Relationship Spotlight: Aaron Burr & Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton)

(Bizarrely, I couldn't find any Burr-Hamilton shots from the show itself.  That's okay, though - this one is so fun!)

More than rivals, more than friends turned enemies, more than two men whose shared stories culminated in a duel.  The show does a tremendous job at showing the manifold ways in which Hamilton and Burr mirror, foil, and contrast with each other.

From the start, Hamilton wants to emulate Burr.  Not due to who Burr is, but what he’s done – like Burr, Hamilton wants to accelerate his studies and graduate early, but he’s run into red tape and is looking for some pointers.  When he finds out that Burr, like him, is an orphan, Hamilton immediately takes him up as a kindred spirit; he longs for the coming revolution as an opportunity for them to show that they’re “worth more than anyone bargained for.”  It doesn’t make a difference to him that he’s penniless while Burr was amply provided for, or that he’s an illegitimate immigrant while Burr’s family was highly respected.  In this, he feels, they’re the same, and he imagines that Burr’s fight for distinction is no different than his own.

But just as quickly – in the same number, in fact – we see the huge philosophical differences between them.  While Hamilton is all nervous energy, flashes of brilliance, and impassioned verbosity, Burr offers his new friend his own personal recipe for success:  “Talk less. / Smile more. / Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for.”  Hamilton can’t wrap his around this wait-till-the-dust-settles attitude, and even as the two begin to move down similar paths, this difference defines how each approaches it.

Hamilton is the sort of man who debates in the street for sport, who itches to command his own unit in the war, who writes volumes in defense of the Constitution because he believes in it.  He doesn’t think twice about putting himself (or, especially, other people’s opinion of him) in jeopardy for what he feels is important.  Not that his fervor is entirely idealistic; in part due to his obscure beginnings, he wants to make a name for himself, and he’ll risk an awful lot in service of that goal.  Meanwhile, Burr is just as hungry to rise, but his means of getting there are, at the same time, not especially particular but highly cautious.  He holds back until he can “see which way the wind will blow,” at which point he aligns himself, not necessarily with the side that matches his own beliefs, but the one that will position him most advantageously.  Even as Hamilton butts heads with the Democratic-Republicans, Burr switches parties and becomes one in order to better advance his career.  When Hamilton – and other politicians – criticize Burr, it’s to say that no one knows what he actually believes, because he shifts with the tide.

But while Burr’s guarded approach is more calculated for success, it’s Hamilton who more readily finds it.  Burr can’t understand this.  To him, Hamilton bursts into any situation with the subtlety of a wrecking ball, alienating potential allies with his polarizing ideas and unshakeable belief in his own rightness.  And it’s true that Hamilton makes enemies like they’re going out of style, but it’s also true that he has ideas, that he does the work required, and that his passion can win him support as well.  As Hamilton reminds Burr, “When you got skin in the game, you stay in the game, / But you don’t get a win unless you play in the game.”  No risk, no reward.  But Burr can’t see this.  He sees it as Hamilton (“the bastard orphan immigrant” who doesn’t deserve the chances he gets) strong-arming his way into Burr’s rightful opportunities with his smart mouth and relentless prodding.  This is the ultimate wedge driven between them, the insurmountable conflict that proves their undoing.

Relationship Spotlight: George Washington & Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton)

When I found out Christopher Jackson (Benny from In the Heights) was playing George Washington in Hamilton, I expected the same type of friendship dynamic that Benny and Usnavi had in In the Heights.  Not that Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda are only capable of playing off of each other in one way, but that two longtime friends of roughly equal ages will have a certain vibe that just comes through whenever they work together.

In truth, Hamilton and Washington are entirely different from Usnavi and Benny.  Rather than a friendship, the dynamic between Washington and Hamilton is that of a surrogate father/son, mentor/mentee, and leader/right-hand-man.  When these two interact, I easily buy that Jackson is a good two decades older than Miranda, simply through Washington’s gravitas and the way he regards Hamilton.  It’s an impressive feat of acting and writing that this relationship is presented so beautifully.

On first glance, they seem like an odd-couple pairing.  Young Hamilton is brash and cocksure, passionate about joining the Revolution.  He’s incredibly talented and undeniably brave, but his strong opinions and smart mouth tend to put him on people’s bad sides.  This is a far cry from regal, stalwart General Washington.  He’s seen as America’s hope, its leader and father, and he strives to live up to that mantle with quiet dignity.  However, it’s important to remember that Washington does have 20+ years on Hamilton; he’s had time to make mistakes and learn from them, and in Hamilton, he sees memories of his younger self.

Washington admires Hamilton’s conviction and values his dogged work ethic.  He hopes to pass on a portion of all he’s learned to the fiery young revolutionary, teaching Hamilton that “dying like a martyr” shouldn’t be the pinnacle of ideologically romantic aspirations and that what people say about a man isn’t as important as how that man lives his life.  For his part, Hamilton fairly idolizes Washington, absolutely viewing him as one of America’s greatest men, but that doesn’t make Hamilton himself a docile follower.  He has his own (very decided) ideas about the direction he thinks his life should take, and when Washington seems to stand in the way of that direction – refusing to give Hamilton a battalion to command – he rails against his general.  He also gets involved with petty in-fighting against Washington’s orders and later makes enemies in Washington’s cabinet, making “Jefferson started it!” excuses when Washington calls him out on it.

This is where the father/son dynamic comes through the strongest.  Washington cares about Hamilton and tries to protect him from his own recklessness, wanting to help Hamilton avoid the mistakes Washington made at Hamilton’s age.  Hamilton, though, resents any suggestion that he isn’t in the right and chafes against Washington’s firm, caring guidance.  He spends a fair amount of time arguing with Washington, but it’s so different than his conflicts with Burr, Jefferson, etc., because it comes from such a place of wanting Washington to recognize that he can do well.  He’s so much like a self-assured son trying to make his way in the world and insisting he doesn’t need any more help from his dad.  Yet, he frequently comes around when he has some time to cool off, realizing the value of Washington’s wisdom and experience.  He learns to understand that, when it comes down to it, Washington only wants to show him the tools he needs to succeed on his own.

Relationship Spotlight: Thomas Jefferson & Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton)

Let’s put it this way:  given where my head is at the moment, be impressed at the self-restraint I show with all the posts I don’t write about Hamilton.  (I’m saying, I have a lot of Hamilton feelings and possibly even more Hamilton thoughts.  I’m reining it in as much as I can, but I’m only human.)  A few spoilers.

Hamilton has several fascinating relationships in the show, but the one with Jefferson in Act II might be my favorite.  Hamilton spends the first act throwing himself into the revolution and making a name for himself, coming up from nothing.  When Act II begins, he’s living pretty large, but he acquires a new adversary in Jefferson.  Soon, the two are at each other’s throats in cabinet (rap) battles and Jefferson is looking for dirt he can use against the opinionated upstart.  As America develops its first two political parties, each man rises to prominence in one, with Hamilton waving the Federalist flag and Jefferson representing for the Democratic-Republicans.

One thing that I like about this relationship is that, for me, it’s such a new angle in which to portray Jefferson.  Not that he wasn’t a leading Democratic-Republican, the ambassador to France, and so forth, but I’m used to American Hero Thomas Jefferson, Political Word Warrior Thomas Jefferson.  The Jefferson referenced on Sleepy Hollow, whom Crane idolizes and quotes liberally.  I’m not used to seeing Jefferson with a bone to pick, one who’s not automatically right and can be underhanded.  But this show, about one of the first U.S. Federalists, obviously takes a different tack, and while I wouldn’t call Jefferson a villain, he’s not on the side of our hero.  He can be xenophobic and classist.  He’s not afraid to sling mud, and he can be out-articulated by a gung-ho immigrant with radial ideas.  However, like I said, he’s not a villain, and the show doesn’t paint every ideological argument between the two as cut-and-dried.  Both come at their disputes from different sides, but they both have points to make; it’s just that each man’s thinking aligns so much with the beliefs of his party that neither really hears what the other says.

Although, at this point in history, these political divisions are young, they already run deep.  Hamilton, having fought and literally risked his life for America, is determined to see his new nation succeed.  This rags-to-riches poster boy has learned the hard way that nothing comes without hard work, and he approaches government with an eye for practical application.  He believes that, for America to make it, it has to be a true Union, with a strong central government leading the way.  He gets that taxation (with representation, of course) is a necessity, and for him, real-world implications can trump abstract ideals.  Meanwhile, Jefferson’s views tend to hinge very strongly on his principles.  As the drafter of the Declaration of Independence, he believes in liberty and fighting oppressors.  He sees large government as King George in a different hat, so he’s wary when he feels the rights of his state are being stepped on by The Man; the word “taxation” sets off alarm bells in his head, reminding him of the injustices his country fought to overturn.  While Hamilton thinks that getting involved in the French Revolution is too unstable for a young nation, Jefferson is appalled that Hamilton 1) won’t stand for freedom, and 2) refuses to return the favor for all the aid France gave in the cause of U.S. liberty.  To him, helping France should be a no-brainer, because democracy is what America does.  In this way, although the show is clearly on Hamilton’s side, it offers the other, too.  Hamilton may not agree with what he says, but Jefferson’s reasons are well-conveyed and understandable.  This more even-handed approach to their political tug-of-war makes it much more satisfying.