Elizas gasp is her realizing that they forgot about Peggy this whole time. Btw this is a joke

Notice how Eliza never raps because she doesn't have to rush to tell her story before she dies wow thx for 100 likes

I believe that it is both Eliza seeing the audience and realising that Hamiltons story carries on and seeing her story being told😀 Edit:That's why it is called Hamilton not Alexander Hamilton because it told the Hamilton's story😀

. I think when Lin turnes around he isn’t Hamilton,he’s himself. And he’s showing Eliza the audience breaking the fourth wall. This is him telling her that her story was told!

I see it as Eliza dying and taking her final breath but also seeing her sister, husband, and the that all of their legacies have lived on, idk if that makes sense but just my interpretation

i realize logically it’s probably eliza dying, but if i were to play eliza (since lin has said that the gasp is up to every eliza to interpret) i think i would interpret it as eliza seeing the audience and realizing her families story has been told. the dying thing is nice and all, but i find it much more powerful for her to realize that all of her work paid off. it gives eliza a resolution to her character arch, she realizes she has done enough.

I think Eliza is seeing her legacy and Hamilton’s legacy, but also her family that has passed on.

Lin said that the gasp is because Eliza is seeing the audience and that he has told Alexander story like she has dedicated her life to doing meanwhile the actress Phillipa Soo has said that it’s because she’s seeing Alexander and God in all of these things

Here's the secret... it's always been Eliza's story. She was pretty unsung in life. I think Lin knew that. The whole time he was writing Eliza's story. At the end, she realizes this and gasps. He told her story and anyone who heard the gasp, heard all about Eliza.

I think Eliza is already dead and Hamilton leads her to the front of the stage to see the audience which shows that they have not been forgotten and their legacy lives on for both if them.

I agree with your perspective. Who lives? Burr. Who dies? Hamilton. Who lives to tell your story? Eliza! She wrote herself into the narrative when she married Hamilton. She wrote herself out of the narrative when he cheated on her. But in the end she actually WROTE the narrative to be sure those coming behind would know their story. LMMs full circles throughout this musical are mind-blowing!

that moment when you realize Eliza was actually the main character of hamilton-

I always thought that it was going back to where she found out he had died and she screamed in pain and sadness

I think that this gasp is Eliza realizing that not Alexander'a legally has been told, but hers, Philip, and all her family, and that thanks to, a great part, her work at those fifty years more that she had. Like you said, the musical is called Hamilton, not A. Hamilton. The moment is she realizing that all her work to get the story back was worth it, when she looks at the audience and realizes that it is still been told and famous internationally... don't know if it is clear what I just said, but that is it lol Edit: Hey guys, I'm sorry about my text, that's not my mother language, but I try to do my best... please don't judge and just correct me. That way I can improve my English and make better paragraphs. Thx

What if this happened: Eliza: *looks at Lin, wearing modern clothing* Lin: “Hey ;)” Eliza: *gasps, then dies*

It's when she realises Voldemort will grow up in her orphanage.

Some very interesting perspectives on the ending. I will throw another at you for thought. In the final song, "who lives, who dies, who tells your story", Elizabeth (Eliza) says that she lives another 50 years, and follows that with "it's not enough". She then refers to Angelica helping to tell the story, and after she passes, she proclaims "And I'm still not through" (telling the story). Throughout the rest of the song, she asks the same question, "have I done enough?" - When we move to the end of the song, she knows her death is near when she says, "I can't wait to see you again, it's only a matter of time". The song ends asking the original question, "will they tell your story?" - This is of course, where Eliza cries out to the audience. My thoughts is that she is crying out because although she has dedicated her life to telling the story, she is not done, and with her death, their story may be coming to an end. - As a weaker alternative, this could also mark the finality of her life's work, and with it a cry of relief for finally being able to rest.

I believe the last moment of the musical is Eliza’s death. Her glorious transition to the afterlife, and reunion with her husband, her son, her sister, and her other loved ones.

I think when Eliza and Hamilton hold hands at the back of the stage, that’s symbolizing her meeting him in the afterlife and reuniting again. When he leads her upstage and then lets go it’s him showing her that she did it. She told his story. The fourth wall is suddenly broken and she sees the audience for the first time and sees HER story getting told as well.

When he said play instead musical my inner theatre kid came out

To be honest Thought Eliza had a heart attack at the end.

i believe that the only reason Eliza gasped was because she realized that she was the one telling the story.She realized that because of herself Hamilton wouldn't had existed. what i'm trying to say is the whole musical was about the Hamilton's not just about the all mighty Alexander Hamilton, but Elizabeth Hamilton telling the whole story. She realize that before she died everyone will start telling each other till their's none to tell anymore and that her work is done and that it's time to let go.. Which led to this musical called Hamilton.

Lin Manuel Miranda said in an interview that can be interpreted as her seeing death, Alexander's face and breaking the fourth wall that their story is told. I think the show is about Eliza, she is writing the story with her kids. As you watch, she is up top looking around.

What I believe is that everyone was acting themselves (not the characters they played), but Phillipa was still Eliza. The gasp was to show that Eliza was so happy that they told her story, and that it was time for her to go. Idk that's what I believe lol

As mother, I saw it as her finally seeing her baby, Philip, again. However, as a theatre practitioner, I enjoy that it's left to both the actress and the audience to interpret each night. It would be interesting to see how it changes from performance to performance.

My interpretation: it's not the actor guiding her to stage front. It's a the spirit of Hamilton himself. More specifically, Eliza has passed away and meets Hamilton in the afterlife. He takes her hand and leads her to the front of the stage, where she looks up, breaks the fourth wall, sees the audience, and gasps, knowing that her and Hamilton's story has been told. Supporting this is the fact that she sings about having lived another 50 years, so she is presumably quite old at this point. She also ends her singing with the question of "who tells your story?" before Hamilton guides her to the front of the stage.

lmao the gasp was her seeing the audience and knowing her hard work to tell their story was worth it and that it was enough :)

The look in her eyes says it is not her dying. It is a look of appreciation with tears. I actually think the appreciation she feels is both for herself and Alexander at the end.

In that last scene that is no longer hamilton , now it is Lin manuel Miranda and he's taking her to the front of the stage to show that he told her story , and she gasps seeing that her and Hamiltons story has been told

The Gasp for me is Eliza seeing EVERYTHING all at once in the very moment she passes on; the audience, Her life story, Alexanders story, her dead sons' story, God, her family...EVERYTHING. It's overwhelming and it's beyond beautiful. Too much for her to comprehend. Yet, she comprehends it all.

When Eliza sees Alexander at the end it's right after she says that they will meet again soon....I saw it as Alexander comes to meet her to take her to heaven....and the gasp is her seeing the light as she takes her last breath

I think at the end when Alexander walks her down the stage, it’s actually Lin walking her down stage and she’s happy that her story got told

I like the idea of the gasp being up to the interpretation of the individual experiencing it. You can make it whatever you feel wraps the story up perfectly for you. To me it’s always been Eliza being done with her life’s work, seeing Alexander and knowing it’s her time to rest by his side.

I think Eliza should get her own musical about her life after Alexander died, she did so much for everyone.

My interpretation: Many ppl are saying its that she's seeing the audience, and what Lin Manuel did. I agree, yet my idea is different. I picture Eliza laying in a bed, sick from age. A doctor is next to her, watching as her life slips away. Suddenly, Eliza lets out a gasp. Her vision is covered by her family members', whom are calling to her to join them. She unwillingly walks towards, then past them, approaching a theatre. She slips inside to reveal Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story on the first ever Hamilton Broadway performance. She gasps once again at the same time as Phillipa, and a spotlight shines on Lin, who smiles at Eliza. She blinks, and finds herself in Alexander's arms. Her son and family welcome her gratefully. Thanks for reading all that. Don't judge the fact that I have such long "scenes". Hope you enjoyed! Please reply with your interpretation, I love reading them

It’s out for everybody to enjoy... meanwhile in the Philippines 😀

No one: Literally no one: Me: I don't have Disney plus in my country...

I think it’s because when Hamilton comes back on stage, Lin is playing himself and guides Eliza to the front of the stage telling her it’s okay to die you have done enough, we told your story. And the gasp is probably a relief, shock and happiness that her legacy has been told and she sees the audience clapping and knows it’s away to let go and die. She then sees her lost loved ones. Also because it is Hamilton and not A.Hamilton it could be talking about Eliza, maybe not I just thought I would mention that.

I just discovered this play myself and I'm with you. totally obsessed. Ive been listening to the soundtrack non stop since.

i’ve seen it as her dying, and realizing she did all that she could and successfully told his story, she sees the audience and realizes that they’re all there because of her 🥺🥺 that’s why she’s my fave

Eliza is seeing the legacy of Aexander Hamilton in the play, and how her work was not in vain. She gets to see the future and be gasping at what she sees.

I always though that when she walks back and takes Alexander's hand she's already dead and that's when they met each other again, so he shows her the audience and she realize that all of her work hasn't been in vain, the legacy's alive and their story has been told.

Thank you so much for explaining this

i just assumed she gasped because that was the moment she died-

I see it as when Hamilton grabs Eliza's hand he greets her again when they see each other after her death and he leads her to watch how people tell his story after what she did to make sure Hamilton's life story was preserved. I believe instead of just seeing the audience she see's everything, the Washington monument, the orphanage and ofcourse the audience and everyone listening and watching.

WOW - EXCELLENT INTERPRETATION thank you!! love it.

I think it's one of those things where it comes down to the director; I've seen some (like with Phillipa) where it seems more like breaking the fourth wall and that realization that she's in fact told the story. With other actresses, it's seemed more like she's seeing Alexander as she enters the afterlife (from the way she reached out as if to embrace someone).

I think it’s Eliza dying and awakening in the afterlife and seeing all the answers and seeing her lost loved ones.

For me it was eliza taking her last breath looking at the audience and her husband's and own legacy and her story being told, tearing up happiness, idk is heart warming knowing she didn't die in vain 💙💫

Lin confirmed that Eliza gasps because she sees the audience and realises that his story is still being told today😊

Summary: Eliza breaks the 4th wall and sees the Hamilton play happening and sees she succeeded telling her story

Eliza’s 5 gasps: Philip When she saw Angelica I’m watching it burnnnnnnnn Philip again When she swallowed a fly in who lives who dies who tells your story-

I do want to see a movie adaptation of this. It’s just so hard to change sets and stuff on stage and it would make the story a little more seamless

If you look you’ll see everyone take a step back from her and I thought it was the divide between the living and the dead. I thought the gasp was a gasp of sadness about her being all alone.

I agree with you- the movie is called Hamilton, not Alexander Hamilton. I think at the end she realizes SHE didn't throw away her shot, she worked hard to keep her and her husband's name out there. Also, when she sees Alexander, it reminds me of the end of Titantic when Rose is going up to Jack at the clock. She's surrounded by the people she loves who passed away before, and the gasp makes sense.

I initially thought it was right after Alexander had died and she was grieving. But I love the theory of Eliza seeing the audience

Wow, it takes acting to make a hackle-raising gasp that the Eliza actors made. It’s so powerful! Really amazing stuff!

i truly believe the scene goes on like this: **alexander steps behind eliza** at that moment, alexander is no longer alexander, its lin playing himself **lin grabs eliza's hand** this is letting her know its okay to go **he brings her to the front of the stage** she sees the audience knowing that her story was told because there was people to watch her there (it was practically eliza's story the whole time)

him :im super hamilton absessed me : seen hamilton 11 times in a span of 21 days

I always thought it was that she was having a heart attack or something because she’s dying and is gasping because of the pain or something

I think the ending can be interpeted in two basic ways. The one about how Lin is showing Eliza's legacy through the audience and her dying and she is seeing Alexander again.

She saw Trump get elected in 2016 and she was appalled by it.

I’ve the seen the vid here on KZfaq about the “gasp” of several actresses who played Eliza. Some are a bit underwhelming TBH but I do think it depends on each Eliza and how they interpreted the ending.

I think the gasp is Eliza in heaven seeing her / their story told and her overwhelming joy / shock at seeing the audience as she had spent so much of her life after Alexander's death preserving his legacy. The reunion of her and Alexander is her dying and then her gasp is the breaking of the fourth wall realization that others are now indeed seeing their story.

My theory is that Alexander is guiding her to whatever’s next, and she gasps as she sees her sisters, her son, etc.

I believe that Elias gasp is her last breath and going up to heaven and seeing everyone that she is known throughout life and seeing the audience who saw her story

I'm not sure if anybody else thinks this is it, but I think it's everything! Her last breath, realizing their stories have been told, seeing the other side, seeing Hamilton, seeing the audience, I also think it could be something that I don't see anywhere in the comments: she's realizing that not only did she keep Hamilton's story alive, but that she made her own story while doing it! She realizes she was the one who kept his story alive, the one who kept the country from forgetting him, the one who protected their legacy after his death, the one who lived with more time, the way Hamilton always wanted to!

it’s should be turned into a movie like mama mia

when i first saw hamilton, i thought this was when she found out hamilton died, which i now realize doesn’t really make sense. then i thought it was when she passed and saw hamilton and her son again, which does kind of make sense. but the one that brings me the most emotion is the final theory. it’s that Lin (not hamilton, lin) is bringing her to break the Fourth Wall and realizes her story has been told after she told everyone else’s. it’s such a beautiful thought

From what I understand Eliza (real one) spent the rest of her life reading interpreting and retelling her husbands story to anyone and everyone who would listen. I would then have interrupted that the last song Eliza (stage one) sings is a way to show what really happened. She kept up the story about her husband. And therefore I interrupted that the gasp at the end is Eliza seeing the audience and realizing that her efforts worked out. She kept her husbands legacy alive. And the actress plays it beautifully. The tears in her eyes. She is now gone (maybe she also her family in that moment. She was one of the last to die in real life) and she was successful. It’s a beautiful moment.

It was Lin showing her that he didn’t let her legacy die..even though she did.

I see it as Eliza seeing the world today, and seeing what America has become and been built up on because of Hamilton and the other founding fathers. It's really interesting to see everyone interpret that gasp differently! Also seeing a comparison of all the different Elizas is super interesting too.

so what happened imo was that in the final scene, it’s not alexander, it’s lin as himself, but eliza is still in character. she outlived everyone and told their story, yet no one could tell her story. lin is showing her the audience, and showing her that HE has told her story even though no one had the chance to. he is breaking the 4th wall in this and is showing eliza that her story has been told. it honestly is such a great part.

i believe the gasp at the end is Lin taking Eliza to the front of the stage and showing her that the Hamilton’s story has been told and received with so much love and applause by the audience. The gasp to me means that Eliza is shocked, overwhelmed, happy and almost relieved that even now, the Hamilton’s and their story are known by many worldwide.

I honestly love that it's not a movie adaptation likening wouldn't mind if that comes later but as someone who's unlikely to see it live due to where I live I really love that I can see it from a theater patron perspective

All great explations. ;]

omg this makes so much sense ive wached hamilton 28 times and never have known

I thought about that gasp for hours and realized it really is Elizas story as much as it is Alexanders

i saw someone say that at the end, it isn’t Alexander that is leading her upstage but Lin. the chorus is singing “tell [her] story” or something similar. lin told her story and she realised that

She gasped because she finally entered heaven with all her family

I think it’s because she sees that she has told Alexander’s story and see everyone there and she sees she did it.

2:16 Andrew Burr?? Lmaoo Anyways yess this video is awesome

God she's so good. That gasp makes me cry every time. Although it has been made clear it's her seeing the audience

Maybe it’s to resemble her final breath? Or her realizing that they are proud of her?

I see it as lin showing eliza that they told her story

To me, her gasp was the culmination of her lifetime of love and grief. And her moment of feeling him close, and of course the loss of her son, and perhaps her own imminent death.To my mind it was simple and clesr. I keep hearing other's take on it and am constantly amazed at other's ideas. I think each of our interpretations is a reflection of ourselves.

Can we applaud the raw emotion displayed by Philipa Soo?

Wow, Minds blown indeed

Pretty sure it's her breaking the fourth wall and realizing that her efforts of trying to tell alex's story werent in vain

The best twist ending since the sixth sense. The best piece of art I’ve seen period

I have seen the show twice, but it was a thrill to see Lin-Manuel & the original cast. ❤️👍🏻👍🏻

Right before my great aunt died she let out a similar gasp, we all thought it meant that she had seen her sisters (all who had died before she did)

I like to think that Eliza's gasp is seeing her husband again but more of seeing her story being told. Yes the show is technically about Alexander but people wouldn't really know who he was if it wasn't for Eliza. So this is Eliza's story and that's why she gasps at the end. But that's just my thought and opinion.

You don’t know how useful this was. Edit: yes Kermit is a big fan of Hamilton

I see it as the actor of eliza seeing the ghosts of alexander and eliza hamilton and them being proud of her

I know this video isn’t about it but. Yesssss phantom of the opera!!!!

My mind is blown to pieces right now! Wow! 😳

I feel like the truth is between Eliza, Eliza, and every actor playing Eliza- not saying this video is bad in anyway, I just believe they have a little secret or something.

When Alexander Hamilton does and leaves the stage, he doesn't return to the stage. Lin Manuel Miranda is in the final scene as himself. That's why he says "Hi", he's introducing himself. Then he shows Eliza her Legacy, the audience, that everything she did was a successful.