History YMMV / TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde

* ItWasHisSled: The original story is a mystery about what connection the upstanding Jekyll could have to the shady Hyde. Pretty much everyone nowadays already knows the answer; Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same, the result of Jekyll taking a potion that split him into two selves, one normal and one totally evil. Often enough, the twist is the only thing they know about the story, and a lot of adaptations don't even treat it as a twist.

** A line Jekyll makes about Hyde growing in stature, as though conscious of a more generous tide of blood. Does he mean Hyde would have grown to hulk-like proportions or that he's just becoming healthier compared to the skinnier dwarf form he starts off as compared to the more hearty-stocked Jekyll?

* SelfFanservice: Mr. Hyde is described in the book as "dwarflike" and with some sort of facial feature that had him dip into UncannyValley territory, and some adaptations turn him into a hulking monster. A lot of fan-art (and some other adaptations) prefer to portray him as being a slightly more deranged-looking-yet-[[EvilIsSexy sexier]] version of Jekyll. The good doctor himself also gets this, often being made younger (and [[{{Bishonen}} prettier]] to better contrast the more rugged Hyde) than he was in the novel.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Not a full example as this is actually mused upon in the book, but the idea that the serum doesn't actually transform Jekyll into a different-looking evil man, it simply transforms him into a different-looking man, and it's the intoxication of being able to get away with any crime that leads him to act so evilly. Many adaptations, especially recent ones, decide to eschew the idea that it changes his looks at all and represent the changes purely by acting. Notably, everyone who sees him insists that Edward Hyde somehow gives off the impression of being grotesque and deformed but, when pressed, cannot actually identify one specific feature which would explain this.
** In the book Jekyll pretty much admits that his motive for inventing the serum was nothing other than ForTheEvulz; he wants to be able to act immorally, but as Jekyll he'll always be worried about his respectable image. As Hyde he doesn't have to worry, as the worst people think of him is that Hyde might be blackmailing him (and/or could be his BastardBastard son). And keep in mind that Jekyll chooses to keep turning into Hyde, even after Hyde ''severely injures an innocent child'' and has to give her family an enormous bribe so that they won't go to the police.

** Jekyll and Hyde are treated as split personalities and Mr. Hyde as a physical manifestation of Jekyll's evil side or something more mystical as he physically changes into an entirely different person. In the book, Hyde is a chemical secret identity and Jekyll only gives him the name "Hyde" to disassociate himself from the consequences of his actions. Jekyll was always in control of his actions and used Hyde as a scapegoat for acting on his dark urges. After he murders Danvers Carew, he only believes Hyde is a real person out of fear, guilt, and stress when he starts changing involuntarily and can't find a cure for the potion, which means he will be identified as Carew's murderer and punished.

** It's really easy to read some Utterson/Jekyll into the former's concern for the latter, with his fears that Hyde was Jekyll's son or lover, and was using that to blackmail him.

** Despite multiple adaptions including this element, there are no love interests in the original story (in fact, there are no named female characters ''at all;'' the only female characters to play any kind of role are the little girl Hyde injures and the maid who witnesses him murdering Sir Danvers Carew).

** Is Hyde ''even a split personality''? Jekyll wants Utterson to think so, and probably [[NeverMyFault chooses to believe so himself]], but is this might instead be [[GollumMadeMeDoIt just an excuse]] for waning impulse control bordering on InsaneTrollLogic. Certainly no one would be surprised if Jekyll had undergone some serious SanitySlippage by the time of his confession and as such might be genuinely HearingVoices; he might also just be a ManipulativeBastard to the very end, trying to at least salvage his reputation and legacy by turning "Hyde" into a SilentScapegoat.

** Also, why ''is'' the beloved and apparently borderline saintly Sir Danvers Carew making his way through town in the small hours of the morning carrying a letter only to be read by his lawyer? The answer is never given, but in a story about the hypocrisies and sins hidden under the personas of virtuous and righteous men, one could be forgiven for wondering about Carew's own possible secrets...

** Despite multiple adaptions including this element, there were no love interests in the original story (in fact, there were no named female characters at all).

* ItWasHisSled: The original story is a mystery about what connection the upstanding Jekyll could have to the shady Hyde. Pretty much everyone nowadays already knows the answer; Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same, the result of Jekyll taking a potion that split him into two selves, one normal and one totally evil. Often enough, the twist is the only thing they know about the story, and some adaptations don't even treat it as a twist.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Not a full example as this is actually mused upon in the book, but the idea that the serum doesn't actually transform Jekyll into a different-looking evil man, it simply transforms him into a different-looking man, and it's the intoxication of being able to get away with any crime that leads him to act so evilly. Many adaptations, especially recent ones, decide to eschew the idea that it changes his looks at all and represent the changes purely by acting.

** Jekyll and Hyde are treated as split personalities with Jekyll being the good side and Hyde being the bad side. Most would also portray the characters as being in battle and treated as individuals inhabiting the same body. In reality, there is no split personality because Hyde is a chemical disguise that enables Jekyll's dark urges by giving him a secret identity. Jekyll wasn't freaking out that his second personality was taking over, he was freaking out because he was changing involuntarily and believed he will be arrested for a murder he committed as Hyde. Jekyll only believes he and Hyde are two separate people because he was overwhelmed with stress and fear that he couldn't find a cure for his transformation.

* Jekyll and Hyde are treated as split personalities with Jekyll being the good side and Hyde being the bad side. Most would also portray the characters as being in battle and treated as individuals inhabiting the same body. In reality, there is no split personality because Hyde is a chemical disguise that enables Jekyll's dark urges by giving him a secret identity. Jekyll wasn't freaking out that his second personality was taking over, he was freaking out because he was changing involuntarily and believed he will be arrested for a murder he committed as Hyde. Jekyll only believes he and Hyde are two separate people because he was overwhelmed with stress and fear that he couldn't find a cure for his transformation.

** In the book Jekyll pretty much admits that his motive for inventing the serum was nothing other than ForTheEvulz; he wants to be able to act immorally, but as Jekyll he'll always be worried about his respectable image. As Hyde he doesn't have to worry, as the worst people think of him is that Hyde might be blackmailing him (and/or could be his BastardBastard son). And keep in mind that Jekyll chooses to keep turning into Hyde, even after Hyde ''severely injures an innocent child,'' and has to give her family a bribe so that they won't go to the police.

** In the book Jekyll pretty much admits that his motive for inventing the serum was nothing other than ForTheEvulz; he wants to be able to act immorally, but as Jekyll he'll always be worried about his respectable image. As Hyde he doesn't have to worry, as the worst people think of him is that Hyde might be blackmailing him (and/or could be his BastardBastard son). And keep in mind that Jekyll chooses to keep turning into Hyde, even after Hyde ''severely injures an innocent child.''

** Homosexual undertones were read into the book early on, and a few of Stevenson's gay friends chided him for possibly bringing them to light at all. The recent passing of homosexual legislation up north meant that closeted homosexuality wasn't just a hot-button issue at the time, but that Stevenson could possibly have had it on the mind while writing. A closer look at the edits from the second manuscript seems to support this theory, as Utterson himself starts to read a little bit more into Jekyll and Hyde's perceived relationship. Then again, this was a time when two men could have a completely platonic [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship Romantic Two-Man Friendship]] and not be chided for it.

** The fact Jekyll and Hyde were one and the same was a ''twist'' is not often known (probably because the story is so famous), and despite multiple adaptions including this element, there were no love interests in the original story (in fact, there were no named female characters at all).

* MoralEventHorizon: Clearly, when Hyde brutally murders Sir Danvers Carew for absolutely no reason, he has reached this point. Even Jekyll denounces him. However, Jekyll's decision to keep changing into Hyde despite the horrific consequences and harm it has done to others that he is fully aware of is one in and of itself.