History YMMV / BeMoreChill

** Jeremy is extremely heavily implied to suffer from some kind of anxiety disorder, and displays many characteristics of depression, most notably his severe self-hatred, which the SQUIP [[KickTheDog exploits]] to gain control over him by encouraging his existing suicidal ideation.
*** In general, Jeremy's arc revolves around his mental health, and much of the final song of the show - "Voices In My Head" - is based off of a quote from Ned Vizzini, the author of the original book, about his own experiences with depression. Will Roland has also [[https://gothammag.com/dear-evan-hansen-will-roland-broadway cited]] his experience working with children with social disorders like Asperger's autism as inspiration for how he portrays Jeremy.
** In addition to his geeky interests and obsession with vintage products such as soda (highly specific interests being a hallmark trait of autism), Michael also shows signs of anxiety -- he has a full-blown panic attack at the Halloween party, in the process also showing symptoms of serious social anxiety and suicidal ideation. It's ambiguous how much of this is a new thing due to losing his only friend, and how much of it was there before but just well-hidden.
** While some of Rich's shaky sanity is the result of abuse by his SQUIP rather than a disorder, he does briefly mention that he first ''got'' his SQUIP partially because he was "stagnant" and "suicidal" -- which his SQUIP clearly exploits. On Halloween, when he struggles to find a way to get rid of the SQUIP, he [[spoiler: attempts suicide]].
** Christine feels unable to relate to anyone her age outside of theatre, mirroring how some autistic people or people with ADHD can feel about people who do not share their interests. She also mentions frequently feeling depressed and immediately follows it up with a [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspiciously flustered]] insistence that she doesn't self-harm, she seems to lack a filter when she speaks, and she has an odd VerbalTic of being the only character in the musical whose songs [[SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion don't always rhyme]], which is probably a metaphor for ''something''. The "ambiguous" part of the trope is downplayed with her, though, since she directly describes herself as having ADD.

* FandomRivalry: Can become this with the ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'' fandom, by those who consider the two to be too similar, what with a similar sense of humor, character dynamics, and even certain songs being seen as parallels to each other (for example, it's pretty hard to find a conversation about "Halloween" or "Big Fun" that doesn't inevitably lead to the other being brought up). Also with the songs "More Than Survive" and "Beautiful": they're both long songs, the first song of the musical, in which the main character goes to school and describes their rather shitty life. However, this is a vocal minority; most fans get along fine. (Or are the same people.)

* HypeBacklash: Fans of this show really, really built it up as the next big thing, but many who saw it were very underwhelmed, especially those who aren't in the teenage target audience. Even theater fans who thought it was just okay had a soured opinion of the show due to the sheer intensity of its fanbase. This only worsened after its less well received Broadway run.
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: For whatever reason, the show has gotten a lot of animosity from the more hardcore Musical Theatre fanbase, them generally dismissing it as "overrated" and "not even that good". Its fans usually blame the Broadway run, as it made the show a lot more accessible and mainstream, and thus the flaws that were originally seen as NarmCharm were suddenly compared to theatre juggernauts, which many fans of the show find unfair. The original Off-Broadway run remains a CultClassic, however, and is thus mostly untouched.

** A real friend will know when to call you out for your bullshit, and it's in your best interest to listen to them. As the play goes on, Michael becomes the OnlySaneMan that becomes suspicious of the SQUIP, getting mad at Jeremy when the latter hurt his feelings and accuses him of being jealous of Jeremy's newfound popularity. Guess who ends up saving the day in the end, [[spoiler:while the SQUIP is taunting Jeremy that he alienated his only friend]]? That's right, Michael. Likewise, with Chloe and Brooke, [[spoiler:Brooke calls out Chloe for kissing her boyfriend behind her back and trying to sleep with him. She refuses to speak to her friend, despite being a BetaBitch to the latter's AlphaBitch. It motivates Chloe to abandon her catty ways and go MyGodWhatHaveIDone]].
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

** Brooke is very well-liked for being adorable.

** Related to the above, Michael is widely headcanoned to be gay. Many people who draw fanart of him include a pride patch on his left arm because of this. Subsequent productions, such as the Exit 82 Theatre Company and Manly Musical Society productions, have adopted this, giving Michael some variation of a pride patch on his hoodie. [[AscendedFanon The Off-Broadway and Broadway productions adapted this into their production as well,]] though his sexuality is still ambiguous and the pride patch could refer to the fact that he now has two mothers.
** Despite most of the fandom not reading or even disliking the book, it has incorporated some aspects from it into the fandom's portrayal of the musical characters, such as:
*** Rich having a red streak in his hair. Probably the most widespread. It's since been integrated into his Broadway costume.

*** If Jeremy has a fursona, it will be a dolphin. This also comes from the book, as Jeremy compares his movements to a dolphin's at one point.

** After getting the SQUIP, Mr. Reyes says he doesn't want to stay in New Jersey teaching unappreciative students and that he could go all the way to Broadway. Since the show moved beyond a small New Jersey theater to Broadway in 2019, he's not wrong.

* DracoInLeatherPants: The SQUIP is this to some parts of the fandom. This part of the fandom has a large overlap with those who [[EvilIsSexy find it attractive]], though they don't perfectly line up and some fans fall into one but not the other.

* EvilIsSexy: The SQUIP has the attractive voice of Eric William Morris (and later Jason Tam) backing him up, and despite being pure evil, his sheer charisma and willpower have led to an eternal popularity among the show's fanbase.

** A bit of a {{Crossover}} meme; During the scene where Michael confronts Jeremy with what he learned about the SQUIP, he asks, "Who made them? How did they end up in a high school? IN ''NEW JERSEY''!?” This has led to many people in the comments on [=YouTube=] responding with “[[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} Everything is legal in New Jersey]]."

** Likewise, some fans of the Off-Broadway production felt the changes did little to justify the significantly higher ticket price of the Broadway production. The bigger theater may have in fact doomed the production.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some fans of the Two River Theatre production disagree with certain changes in the off-Broadway and Broadway versions. The most die-hard fans of Will Connolly and Eric William Morris especially are critical of Will Roland and Jason Tam's takes on Jeremy and the SQUIP, respectively.

** Related to the above, Michael is widely headcanoned to be gay. Many people who draw fanart of him include a pride patch on his left arm because of this. Subsequent productions, such as the Exit 82 Theatre Company and Manly Musical Society productions, have adopted this, giving Michael some variation of a pride patch on his hoodie. [[AscendedFanon The Off-Broadway and Broadway productions adapted this into their production as well,]] though his sexuality is still ambiguous and the pride patch could refer to the fact that he now HasTwoMommies.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Michael being a white boy with YellowFever was a controversial aspect of the original novel. The 2021 graphic novel gives him a RaceLift (likely inspired by the Ecuadorian/Filipino George Salazar's depiction of Michael) and cuts out his Asian fetishism.

* CriticalDissonance: Reviews were far from kind, but while the show was not a mainstream hit, it was able to cultivated a very enthusiastic fanbase.

** For the show’s detractors, Creator/StephenSondheim leaving at intermission.
** A bit of a {{Crossover}} meme; During the scene where Michael confronts Jeremy with what he learned about the SQUIP, he asks, “Who made them? How did they end up in a high school? IN ''NEW JERSEY''!?” This has led to many people in the comments on [=YouTube=] responding with “[[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} Everything is legal in New Jersey]].”

* HollywoodHomely: In the HollywoodNerd variety. Jeremy is described as being too tall, with poor fashion sense and acne, with Chloe point-blank saying that he isn't that cute. Will Connolly and Will Roland, on the other hand...

* TastesLikeDiabetes: "I Like Play Rehearsal" has been described as ''aggressively'' cutesy.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The Payless scene, with Payless closing all its stores due to poor business:
-->'''Stockboy:''' We're sold out!
-->'''Jenna:''' Of...shoes?

** '''Michael.''' The majority of the fandom loves him for being one of the most laid-back yet relatable characters in the show, and his solo song only increases the amount of love he gets. Case in point: in the Exit 82 production, once Jeremy cried "Michael!", the crowd went ''nuts.''

* SignatureSong: "Michael in the Bathroom" is often people's first introduction to the show. Due to its exploration of social anxiety for a character expected to just be the PluckyComicRelief, it's played and covered more than any other song and has become the most famous song of the show.

* HypeBacklash: Fans of this show really, really built it up as the next big thing, but many who saw it were very underwhelmed, especially those who aren't in the teenage target audience. Even theater fans who thought it was just okay had a soured opinion of the show due to the sheer intensity of its fanbase.

** There's some disagreement about Jeremy, despite being the main character of the show. Some fans don't like him because they find him too boring and/or perverted, think he sees Christine as a trophy, and lashes out at Michael when Michael was only trying to help him. Others sympathize with his anxiety and loneliness and defend his awkward moments, since he only lashed out at Michael after weeks of emotional abuse from his SQUIP and even though he has moments of entitlement towards Christine, he does come to realize her point of view and [[spoiler:even try to sacrifice himself to save her from the SQUIP]].

** "I Love Play Rehearsal" is an upbeat, catchy song about how much Christine [[ExactlyWhatItSaysontheTin loves play rehearsal]]. It's the first lead song Christine has, and it shows how [[ {{Adorkable}} endearing, lovable and dorky she is]] all in under 3 minutes.

** There's some disagreement about Jeremy, despite being the main character of the show. Some fans don't like him because they find him too boring and/or perverted, think he sees Christine as a trophy, and lashes out at Michael when Michael was only trying to help him. Others sympathize with his anxiety and loneliness and defend his awkward moments, since he only lashed out at Michael after weeks of emotional abuse from his SQUIP and even though he has moments of entitlement towards Christine, he does come to realize her point of view.

* SceneryPorn: The 2019 Broadway production has several screens bordering the stage that activate whenever the SQUIP comes around, displaying its code and wiring. There's also a large screen in the back that provides extra visual context to scenes: Jeremy and Michael's video game in "Two-Player Game," Rich's house burning and [[BlackComedy the guests' selfies with it]] in "Smartphone Hour," the illusion of a large Squipped army during "The Pitiful Children." etc. It really adds to the show's techno aesthetic.

** One headcanon for why Jeremy is so insecure is that he's trans (usually a trans boy), which adds more subtext to why the SQUIP [[IWantToBeARealMan tries to make him more masculine]]. Will Roland, the original Jeremy on Broadway, said he sings the line "If Brooke can look me in the eye / Like I'm some normal handsome guy" in "Loser Geek Whatever" with trans fans in mind, and the official Instagram account posted [[https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvr6lsDnwP7/ an image of Jeremy against a trans flag]] for International Trans Day of Visibility, adding viability to the headcanon.

* {{Narm}}:
** The SQUIP scatting in "The Pitiful Children" can kill the drama for some, since it clashes with his sinister portrayal. Others think it comes off as NarmCharm.
** Michael lamenting that people think he's a stoner in "Michael in the Bathroom". It would be one thing if he was opposed to drugs and therefore didn't like the insinuation, but in actuality he ''is'' a stoner, so the fact that he's upset people might assume winds up not making much sense at all.
** Rich coming out in the final scene due to the extremely forced dialogue that's blatantly PanderingToTheBase., as noted below.

* PanderingToTheBase: The Broadway production's strong implication that Michael is gay, him now having two mothers, and Rich coming out as bisexual are clearly the result of trying to appease the show's LGBTQ fanbase. The former two aren't ''too'' noticeable since the first is never outright confirmed within the show and the latter is just a brief mention. The last example's stilted dialogue of the Rich coming out feels incredibly shoehorned in however.

* PanderingToTheBase: The Broadway production's strong implication that Michael is gay and Rich coming out as bisexual are clearly the result of trying to appease the show's LGBTQ fanbase. The former isn't ''too'' noticeable since it's never outright confirmed within the show, but the stilted dialogue of the latter coming out feels incredibly shoehorned in.

* {{Narm}}: The SQUIP scatting in "The Pitiful Children" can kill the drama for some, since it clashes with his sinister portrayal. Others think it comes off as NarmCharm.