So I’ve been watching a couple of new films and shows thanks to a pretty cool person I’ve met, hiiii, you know who you are S2, and after watching the musical ‘Epic’ for the first time, I have to admit I’m kind of obsessed. This is admittedly the first and only musical I’ve seriously enjoyed, and yes I’ve seen Hamilton. But there was something that happened in the musical that really intrigued me.

Firstly, I’d like to explore and define what a reprise is. A reprise, definitionally, just means a ‘repetition’, however not in the sense of making two cups of coffee for you and your friend. Technically yes that is a reprise of… making a coffee… but it doesn’t really work, as a reprise is mostly seen in songs, performances, art, narratives, etc. Furthermore if you want to get weird and experimental with a reprise or use it in a metaphorical or analogical sense, it implies that something happened, stuff happened between that, and then it happened again to either reiterate what happened or drive home a point. So if I said that I made a coffee in the morning, then went to work, had lunch, supper, exercised, whatever, and then made a coffee near the evening, I could say that I was reprising my actions in the morning.

In musicals, songs, performances, etc., it's used either as a kind of callback or a thematic reinforcement. A reprise typically reintroduces a musical motif, melody, lyric, or all three that was heard earlier in the piece, but now it's loaded with new meaning based on what’s changed since its first appearance or a thematic point they want to reiterate. The context, the characters, the emotional stakes; something has shifted. So the reprise doesn’t really repeat, it echoes. It invites the audience to draw a line between the past and the present, to feel how far the story or the character has come, or how tragically little they’ve moved at all. It can be triumphant, ironic, sorrowful, or haunting, depending on how it reframes the original.

In essence it’s a bit like reverse foreshadowing: instead of hinting at something to come it reflects on something that happened. Both of these things can add significant emotional and thematic depth when done correctly, as well as change how we feel about the original moment: with foreshadowing when we watch it again, or reflect upon the piece, we notice it a lot more, thus reinforcing certain themes or elements. With reprisals, it’s in the moment where we reflect on what’s happened, we notice more again, and it reinforces certain themes or elements.

Before we tackle what makes a bad reprisal or, by extension, bad foreshadowing, (sidenote: going forward, when I say something is true about reprisals assume it applies the same way to foreshadowing- except for very specific things which I’ll clarify this actually is the case) let’s look at what makes them good. It’s already been iterated that reprisals are done so that a work of art can either drive home a point, theme, element, etc.; add more depth to an event or moment and change how we think of it; or show and express significant character growth. Let’s take a look at an example that I hope everyone can understand.

In Star Wars, The Force is one of if not the most iconic theme in the entire series. It’s reprised again and again throughout the main 6, as well as the spinoffs, extras, additional stories, etc. To keep things succinct, I’ll only talk about the times it’s done in the original trilogy. In the first movie, a new hope, the first time we hear it is when Luke watches the sunset on Tatooine (Okay I lied, it’s first heard during the hologram of Leia which is an example of a foreshadowing reprisal but let’s keep things simple, shall we?). It’s one of the first emotional parts of the movie, where the audience is filled with a sense of longing, aspiration, hope, destiny, etc. etc. and while the song does represent the Force, it also represents all of those themes above in this instance. Then, by the time we hear it in the Return of the Jedi, after Obi-Wan, Yoda, and many more have died, Luke has grown strong in the way of the Force, he’s adventured everywhere, etc. the song is reprised. What this does now is show how far Luke has come since the original moment. It reinforces the themes of longing, aspiration, and hope, but also introduces legacy, destiny, and sacrifice; it reminds us of the boy who looked out at the suns hoping to find meaning. The reprise makes us see the character and the world differently than we did before, as well as provide more emotional depth. It also highlights the contrast in Luke himself: once passive and uncertain, now active, resolved, and carrying the weight of others. The music presents that change, making the reprise not just reflective but transformative. This reprisal of the song hits all three, and a perfect example of one done right.

Now let’s keep in mind this happens when they’re done right. It’s simultaneously very easy and very difficult to get foreshadowing wrong. This is because if you do the foreshadowing thing because you want to add depth to the story, try to plant little seeds of doubt in the audience, and slowly hint at things, you’ll get it right. It really isn’t rocket science, and it’s the same with reprisals. Provided you reprise something with the intention of filling out any of the reasons above, it’s very difficult to get wrong. However, the pitfalls many low effort pieces of art will fall into when trying to do these, is in all honesty the root of pretty much all things wrong with low effort art: doing things to elicit cheap emotional reactions, and without purpose within the narrative. Now as much as I love to shit on low effort art, I’m also respectful of your time, and this isn’t an analysis on reprises. So now that we’ve got that out of the way, let us finally talk about the reason why we’re here.

Our introduction to Polites was one that was as brief as it was wonderful. During the third song of the musical, he was introduced as a sort of foil to Eurylochus, another friend of Odysseus, counteracting his caution and pragmatism. He exudes idealism, compassion, and trust in others, and from the get-go we as the audience get the impression that this is going to be a friendship and a push and pull relationship that lasts in the story until probably at least until the halfway point or near the end where something inevitably tragic happens and then-

oh...

He dies by the 7th song… out of 38.

His own song was just 3 songs ago, called open arms. An adorable song about ‘greeting the world with open arms’, or about embracing the unknown with optimism and trusting in the journey- which, in hindsight, makes his fate all the more heartbreaking. Because we only had a fleeting glimpse of his hopefulness, his sudden loss lingers longer in the story, forcing us to reckon with how quickly light can be extinguished.

However, while I found myself shocked by his death, the emotional moment didn’t really resonate with me that much at the time. Because we’ve only had him in the story for 4 songs. This is not nearly enough time to emotionally resonate with a character fully, let alone enough to really feel the impact of their death. I’ll be the first to admit that I was a little disappointed in the abruptness of his end in a meta sense, but I put my trust in the writers.

And boy, was that ever the right decision.

Now I’m convinced that Jorge Rivera-Herrans has a fetish for reprisals because his musical is drowning in them. “This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms”, “warrior of the mind” “penelope” “little wolf” “monster” “six hundred men” “just a man”, and this is just from memory. So many things are reprised, but the one we’re going to talk about today will be the one from ‘open arms’, obviously.

Open arms is reprised during the underworld arc, specifically during the song ‘the underworld’, where Odysseus confronts the prophet of the underworld, asking for guidance for the future of his journey. He starts to cross the river Styx in the only boat that’s left from his journey, and is immediately greeted with the souls of the dead; his lost and dead crewmates. They begin to reprise old songs, asking Odysseus why he made the choices he made, when does a man become a monster, and why did he leave Polyphemus alive? Odysseus is quickly wracked with guilt, shame, and on the verge of collapsing. Then, we hear a familiar voice and melody.

This life is amazing, if you greet it with open arms

Whatever we face we’ll be fine if we’re leading from the heart

No matter what place we can light up the world here’s how to start

Greet the world with open arms, greet the world with open arms.

But now, the vocals aren’t upbeat, jovial, and springy- they’re slower, more ethereal, and haunting. This fills out every criteria we have discussed for a reprisal to be good.

It provides additional depth within the story and narrative and themes by reiterating the song at a pivotal moment: When Odysseus feels he is falling and losing himself to becoming a monster, and is desperately seeking guidance. Despite everyone telling him- showing him- that he needs to be ruthless, this trip contrasts this by showing and driving home the point of the kind of person Odysseus is, and who he wants to be: a war hero yes, a warrior of the mind, yes, but he also wants to be kind, compassionate, uplift people, and get back to the love of his life. This reprisal reinforces the point Polites was making near the start, it shows us how important Polites was and still is to Odysseus, and leads us into our next point. The reprisal, if nothing else, completely recontextualizes the themes and message and feelings the first iteration did. At first it was as stated earlier, jovial, upbeat, and springy vocals, but now they’re slower, more ethereal, and haunting. It’s as much of a warning as it is a reminder. Polites is now being shown as a cautionary tale and something to remember- always. It additionally sets up the warnings given by the prophet beautifully. Be compassionate, greet the world with open arms, yes, but ultimately that philosophy got him and many others killed. Was that their fault? Who knows, but it’s clear that these themes have been deeply recontextualised: from a lighthearted jot to a haunting reminder. Finally we need to see character growth. Even if we get the first two dead on if Odysseus is in the same spot does the reprisal even deserve to be there? And is Odysseus not as conflicted if not more than he was right after Troy and on the lotus eaters’ island? Well, yes and no. Yes Odysseus is just as if not more conflicted as he was after Troy, but that’s WHY this reprisal exists: it was always meant to reassure and promote a more compassionate lifestyle and mindset, the reason why it’s different is because Odysseus is now armed and forged from his past experiences in a way that makes his resolve weaker as much as he is stronger: He’s turning into a monster, his crewmates are dropping like flies, and he doesn’t know if he’s going to make it back to his love. The difference? Things are more dire than ever now, and he has much less of a reason to follow Polites’ advice. He HAS grown, just not in every way, and in a way where he needs to hear this again to not lose his humanity.

This reprisal brings back Polites at the perfect time, in the perfect way. We can see now how vital he is to Odysseus’ humanity, and how his message is constantly ringing true, even if it isn’t the time nor place. This devious little trick in writing makes you feel the weight of the characters’ death much later than it originally was, and it hits you like a punch in the gut. It’s the reprise that basically single handedly saved Polities’ character. It’s a realistic depiction of how the death of Polities and people in general can affect real people: you carry their stories and lessons and philosophies with you, ensuring they don’t die forever.

In any case, I hope I’ve accurately defended and presented my points and why this is one of the best moments in the musical and how it makes Polites’ character so deeply complex and integral to the story, and now I’d like to talk about one of my favourite animes of all time, Frieren, which also uses reprises and callbacks, but in a very different way to nevertheless evoke the same emotion.

Himmel the Hero is a curiously simple yet complex character. He’s caring and compassionate, but vain. He’s constantly looking to help people, but expects rewards. He’s extremely focused on his goal to kill the demon king, but he’s very carefree and looking to have a good time during the adventure. In my eyes he’s the embodiment of ‘The Hero’ in terms of literature, warts and all. In all honesty I look up to him so much. He’s completely unapologetic of who he is and lives how he wants. However we’re here to talk about unironically the most important event in his life that affects Frieren: His death.

The show Frieren starts at the end. The end of the hero’s journey, after the heroes have vanquished the demon king, and have started an era of peace. Frieren is a near immortal elf, and is cold and unfeeling towards others due to her age and nature. Despite their adventure taking place over an entire decade, Frieren herself is mostly unimpressed at first by the adventure. To her at first it was an amusing ~0.1% of her lifespan, she enjoyed it, and is proud of her party members and thankful for her experience, but is nonetheless unfeeling towards their lives. She basically goes solo for the next 50 years, returning when Himmel is near ancient, and her other old party members aren’t far behind. They share one last adventure travelling to a beautiful place to watch the truly beautiful refulgence of the era meteor shower.

Shortly after Himmel dies, and at first Frieren seems to pay as much mind to it as one would if they saw a small mouse die, not devastated but a little put out. However this changes drastically once Himmel’s coffin is being buried, where Frieren begins to break down in tears. She laments about how deeply she cared for him, yet despite that knew really nothing about him, regretting how she acted when faced with the mortality of a dear human.

For the audience, we don’t really feel that sad. Sure we can empathize with her, and try to understand the sadness she’s feeling, but we never really knew Himmel either. This is genius, because it puts us directly in how both Frieren is and was feeling, and then brings us out of it as it’s revealed how much she deeply cared about him. We go from experiencing, to empathizing with her.

In the very next episode, after Heiter dies and they mourn his death, Frieren dedicates not just 6 months of her life, but also Fern’s, to searching and scrounging everywhere for a flower called blue moon weed. It was apparently the kind of flower that grew where Himmel was raised, and they wish to find it so they can honour a statue of Himmel erected in a town he saved from being destroyed by demons. They eventually find it, and replicate the flowers around the statue of Himmel. Throughout the episode, we’re greeted with flashbacks to when Frieren was travelling with her former party, focused around Himmel and her magic.

Throughout the rest of the show we are shown intermittently memories, flashbacks, and moments Frieren shared with her former party, giving the audience more and more insight into her relationship with the party members, and what kind of people her party members were. What’s genius about this as well, is that now upon rewatch, the script is flipped. We’re now empathizing with Frieren first, as we see her cold and emotional demeanour, and then we experience the impact of Himmel’s death- but this time it hits so much harder.

Throughout the series we were almost growing and travelling with Himmel and the others, learning more about him, seeing more things about him, coming to know how he impacted Frieren and changed her life,

The difference between this and Polities is that in Frieren the audience would have to eventually watch the series again to receive the full emotional impact, with Epic you only need to watch through the musical once to receive the full emotional impact. But with Frieren it makes it all the more tragic when you rewatch episode 4 and remember that this entire 10 year long journey Frieren takes with Fern and others, is driven by her desire to see and meet Himmel once more in a land named Aureole, north of the northernmost continent, Ende. Additionally, the only reason she is making such an effort to know and understand and meet more people is because of him. She is embarking on nearly the same journey, following her party’s footsteps, and as she relives her past and journeys to meet it, so are we. This story beautifully captures us in a push and pull relationship with Frieren’s feelings that make us experience, empathise, and even denounce Frieren at times.

I think I’m going to end this analysis here, and I hope this has helped you, touched you, or taught you in some way. I could ramble on aimlessly about Frieren for hours, but I’ll need to cut it here for brevity’s sake. See you around, folks.