Team Starkid's SECOND Magnum Opus

[@goobrious7505]

One thing I want to touch on here that I didn't mention in the video. My comments on Ethan & Becky being "underutilized" are referring only to their presence in Black Friday and how that affects my view on it as a standalone play. However, within the context of Hatchetfield being anthology series, Ethan & Becky have the potential to be further fleshed out in future Hatchetfield material, in fact they already have been with Nightmare Time, and I believe that only strengthens Black Friday as a play by adding context to that original story that they made their debut in. This applies to almost every Hatchetfield character actually, nearly all of them have had more than one story appearance that's told us something significant about their character. The only major exceptions to this that I can think of are newer characters who were exclusive to Nightmare Time 2 & Nerdy Prudes Must Die, but even then you could easily assume that they''ll be given similar treatment in future Hatchetfield material.

[@shayne_has_landed2511]

The unfortunate reality of Starkid shows is they get one shot. When plays are first written, their timeline is usually draft after draft after draft of performances before they’re fully finished. There are previews of shows and so many different runs with rewriting in between. There are Broadway shows that have gone through the drafting process in writing, had previews, rewritten, had new previews, rewritten, ran for a few weeks, shut down, rewritten, had new previews a couple months later, rewritten, ran for a few more weeks, rewritten, had some more previews, then officially open years later. Starkid gets one shot. They write their show and do the entirety of their rewriting before it’s introduced to a real audience. Then they get one run of performances and record one of them to be shared on the internet to millions of viewers. And that’s it- no changing it. Black Friday has great potential to get all those kinks worked out, just not in the unique environment Starkid has right now.

[@spcxplrr]

i mean, it's mentioned here that starkid cut together multiple showings and a few shots in an empty theatre for close-ups, at least in black friday (and also in npmd).

[@Zakemaster]

@@spcxplrrwhich, to be fair, instead the point. They’re different that they only get one shot to do the recording. The point was that the show itself really doesn’t benefit from the usual constant iteration and improvement that many larger musicals or plays get. Watching the transformation of Hadestown over nearly a decade before reaching its final form really shows all the ways a musical usually changes, both big and small, through constant runs through test audiences and previews, being iterated over and over again until it’s where the creators want it. Once a Starkid show is shown to people, that’s it. No more tweaking. No iteration and improving the problems audiences had with it. It forever exists in that state.

[@TheHopperUK]

@@Zakemaster You're exactly right. This is also why Rent has some issues that can't be fixed.

[@Zakemaster]

@@TheHopperUKtragically, yeah

[@brandontsosie4514]

Also the draft of what could've been listening to the writers. Nerdy prudes must die was supposed to be the starting point so having that switched place different pressures to build up lore in other places too.

[@vinylcomets]

Corey is one of my favorite Starkids just cuz he’s one of the only lower-musical-range-d members, meaning I can actually sing the songs he’s in without having to take it down the octave.

[@yoyohayli]

Nothing is stopping you from shifting whatever octave down to what you are comfortable with! I do that with songs that go too low for me, but shifting an octave upward and then continuing on as written until a shift is needed again.

[@r863sa]

"Wiggly is inspired by Cthulhu" They're actually pretty blatant about it if you've read any Lovecraft. They talk about him being an underwater creature from out of the world, and being deep down in Drowsytown sleeping the dreamless sleep of the dead, a pretty obvious parallel to "In his house at R'lyeh (a sunken city), dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

[@goobrious7505]

I'm not a lovecraft expert, so it really was just a hunch on my part. Thank you for the extra insight!

[@inspirationisfleeting7933]

There is also a reference in some shorts to the Church of Starry Children - a nod to Lovecraft’s Church of Starry Wisdom as well as a reference to Star kid!

[@Star-boy_106]

“And omg Paul’s here” is the realest reaction to Paul being in Black Friday

[@alexlodervo]

The way Ted holds hands with who we now know is Pete in the last shot of the show gets me every time

[@Sillylilgrill]

I’m so glad Black Friday is getting the recognition it deserves. It’s amazing.

[@JonEBoi-hi9pr]

this entire trilogy is their magnum opus tbh

[@goobrious7505]

guess what my NPMD video is gonna be called when i eventually make it lmao (it's gonna be a long time before i do but i definitely wanna)

[@Jellybeansatdusk]

I honestly think if you’re going to pick one musical that represents their entire body of work, parody that doesn’t get stale, has the most comedic AND emotional moments, and some of the best/most unforgettable songs…it’s got to be Twisted.

[@JonEBoi-hi9pr]

@@goobrious7505YESS that’s my favorite musical. Can’t wait for that vid!

[@goobrious7505]

@@Jellybeansatdusk Twisted is excellent don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't say it represents their ENTIRE body of work. It's debatably the best their parody era has to offer, but Trail To Oregon onward they started to focus more on making wholly original musicals instead. Stuff like that & Firebringer transitioned us into the era that truly began with The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals where they've been diving into genres they'd never done before and concepts that have significantly more scope to them than their older works that focused on playing off of existing properties (with some exceptions like Starship and MAMD). Both eras are excellent in their own right but it's also difficult to compare the two because outside of having similar humor at times they're drastically different.

[@Jellybeansatdusk]

@@goobrious7505 except one can argue that TGWDLM, BF, and NPMD are all parodies of the genre they represent, specifically subsections, and rely heavily on the use of established tropes and the familiarity of the audience with these tropes for the jokes to land. Which if fine bc it works and they are beloved, but is parody in its own right. I think to say this new genre of musical and accompanying webisode format is more representative of their work as a whole fails to describe the decade of nostalgia-based parody of specific IPs and reimagining them in a more crude/dirty/modern way that incorporates a lot of internet discussion of the original works and memes people share and the way fans interact with them as they age. In terms of the small cast, versatility of actors, balance of drama and comedy and emotional beats, quality and cohesiveness of songs, and especially pacing, I find Twisted to excel over most musicals they’ve produced. Also TTO and Starship are both parody musicals as well. The Trail to Oregon is a video game which is why they had audience interaction elements, and Starship had a lot of fun references to the little mermaid and starship troopers so it exists in a very weird liminal space in my brain lol. I think the recent musicals are awesome and I love the nightmare time videos which flesh the world out even further, but I think to say that they are an accurate representation of the full history of the troupe is not really accurate. I also think that there’s not as much divide between the two “eras” as people think, because a lot of facets overlap and remained integral to the “Starkid” brand.

[@artfulsam]

So glad this showed up in my recommended, this is a great analysis! I get why people think this is the “weakest” of the Hatchetfield trilogy and I don’t disagree, but for whatever reason it’s the one I find myself coming back to the most. You’re absolutely right about how it does the heavy lifting in establishing this as a multiverse, and I love the way it calls back to TGWDLM and sets up stuff expanded upon in NPMD and Nightmare Time, both in large and smaller ways. (One of my favorite small details is Ted not only holding Charlotte in “What If Tomorrow Comes,” but also reaching out for Pete and grabbing his hand. Shows him spending his last moments with the one character we as the audience already knew he actually cared about, and hints at the other character he cares about, even though, when Black Friday released, we hadn’t been introduced to his little brother properly. There’s so many little details in the Hatchetfield universe that get so much more interesting on a rewatch the more lore gets explained.) Anyway, love this video a lot- also, nice soundtrack. Putting “My Lord, My Wally” in a Black Friday video fits a lil too well.

[@wallace25859]

Small but favorite detail... Emma repeating "okay" after hearing/seeing something absurd like how Paul did in TGWDLM, I think they're my favorite characters

[@goobrious7505]

5 favorite Hatchetfield characters in no order Paul Lex Bill Pete Ms Holloway

[@silasnichols7593]

Great analysis! I’m loving these video essays some recognition for Black Friday. In terms of underutilized characters, though, the one who feels the most underutilized to me is Lex. She’s supposed to be one of the main characters, but she disappears during Feast or Famine and then doesn’t get to do anything until she saves the day in the end. Furthermore, Ethan’s death not being really acknowledged is as big of a missed opportunity for her as it is for him, as her reaction to that information could have made for a great moment. Her powers, too, appear once with no foreshadowing to save her life and then never get used again. She’s a great character, but to me she feels like the one whose storyline was hurt the most by the lack of time to develop it. That being said, I love Black Friday with all my heart

[@goobrious7505]

Lex is present in Feast Or Famine, if you keep an eye out for her you can spot her in the choreography, usually in the background trying to avoid the chaos like Frank which makes sense, the focus is on the rioting customers as opposed to the retail workers trying to hide from said riot. That being said Tom does easily get the most focus out of all the characters present in the musical.

[@imtooqueerforthis]

I don't mind having these loose ends so much because it leaves threads for fanfic/headcanon to follow up on - Lex not mourning Ethan's death creates a fridge logic moment where you realise she might not have KNOWN he died, and from there you can headcanon Lex's realisation of & reaction to Ethan's death that canon didn't have time for I understand what you mean by saying the characters are underutilised, but I definitely see plot holes as potential plot POCKETS that we get to fill extra-textually Idk ig neatly rounded-off texts are nice but it hits different when there's wiggle room

[@redscorner4324]

@@goobrious7505 Lex actually joins in on the choreography once we get more into the chorus, and she's able to be seen circling Frank with everyone else. I think that Lex was slightly pulled into the allure of the Wiggly doll with everyone else even though she'd grabbed one already because she still has a desire for the doll and what it'll bring her. Her worry for Hannah, and not being in proximity to a doll is what breaks her out of it I think.

[@Squirrelfiend44]

I think Tom absolutely falls into the criteria of “out for himself” You are right that his love for his son is what breaks him out of Wiggly’s spell in the end, I think Tom is a great example of how we can want to help someone for the wrong reasons. Throughout the whole first scene Tim actively tells his dad multiple times exactly what he wants/needs from him. “Skiball sucks” and “I wanted to have a good time” but Tom was looking for a fast simple solution to provide for Tim physically and not emotionally, so he was off “getting that RC car you wanted” Personally Tom’s motivations at the beginning of the play as guilt driven: Tom wants Tim to be better to stop himself from feeling guilty. And his final song is his motivations shifting to i want my son to be better and I am guilty and my son loves me anyway and we can fix this together.

[@aliceisaperson]

Watching this video made me think about the implications of the homeless man being apart of the wiggly cult for the first time. Truly upsetting when you think about it.

[@goobrious7505]

it's worse if you've seen the Nightmare Time episode Time Bastard if you know you know

[@matthewhearn9910]

If this timeline continued, Wiggly and Tinky might have needed to have words over who gets to keep him.

[@dehendrix1]

Black friday wasnt nearly as polished as the other two hatchetfield shows. Most of the cast was sick or about to get sick, it has a more serious plot with very little of the "normal" starkid humor, and weaker main characters than the other two shows. While it had misses, and i agree that the presidential stuff is both the most important and the most clunky, I think it showed that they can go bigger even if it was too big in the end right now. I could see the next big non HF show being a more serious story along these lines not gonna lie, they proved they can lean more serious without losing their identity. SO while its probably the clunkiest since the parody days, Its for sure in my top 5 starkid musicals, and second for HF.

[@gracereads2917]

This is why I loved the Nightmare Time series. We got to see another side to each characters stories and the arc for the Foster sisters is one of my favourites.

[@skysantiago7360]

ITS ANGELA WITH LONG HAIR

[@degrassi420]

ive been a fan of both starkid and smosh since long before she joined either, but i’m so used to seeing her in smosh content that i completely forgot she looked like that at one point

[@cubescop]

THATS WHAT I THOUGHT TOO

[@gobsmr]

everytime i see clips from black friday i do a double take😭

[@IsaacMayerCreativeWorks]

if angela ever gets a funeral roast i hope she starts her clapback with "There's something that's beautiful, being awake for my funeral. You can close the casket now."

[@amberwasatomic]

Black Friday is the Hatchetfield musical i go back to the most. I think its because its the easiest to get into. The action happens fast snd the emotional connections are stronger. NPMD is a bop but it feels like a smaller story. Where BF feels less like a bottle episode and the characters feel more realized. I agree about Becky and Tom feeling rushed and specially thinking about her fate in Nightmare Time and how these two characters end up. I wish Ethan got more time or we got more of He and Hannah in the mall

[@crispyliza7050]

I just love the Hatchetfield universe so damn much, truly a masterpiece

[@nikkifaedahlen]

I love this analysis! I do want to say, though I may have misconstrued or misheard something, but I believe Nick has mentioned that Nerdy Prudes Must Die was the first Hatchetfield story that was outlined, but they ended up finishing The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals first for external reasons. With that context, the trilogy feels to me almost out of order, with NPMD having the smallest scope and Black Friday having the largest. It’s not necessarily productive, but I can only imagine how Black Friday might’ve been given the extra baking time that NPMD had to be able to wrangle its storylines more, or if given the length that NPMD had to pace them more consistently throughout.

[@tildava]

Loved the video! Black Friday is often overlooked so it's amazing to hear other peoples analysis about it! I want to defend Ethans death tho, to me it's very symbolic, dying for no reason. So many people irl die for no reason, via fights, quick spreading illnesses, police brutality you name it. They could've had/been so much, just like Ethan, but they just, died. The show is pretty realistic after all (don't think aboutwiggly) with the "unfairness" of life that everybody experiences. Sometimes the world writes you out of the play just because, and I see Ethan as an exaple of that. Loss that we can't reason with

[@goobrious7505]

That's a very good way to interpret Ethan's death, i think. Curt's character in that scene, calling the whole thing a "waste of time," backs that up quite well tbh. I do still wish we at least got a scene of Lex finding out about Ethans death, tho.

[@selkiefxs5000]

​@@goobrious7505Nick Lang did acknowledge that and he said that, to remedy that, Lex could sense Ethan's death with the gift, she and Hannah just didn't talk about it because it was too painful. They both knew, though. Its not the greatest reasoning but it's something, at least.

[@goobrious7505]

@selkiefxs5000 That's a good explanation, and I like that we have that retroactively. But the fact that this isn't communicated in the play itself still makes it weird for first-time viewers, especially.

[@selkiefxs5000]

@@goobrious7505 Yeah. I think they were having to think about so much that they probably forgot they had to make it clear that Lex knew Ethan died. I also wish they had her express that in at least some way but at least we have some sort of explanation.

[@goobrious7505]

@selkiefxs5000 absolutely, Black Friday had so many moving parts that needed to be managed almost simultaneously within the story and I say as much in this video that I think that is what keeps certain aspects of the story from being as good as they could have been.

[@chaoscomeswithin]

I'm so happy to see someone not only analyzing and deep diving into Black Friday but truly grasping both it's strengths and it's weaker spots. I talk a lot to my friends about how Black Friday is great but way too ambitious, I've even done rewatchs just to see where were the pieces that made them fail even so slightly. This video does a great job doing it, and I really loved your analysis. Thank you for taking the time you needed

[@archercaro]

despite its flaws, I keep coming back to Black Friday. the music, the story, the characters, they're all just so compelling. truly a standout show for me. great video!!

[@silverghost7360]

great video! i loved the in-depth character analysis. black friday has some of my favorite characters in the hatchetfield series, and i feel like they get overlooked in the wider fanbase. it was really nice to see them get the attention they deserve here :D

[@zayamoone]

Yesterday, a friend sent me the link to your TGWDLM video (which was absolutely fantastic, TGWDLM is my favorite Hatchetfield installation and the video was super enjoyable and interesting), and last night we started watching Black Friday together. Then I noticed this video two hours after you posted it! What timing! Anyways, I really didn't like BF that much after watching it, but after rewatching the first half of it with my friend (who I just got into Hatchetfield, and who was enjoying BF while we were watching it) and now after watching this video, I'm starting to appreciate it a lot more, so thank you! (Though, it is possible my apathy towards it is due to my delayed reactions when I watch a new media, before really getting into it. It takes a while for me to care about the characters and the stories, but once I do, oh man, do I care.) This video really highlighted a lot of the things I missed or didn't appreciate enough the first time around, so well done! I'll be looking forward to a NPMD video, if you ever decide to do one! (Plus, I have to know what your new favorite Starkid villain song is.)

[@goobrious7505]

Black Friday is looked at as the Black Sheep of the Hatchetfield series, and I get it, but I still felt like it needed it's own video to highlight what it brought to the table and how it impacted the series.

[@zayamoone]

@@goobrious7505 And right you were, this video really helped me change my perspective on it!

[@helna.s]

At 23:12, I don’t think it’s a good example of mourning for Ethan, because she has no idea where he is. The last she saw of Ethan and Hannah is when they were going to the cineplex. The only thing that she knows about them is that there has been no new information on Ethan, and that the cult has Hannah and they were going to kill her. She had no idea Ethan was dead and I think that makes it even more sad

[@goobrious7505]

I moreso take issue with the lack of a scene where Lex finds out that Ethan died, I could have phrased it better in the video tho.

[@taifromyea]

I actually started writing a fanfic of how I thought it would have gone if Ethan had survived, I never finished it but I suppose it shows that more people shared that view that much more could have been done with his character

[@chychy7559]

I looooove Black Friday! I had the fortune of seeing it live and it was magical. Thank you for giving it the recognition it deserves ❤ Also: i dont think Lex knew Ethan died. Even if she did she wouldnt have had time to mourn him because of the paceing of everything!

[@dd-go1wy]

Me: oh i don't mind if there's spoilers! I'm too much of a scaredy cat to watch it in full! me at the end: ... wait did they fucking nuke hatchetfeild?!

[@plapln9347]

I LOVE your analysis. Can't wait for the NPMD one 😌

[@katejadi]

black friday definitly isn't the best musical I've seen - but i love just turning it on and enjoying everything it /does/ have to offer. it's amazing

[@emmarose24]

ANGELA!!!!!!!!!

[@daniaull5386]

OMG same I was looking for this comment I was like is that fucking Angela 😂

[@awildnoviceappears]

I really love that you did this! Black Friday might be my least favorite HF entry, but that's not because it isn't good (it is really good, actually) but because the other entries were way more fleshed out. The fact that it was too ambitious is by no means the worst problem that it could have had. The fact that it didn't get the rewrite it desperately needed is sad actually but I like how it did what it did!

[@torunnskaug2240]

Love the video, love hearing Sly Cooper soundtrack in the background even more

[@SuperBatSpider]

Black Friday is a great critique of capitalism and religion at the same time Buying your kids a Wiggly doll or taking them to church, they only “love” it because you were involved Capitalism and religion claim to fix the problems in your life, but neither will

[@E_Does_YT]

My favorite part of What If Tomorrow Comes is that at the end when everyone’s gathering together, Ted is there with Charlotte and Hot Chocolate Boy/Movie Theater Boy because he’s actually Peter Spankoffski, Ted’s younger brother.

[@itsyaboy2789]

Although it is still probably my least favourite in the series it is definitely the most vital one. i agree that i think the musical bit off more than it could chew but like, none of the other entries (minus tgwdlm) could exist without it. its ambition is what made nerdy prudes so incredible imo (idk what im getting at here lmao but like grahhh)

[@anarissa29]

I love Black Friday the most of the Hatchetfield series! I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it’s amazing. The songs are so fun, the choreography of “Feast or Famine” had me slack-jawed the first time I saw it. This show is just so fun, and your coverage of it and TGWDLM have been great! I can’t wait for you to cover more Starkid shows! (NPMD next and Twisted after that? lol)

[@abbyphay]

My main issue with the Becky plot line is that “Take Me Back” kind of implies that Tom wishes he had never married Jane. Now there could be an argument made that he thinks if he had, he wouldn’t have killed Jane. And obviously Becky wishes so because her life without him was miserable. But to me it just feels like Tom is glossing over everything that Jane and Tim meant to him, which is the entire reason he’s even in the mall in the first place. It just doesn’t sit right with me and I wish they had included the confirmation that he was happy before with Jane, that he loved her, and it’s not just the guilt of killing he’d that he’s feeling, but also the loss of someone close to him. Currently it just feels like the only reason he tells Emma he wants to talk about Jane at the end of the movie is because Becky’s in the picture now. Don’t get me wrong, Becky’s a great character, but I think you’re right about the whole Ethan should have gotten more thing, and it’s got me thinking about merging the two characters. Imagine Ethan, one of Tom’s former students, being saved by Tom in the Mall. Maybe Tom’s star wood shop student back when he was still teaching. And then Ethan repays Tom by saving him, dragging him into the theater for cover. He recalls a time when Tom had to help him up to the nurse’s office after a wood shop accident. Tom takes the opportunity to ask more about Lex, and Ethan tells him about helping her take care of Hannah and what the two of them have going on. Tom asks why he’s willing to leave his family to take them, but Ethan avoids the question, instead asking how Tim is doing and how Tom’s holding up, which reminds Tom about his quest for a Wiggly doll. Then Tom goes into his trauma dump about being the one driving during the accident, but then ends it by saying he shouldn’t be putting all this on a kid. Then Ethan opens up about his abusive father, how he stormed an innocent beach party and accused them of drinking, brought Ethan home and beat the crap out of him. And one day, while watching Hannah for Lex, he gets a text demanding he come home, and he rebels, because no one is going to stand in the way of him taking care of Lex’s family. And when he finally gets home, his dad starts beating him until he runs into the woods to get away and ends up offing his dad. The next day, Lex is talking about running away with Hannah, and he offers to go with. He ends it by swearing he’s going to be a much better father to Hannah than his dad ever was, mentioning that Tom stepping up for Tim was a huge inspiration for him. It also gives Ethan a chance to tell Tom about the doll, but he keeps it a secret. They go off to find Hannah, and that’s how Tom finds out, and turns on Ethan for hiding it from him, being taken over by the wiggly mania. He knocks Ethan out, stealing the doll, and the rest of the show commences. You could even stir up some Linda drama with him, maybe he’s the same age as one of her sons and would have beaten him in tryouts for insert sport here, but ultimately had to drop out because his dad wouldn’t let him, and of course Linda recognized why, but it meant her beautiful son got to play the game instead of sitting on the bench so she would never utter a word. Maybe Ethan lives and ends up taking that final shot that Becky was supposed to, or maybe he doesn’t survive and Tom vows to take his place taking care of the girls, finally letting Lex be a kid again, and giving Hannah the home she deserves. Then Lex and Hannah can have a moment where they grieve Ethan, and lean on each other for support, and Tom sees that example and wants that for him and Tim too, so he embraces Emma’s help in remembering and honoring Jane and rebuilding his family, much bigger and full of more love and support than the way he was trying before. That is until Moscow fires back, but you know, the sentiment is still there.

[@goobrious7505]

Tom can be happy with Becky and reminisce on a time earlier in his life while still caring about Jane & Tim. Those two things don't contradict each other, and I personally think the ideal purpose of Take Me Back should have been to help Tom's emotional state begin to heal (in combination with If I Fail You finishing his arc later) so he could work up the nerve to talk about Jane. It's not just guilt that's plaguing him throughout the musical, it's avoidance. He needs to talk about Jane to be able to move on, for his sake and for Tim's. The crux of his arc is showing us that he can't properly work through that trauma in the way that he's trying to, by keeping Tim at arm's length and trying to please him with gifts. But with Take Me Back (and the scene that leads into it) you have a proper emotional confrontation where the both of them are honest about their feelings and their trauma and that's able to happen because Tom already has this deep connection to Becky. That being said, I do find your rewrite for merging Ethan & Becky as characters to be pretty interesting, but they would have had to get someone else to play Kris Kringle for the Santa Clause Is Going To Highschool bit, since he's played by the same guy who played Ethan in Black Friday.

[@ForeverDegenerate]

@@goobrious7505 Originally, Kris Kringle was to be played by Darren Criss. Also, originally, the whole "Santa Clause Is Goin' To High School" part was never meant to be live on stage. It was meant to be pre-recorded. Hence why Darren said he'd do it. When the decision was made to expand that part to a full on-stage live performance, they had to re-cast because Darren wasn't available for rehearsals and performances.

[@mayarbuzik7075]

I kind of had similar thoughts while watching "take me back". For me it felt less like they actually love each other but more like they feel nostalgic to the simpler times. It was barely a year since his wife died. They work much better in their nightmare time episode though. Unfortunately they are my least favourite hatchetfield couple.

[@chlothebro418]

great video! i am looking forward to your future analyses (esp. the mention of npmd having the best villain song)

[@November_Monday]

Keep up the good work! I believe in you 👍

[@TBG1]

My favourite outta the trilogy. I watched the musicals in reverse order and it made me appreciate the earlier ones all the better. But black friday just holds a special place in my heart

[@h8ney]

oh my god this is so perfect i needed a starkid related thing to watch and black friday is my fav rn

[@spicy.scribz]

I love blackfriday sm, I'd love to see your analysis on NPMD!

[@OhBoyILoveTomatoes]

First vid of yours I’ve seen, and dude this shit is so well made! Was shocked when I saw you didn’t have like 10k subs. It was sick as heck seeing someone talk about my favorite musical, keep up the great work homie!

[@Lin-ki9kp]

once again I realized I did not think about the implications my brain went boom great video!!!!! :D

[@krunchy1736]

Great use of the Dark Cloud OST!

[@kay049]

please talk about nerdy prudes must die!! its my favorite of the trilogy and would love to hear your analysis

[@cynicalsheep]

Love this video (+ the TGWDLM one too!) If I may make a suggestion, I recommend that you stop using Summer Love as background music because I found the drums extremely distracting when trying to follow along with what you were saying!

[@goobrious7505]

I know you're right but I don't want to accept it lmao

[@cynicalsheep]

@@goobrious7505 I'm sorry its a really good track 😭just not for a video essay

[@ms-y4246]

I always thought that they did a bait and switch with "the warrior in a deep slumber", it seems like it's Tom who needed waking up, but she was a warrior who fought back from her abusers and had to wake up from the harm she had literally and metaphorically caused herself (the doormat -isms and the legit knock out drugs)

[@DweebusMeebus]

Something I just realised is that in what if tomorrow comes, right near the end, ted holds hot chocolate kids hand. And we now know that that’s Richie. His BROTHER 😭

[@goobrious7505]

It's Pete, actually, but yeah, that's a great detail

[@DweebusMeebus]

@@goobrious7505 oh yeah mb I forgot his name

[@Yummer_Reddy]

Only Around 900 Subs? With This Video Quality? Damn, You Need More Love lol

[@ellakoenig]

i love black friday :,) glad it’s getting the recognition it deserves

[@Red_24]

HAT IN TIME.

[@Doodle_Mations]

U should totallllyyyy make one of these but prob shorter for each nightmare timeeee

[@supertoxicgamer]

I agree so hard about your story notes. We deserved a rewrite and reproduction. a complete remaster of the trilogy! haha jk but I hate how this musical doesnt have an ending! its so sudden and there isnt alot of wrap up.

[@luxury_nightmare]

THIS COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE THREE MAIN PLAYS IN THE HATCHETFIELD SERIES. Quick analysis. Want in the hatchetfield series always, and I mean Always, relates to the lords in black. In tgwdlm, the song “what do you want Paul?” is sung directly under the influence of one of the lords, pokey (yeah fun fact, not aliens!), and Paul only falls victim to the hive mind after he admits to general McNamara that he wants him and Emma to be a thing. In Black Friday, all of the I want songs (what time wants, CaliforM.I.A, and Adore me) are sung under wiggly influence, and wiggly’s whole thing is he takes advantage of people’s desires. In npmd (spoilers) the lords in black demand that Steph or Pete shoot eachother, because they want to be together. Pokey even references what do you want Paul in the summoning. I’m not entirely sure what it means but it’s a reoccurring pattern.

[@katy-hn2jm]

idk if youve seen nightmare time (i really recommend it, the format can be off-putting to some tho) but theres a lot more focus on the lords in black there which is one of the many reasons they turn up in NPMD. nightmare time delves into the multiple universes/timelines a lot more and you get the impression that the lords in black just like toying/messing with the people of hatchetfield (watcher world, time bastard and honey queen in particular show this through blinky, tinky and nibbly) and the three main musicals are bigger budget examples of what they tend to do

[@luxury_nightmare]

@@katy-hn2jm I have seen it, but their talking about the main three musicals in this series so I am as well

[@donovan7chaotic38]

Dylan Saunders has always been one of my favorite starkid members, and somehow I'm only just now realizing that he played Tom Houston.

[@laniewilson5266]

He looks and sounds pretty different - I was convinced it wasn’t him

[@Leanor90]

Probably my favorite song from Black Friday

[@joshuagordon5323]

Is that the Sly Cooper soundtrack in Ethan's section?

[@goobrious7505]

Yes! All the music I used is listed in the description

[@cadenzaaa___]

i keep forgetting that angela was in starkid

[@katy-hn2jm]

she still is haha she was in NPMD as well

[@britnicox3929]

BF is my least favorite of the hatchetfield trilogy musicals. The first time I watched it, I wasn’t really that impressed, especially since I watched it after I saw NPMD - which is my absolute favorite. There were parts that were not developed as much as it should’ve been to really make it hit home for me as hard as it could, especially Lex or Webby or Hannah. I can appreciate that this just may not be the musical meant for me so I still recommend it to other people because I think that it should be watched for the message and themes and music. It sits in this weird kind of limbo of me not liking it but the music itself still haunts me and refuses to leave my brain alone 🤣🤣 I start crying almost every time I listen to Black Friday or If I Fail You. This video was really good though! It did make me appreciate it a little more Also someone pointed out that if Wiggly fulfills a hole your life and Paul and Emma never feel the need to go get the doll, or seem affected by the radio commercial they hear, and Paul actively hates the doll as much as he does, it means that they are content and happy with their life with one another - and that just warms my little heart

[@katy-hn2jm]

i remember being a little disappointed when black friday first came out (i still liked the show but it felt very long and drawn out, esp. with less of the starkid humour dispersed throughout) especially because of how clunky the president sections could feel - they almost felt like an interruption of the story - but now, after having the chance to rewatch it with the context of nightmare time and NPMD, i was able to appreciate what we were given a lot more. i think as a show, its better to experience it before NPMD, mainly because nerdy prudes (because of a bigger budget and the inclusion of nightmare time lore, like the LIB) feels bigger as a story even though black friday is undoubtedly the most ambitious of the three musical, so black friday kinda gets overshadowed by the others if you see them both first. rewatching just allows us to appreciate black friday as its own work and what it brought to the table for hatchetfield

[@LittleLeaf0353]

Sly 2 OST detected. Video Liked. Simple man I am. (also great essay)

[@DevoteaSings]

Well, personally I think Twisted and TGTDM deserve the title of their Magnum Opus more, but this is definitely a good contender/alternative (and I think it's wonderful that each of their plays is good enough to be someone's favourite/the best one in their view)

[@johnmobley9369]

The guy who didn’t like musicals is still my favorite in comparison but Black Friday was such a great spiritual successor, well one of the most faithful sequels in consistency and quality.

[@bonyannie]

I think it could have been better if it wasnt trying to be so serious the whole way through. The serious characters only had one dimension and it brought the whole tone down. Think of paul in tgwdlm. He was serious and supposed to be boring, but he was played so well that his most serious moments still had comedy. Think of the scene when he sees emma after la dee da da day, the line 'Hello? Please, i just want a black coffee!' And his 'NOOO!' when emma comes out singing. In this show the tone would have been so serious and we would have missed out on a really good joke. Ethan and linda are serious, but the actors are having so much fun with it that we also have fun with it. Also someone else should have played tim because tim not appearing at the end of the world was ridiculous. How are we supposed to care when the main characters dont even care? He was supposed to be the motivation for the rest of toms actions but hes so unimportant! Its a ridiculous and fun concept, and taking it seriously the whole way through only took the fun out of it.

[@FruityGroovy]

Should point out that according to Jon, Gary Goldstein's actor, he believes that Gary wasn't actually enthralled by Wiggly, but was just excited to be a part of something. Which I'm going to take as true because it's the funnier way to look at it.

[@goobrious7505]

I'm adopting this into my headcanon, and honestly, I think it still lines up quite nicely with my analysis of the cult as a whole. He's excited to he included in something, even if its a world ending cult. Wiggly is giving Goldstein what he wants.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

1:03 What is the best critique of capitalism you've seen in a musical???

[@goobrious7505]

I was wondering when somebody was going to ask about that. I'm not going to spoil it right because I want to make a video about it someday! :)

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

@@goobrious7505 I can't wait! I also really loved the anticapitalist message in this show, glad you mentioned it

[@briarnotblair]

NPMD video when

[@colinestes9709]

I thought Starkid could make a musical about Hannah herself. The character is interesting, and making a show about her would bring more dimension to her character, or it could complicate her even more.

[@goobrious7505]

Shout the Nightmare Time episodes The Witch In The Web and Yellow Jacket

[@Lgamergeek]

i kinda feel like ethan was a slight parody on the mentor that dies in stories. not a particulally funny one. but i feel like that was meant to be like... kinda the point, that hes written out??

[@goobrious7505]

That's a take that I've definitely come around to more since I made this video. Ethan, as a character, isn't fleshed out much in Black Friday, but his importance to the play is more symbolic than anything else.

[@megankent-pb1pf]

i beg you do npmd and nightmare time 1&2 and workin boys

[@gurnord]

Now I’m curious: What is the best critique of capitalism you have seen in a musical? If Black Friday is the second

[@goobrious7505]

You're the second person to ask that question. I'll give you the same answer, I'm not going to spoil that rn because I wanna make a video about it sometime in the future.

[@gurnord]

@@goobrious7505 Cool! I’ll definitely watch that video if/when it’s uploaded

[@castro1011]

It took me a while to check out The guy who didn't like musicals. I finally watched it in October of 2023. Since than ive rewatched it 5 or 6 times. .....While I had to struggle to eatch Black Friday even once, Im glad some people love this musicial but I just didn't. I wasnt a huge fan of the plot, the songs werent all that memorable and outside of Wiggly there werent any charcaters I found remotley interesting. I like that they tried to go for a more serious approach while NPMD and TGWDLM were comedies, I just personally didnt think it worked.

[@mermaid0tails]

are you going to talk about nerdy prudes?

[@goobrious7505]

Eventually But I wanna wait a while before I start working on that one because I already know it's gonna be longer than this video is.

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

)=- D

[@MoondustManwise]

Personally, I think the hatchefield trilogy is hard to rank just because they're all better than each other in certain ways and worse in others. I think TGWDLM has the best and most cohesive overall story, while Black Friday has the best solo songs, and NPMD has the best duets and group numbers. I think TGWDLM has probably the weakest songs overall, black friday has the weakest overall story, and NPMD has the weakest romance/leads (specifically the two in that romance)

[@castle3267]

For me, Nerdy Prudes must die sits comfortably at the top. IMO, it outclasses the previous installments in almost every way. It has the best songs in any starkid show, it has the best story with it not feeling complicated with too many main characters and subplots like Black Friday, and with said characters being interesting unlike the guy who didn’t like musicals (except for Emma, she’s great).

[@goobrious7505]

Steph & Pete as the worst couple is a WILD take imo, but to be fair, Hatchetfield has yet to miss with its ships.

[@desmondcoppin591]

I don't like Black Friday. I like a lot of parts, but as a whole, it didn't really come together that well in my opinion. There were some great songs and also some incredibly boring ones. Honestly, in my opinion, it felt like they were doing too much at once with this one. It also felt to me, like it was a little pretentious? The whole materialism thing just kinda feels like making the whole thing about a kind of half-baked "message." Which is fine, if the message was as deep as they thought it was. Even the best songs had parts that kinda ruined them, and overall, its just one of my least favorites. I think in the development of this one, they were trying to intentionally manufacture a "magnum opus", and it really just doesn't have that same star kid feel, in my opinion. Also, am I the only one that wants the whole hatchet field thing to end already? I just want some new funny musicals that don't have all this interconnected lore and can just tell a nice story.

[@Gurlzup123]

Lots of people keep saying that they are different universes. I disagree. In nightmare time we learn that when someone dies their clone replaces them. Also, when Ted got stuck in the past he only did so in one universe and one timeline. In other words, anything that shows or mentions the existence of homeless Ted is happening in the same timeline and universe.

[@goobrious7505]

I might need a refresher on NMT, but I thought the only clone who replaced their original was Paul in Forever & Always. And we learn in that episode that CCRP is making tons of clones of Paul specifically to be sent off to war, and that he wasn't supposed to replace Paul originally. (Emma in that episode doesn't count, she's a cyborg from the future)

[@flocab9110]

I think they are different universes (some episodes from nmt might overlap with other episodes/musicals) but some things might still be the same. For example, paul and emma always get together, lex and ethan are always together and end up apart, pete and steph always have to almost die before they can be together. Homeless ted could be the same, some things in these universes are kinda destined to be, and since there are so many universes some are just little variations of others

[@genericname2747]

Black Friday is good, but I think it's the weakest musical in the trilogy. The 2 other musicals just have a stronger plot, with an alien invasion and a ghost story, instead of a story about capitalism, and girls with psyhic powers, and cults, and world war three.

[@PixiePoison]

I still stand by the thought I had the first time I saw this show. I feel like they tried to hard to capitalize on the Hatchetfield hype and tried to rush this show out. I think it could have used some extra tweaking and editing before being put on. Most of the songs feel like they drag on a little too much and could have been edited down more, and they just aren't quite as catchy (or ear-wormy tunes) as I was used to from Starkid. I will say that NPMD absolutely is Starkid at its best and it has stuck with me way more than BF did. And I find myself stuck with its songs and melodies every few days orso.