#jesus christ superstar meta

[leuchtstabrebell]

just saw the Jesus Christ Superstar production in Nuremberg with a friend and thought i'd share some of my observations because this was WILD

details under the cut because i have a lot to say but this might be one of the queerest and boldest productions of JSC i have ever seen. the pope is herodes, nuns are participating in orgies, Mary is a mother, the catholic church is critizised every step of the way, hirarchies and power structures are questioned, and Judas wears a skirt. There are neon crosses and halos and a lot of blood, and so much thought and love put into this. The production value is very good as well. The cast is very young, especially the apostels and Judas and Jesus who are all in their early to mid-twenties, and the vibes are simply amazing.

This production is set in modern day rome and the vatican. jesus and the apostels are queer leftists activists trying to reform/act against the catholic church. like, this is the central element of this production.

(text on these signs reads, from l. to r.: No mandatory celibacy, God is a woman, Maria 2.0, #outinchurch, renewal now, the head of the fish is rotten. The banner reads "God is the love")

Many of these signs are references to reform movements inside the church and discussions around abuse of all kind in the catholic church, as well as demands for a more inclusive christianity (and society).

Jesus officates a wedding between two women apostels and everything is very gay. there are several rainbow flags involved. jesus is draped in a giant version of the flag at one point.

that being said, it is made pretty explicit that mary and jesus have some kind of relationship thing goin on??? They also sometimes seem removed from the rest of the group who have major found family vibes. they go on picnis and protests together, they care for each other, they dance, they sing, they cuddle. there was so much going on, I probably missed a lot of interactions between the apostels. Judas was very involved in the group, more than mary or jesus even, and judas and simon had a very cute friendship (they even play-fought in the beginning). They all hugged and kissed each other a lot as well. (Fun fact: many of the apostels are still in actors school and they did a cooperation with the staatstheater nuremberg which offered them the chance to participate in such a big production)

Now my thoughts on the individual characters:

Mary: sadly, my least favourite character in this production. i didn't really vibe with the actress, although she was great vocally. She rarely interacted with the apostels and kept mostly to herself and the apartment she shared with jesus and her child (I don't like the decision to have them live together almost like a nuclear family). it also did not help that she was noticeable older than the rest of the group and her costume wasn't great either. i loved her kid though, she was really cute (apparently, the gender of the kid changes depending on the child actor that day, here it was a girl). The child also connects the group, there were some cute found family vibes (although they could have done so much more with this ahhh). there are also several moments where the child symbolizes a brighter future to come, and hope, and innocence. she was such a cutie!!!!

This Jesus is a weirdo. Just a weird guy. Kinda Enjolras vibes, kinda angelic, kinda high as a kite beliefs in magic, depressed queer vibes. He would sometimes do weird motions with his hands to summon his powers to heal people????? his outfit was a statement as well.

I liked the acting, although the interpretation is one i had not seen before. The singing was pretty good, although the actors voice was a bit weak sometimes and he often had difficulty with belting higher notes. the actor has a very very soft voice in general??? it kinda contributed to the vibes of this jesus though and worked fine

I didn't like that they actually showed him being able to heal people, I like it more when it stays ambigious if he can actually do wonders/if he is actually the son of god. Interestingly, at the same time this Jesus felt very deserted by God to me? Gethsemane was very intense but also so absolutely defeated. it did not feel like a conversation with god but more pure desperation screamed into a void... This Jesus was really broken :( Also, the torture and whipping (which happens in the vatican???? kinda illegally???) was absolutely brutal and very bloody and he was sobbing in fetal position at several points of this production. also shaking like a little deer. in the last scenes, they filmed close-ups of his tortured face with a camera live and projected it on the large background screen which was very horrifiying and genius, especially during superstar. poor guy. he seemed very sad and burdened a lot of the time

Judas: There he is!!! My boi!!!! He was my absolute fave. The acting and singing was amazing, one of my fav interpretations of this character. The costume choices for him were amazing ( I mean look at him in that skirt and these boots) and this production chose to portray him in a very sympathetic light. He is the soul of the group in this production, while Jesus is the brain and Simon is the heart. (Peter is the bedrock, and Mary and her kid are honey-grease holding them together)

I mean, look at him!!! This judas cares so much, he contains multitudes. He is clearly loved by the people around and loves them back fiercely. He hugged people a lot and was very physical in general and the actor had so much charisma!!! In this version, Jesus and Judas also kind of seemed like two sides of the same coin, which I really liked. While Jesus is kind of otherworldy, charismatic, calm, and enigmatic, Judas is much more hands-on, real, passionate and energetic.

This Judas (like the whole production really) was very angry but he had every right to. In this production it also seemed like his anger at Mary and Jesus being with her was less about Mary (taking out some of the misogyny, luckily) and more about jesus retreating to something that could be perceived as a bourgouise lifestyle (my interpretation, at least). This judas seemed very queer but then again, most apostels in this production seemed to be queer. (The betrayal kiss was very passionate, btw)

Oh, and the cardinals waterboarded Judas with holy water in a church on wooden benches they put together??? And they also threatened and hurt him several other times??? I'm not sure what to feel about this because this makes the betrayal very very cooerced and that might flatten the character but it adds so many new layers as well. They also just push suitcase full of money on his arms and leave him there clutching the thing and sobbing??

Judas death ripped my heart out, it was so raw and cruel and also put emphasis on the cruelty of the catholic church and an uncaring or even cruel god?

and then he absolutely slayed in superstar. all the background dancers were the apostels (which was a deliberate choice because they had a huge cast they could have used for this), including Mary and they all had neon halos?? Judas descended from the ceiling. the staging was kinda similar to the 2012 revival with Judas as a show-caster and entertainer. there was golden glitter falling from the ceiling.

the whole production seemed very angry at institutionalized christianity and God himself but also full of hope and love, and superstar really examplified that.

Herode is the pope. Just straight up the pope. At first I was a bit underwhelmed because the set was very minimal bit then they revealed the pope and started their amazing choreography and I really loved that! just a good solid portrayal, very sexual as well. (this production was very much about hypocricy and not about condemming lust, the opposite really. this production is pretty sex-positive) 8/10

Caiaphas and Annas were pretty solid, like all the other high priests they were cardinals. I thought the actors did a good job although would have liked a deeper base for Caiaphas and a higher tenor for Annas. I thought it was interesting how often the priests/cardinals crossed themselves and blessed people and did christian gestures, especially during "This Jesus must die". They were also pretty violent both towards the apostels and towards jesus and judas.

Peter was really giving dark academia vibes except a bit more boring. I thought it was pretty funny that it was easy to tell that he was Peter just from the costume alone. he had a nice, warm voice and I liked the acting choices - he was very soft and calm, except for when he went absolutely wild on the SWAT team coming to arrest Jesus and broke a bottle to use a shard to cut of the ear (i suppose) of one of them. iconic. 8/10

Simon: what an icon! at one point, he carries petrol and a lighter around to fucking burn the whole thing to the ground. he is passionate and kind and ready to punch someone at any time. his acting and singing were really really good. At the last supper, Simon sucker punches Judas in the face and calls him a "fucking traitor" before shakily ending the song on his guitar to try and comfort the other apostels because their whole world just fell apart. I really love this Simon

Pilate: He had such a great voice and presence, and carried himself with a lot of gravitas. Pilates dream was very stripped down but it worked because of the actor. He seemed really desillusioned and kind but ultimately deafeated, conforming to the will of people around him (lower clergy and devout catholics in this version) (That reminds me, the ouverture was accompanied by various clergy making out in the vatican with each other while headlines about scandals in the church were projected in the background.

There are probably a lot of things I forgot to mention, and there were also some things I did not like about this production but overall, I am really really impressed and just happy that I got to see it live.

You can still see the production too btw, at least if you can make it to Nuremberg :)

#writing some of this down after the show in my bed in the dormitiry we stay in over night #jesus christ superstar #i now wrote my other thoughts down two days later #meta #blood #christianity #Judas Iscariot #musicals #for real tho this production is amazing #musical theatre #my thoughts #jesus christ superstar meta #jesus christ #this has everything #judas in a skirt #found family #violence and homoeroticism #gay marriage #the pope dancing in a show girl line #incredible sadness that comes from an uncaring universe and trying to still find meaning and companionship in it

[michellethestan]

Our Flag Means Jesus Christ Superstar

At C2E2 on Sunday, Con O'Neill shared that he and Taika both thought of Jesus Christ Superstar and the famously-charged relationship between Jesus and Judas in that show when thinking about the relationship between Ed and Izzy in Our Flag Means Death. (He also said they scream-sang to the soundtrack together on their first day in the makeup trailer and I would give my non-existent left nut for any footage of this event.)

Here's the video:

This set my brain on fire because I am an extreme and obnoxious lifelong Jesus Christ Superstar fan and one of the first goofy things I did in OFMD fandom was casting a JCS AU. As my brain burned, I started thinking about all of the parallels between JCS and OFMD.

So, presenting Way Too Much Thought about Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Rock Opera about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and David Jenkins' There's No Heterosexual Explanation for this Story of Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet! I am not at all religious, so if you're looking for any takes on whether or not Edward Teach is actually God, you've come to the wrong place. I am merely a woman with an English degree and too much time on my hands.

Since we all know the plot points of OFMD, I am going to do this by JCS song. If you're unfamiliar with JCS, the wiki is below. Basically, though, it is a rock opera about the days leading up to Jesus' crucifixion, released as a concept album in 1970. Eventually it was staged, there are two movies (ignore the awful 2000 version), John Legend was Jesus on the live TV version, it tours all over, and it is Incredibly Campy. The relationship between Jesus and Judas is famously charged, and different productions choose to take that to different levels.

I'm going to use the album songs (with one notable exception) and visuals from the 1973 movie.

At its core, I see JCS as being about the conflict between Judas and Mary Magdalene and their versions of an ideal Jesus. Sound familiar? It's telling Jesus' story, but it does so via the interpersonal and internal conflicts these two people had during the last days of his life.

Ed is Jesus - For years, he has been leading a movement. He has reached a moment where the masses are seeing him as a mythical figure, King of the Jews/Blackbeard, but he's not sure that is what he wants.

Izzy is Judas - Our guy's right hand man. He has been there since the start and sees himself as a protector as well as someone with an outside perspective on the hero. Izzy wants Ed to continue being the myth of Blackbeard because it is the way they will survive. Judas, conversely, wants Jesus to take it down a notch because he is becoming too much of a myth and that will get him killed.

Stede is Mary Magdalene - (I'm not a prostitute, mate!) The new person to the group, offering our hero a way forward that does not have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Stede offers Ed retirement and a soft life. Mary offers Jesus a soft and comfortable life as well, but it is one where he does take up the mantle as the Son of God.

(A Note before we get going. Both Our Flag Means Death and the 1973 Jesus Christ Superstar film star BIPOC actors: Taika Waititi as Blackbeard, Ben Vereen as Judas, and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene. This is fundamentally part of the stories the productions tell. People far more qualified than I have written about Edward Teach as a Maori man, the diverse OFMD cast, and about the diverse casting traditions in Jesus Christ Superstar. There is a deep dive to be written about the race of these six principle actors (and their supporting casts) and how that impacts these stories when JCS is read as an influence on OFMD. Without the qualifications to take that on, I am sticking essentially to song lyrics and script. I realize this is a huge gap in this analysis, and I would love for someone to help me fill it!)

We're skipping the Overture because it's just an overture and it is very good but still. You can listen to it if you want.

Heaven on their Minds

The show opens with Judas. Jesus, the apostles, Mary, and co. are together outside of Jerusalem, and Judas is concerned about the level of fame they are reaching and the danger Jesus is in from authorities.

Listen Jesus I don't like what I see.

All I ask is that you listen to me.

And remember, I've been your right hand man all along.

You have set them all on fire.

They think they've found the new Messiah.

And they'll hurt you when they find they're wrong.

Of course, the big difference here is that Judas wants Jesus to tone it down so he doesn't get hurt, whereas Izzy is trying to keep Ed as Blackbeard going so he doesn't get hurt.

What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying

The Apostles want to know what's happening. When are we leaving, who are we fighting, etc. While they bother Jesus, Mary is trying to comfort him.

Mary that is good,

While you prattle through your supper,

Where and when and who and how.

She alone has tried to give me

What I need right here and now.

Here we introduce the foil to Izzy/Judas. Almost immediately, with his finery and his lunacy, Stede offers Ed a different way of life.

You're a fucking lunatic and I like it.

We also get the first conflict between Mary and Judas, when Judas attacks Jesus for allowing Mary to comfort him.

It seems to me a strange thing, mystifying

That a man like you can waste his time on women of her kind.

Yes, I can understand that she amuses,

But to let her kiss you, stroke your hair, that's hardly in your line.

It's not that I object to her profession,

But she doesn't fit in well with what you teach and say.

It doesn't help us if you're inconsistent.

They only need a small excuse to put us all away.

Izzy, of course, immediately wants Stede out of the picture. He wants Stede out of the picture so badly he tries to sabotage them from the start. He doesn't respect Stede as a man or as a pirate, and is worried about what associating with Stede will do to Blackbeard's reputation.

Jesus stands up for Mary's presence, just like Ed decides they're staying on Stede's ship for now.

Who are you to criticize her?

Who are you to despise her?

Leave her, leave her, let her be now.

Leave her, leave her, she's with me now.

If your slate is clean, then you can throw stones.

If your slate is not, then leave her alone.

"Sorry not sorry." - Jesus/Ed.

Everything's Alright

Mary's first big number! She is soothing a stressed Jesus, offering him myrrh ointment (fine things!) and the idea that he deserves to be taken care of.

Sleep and I shall soothe you, calm you, and anoint you.

Myrrh for your hot forehead, oh.

Then you'll feel

Everything's alright, yes, everything's fine.

And it's cool, and the ointment's sweet

For the fire in your head and feet.

Close your eyes, close your eyes

And relax, think of nothing tonight.

Of course, Judas doesn't want this version of Jesus. He wants to get back to their roots, sees the use of the ointment on Jesus as a waste, and doesn't like a version of Jesus that is the pampered son of God.

Woman your fine ointment, brand new and expensive

Should have been saved for the poor.

Why has it been wasted? We could have raised maybe

Three hundred silver pieces or more.

People who are hungry, people who are starving

They matter more than your feet and hair!

We see this most/first in the clothes-swap scene, where Izzy is just so disgusted by the idea of Ed being anything other than Blackbeard that he literally leaves. Jesus stands up for Mary against Judas and says she's staying and Judas has to deal with it. Ed stands up for Stede and says they're staying on the Revenge and Izzy just has to deal with it.

The clothes swap scene is not the only sequence where Stede comforts Ed, of course. Just as Mary takes it upon herself to comfort Jesus at pretty much every opportunity, Stede becomes that comfort for Ed. The panic attack after the Fuckery is Stede reassuring Ed that the weight of being Blackbeard does not have to be on his shoulders. He can relax and sleep well, because Stede sees the real him. He's willing to forget a whole entire murder plot for Ed.

And more! We have two concrete "fine things" being used for pleasure here - myrrh ointment and marmalade. Both Judas and Izzy see waste and carelessness where Mary and Stede see the value in indulgence. And both Judas and Izzy want the fine things gone for more practical things. Judas wants to sell the ointment to give the money to the poor, what he argues is Jesus' whole original message. The marmalade, of course, is taking the place of literal gunpowder that pirates need to, you know, survive.

I will also just point out that "marmalade" and "myrrh ointment" sound... not really very similar but at least both start with M.

This Jesus Must Die

The authorities in Jerusalem want this rabble-rouser Jesus out of the picture. They're very moody and discussing what to do with him, deciding that he needs to die to send a message. We don't really see this happening about Blackbeard until the very end of the show, but we can assume based on the whole Being A Notorious Pirate Thing that the English authorities would do anything to take him down.

The important thing here is that Ed and Jesus are both wanted men. Izzy/Judas and Stede/Mary are offering conflicting ways to stay alive. Both think they have the solution and are trying to woo their guys to their sides.

Hosanna and Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem

First of all, these are bops. Just getting that out of the way. Hosanna is Jesus entering Jerusalem and Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem is the masses worshipping him, basically. Our OFMD parallel is Blackbeard with his Nine Guns - The myth of the hero far outstrips the man at this point. But what is he going to do about it?

Jesus warns the worshippers that things are about to get bad. Blackbeard starts thinking maybe he'll steal Stede's identity and sail off into the sunset.

If you knew all that I knew, my poor Jerusalem,

You'd see the truth, but you close your eyes.

But you close your eyes.

While you live, your troubles are many, poor Jerusalem.

To conquer death, you only have to die.

You only have to die.

Hmmm what's that, Jesus? We have to die to get out of this? You don't say.

Pilate's Dream

Pilate has a premonition that he's about to go down in history as The Bad Guy who Killed Jesus. (Yup.)

Then I saw thousands of millions

Crying for this man.

And then I heard them mentioning my name,

And leaving me the blame.

Badminton declares he's going to get vengeance on some Cat Bandits.

On my honor, I’ll ride these “Cat Bandits” straight into hell.

There are people hunting down our hero, in other words.

The Temple

In this scene, Jesus finds that a temple is being used for basically everything other than worship and he flips his lid and clears all of the sinners out. It is Very Dramatic.

What happens next is what parallels to OFMD, though. After the heathens are cleared from the temple, Jesus is surrounded by people with leprosy begging him to heal them. It's eerie and A Lot.

See my eyes, I can hardly see.

See me stand, I can hardly walk.

I believe you can make me whole.

See my tongue, I can hardly talk.

See my skin, I'm a mass of blood.

See my legs, I can hardly stand.

I believe you can make me well.

See my purse, I'm a poor, poor man.

Will you touch, will you mend me Christ?

Won't you touch, will you heal me Christ?

Will you kiss, you can cure me Christ?

Won't you kiss, won't you pay me Christ?

Jesus tries his best to heal them, but ultimately panics.

There's too many of you...Don't push me.

There's too little of me...Don't crowd me.

Heal yourselves!

What does this have to do with Ed? I hope you're asking that since you've read this far. The beggars are... Calico Jack! And not because he is a walking embodiment of disease. This sequence represents Jesus making his choice - is he going to be Judas' version of Jesus or Mary's? Is he taking on the mantle of Son of God or is he going relax it a bit? Calico Jack is a similar turning point for Ed. Is he going to be the old Blackbeard, or is he going to stick with Stede? Jesus hasn't really made his choice here - he tries to fix the temple and heal everyone but he is still overwhelmed. Of course, we know what Ed chose.

Everything's Alright (Reprise)

A bop. A reminder that Stede and Mary are going to take care of their men. Thanks, Mary. Thanks, Stede.

I Don't Know How to Love Him

Just imagine Stede singing this about Ed. That's it, that's the comparison.

I don't know how to love him.

What to do, how to move him.

I've been changed, yes really changed.

In these past few days, when I've seen myself,

I seem like someone else.

I don't know how to take this.

I don't see why he moves me.

...

Yet, if he said he loved me,

I'd be lost. I'd be frightened.

I couldn't cope, just couldn't cope.

I'd turn my head. I'd back away.

I wouldn't want to know.

He scares me so.

I want him so.

I love him so.

To elaborate a little, what's key here is Mary realizing that she is also being changed by loving Jesus and that they are on a path together now. She realizes that she is in awe of the myth of Jesus but in love with the man.

Damned for All Time/Blood Money

Judas turning in Jesus to the authorities. He's panicking. The only way to save Jesus is to give him up and hope that he is able to survive. He has even deluded himself into thinking that Jesus will actually be glad that he's made this decision.

Now if I help you, it matters that you see

These sordid kinda things are coming hard to me.

It's taken me some time to work out what to do.

I weighed the whole thing out before I came to you.

I have no thought at all about my own reward.

I really didn't come here of my own accord.

Just don't say I'm ... damned for all time.

I came because I had to; I'm the one who saw.

Jesus can't control it like he did before.

And furthermore I know that Jesus thinks so too.

Jesus wouldn't mind that I was here with you.

I have no thought at all about my own reward.

I really didn't come here of my own accord.

Just don't say I'm ... damned for all time.

Annas, you're a friend, a worldly man and wise.

Caiaphas, my friend, I know you sympathize.

Why are we the prophets? Why are we the ones

Who see the sad solution - know what must be done?

I have no thought at all about my own reward.

I really didn't come here of my own accord.

Just don't say I'm damned for all time.

Sound like someone we know?

The Last Supper

Oh here we go, things are heating up. Of course, The Last Supper is The Last Supper. The apostles have a lovely song about how they want to write everything down so people will talk about them when they die. That's a normal way to talk about your friend, right?

Fanfiction and the start of the Eucharist aside, The Last Supper is when Jesus announces to the team that he knows what they've been up to. He says that soon Peter will deny him and that he knows Judas has betrayed him.

Of course, when Izzy goes off to sell Ed out, Ed doesn't know it's happening because he is not a prophet. But I made this anyway because it works.

JESUS: Peter will deny me in just a few hours.

Three times will deny me,

And that's not all I see.

One of you here dining,

One of my twelve chosen

Will leave to betray me.

JUDAS: Cut out the dramatics!

You know very well who.

JUDAS: To think I admired you.

Well now I despise you.

This song also reinforces Judas' conviction that Jesus wants him to do this. Judas believes he is acting in both of their best interests and that turning Jesus in will stop the train and everything will be fine. Izzy truly believes that he is only selling out Stede. Stede has done something to his boss' brain, and once he's out of the picture Ed will go back to normal.

Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)

Jesus leaves his sleeping apostles and goes off to, basically, freak out and yell at his dad who is God.

I only want to say,

If there is a way,

Take this cup away from me

For I don't want to taste its poison.

Feel it burn me,

I have changed.

I'm not as sure, as when we started.

After walking around yelling at Dad a bit, he gets it out of his system and gets back on track. This is where he chooses to be a martyr.

By accepting his martyrdom, he might be accepting Judas' betrayal on the surface, but he's actually accepting Mary's version of himself. The authorities aren't going to slap him on the wrist and let him go. They are going to kill him, as we all know. That is what Mary was actually pulling for, even though she didn't realize it at the time.

This is akin to when Ed calls for the Act of Grace. In that moment, Izzy's plan falls apart - calling the British isn't going to save Blackbeard, it's going to destroy him. And this is what Stede was actually pulling for, even though he didn't realize it at the time.

Alright, I'll die!

Just watch me die!

See how I die!

...

God, thy will is hard,

But you hold every card.

I will drink your cup of poison.

Nail me to your cross and break me,

Bleed me, beat me,

Kill me.

Take me, now!

Before I change my mind.

The Arrest

Judas, must you betray me with a kiss?

Judas famously kisses Jesus to identify him to the Roman soldiers. If you are Going For It in your production of Jesus Christ Superstar, this can be very lustful. This is a man who loves his hero giving him up to the people that have been chasing him, probably realizing as he does it that things are about to go Very Wrong but having no way to stop it.

Peter's Denial

People who saw Jesus being led away see Peter and Mary, and accuse Peter of being an accomplice of that rabble-rouser Jesus. He denies knowing him three times.

Welp.

Pilate and Christ

Oh, Pilate, if only you remembered your little premonition. This is basically a song just to explain why Pilate doesn't have jurisdiction over Jesus and is sending him to...

King Herod's Song (Try it and See)

This song is, in a word, chaotic. King Herod tells Jesus he'll spare his life if Jesus admits to calling himself King of the Jews. It's very campy. It's amazing.

Herod demands Jesus perform miracles, Jesus won't do it, and Herod sends him back to Pilate to deal with because he decides Jesus is a fraud. This one really doesn't match up in OFMD. Oh well!

Could We Start Again Please

Meanwhile, in the movie and on the stage, Peter and Mary lead a song freaking out about what's happening. They've realized this whole thing went too far and Jesus is about to be killed, and are asking to start over.

This is Stede realizing slowly at the Privateering Academy that he has ruined Blackbeard. This comes out of order in the shows, but I'm going by JCS order. So I'm also doing the gifs in JCS order instead of OFMD order.

I've been living to see you

Dying to see you but it shouldn't be like this

This was unexpected, what do I do now?

Oh, could we start again, please?

Could we start again, please?

I've been very hopeful so far

Now for the first time I think we're going wrong

Hurry up and tell me, this is all a dream

Or could we start again, please?

Could we start again, please?

I think you've made your point now

You've even gone a bit too far to get your message home

Before it gets too frightening, we ought to call a halt

So could we start again please?

Could we start again please?

Judas' Death

Of course, Izzy doesn't die, and Judas does. Dramatically, after first running back to the authorities and trying to undo what he did.

I don't believe he knows I acted for our good

I'd save him all this suffering if I could!

Don't believe ... our good ... save him ... if I could

Izzy may not die, but he certainly has a moment where he realizes Ed is giving everything up and his plan has failed. Izzy is forced to watch Ed sign away ten human years to the British, and it is because of what Izzy did.

Christ! I know you can't hear me

But I only did what you wanted me to

Christ! I'd sell out the nation

For I have been saddled with the murder of you

Even more tragically, Judas reprises Mary's "I Don't Know How to Love Him." Imagine Izzy singing this in a deleted scene where he watches Ed and Stede be rowed away from the Revenge.

I don't know how to love him

I don't know why he moves me

He's a man - he's just a man

He's not a king - he's just the same

As anyone I know

He scares me so

When he's cold and dead, will he let me be?

Does he love me too? Does he care for me?

Ow. Sorry Iz.

Trial Before Pilate

It's a trial. Before Pilate. Some other guys go on trial, maybe you've heard of them.

Jesus stoically accepts his punishments, first the 39 lashes and then the crucifixion. Ed is also stoic when he thinks he's the only one in trouble, and of course after Stede is in danger he's not so stoic. Mary isn't crucified, so that doesn't really line up, but it's still two trials. Not much else to say here, really.

Superstar

The Big Number!

This is our climax, Judas in heaven appearing to Jesus and asking him, was it worth it? Shouldn't you have listened to me and ditched that Mary lady? (And why did you decide to come down to earth when you did instead of in 1971 when we have mass media? And also, is Buddha all he's cracked up to be? (It was the 70s, what do you want.))

Episode 10, of course, has the confrontation between Izzy and Ed. Is it worth it, being Stede's version of you? Can you survive like this? Where is the real Blackbeard?

And, who is Blackbeard, anyway?

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,

Who are you? What have you sacrificed?

Jesus Christ Superstar,

Do you think you're what they say you are?

The Crucifixion

Also known as:

Obviously, Ed doesn't die, and Jesus, you know, famously does.

But Ed does bury the soft part of himself, Stede's part, in an effort to continue on as Blackbeard.

And, let's not forget, Jesus does also famously un-die.

Let's hope that bodes well for Ed in Season 2.

Final Thoughts

As I got to the end, I started thinking about the "winners" and "losers" in the Judas/Mary and Izzy/Stede conflicts, such as anyone can really be declared a winner when the end result is the willing self-destruction of the person they love.

Jesus is silent before Pilate and Herod, knowing that God's plan is playing out as was intended. Could he have changed it, had he listened to Judas? Could he have prevented Judas' fate had he filled his closest confidante in? But if he had done that, would Judas still have played the role he had to play? (I'm not a religious scholar so I don't have the slightest idea. I'm just a woman with an English degree and too much time to think about OFMD and Jesus Christ Superstar.) In turning away from Judas' warnings and accepting Mary's version of himself - the one that is allowed comfort and rest and to be "just a man" albeit briefly - Jesus accepts that he'll die. Then, after everything and not portrayed in this show, he comes back to life as Mary's version. Judas goes down in history as, well, Judas. (Not even going into what's happened to Mary's reputation because do I look like Dan Brown to you? She doesn't win, either, is all I'm saying.)

Then we have Ed, who quite literally sheds Izzy's version. He signs his pirate life away for ten human years in order to be allowed comfort, rest, and to be "Just Ed." Shaves his beard, kisses his man, makes a plan to run away. That's the "death" he accepted. It's even the "death" he tries to continue when he returns to the Revenge, only to be shaken back to "life" as Blackbeard by Izzy. Stede won briefly, but then Izzy gets a second shot. And we end with Ed reembodying the myth. I don't subscribe to the framing that Ed, Blackbeard, and The Kraken are different people - they're all facets of Edward Teach. Will his ultimate "resurrection" be an acceptance that the real Edward is some mix of all of these versions? With neither Stede nor Izzy the "winner" of that battle?

That's it!! "It."

If you read this far:

Thank you I love you

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did

Find me on twitter @ michellethestan

Let me know your thoughts about how this 1970s rock opera about Jesus is actually about gay pirates

If you have footage of Con and Taika singing Jesus Christ Superstar in a makeup trailer you have to give it to me as payment for this

#ofmd #ofmd meta #ofmd and jesus christ superstar #our flag means death #jesus christ superstar #con oneill done something to my brain #if anyone has footage of con and taika singing jesus christ superstar get at me #seriously #ofmd meets jcs #extremely long post #blackbeard #stede bonnet #ed teach #gentlebeard #izzy hands #con oneill #c2e2 #taika waititi

[disregardcanon]

i really like how the “will you touch, will you heal me christ” demonstrates jesus’s point of “i can’t fix every single issue everywhere, judas. right now we’re just chilling” so much better than the speech he makes to judas does.

because judas is making what seems, in the moment, to be a very reasonable point, but if you take it to its utmost extreme... even with jesus’s powers, even if he didn’t know his time was limited, he couldn’t fix judas’s criticisms because as fair as they seem in the moment, they really aren’t, in the same way that any Why Aren’t You Personally Fixing Everything criticisms aren’t. (especially since in jcs it’s pretty clear that jesus IS just a dude and did not sign up for the being a human sacrifice part of the gig)

#jesus is just so burnt out and trapped in the musical #as much as any of the rest of them #jcs meta #jcs #jesus christ superstar 1973

[notoneglance]

I feel like since I’ve joined the Tokusatsu fandom, my meta post ideas have become wackier, like right now I’m currently working on “buddhist themes in the show about punching cgi mechas” and “why those episodes where a major character gets amnesia and switches lives with his doppleganger, a takoyaki gang leader’s son, were important to the story actually”

#my non tokusatsu meta posts are #'judas and mary are huge foils in jesus christ superstar' #and 'why the fuck is greed's dialogue so different in the japanese than the english dub in fma' #blade #donbrothers #my post #i love writing meta posts. i'd love to some day actually post them

[canonizzyhours]

Why is this fandom not talking more about the interview where Con said he and Taika never really talked about Ed and Izzy's relationship beyond the initial Jesus Christ Superstar analogy. I am losing it over that. All that meta about how Izzy doesn't understand Ed at all but thinks he does, and about how Ed and Izzy have completely different and totally incompatible ideas of what their relationship is and how it works? How Izzy thinks he's Ed's jilted lover and Ed thinks Izzy's his shitty dad at the same time? We were so much righter than we ever imagined. We were picking up what the actors were putting down. The characters come across that way because the actors in fact did not coordinate their interpretations at all and they're both working from completely independent headcanons. This is perfect. True method acting. Best imaginable way to portray a relationship between two people who both think they're very close and don't actually know each other at all.

#144.

#ofmd #izzy hands #edward teach #edizzy #con o'neill #taika waititi #canonizzyhours

[loveinhawkins]

Thinking again about theater kid Dustin so naturally I had to come to you 💙 Specifically I’m thinking about Dustin auditioning for a community theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar with an eccentric director who convinces Eddie to audition for Judas. He knows his reputation and thinks his notoriety will add an extra meta layer to the role (and get some butts in the seats he’s gotta keep the lights on somehow). Eddie is reluctant to put himself in the spotlight but ultimately does cause Dustin is excited about it. Also he’s really good? He plays it completely sincerely which no one is expecting, really leans into the interpretation that Judas was in love with Jesus and amps up the tragedy. (Afterwards Steve also asks him if that kiss with Jesus is in the script or…?)

i love this so much, thank you for sharing with me! ❤️ theatre kid Dustin is just so incredibly precious & i just love the thought of him having so much fun with it in his future. like i see him as such a little social butterfly, i think everyone in the theatre group would adore him (i’m always so upset when his peers make fun of him at the snow ball, no, that’s my boy!!!)

and oh my god Jesus Christ superstar yes!!! yeah i can see Eddie being so hesitant about it, like the thought of how certain factions of hawkins might still view him makes him nauseous.

but the director—who maybe knows through close-knit community theatre circles that a very young Eddie once played Action in West Side Story (i love your story so much ❤️)—has one last parting shot which convinces him.

“So you never want to have fun ever again?”

… Huh, Eddie thinks.

he still asks for Dustin’s approval, all too concerned with the thought that this is Dustin’s thing and maybe he’s overstepping or something, or—

“Holy shit, that’s some seriously impressive over-thinking,” Dustin says. “You’re my friend, asshole.”

And maybe he says it with a tone, but he means I wanna hang out more with you not less!

so Eddie takes the role and of course he’s brilliant—okay everyone’s got opinions on the auto tune used in Tim Minchin’s rendition but dear god the depths in his eyes, the acting. also maybe the director does a present day take like that version did & Eddie’s jokingly like “I could wear the hellfire tshirt” & the director’s eyes light up & Eddie quickly goes, “No. That was a joke, it wouldn’t even make sense.”—and maybe there’s something empowering in playing this figure when people once said his name and the Devil’s in the same breath.

Maybe, maybe.

and oh we all know who Eddie is thinking about when he’s singing:

I don't know how to love him I don't know why he moves me He's a man, he's just a man He's not a king, he's just the same As anyone I know He scares me so

and

Does he love, does he love me too? Does he care for me?

And oh on a lighthearted note, Steve asking if the kiss is in the script has me in hysterics, especially if this is pre-them getting together.

just the thought of Steve staring grumpily any time there’s a scene with Jesus & Judas—the guy who plays Jesus is maybe like a couple years older than Eddie, not originally from Hawkins perhaps so he’s kinda not fully aware of Eddie’s history & sure, he’s nice, but he’s just not on Eddie’s radar at all.

So when Steve asks if the kiss was in the script (not that he cares! At all! He doesn’t care! Look at how much he doesn’t care!), Eddie stares at him for a long moment and says, “Steve. Did you think I improvved the Bible?”

Dustin, who is also here—currently doing English homework up on a barstool in Steve’s kitchen while Eddie & Steve lounge on the couch—sighs very loudly and says, “How the fuck am I supposed to know what role dialogue plays in Much Ado About Nothing?”

Eddie waves a hand distractedly at him. “Just make it up.”

“I can’t just because my way through Shakespeare,” Dustin says, adds in a huffy undertone, “this isn’t one of your campaigns.”

Eddie mimes being stabbed in the heart. “Oh, betrayal!”

“So it was in the script?” Steve says.

“Oh for—yes, Steve, it was,” Eddie says. “It’s called acting. Also, it was on the cheek.”

“So?”

“So—ugh, just—” Eddie tugs on Steve’s wrist impulsively, while another part of his brain is screaming in vain for him to stop. “Come here.”

“What’re you doing?”

“I’m just showing you how fucking little it—”

I’m never finishing this essay, Dustin thinks. My home life is distracting and chaotic.

And Eddie kisses Steve very very chastely on the cheek, just to show it was nothing, that’s all, but Steve can feel Eddie’s breath on his skin, the warmth of his lips, and Eddie doesn’t really think it through until he does it and then oh shit, his heart is pounding—

“Oh, yup cool,” Steve says. “That’s—yeah, wow, that’s it? Huh. I need some air.”

“From your own house?” Dustin says, to the front door already slamming shut.

And Eddie’s eyes are wide and shiny, like, did I fuck up, and it takes all of Dustin’s self control to not roll his eyes and slam his face into his book.

Then he softens a bit, remembers looking out into the audience and seeing Steve silently crying while Eddie sang You have murdered me.

“You’re so dumb,” Dustin tells Eddie as gently as he can. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Uh.” Eddie blinks. “Did I—should I…?”

Dustin sighs wearily, slings his backpack over his shoulder. And he has a parting shot of his own:

“I’m not waiting through another production for you two to get your shit together.”

#i hope this repays even a little bit the joy i had thinking about this! ❤️ #dustin henderson headcanons #eddie munson headcanons #steddie headcanon #steddie hcs #henderfam #steddie #eddie and dustin #steve and dustin #steddie ficlet #dustin henderson #steve x eddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #JCS AU

[lucimiir]

Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides works the same way John Legend in Jesus Christ Superstar does - there’s this meta effect where the internet/fandom/whatever is distracted by the Chalamet-ness and so idolize Paul in the exact way that the in universe characters do, just like the screaming fans for John Legend only add to the idea of Jesus being worshipped in the live concert recording of jcs

#me dune x jcs posting again #dune #jesus christ superstar #timothee chalamet #john legend #paul atreides #denis villeneuve #villeneuve dune #dune 2 #jesus christ superstar live in concert

[posthumousvigor]

You know, I think its kind of cool how plot holes and bad writing encourage creativity in an audience. When I was a kid, I thought that the reason Anakin personally late-term aborted all them kids was because he wanted to ensure they were killed quickly and as painlessly as possible. I thought it was some sort of twisted compassion meant to show how his character had become corrupt yet still fundamentally the same. In trying to understand why something without sufficient explanation was happening, I gave the story new depth and meaning. Not like I'm a genius or anything, just an audience member taking part in creation.

I talked to my dad recently about the star war and he was surprised about the whole Force Jesus thing because this whole time he thought it was Palpatine's ~evil machinations~ or whatever. For over 20 years this man thought my boy Sheev abducted shmi and artificially knocked her up little green alien style as an experiment to create the most powerful force user. Which is kind of convoluted but I like it better than Jesus Christ Superstar laser sword edition full color vhs 50% off at walmart. Here's another person building their own art in their mind based on filling a hole (lol) left by the original media.

I mean, it happens in fandom all the time. Idk how many arguments I've seen where one or both people are duking it out based on... something that never happened. But in their beautiful mind palace it happened. And that would be such a wonderful phenomenon if they could only stop whipping out slurs every time they start to lose the argument. Keep on fighting those cuck windmills buddy I'm sure it'll work at some point

I'd still prefer a well written story, obviously, but I just love how people can't help but be creative, even if its 1999 and they're just in the car on the way home from the movies trying to work out what all that midichlorians shit was about. The collaborative process of creation can't stop, even if everyone held hands and agreed to never tag anything as #meta again. Art is never finished.

Anyway remember when everybody was foaming at the mouth over Jar Jar Binks was a Sith Lord theories? Good times

#star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #star wars prequels #the clone wars #jar jar binks #i guess #any jar jar heads out there?

[salamanderskin]

Kink meta (Sal unlocks a formative influence and writes fic about it)

You know how in the old days we would sometimes tag fanfiction with "I'm going to hell"? I've rediscovered Jesus Christ Superstar and I think this was a source of early whump or hurt/comfort fascination for me. Lots of beautiful men with long hair suffering intensely but in ways that are theatrical and heightened enough not to be squicky. Lots of smoothing hair from brows, forehead kisses, face cradling, eye gazing, also somewhat theatrical and heightened. Men crying. Homoeroticism for days. I would have seen the 2000 film when I was *cough I'm old* years old, and I've seen it live too. I'm pretty sure this was a formative kink influence and it's weird I'd forgotten about it.

It also taps into my big fascination with hurt/comfort where there's immortality or magical immunity or what have you adding to the power dynamic. I love anything with a concerned non-human caring for a human companion, or someone who "shouldn't" be able to suffer mortal ailments suffering anyway.

Anyway I wrote fic about it. Well, two fics. A matched pair, one with sick Judas and one with sick Jesus, set in the time slightly before the musical starts where tension between them has already started to brew.

I can't be bothered to repost it but anyone who is remotely interested can find it here: Don't - Chapter 1 - Salamanderskinned - Jesus Christ Superstar - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

There's passing mention of snz but it's really just fever and a lot of talk, with none of the gory details we usually enjoy here, hence why I didn't bother posting. I don't even know. I'm probably going to hell. And hopefully someone will put Myrrh on my burning forehead there. Or something.

[bibliothekara]

An interesting thing that I am not sure I've heard people talk about re: upcoming "Superstar" for Ted Lasson S3 is that of all of the dozens of Jesus Christ Superstar albums they could've chosen, they selected the original version from the concept album. In which Judas was performed by Murray Head who is Anthony Head's (Rupert Mannion) brother in real life. May be a coincidence but does create a possible meta resonance of the accusing voice sounding a lot like Rupert's.

Just listened to this version this morning, and man that IS a coincidence that maybe isn’t coincidental- I’m just going to be so fascinated to see whether this is a credits smash cut, or under a scene? Whether it’s Zava and Jamie and the footballers AND Ted making his choice / thinking in the background (“if you had a plan). If it’s something to do with Beard (who could say everything that Judas says in Heaven On Their Minds) — are Beard and Rebecca his Judas and Mary? And we’ve got Murray’s voice but Tony as everyone on the Other Side…SO MANY THOUGHTS

#ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers #jesus christ superstar #asks

[seraphtrevs]

top 5 favourite brba/bcs metas?

I love this ask! In no particular order

The White's pool is literally an evil soul-sucking entity. I think it originated on reddit - the idea is that the pool is an ancient evil that drives the Whites to madness. The op admitted he wasn't serious, but it's such a wild idea to think about. Like, obviously it isn't true, but what if it were? Nearly every time the pool is involved in a scene, there is evil afoot - Walt making Flynn drink till he pukes, the refuse from the plane crash falling into it, the lily-of-the-valley plant used to poison Brock is by the pool, Skyler's suicide attempt...pretty evil stuff! This is something I love about meta - you can take really crazy ideas and try them on just for the fun. Either you'll end up more sure of what your original opinion was, or you'll have gained a new insight, or both. Like, thinking about the evil sentient pool made me think about the role a pool played in Gus's tragedy, and then how a pool brought Kim and Jimmy together on their first joint scam, and how Gus built a fountain - a pool - to Max, so both of the BCS pools are tinged with love and tragedy...anyway it lead to a really interesting thought path that I enjoyed walking down and it's also very funny

The musings of @septembersghost, my favorite BCS meta writer! I promise it's only partly because we agree a lot - she just has so many wonderful insights and always puts it so beautifully

Lalo is gay trutherism. A straight Lalo makes no sense as I have proven, and now that he's dead, we will never have anything to contradict it (I actually think point 1 of my argument is a little shaky in hindsight, but I firmly stand by 2 and 3!)

The fly is Lalo - the fly IS Lalo! It just is. And it's Lalo annoying Walt and Jesse to make Howard laugh

Nacho Christ Superstar AKA my thesis lol. I remember watching 6.03 and with every minute going wait....hold on...no, it can't be! ... A CHRIST ARC THEY'VE GIVEN HIM A CHRIST ARC THEY PUT HIM ON THE CROSS AND MADE HIM CARTEL JESUS OH MY LITERAL GOD. And of course Nacho Christ means that Lalo is Lalo Morningstar, who fails to tempt Nacho but makes a deal with Jimmy that costs him his soul. It's very fun for me that they're borrowing from cultural archetypes like this - it gives everything a mythic feel. Because BCS is only cosmetically a crime drama - it's a tragedy first and foremost, and tragedies are always larger than life

#ty! #ask games #asks #better call saul

[tatzelwyrm]

Ok, it's over. I'm good again. We will now return to regluar random blogging untinged by nostalgia.

Final thoughts for my own files:

Charles lives. \o/

There could have been more of Charles, but then there can always be more of Charles. But at least he lives and so now I can sleep peacefully again.

The Metalocalypse according to Knubbler: "Fuckers will be dying and shit."

Pickles is Mom confirmed.

Skwisgaar's role in the band is Guitar God. Toki's role in the band is "sunshine rainbow marshmallow man".

Murderface's role in the band is to suck (affectionate).

Nathan is going to only have sex with music from now on (and drink respect women juice)

They brought back the chef for the final battle. :DDD

For a character as silly as Knubbler, they managed to give his death a lot of weight.

The way they handled Abigail was good. Abigail is so good because she's so normal in a way that no other recurring character is. Also, she's the only important female character in the entire franchise apart from the whale and there was so much fandom drama about her back in the day, that I'm geniunly glad not only didn't they fuck her up, they even pissed over all that drama in a single scene of dialogue.

Speaking of the whale: I'm glad she actually did something, because I've always loved having this character that's literally a whale but also somehow a doomsday prophet, in a show that doesn't have any other animal characters. She was bizarre in a show that is bizarre. But I didn't need her to be the one to kill Salacia. Let the main characters do that, maybe? Now it looks like all that was needed for the show to be over was for someone give Salacia a little push while he was talking a stroll on the beach.

Everybody has PTSD and that never gets explicitly addressed and that's fair, this is not the kind of show for that, but it's all there in the behaviour (Toki's age regression, Skwisgaar's touch aversion).

They managed to put some good character moments in there, my favourite being Nathan pointing out "Magnus never gave us a chance to forgive him".

Still thinking about how Brendon Small once said about Doomstar Requiem that Mangus' death was supposed to be reminiscent of Judas' suicide in Jesus Christ Superstar, who was forgiven.

I have never liked Dr Rockzo, but "Toki is doing bad, so let's have Dr Rockzo here to cheer him up" is a thought Charles would have and it's the only acceptable explanation for why he would allow the clown in his church.

When Orlaag mentioned "Krakish" I was hoping we'd see some cool looking monsters like the Troll from season one, but Salacia's monster form was actually kinda boring. :((((

Spaking of Orlaag:

me: *never really cared about Orlaag one way or another*. Orlaag: I will bathe in his blood. me: 🔪🔪🔪

And right when I thought there had been surprisingly little gore, Orlaag got turned into paste. :DDDD

Other characters take their suit off to fight. Charles is built differently.

The opening was so meta what with "it's been so long and this is what you give us?", and that's fair.

On that note: The special retreads familiar themes (the power of friendship, found family, the FANS, etc. etc. etc.), there are no surprises, but, eh, I didn't expect anything else. All open plot threads get (re)addressed and tied off. I would have wanted there to be more time for general silliness, but given that this one special is all they got to finish the story, I'm happy they managed to do as much as they did.

There was a time during the 10 1/2 years since Doomstar Requiem that I thought "it's better for this to not have an ending at all than for the ending to suck" and this was definitely not that. I wasn't blown away by the special, but that's okay. There were things the special didn't do that it could have done, but the things it did do were fine.

The subtitles are consistently weirdly inaccurate when identifying who's speaking. Salacia is referred to as MMA (who isn't even in this special), Orlaag (or was it Stampington) is referred to as Salacia, the cultist holding the sermon in the church during Ishnifus' funeral is referred to as Charles. The one that threw me the most, however, was Murderface being referred to as William. This isn't technically wrong, but it feels wrong.

#personal #tatzelwyrm watches metalocalypse #army of the doomstar spoilers #metalocalypse spoilers #metalocalypse #(tagging for filing purposes) #army of the doomstar

[lunatic-fandom-space]

For the inevitable musical episode of Supernatural i hope its gonna be our guys accidentally being cast as Jesus and Judas in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar through a comical series of events and they cant leave bc idk theres a demon forcing them to do it somehow (the demon is Caliaphus and when they sing This Jesus Must Die its ironic and meta bc they actually wanna kill the brothers)

#supernatural liveblog #supernatural

[officialfoxsquadron]

music i think charlotte reynard would be into:

meatloaf: i literally cannot even begin to explain how hard she would go for meatloaf. at every concert. obsessed. her karaoke performance of two outta three ain't bad is imbued with all the pathos of a thrice-divorced aging rock star.

cabaret, pippin, jesus christ superstar: she's a theatrical gender neutral and morally ambiguous protagonist whose purpose is to make meta commentary on the narrative.

jazz: esp any songs that just sound like everyone in the band is on crazy amounts of cocaine. relaxing 2 her

hair metal: do i even need to explain this one

#oc posting #lottie #eowyn speaks #ugh luke and his butch dyke gf. #lottie has taste. is it good taste? no

[disregardcanon]

i think that jesus christ superstar really is my favorite example of “this was all written already, and we’re just players being moved around by fate”, because even the characters who seem to make choices... aren’t. 

pilate doesn’t choose to send jesus to die- he tries to get jesus to give him any reason to release him as he fights against an angry, faceless horde with no real understandable motives for wanting jesus dead so desperately. 

jesus doesn’t choose to die. he’s stuck in a situation where he probably couldn’t get out of it, being forced to do so by his father who is literally GOD and did not consult him about this choice. when jesus finally gives in, it’s resignation, not because he’s agreed to the decision. 

peter makes the decision to deny jesus those three times, but only after it’s already been stated that it’s going to happen.

the closest thing we have to someone making a bad decision of their own free will is judas, who decides that he wants to try to bring jesus in to try to protect the rest of them... but even with judas... the chief priests have decided that they are going to catch jesus. if they didn’t have an in-man, they would have found someone else or found a different way. 

the guy upstairs decided that this was going to happen and then he moved the pawns to make sure that it did. 

#jesus christ superstar #maybe someday i will actually write the story about jesus and judas as boyfriends set apart by fate #jcs #jcs meta #jesus christ superstar meta

[crisisoninfintefandoms]

In Jesus Christ Superstar 2000, Judas is clearly just super gay, and I find it interesting, and also kind of heartbreaking and poignant when we see him in Superstar and his “hell” seems to include this parody of aggressive, performative heterosexuality.

Cause, like, I’m sure they weren’t really thinking it through that way and that none of that was intentional or anything, and, y’know, seeing a gay Jewish man in any kind of implied damnation is kinda unfortunate, but damn if “being forced to perform to society’s gendered hetero-normative expectations is literally hell on earth” isn’t one Big Fucking Mood.  

#jesus chris superstar #jesus christ superstar 2000 #queer readings #jesus christ superstar meta #I guess? #is that a thing? #crisis'meta