😂 Really I feel it depends on the actress playing Christine, some Christine’s are more ‘into’ their Phantoms then others, so to speak.

He didn’t care…he just found out Gustave is his son, Christine just agreed to sing for him again AND she touched his face and almost kissed him…he’s on cloud nine right now LOL

In Susan Kay’s Novel he did 😉

@@sunflower-xi5ct i've never read susan key's novel before

@@jackmurphybatmanfan4619 If you’re a Phan then I think it’s worth a read, the way she delves into Erik’s backstory, his childhood, and time in Persia is brilliant. I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of her depiction of Christine, but I love her characterization of the ‘Persian’ and how he becomes a fully fleshed out character in that book, and he gets a name too! 😉 But yeah I guess I spoiled the ending a bit but… Webber wasn’t the first to give the Phantom and Christine a Son, Susan Kay beat him to the punch by about 20 years LOL.

@@sunflower-xi5ct okay

On some level I think he knew one time wouldn’t be enough for either of them and he knew that once she sang for him again it would reawaken her passion both for his music and him because he has always been her Idol. Regardless of what messed up stuff he does and as much as she might try and deny it…Christine absolutely worships his genius as much as he’s obsessed with her voice. So yeah he was after her the whole time and on some level I think Christine knew that, but was unable to keep herself from falling back under his spell.

I feel there is a good show in there, it just really needed some more reworking…especially with the whole Madam Giry/Meg stuff. I felt their motivation wasn’t very well written and left a lot of people scratching their heads as to why Madam Giry is now so hostile against Christine, as well as what exactly Meg wants from the Phantom, just his attention or something more? None of this was explained like it should have been, and then their is Raoul, I’m not against them making him a drunk but their really should have been more explanation as to WHY he fell so low…’Why Does She Love Me’ is too much of him whining and not enough explaining. I feel they should have leaned into the idea that Raoul secretly knows Gustave is not his, and he is unable to come to terms with the reality of that fact….that Christine has a dark side and is not all he thought she was. I would have liked more of THAT kind of character exploration than what we got. But it’s still a guilty pleasure of mine, the music is phenomenal.

I think he knew, he’s been stalker her the whole time

I think Love Never Dies hits a bit different as you get older because its themes are more mature then Phantom. Phantom of the Opera has a more ‘gothic fantasy’ element to it, Opera Ghost, Magic and Mystery, Prince Charming (Raoul) comes to recuse the fair maiden (Christine) from the big bad Phantom, etc. In Love Never Dies not only does Webber flip the supposed Fairy Tale on its head but he does away with all of the fantasy and gives us some cold hard reality….which a lot of people didn’t like, turns out a lot of people prefer the fantasy of All I Ask of You, which lets be real…is a fantasy at the end of the day. In Phantom Christine is dealing with the loss of her Daddy, now she’s a parent herself. The characters have all grown up, and the ‘games of make-believe are at an end’ to quote the Phantom. We are now dealing with failing marriages, alcoholism, long lost love, long lost dreams, children, even implied Prostitution etc all very mature stuff. Very real world stuff. Our Phantom isn’t hiding anymore, he’s no longer pretending to be a Ghost he’s embraced being a Man, and actually using his genius to become successful…I LIKE to think Christine’s acceptance of him inspired him to finally step out into the world and stop hiding 🙂 Love Never Dies is still very Gothic Romance, but it’s much more grown up then Phantom, does it have some problems that I feel could have benefited from a few more rewrites? Yes, but ultimately I enjoy it for what it is and respect Andrew for having the guts to write what he wanted.

To be fair, he wasn't really passed over. Webber asked him and Sierra were asked for the roles in the movie but according to him in an interview, the production and everything had lasted so long that they were simply too exhausted for the movie as well. And that's how we're not blessed with a good quality recording of this with him in it.

@@ashleebenedict6523 What, the 2004 movie, before he'd ever played Phantom in the theatre? That's... not the story we heard at the time, but I'd love to see that interview if so.

@@ashleebenedict6523I believe this person is referring to the 2004 movie which has Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler as the leads. You are correct though they were offered the roles for Love Never Dies the stage production and they turned it down.

LoL the Phantom would never knowingly hurt Christine, accidentally maybe, but never knowingly…and he’d probably be the first to kill himself if he ever did cause the woman he worshiped any serious harm. But I like how Ramin is not afraid to show that he can get rough with her when he loses his temper…it’s more realistic for a character that has had to resort to violence and intimidation his whole life to survive. Hence why Christine was so terrified of him in POTO when he was actually killing people, which ironically led her to run into Raoul’s arms. I like how as she’s gotten older she’s learned how to deal with that side of him better, she always responds to him with love…notice she grabs his face (almost kissed him) after Gustave reacted in fear of him, trying to convey to him that she loves him as he is…a reminder that the Phantom wanted Gustave to see the ‘Beauty Underneath’ but Christine has already seen it and ‘accepted and embraced it’.