of all of those things,” said Soo, according to BuzzFeed. “Sometimes, it’s literally, I look out and I see the audience, and that’s what it is, but I think that idea of ‘transcendence’ is present in all of that.”
On Wednesday, Miranda responded on Twitter to another theory, which went viral this week on TikTok, according to Bustle.
TikTok user Mallory Ellis suggested that Miranda was playing himself in the final scene — meaning that it was Miranda, and not Alexander Hamilton, leading Eliza to the edge of the stage at the end. According to this theory, her gasp signified the fourth wall breaking and seeing that “he told her story,” according to Bustle.
However, Miranda didn’t exactly agree with this theory.
“It’s a lovely notion,” Miranda tweeted. “But it breaks down the moment I’m not playing the role.”
Miranda referenced two other actors who played the role of Alexander Hamilton during the musical’s first year, Javier Munoz and Jon Rua. However, Miranda did not offer any interpretation of his own for Eliza’s gasp.
“The Gasp is The Gasp is The Gasp,” Miranda wrote on Twitter. “I love all the interpretations.”
Previously, Miranda has spoken about the meaning of the moment, saying there isn’t a “simple answer,” according to BuzzFeed.
Miranda said the gasp was “heart-stopping and traverses time in some way,” according to BuzzFeed.
According to Bustle, others associated with “Hamilton” have also spoken about the moment, including director Thomas Kail, who said, “I’m happy that there’s a dot dot dot at the end of our show as opposed to some sort of definitive statement.”
Still, even if there isn’t a definite interpretation of the play’s ending, many fans are still coming up with and debating theories of their own.