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THE DAD CRIES :'((( SO SAD - Next to Normal | Composer Reacts - PART 8 END

14K views · Aug 6, 2025 · Music

Nick Flipp Reacts

8.1K subscribers

Comments · 106

@Markdiamond700 · 1 year ago
The fact that we never hear Gabe’s name until the very end of the musical is insane. I never even realized that that was the case until I looked back and said “wait they never said his name before!” In “I’m Alive Reprise”, he actually says “Until you name me, you can’t tame me” and it’s such a clever line that makes so much sense by the end of the show. This is my all-time favorite musical and your reactions have been on point and amazing! Love the content!
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@handwritingAMSR · 1 year ago
The way Gabe talks to him the whole time and how with Dan finally recognizing him as the manifestation of grief that he's been ignoring for years is so incredibly powerful. One of the best reprises I've ever heard. This interpretation was incredible.
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@caitlynford3001 · 1 year ago (edited)
The way Gabe is begging Dan to acknowledge him the entire play but Dan is always so focused on fixing Diana and making everything ok that he has to ignore him. I find it soooooo beautiful (in the saddest way obviously) that only once Diana isn’t there to focus on anymore he has no choice but to look his pain in the face. But he doesn’t let it consume him bc he needs to be there for Natalie. The tension btwn Gabe and Dan is my favorite part of this play.
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@Aureilia · 1 year ago
Any child of divorce or separation will tell you that if the parents are at a point where they want to break up, staying together only makes it worse 😅
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@Kelby_Druhan · 1 year ago
I think Diana leaving was a great choice- with the caveat of how and why she did it. She left to somewhere she was safe and could be observed, and she kept in contact with her daughter, which are both really important in this situation. The REASON I think it was smart was one of her main melodies when faced with her grief was “catch me I’m falling” which sounds like a normal (yet sad) statement until she says her goodbye to Dan, saying “with you always there beside me, to CATCH ME when I FALL. I’ll never know the feel of solid ground at all.” Meaning that he is such a solid support in her life that he always stops her from fully breaking down before she can get there, and she won’t be able to heal until she lets herself feel all of the pain without limitations. And it’s not just a good idea for her! She says “we’d BOTH go mad that way” and she’s right. You said it yourself, Diana was Dan’s salvation from his grief. He used caring for her as a distraction to avoid facing his own pain. He says in his song I’ve Been (the one where he’s cleaning in the kitchen after the incident) “I’ve never had to face a world without her at my side… cause I’ve never been alone, I could never be alone” Dan is scared of what he would do with himself if he didn’t have someone else to care for and focus on, because then he’d have to face his own mind- which we see happen when he FINALLY acknowledges Gabe, (which is implied he could see all along by the line “can’t you just leave me alone? why didn’t you go with her”) which is a symbol of him finally facing his grief and coming to terms with it, accepting for himself that his son is no longer there and starting his grief process for real. We can even see his progress in the final song when he admits that he needs help, asking for the contact for a therapist to speak to. Also with concern for Natalie, she’s had to face SO MUCH because her parents were together for so long- we fully watched her fall apart while listening to her parents scream in the kitchen. I think her having her parents separated but both still actively trying to be there for her is a better situation for her than what she had in the beginning, even if it’s not a perfect situation- which the whole point of the show is life doesn’t have to be perfect all the time, and it doesn’t even have to end perfect, you just have to keep working towards something better- and I think that’d exactly where they all ended up. Anyways- I think for where you said that you didn’t like the mom’s choice you’re completely correct- there’s a lot of risk in that situation, but I think she handled that decision perfectly and it was the best option for all of them at that point. LOVED the reaction! If you watch it again- pay attention to all the little hints about Dan and Gabe’s relationship (all the things Gabe says that implies the dad can see him, how Dan reacts when the son is mentioned, etc.) it’s a really interesting character dynamic and it’s fully why I love Dan’s character so much
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@ninereeds1810 · 1 year ago
My feelings about Diana at the end of this show - I do ultimately think leaving was the right choice, but you're right that it's not clear if things will be okay. It's a bittersweet ending. We can't know if these characters will be okay, we just have to leave with the knowledge that they're working on their issues. Diana and Dan weren't good for each other and - arguably - were preventing each other from working on themselves. As much as Dan tried to help Diana, he was also using her as an excuse to avoid his own issues. He feels like can't grieve Gabe because he's too busy worrying about Diana. And the fact that Dan refused to acknowledge their shared trauma was actively triggering for Diana. I do worry about Natalie and if she's going to have to become Dan's caregiver, but her previous situation wasn't healthy either. Hopefully now he doesn't have to worry about Diana, Dan will actually go to therapy and unpack his own issues. And Diana will have the space to grieve without Dan trying to minimise everything she's been through. Maybe things will get worse. But perhaps, just maybe, they can get better.
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@meeksamillion · 1 year ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bLNDz7sJ3c&t=1077">17:57</a> i have a theory that "i am the one (reprise)" is dan going through the stages of grief: DENIAL: "i know you know who i am" dan responds "no" BARGAINING: "i know you know who i am" dan responds "why didn't you go with her" ANGER: "cause im holding on" dan responds "let me go" angrily DEPRESSION: "i am the one who watched while you died" ACCEPTANCE: when he finally says his sons name to me diane was always the priority he NEEDS someone to care for or focus on otherwise his emotions creep in. the second he's alone it catches up to him. this music kills me it's just so beautiful and every part has so much thought and detail it's just on another level
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@sagevj · 1 year ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bLNDz7sJ3c&t=1248">20:48</a> a great detail, also: she takes off her black coat over her blue dress, the outfit her mother described wearing the day Gabe died.
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@tjohns25 · 1 year ago
"They should stay together for the kids" is a terrible take.. and no, Diana is not selfish for leaving the relationship. They were actively preventing each other from getting better. This is depicted throughout the entire show.
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@brenda5073 · 1 year ago
What’s crazy to me is how Natalie is sooo overlooked, not only in the show, but also by the audience. People tend to talk more about Diana/Dans relationship with grieve/gabe. But I think Natalie is the one that gets it the worst. I feel so bad for her. The damage her parents caused her is CRAZY
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@Ladybug.Cricket · 1 year ago (edited)
As a child who grew up being parentified by two people who were extremely damaging to each other, I really relate to Natalie's position and just by my experience, I can imagine her being relieved that her parents are apart. Yes, it seems like she's being forced into the position of caring for her father, but up until now she's been ignored or actively damaged by them both. If you look back at Song of Forgetting, she talks about times when Diana put her in serious physical danger as a child. Diana's presence in Natalie's life is unsafe and actively harmful, and Diana seems to have finally come to terms with that. Dan is seeking help, we have hope that that means he's going to give Natalie the real support she needs instead of constantly trying to clean up his wife's mess and ignore his own pain. Being without a mother sucks and it's not ideal, but Natalie was already living without the kind of mother she needed. Their relationship has the potential to heal going forward, which, I don't think it had if Diana had stayed. Edit: the song that references the danger Diana put Natalie in is Better than Before, not Song of Forgetting
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@Kassabonn · 9 months ago
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bLNDz7sJ3c&t=883">14:43</a> that look in his eyes is so haunting. They really got the perfect camera angle on that
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