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Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
*** Sara Berry is nigh-universally portrayed as blonde, even though the photograph accompanying her song implies she's a brunette. The photograph shows eight girls, presumably representing Sara, Julie, and the [[spoiler:the six murder victims]]. One girl with dark hair is the only one with her face circled. It's never ''confirmed'' this is Sara, but it's the best guess.
to:
*** Sara Berry is nigh-universally portrayed as blonde, even though the photograph accompanying her song implies she's a brunette. The photograph shows eight girls, presumably representing Sara, Julie, and the [[spoiler:the six murder victims]]. One girl with dark hair is the only one with her face circled.circled with six others having scribbles while the girl representing Julie has red scribbles on her left leg. It's never ''confirmed'' this is Sara, but it's the best guess.
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* SignatureScene: Everyone remembers the end of "The Ballad of Sara Berry" where [[spoiler:the titular character goes off to murder six competitors.]]
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Added DiffLines:
** "On Monday" is a song about what it means to take a relationship slowly. The lover tells the singer that they're cute (and juvenile), being patient over how the singer wants to jump into hugs and kisses and it's the journey that counts.
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Changed line(s) 1,30 (click to see context) from:
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: ''All over the goddamn place''. Because each song is its own isolated story with no further context except the photos (some of which are more abstract), it's up to the audience to fill in the gaps. Plus, most of the songs are narrated by a character ''in'' the song, meaning it's unlikely that they're not at least a little biased.
** What's happening to the protagonist in "Crazytown"? Is it a DyingDream, has he really gone to a twisted wonderland? Is it a metaphor for growing up? Is he stuck to relive the events of the song forever?
** "The Party Goes With You":
*** Is the relationship between the narrator and her husband actually [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] or merely [[AwfulWeddedLife unhappy]]?
*** Some fans have speculated that the narrator's husband is actually ''dead'', and the song is about her being unable to move past her grief. What their marriage was like before that is still murky.
** "Make Me Happy" is sung by two self-admittedly difficult people who have found love together. Are they simply abrasive by nature, and self-aware enough to know they're not easy to live with and are thus sincerely grateful for their partner accepting them as they are? Or were they not always like this, one or both of them growing more prickly and cynical as a reaction to previous bad relationships? The things they both say they like about each other (he likes that she gives him his alone time when he needs it, she likes that he lets her vent and make her concerns heard) implies they weren't getting them from ex-partners. If he's used to having his privacy and personal time invaded, and/or she's used to partners not listening to her feelings, it makes sense both that they'd become more outwardly difficult as a defense mechanism, and that they'd be particularly pleased to find someone who respects their needs.
** "Leave, Luanne":
*** Why doesn't Luanne [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim kill her husband when she gets ahold of the knife while he's asleep]]? Is she simply being pragmatic, realizing suspicion would fall to her and there'd always be the possibility of his body being discovered? Does she worry he'd wake up before she could finish the job and overpower her? Has she decided killing him isn't worth the trouble and she'd rather just escape and start a new life elsewhere rather than try to stay in a place that ignored or failed to notice his abuse? Or is she just too nice to kill someone, even though the bastard absolutely deserves it? [[spoiler:If the latter is true, she certainly gets over it in the end.]]
*** Some animatics interpret the "grating, growling" line as not referring to Luanne's husband, but instead the dog trying to protect her from him.
*** While the story definitely ends with Luanne [[spoiler:returning after death to drag her husband down to Hell, the lines "the bastards will never sleep again" and "a caution to the cruelest of men" has led some to speculate that Luanne isn't just an angry ghost, but an ''avenging angel'' who now protects victimized women everywhere, giving their abusers the same treatment she gave her own. If true, this adds a new level of karmic justice to the ending and makes Luanne's ultimate victory even better.]]
*** [[spoiler:Did Luanne drown herself [[IDieFree so she wouldn't be forced to go back to her abusive home]], or [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled she figured he'd kill her anyway]]? Or did the bastard outright murder her, and claim it was suicide to cover his tracks?]]
** "Twisted Teeth":
*** Are the couple [[UnholyMatrimony actually in genuine love with one another]], or do they just work together [[PragmaticVillainy because it's more effective for them to hunt as a pair]]? The female singer even notes that while her being turned by the male vampire "was right as rape," she also goes on to happily sing that she'd die for him regardless. Is she really in love, or has she simply convinced herself she is to try and make the best of her situation, since there's no viable escape?
*** One other possibility is that the female singer was enthralled by the male vampire after being turned, and her brief moments of melancholy are in fact [[AndIMustScream brief moments of lucidity where she recognizes the horror of what she's done]] before subsuming back into her blissful bloodthirstiness.
*** Did the Mister intend only to use the Night Walker as food, only to accidentally turn her into a vampire and take her into his coven and fall for her in the process? Did he callously make her a vampire on purpose so he'd have a partner (both for hunting and general companionship), her feelings on the matter be damned? Or is he a JerkassWoobie, being a desperately lonely individual unable to form normal connections due to his monstrous nature, and eventually giving into temptation and turning the first person to show him kindness so they could be together? It doesn't ''excuse'' his turning her into a bloodsucking creature of the night without her consent, but it could be at least a little understandable.
*** Is the Mister as attached to the Night Walker as she is to him, or is he merely using her, leading to a MadLove / LoveMartyr scenario?
** "The Ballad of Sara Berry" gets this a ''lot''.
*** The actions of Sara's ex-boyfriend. Did he [[spoiler:take Julie Jenkins to the prom just to spite his ex, because he wanted to latch on to whoever was the most popular at the time, or because he -- like the rest of the school -- saw her as an InUniverse WheelchairWoobie and decided to take her out of pity]]? Hell, did he ''actually '' [[spoiler:take Julie to the prom, or was it a last ditch effort to bring Sara back to reality]]? One animatic has him and Julie bonding while Sara was busy being Prom Queen, suggesting that they had gradually grown to like one another.
*** Julie Jenkins is usually portrayed as an WheelchairWoobie in animatics, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkWIom-Sjg a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEg02Ui_a8k couple]] portray her as more villainous, milking her amputated leg for sympathy. Of course, it could all be in Sara's mind. [[spoiler:Some have her smirking at Sara's arrest, implying she always hated her and relished her downfall, while others have her sobbing in horror, [[BreakTheCutie heartbroken at what has transpired]], some even showing her genuinely pitying Sara by the end]].
*** Many have speculated the narrator is Julie after the fact.
*** Is Sara's father ''really'' saying her self-worth is related to her being Prom Queen, or does Sara simply think that her father thinks that way? For one, despite the presence of backup singers, the lead singer narrates her father's words.
*** In the same song, many of wondered what role Sara's mother plays in all this. While her father is certainly emotionally abusive (at the very least), her mother is only mentioned in a line by him: "I know you won't disappoint me and Mom." Is Mom a [[AbusiveParents participant]] in the abuse? A UselessBystanderParent? A victim of Dad's abuse herself? Some have theorized she actually died some time ago, and Sara's father is twisting the knife by invoking the name of her ''dead mother'' to further manipulate her.
*** [[spoiler:Why didn't Sara kill Julie at prom? Did Julie simply manage to hide, causing Sara to move on to her other targets? Was Sara planning to save her for last? An animatic actually shows [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqSEAv8GItA Sara imagining Julie cheering]] for her during her imaginary coronation. Did she plan to spare Julie? She never actually expresses hatred for Julie throughout the song, Sara could have genuinely pitied and liked her while blaming her classmates for choosing her.]]
*** Who ''were'' the girls [[spoiler:that Sara killed? Her former friends that distanced themselves from her when she started acting crazy? The other girls nominated for Prom Queen? Friends of Julie's, and/or the students pushing hardest for her to be Queen?]]
*** Julie lost her leg in a car crash, but the aftermath of such an amputation can mean a couple things. Most artists portray her as using a wheelchair, but others have her use crutches instead. A few have also shown Julie as having gotten a prosthetic leg instead.
*** Exactly ''how'' bad Sara was before she went crazy is up for debate. She was definitely an AlphaBitch, but different animatics show her at varying levels of cruelty, most often illustrated through her reaction to Julie losing her leg. Some have her [[LackOfEmpathy being completely nonchalant at the news]], while others show her as being at least decent enough [[EveryoneHasStandards to feel sympathetic towards Julie's ordeal]], at least until she gets in her way.
*** Was Julie ''actively'' campaigning to win prom queen, or was her run being almost entirely pushed along by other students? If the former, was Julie milking her injury for sympathy points? If the latter, is the campaign being pushed solely by students who pity Julie, perhaps to the point of CondescendingCompassion, just wanting to feel good about themselves for helping the poor one-legged girl? Or was it run by Julie's friends, genuinely wanting to do something nice for her to give her a happy ending to what would've been a traumatic year? The chorus declares the campaign a "pity vote," but it's possible this is just what Sara thinks, either due to being rather cynical to start with, or being unable to comprehend that people might like Julie better than her (since they comment that she is a bitch for [[spoiler:calling the police while Sara was on her murder spree]]).
*** Did Sara's friends leave her because they had NoSympathy for her driving herself crazy trying to win Prom Queen, or did they feel she was going too far by trying to take the spotlight away from Julie, a girl who had already suffered a painful tragedy?
*** Does Sara's insanity make her an UnreliableNarrator, and if so, is she exaggerating in her own mind things like her dad pressuring her to become Prom Queen and her friends declaring her "socially dead"? Maybe one of her friends said something InnocentlyInsensitive and Sara, not being mentally stable, took it ''really'' hard.
*** Sara's father saying "There's just no future for a princess at prom" is popularly interpreted as him saying that he will cut her off financially or disown her if she fails to win prom queen, adding an extra layer to her increasing desperation when it looks like she is losing.
** What's happening to the protagonist in "Crazytown"? Is it a DyingDream, has he really gone to a twisted wonderland? Is it a metaphor for growing up? Is he stuck to relive the events of the song forever?
** "The Party Goes With You":
*** Is the relationship between the narrator and her husband actually [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] or merely [[AwfulWeddedLife unhappy]]?
*** Some fans have speculated that the narrator's husband is actually ''dead'', and the song is about her being unable to move past her grief. What their marriage was like before that is still murky.
** "Make Me Happy" is sung by two self-admittedly difficult people who have found love together. Are they simply abrasive by nature, and self-aware enough to know they're not easy to live with and are thus sincerely grateful for their partner accepting them as they are? Or were they not always like this, one or both of them growing more prickly and cynical as a reaction to previous bad relationships? The things they both say they like about each other (he likes that she gives him his alone time when he needs it, she likes that he lets her vent and make her concerns heard) implies they weren't getting them from ex-partners. If he's used to having his privacy and personal time invaded, and/or she's used to partners not listening to her feelings, it makes sense both that they'd become more outwardly difficult as a defense mechanism, and that they'd be particularly pleased to find someone who respects their needs.
** "Leave, Luanne":
*** Why doesn't Luanne [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim kill her husband when she gets ahold of the knife while he's asleep]]? Is she simply being pragmatic, realizing suspicion would fall to her and there'd always be the possibility of his body being discovered? Does she worry he'd wake up before she could finish the job and overpower her? Has she decided killing him isn't worth the trouble and she'd rather just escape and start a new life elsewhere rather than try to stay in a place that ignored or failed to notice his abuse? Or is she just too nice to kill someone, even though the bastard absolutely deserves it? [[spoiler:If the latter is true, she certainly gets over it in the end.]]
*** Some animatics interpret the "grating, growling" line as not referring to Luanne's husband, but instead the dog trying to protect her from him.
*** While the story definitely ends with Luanne [[spoiler:returning after death to drag her husband down to Hell, the lines "the bastards will never sleep again" and "a caution to the cruelest of men" has led some to speculate that Luanne isn't just an angry ghost, but an ''avenging angel'' who now protects victimized women everywhere, giving their abusers the same treatment she gave her own. If true, this adds a new level of karmic justice to the ending and makes Luanne's ultimate victory even better.]]
*** [[spoiler:Did Luanne drown herself [[IDieFree so she wouldn't be forced to go back to her abusive home]], or [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled she figured he'd kill her anyway]]? Or did the bastard outright murder her, and claim it was suicide to cover his tracks?]]
** "Twisted Teeth":
*** Are the couple [[UnholyMatrimony actually in genuine love with one another]], or do they just work together [[PragmaticVillainy because it's more effective for them to hunt as a pair]]? The female singer even notes that while her being turned by the male vampire "was right as rape," she also goes on to happily sing that she'd die for him regardless. Is she really in love, or has she simply convinced herself she is to try and make the best of her situation, since there's no viable escape?
*** One other possibility is that the female singer was enthralled by the male vampire after being turned, and her brief moments of melancholy are in fact [[AndIMustScream brief moments of lucidity where she recognizes the horror of what she's done]] before subsuming back into her blissful bloodthirstiness.
*** Did the Mister intend only to use the Night Walker as food, only to accidentally turn her into a vampire and take her into his coven and fall for her in the process? Did he callously make her a vampire on purpose so he'd have a partner (both for hunting and general companionship), her feelings on the matter be damned? Or is he a JerkassWoobie, being a desperately lonely individual unable to form normal connections due to his monstrous nature, and eventually giving into temptation and turning the first person to show him kindness so they could be together? It doesn't ''excuse'' his turning her into a bloodsucking creature of the night without her consent, but it could be at least a little understandable.
*** Is the Mister as attached to the Night Walker as she is to him, or is he merely using her, leading to a MadLove / LoveMartyr scenario?
** "The Ballad of Sara Berry" gets this a ''lot''.
*** The actions of Sara's ex-boyfriend. Did he [[spoiler:take Julie Jenkins to the prom just to spite his ex, because he wanted to latch on to whoever was the most popular at the time, or because he -- like the rest of the school -- saw her as an InUniverse WheelchairWoobie and decided to take her out of pity]]? Hell, did he ''actually '' [[spoiler:take Julie to the prom, or was it a last ditch effort to bring Sara back to reality]]? One animatic has him and Julie bonding while Sara was busy being Prom Queen, suggesting that they had gradually grown to like one another.
*** Julie Jenkins is usually portrayed as an WheelchairWoobie in animatics, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkWIom-Sjg a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEg02Ui_a8k couple]] portray her as more villainous, milking her amputated leg for sympathy. Of course, it could all be in Sara's mind. [[spoiler:Some have her smirking at Sara's arrest, implying she always hated her and relished her downfall, while others have her sobbing in horror, [[BreakTheCutie heartbroken at what has transpired]], some even showing her genuinely pitying Sara by the end]].
*** Many have speculated the narrator is Julie after the fact.
*** Is Sara's father ''really'' saying her self-worth is related to her being Prom Queen, or does Sara simply think that her father thinks that way? For one, despite the presence of backup singers, the lead singer narrates her father's words.
*** In the same song, many of wondered what role Sara's mother plays in all this. While her father is certainly emotionally abusive (at the very least), her mother is only mentioned in a line by him: "I know you won't disappoint me and Mom." Is Mom a [[AbusiveParents participant]] in the abuse? A UselessBystanderParent? A victim of Dad's abuse herself? Some have theorized she actually died some time ago, and Sara's father is twisting the knife by invoking the name of her ''dead mother'' to further manipulate her.
*** [[spoiler:Why didn't Sara kill Julie at prom? Did Julie simply manage to hide, causing Sara to move on to her other targets? Was Sara planning to save her for last? An animatic actually shows [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqSEAv8GItA Sara imagining Julie cheering]] for her during her imaginary coronation. Did she plan to spare Julie? She never actually expresses hatred for Julie throughout the song, Sara could have genuinely pitied and liked her while blaming her classmates for choosing her.]]
*** Who ''were'' the girls [[spoiler:that Sara killed? Her former friends that distanced themselves from her when she started acting crazy? The other girls nominated for Prom Queen? Friends of Julie's, and/or the students pushing hardest for her to be Queen?]]
*** Julie lost her leg in a car crash, but the aftermath of such an amputation can mean a couple things. Most artists portray her as using a wheelchair, but others have her use crutches instead. A few have also shown Julie as having gotten a prosthetic leg instead.
*** Exactly ''how'' bad Sara was before she went crazy is up for debate. She was definitely an AlphaBitch, but different animatics show her at varying levels of cruelty, most often illustrated through her reaction to Julie losing her leg. Some have her [[LackOfEmpathy being completely nonchalant at the news]], while others show her as being at least decent enough [[EveryoneHasStandards to feel sympathetic towards Julie's ordeal]], at least until she gets in her way.
*** Was Julie ''actively'' campaigning to win prom queen, or was her run being almost entirely pushed along by other students? If the former, was Julie milking her injury for sympathy points? If the latter, is the campaign being pushed solely by students who pity Julie, perhaps to the point of CondescendingCompassion, just wanting to feel good about themselves for helping the poor one-legged girl? Or was it run by Julie's friends, genuinely wanting to do something nice for her to give her a happy ending to what would've been a traumatic year? The chorus declares the campaign a "pity vote," but it's possible this is just what Sara thinks, either due to being rather cynical to start with, or being unable to comprehend that people might like Julie better than her (since they comment that she is a bitch for [[spoiler:calling the police while Sara was on her murder spree]]).
*** Did Sara's friends leave her because they had NoSympathy for her driving herself crazy trying to win Prom Queen, or did they feel she was going too far by trying to take the spotlight away from Julie, a girl who had already suffered a painful tragedy?
*** Does Sara's insanity make her an UnreliableNarrator, and if so, is she exaggerating in her own mind things like her dad pressuring her to become Prom Queen and her friends declaring her "socially dead"? Maybe one of her friends said something InnocentlyInsensitive and Sara, not being mentally stable, took it ''really'' hard.
*** Sara's father saying "There's just no future for a princess at prom" is popularly interpreted as him saying that he will cut her off financially or disown her if she fails to win prom queen, adding an extra layer to her increasing desperation when it looks like she is losing.
to:
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: ''All over the goddamn place''. Because each song is [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/ThirtyFiveMillimeterAMusicalExhibition So we gave it its own isolated story with no further context except the photos (some of which are more abstract), it's up to the audience to fill in the gaps. Plus, most of the songs are narrated by a character ''in'' the song, meaning it's unlikely that they're not at least a little biased.
** What's happening to the protagonist in "Crazytown"? Is it a DyingDream, has he really gone to a twisted wonderland? Is it a metaphor for growing up? Is he stuck to relive the events of the song forever?
** "The Party Goes With You":
*** Is the relationship between the narrator and her husband actually [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] or merely [[AwfulWeddedLife unhappy]]?
*** Some fans have speculated that the narrator's husband is actually ''dead'', and the song is about her being unable to move past her grief. What their marriage was like before that is still murky.
** "Make Me Happy" is sung by two self-admittedly difficult people who have found love together. Are they simply abrasive by nature, and self-aware enough to know they're not easy to live with and are thus sincerely grateful for their partner accepting them as they are? Or were they not always like this, one or both of them growing more prickly and cynical as a reaction to previous bad relationships? The things they both say they like about each other (he likes that she gives him his alone time when he needs it, she likes that he lets her vent and make her concerns heard) implies they weren't getting them from ex-partners. If he's used to having his privacy and personal time invaded, and/or she's used to partners not listening to her feelings, it makes sense both that they'd become more outwardly difficult as a defense mechanism, and that they'd be particularly pleased to find someone who respects their needs.
** "Leave, Luanne":
*** Why doesn't Luanne [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim kill her husband when she gets ahold of the knife while he's asleep]]? Is she simply being pragmatic, realizing suspicion would fall to her and there'd always be the possibility of his body being discovered? Does she worry he'd wake up before she could finish the job and overpower her? Has she decided killing him isn't worth the trouble and she'd rather just escape and start a new life elsewhere rather than try to stay in a place that ignored or failed to notice his abuse? Or is she just too nice to kill someone, even though the bastard absolutely deserves it? [[spoiler:If the latter is true, she certainly gets over it in the end.]]
*** Some animatics interpret the "grating, growling" line as not referring to Luanne's husband, but instead the dog trying to protect her from him.
*** While the story definitely ends with Luanne [[spoiler:returning after death to drag her husband down to Hell, the lines "the bastards will never sleep again" and "a caution to the cruelest of men" has led some to speculate that Luanne isn't just an angry ghost, but an ''avenging angel'' who now protects victimized women everywhere, giving their abusers the same treatment she gave her own. If true, this adds a new level of karmic justice to the ending and makes Luanne's ultimate victory even better.]]
*** [[spoiler:Did Luanne drown herself [[IDieFree so she wouldn't be forced to go back to her abusive home]], or [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled she figured he'd kill her anyway]]? Or did the bastard outright murder her, and claim it was suicide to cover his tracks?]]
** "Twisted Teeth":
*** Are the couple [[UnholyMatrimony actually in genuine love with one another]], or do they just work together [[PragmaticVillainy because it's more effective for them to hunt as a pair]]? The female singer even notes that while her being turned by the male vampire "was right as rape," she also goes on to happily sing that she'd die for him regardless. Is she really in love, or has she simply convinced herself she is to try and make the best of her situation, since there's no viable escape?
*** One other possibility is that the female singer was enthralled by the male vampire after being turned, and her brief moments of melancholy are in fact [[AndIMustScream brief moments of lucidity where she recognizes the horror of what she's done]] before subsuming back into her blissful bloodthirstiness.
*** Did the Mister intend only to use the Night Walker as food, only to accidentally turn her into a vampire and take her into his coven and fall for her in the process? Did he callously make her a vampire on purpose so he'd have a partner (both for hunting and general companionship), her feelings on the matter be damned? Or is he a JerkassWoobie, being a desperately lonely individual unable to form normal connections due to his monstrous nature, and eventually giving into temptation and turning the first person to show him kindness so they could be together? It doesn't ''excuse'' his turning her into a bloodsucking creature of the night without her consent, but it could be at least a little understandable.
*** Is the Mister as attached to the Night Walker as she is to him, or is he merely using her, leading to a MadLove / LoveMartyr scenario?
** "The Ballad of Sara Berry" gets this a ''lot''.
*** The actions of Sara's ex-boyfriend. Did he [[spoiler:take Julie Jenkins to the prom just to spite his ex, because he wanted to latch on to whoever was the most popular at the time, or because he -- like the rest of the school -- saw her as an InUniverse WheelchairWoobie and decided to take her out of pity]]? Hell, did he ''actually '' [[spoiler:take Julie to the prom, or was it a last ditch effort to bring Sara back to reality]]? One animatic has him and Julie bonding while Sara was busy being Prom Queen, suggesting that they had gradually grown to like one another.
*** Julie Jenkins is usually portrayed as an WheelchairWoobie in animatics, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkWIom-Sjg a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEg02Ui_a8k couple]] portray her as more villainous, milking her amputated leg for sympathy. Of course, it could all be in Sara's mind. [[spoiler:Some have her smirking at Sara's arrest, implying she always hated her and relished her downfall, while others have her sobbing in horror, [[BreakTheCutie heartbroken at what has transpired]], some even showing her genuinely pitying Sara by the end]].
*** Many have speculated the narrator is Julie after the fact.
*** Is Sara's father ''really'' saying her self-worth is related to her being Prom Queen, or does Sara simply think that her father thinks that way? For one, despite the presence of backup singers, the lead singer narrates her father's words.
*** In the same song, many of wondered what role Sara's mother plays in all this. While her father is certainly emotionally abusive (at the very least), her mother is only mentioned in a line by him: "I know you won't disappoint me and Mom." Is Mom a [[AbusiveParents participant]] in the abuse? A UselessBystanderParent? A victim of Dad's abuse herself? Some have theorized she actually died some time ago, and Sara's father is twisting the knife by invoking the name of her ''dead mother'' to further manipulate her.
*** [[spoiler:Why didn't Sara kill Julie at prom? Did Julie simply manage to hide, causing Sara to move on to her other targets? Was Sara planning to save her for last? An animatic actually shows [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqSEAv8GItA Sara imagining Julie cheering]] for her during her imaginary coronation. Did she plan to spare Julie? She never actually expresses hatred for Julie throughout the song, Sara could have genuinely pitied and liked her while blaming her classmates for choosing her.]]
*** Who ''were'' the girls [[spoiler:that Sara killed? Her former friends that distanced themselves from her when she started acting crazy? The other girls nominated for Prom Queen? Friends of Julie's, and/or the students pushing hardest for her to be Queen?]]
*** Julie lost her leg in a car crash, but the aftermath of such an amputation can mean a couple things. Most artists portray her as using a wheelchair, but others have her use crutches instead. A few have also shown Julie as having gotten a prosthetic leg instead.
*** Exactly ''how'' bad Sara was before she went crazy is up for debate. She was definitely an AlphaBitch, but different animatics show her at varying levels of cruelty, most often illustrated through her reaction to Julie losing her leg. Some have her [[LackOfEmpathy being completely nonchalant at the news]], while others show her as being at least decent enough [[EveryoneHasStandards to feel sympathetic towards Julie's ordeal]], at least until she gets in her way.
*** Was Julie ''actively'' campaigning to win prom queen, or was her run being almost entirely pushed along by other students? If the former, was Julie milking her injury for sympathy points? If the latter, is the campaign being pushed solely by students who pity Julie, perhaps to the point of CondescendingCompassion, just wanting to feel good about themselves for helping the poor one-legged girl? Or was it run by Julie's friends, genuinely wanting to do something nice for her to give her a happy ending to what would've been a traumatic year? The chorus declares the campaign a "pity vote," but it's possible this is just what Sara thinks, either due to being rather cynical to start with, or being unable to comprehend that people might like Julie better than her (since they comment that she is a bitch for [[spoiler:calling the police while Sara was on her murder spree]]).
*** Did Sara's friends leave her because they had NoSympathy for her driving herself crazy trying to win Prom Queen, or did they feel she was going too far by trying to take the spotlight away from Julie, a girl who had already suffered a painful tragedy?
*** Does Sara's insanity make her an UnreliableNarrator, and if so, is she exaggerating in her own mind things like her dad pressuring her to become Prom Queen and her friends declaring her "socially dead"? Maybe one of her friends said something InnocentlyInsensitive and Sara, not being mentally stable, took it ''really'' hard.
*** Sara's father saying "There's just no future for a princess at prom" is popularly interpreted as him saying that he will cut her off financially or disown her if she fails to win prom queen, adding an extra layer to her increasing desperation when it looks like she is losing.page]].
** What's happening to the protagonist in "Crazytown"? Is it a DyingDream, has he really gone to a twisted wonderland? Is it a metaphor for growing up? Is he stuck to relive the events of the song forever?
** "The Party Goes With You":
*** Is the relationship between the narrator and her husband actually [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] or merely [[AwfulWeddedLife unhappy]]?
*** Some fans have speculated that the narrator's husband is actually ''dead'', and the song is about her being unable to move past her grief. What their marriage was like before that is still murky.
** "Make Me Happy" is sung by two self-admittedly difficult people who have found love together. Are they simply abrasive by nature, and self-aware enough to know they're not easy to live with and are thus sincerely grateful for their partner accepting them as they are? Or were they not always like this, one or both of them growing more prickly and cynical as a reaction to previous bad relationships? The things they both say they like about each other (he likes that she gives him his alone time when he needs it, she likes that he lets her vent and make her concerns heard) implies they weren't getting them from ex-partners. If he's used to having his privacy and personal time invaded, and/or she's used to partners not listening to her feelings, it makes sense both that they'd become more outwardly difficult as a defense mechanism, and that they'd be particularly pleased to find someone who respects their needs.
** "Leave, Luanne":
*** Why doesn't Luanne [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim kill her husband when she gets ahold of the knife while he's asleep]]? Is she simply being pragmatic, realizing suspicion would fall to her and there'd always be the possibility of his body being discovered? Does she worry he'd wake up before she could finish the job and overpower her? Has she decided killing him isn't worth the trouble and she'd rather just escape and start a new life elsewhere rather than try to stay in a place that ignored or failed to notice his abuse? Or is she just too nice to kill someone, even though the bastard absolutely deserves it? [[spoiler:If the latter is true, she certainly gets over it in the end.]]
*** Some animatics interpret the "grating, growling" line as not referring to Luanne's husband, but instead the dog trying to protect her from him.
*** While the story definitely ends with Luanne [[spoiler:returning after death to drag her husband down to Hell, the lines "the bastards will never sleep again" and "a caution to the cruelest of men" has led some to speculate that Luanne isn't just an angry ghost, but an ''avenging angel'' who now protects victimized women everywhere, giving their abusers the same treatment she gave her own. If true, this adds a new level of karmic justice to the ending and makes Luanne's ultimate victory even better.]]
*** [[spoiler:Did Luanne drown herself [[IDieFree so she wouldn't be forced to go back to her abusive home]], or [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled she figured he'd kill her anyway]]? Or did the bastard outright murder her, and claim it was suicide to cover his tracks?]]
** "Twisted Teeth":
*** Are the couple [[UnholyMatrimony actually in genuine love with one another]], or do they just work together [[PragmaticVillainy because it's more effective for them to hunt as a pair]]? The female singer even notes that while her being turned by the male vampire "was right as rape," she also goes on to happily sing that she'd die for him regardless. Is she really in love, or has she simply convinced herself she is to try and make the best of her situation, since there's no viable escape?
*** One other possibility is that the female singer was enthralled by the male vampire after being turned, and her brief moments of melancholy are in fact [[AndIMustScream brief moments of lucidity where she recognizes the horror of what she's done]] before subsuming back into her blissful bloodthirstiness.
*** Did the Mister intend only to use the Night Walker as food, only to accidentally turn her into a vampire and take her into his coven and fall for her in the process? Did he callously make her a vampire on purpose so he'd have a partner (both for hunting and general companionship), her feelings on the matter be damned? Or is he a JerkassWoobie, being a desperately lonely individual unable to form normal connections due to his monstrous nature, and eventually giving into temptation and turning the first person to show him kindness so they could be together? It doesn't ''excuse'' his turning her into a bloodsucking creature of the night without her consent, but it could be at least a little understandable.
*** Is the Mister as attached to the Night Walker as she is to him, or is he merely using her, leading to a MadLove / LoveMartyr scenario?
** "The Ballad of Sara Berry" gets this a ''lot''.
*** The actions of Sara's ex-boyfriend. Did he [[spoiler:take Julie Jenkins to the prom just to spite his ex, because he wanted to latch on to whoever was the most popular at the time, or because he -- like the rest of the school -- saw her as an InUniverse WheelchairWoobie and decided to take her out of pity]]? Hell, did he ''actually '' [[spoiler:take Julie to the prom, or was it a last ditch effort to bring Sara back to reality]]? One animatic has him and Julie bonding while Sara was busy being Prom Queen, suggesting that they had gradually grown to like one another.
*** Julie Jenkins is usually portrayed as an WheelchairWoobie in animatics, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkWIom-Sjg a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEg02Ui_a8k couple]] portray her as more villainous, milking her amputated leg for sympathy. Of course, it could all be in Sara's mind. [[spoiler:Some have her smirking at Sara's arrest, implying she always hated her and relished her downfall, while others have her sobbing in horror, [[BreakTheCutie heartbroken at what has transpired]], some even showing her genuinely pitying Sara by the end]].
*** Many have speculated the narrator is Julie after the fact.
*** Is Sara's father ''really'' saying her self-worth is related to her being Prom Queen, or does Sara simply think that her father thinks that way? For one, despite the presence of backup singers, the lead singer narrates her father's words.
*** In the same song, many of wondered what role Sara's mother plays in all this. While her father is certainly emotionally abusive (at the very least), her mother is only mentioned in a line by him: "I know you won't disappoint me and Mom." Is Mom a [[AbusiveParents participant]] in the abuse? A UselessBystanderParent? A victim of Dad's abuse herself? Some have theorized she actually died some time ago, and Sara's father is twisting the knife by invoking the name of her ''dead mother'' to further manipulate her.
*** [[spoiler:Why didn't Sara kill Julie at prom? Did Julie simply manage to hide, causing Sara to move on to her other targets? Was Sara planning to save her for last? An animatic actually shows [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqSEAv8GItA Sara imagining Julie cheering]] for her during her imaginary coronation. Did she plan to spare Julie? She never actually expresses hatred for Julie throughout the song, Sara could have genuinely pitied and liked her while blaming her classmates for choosing her.]]
*** Who ''were'' the girls [[spoiler:that Sara killed? Her former friends that distanced themselves from her when she started acting crazy? The other girls nominated for Prom Queen? Friends of Julie's, and/or the students pushing hardest for her to be Queen?]]
*** Julie lost her leg in a car crash, but the aftermath of such an amputation can mean a couple things. Most artists portray her as using a wheelchair, but others have her use crutches instead. A few have also shown Julie as having gotten a prosthetic leg instead.
*** Exactly ''how'' bad Sara was before she went crazy is up for debate. She was definitely an AlphaBitch, but different animatics show her at varying levels of cruelty, most often illustrated through her reaction to Julie losing her leg. Some have her [[LackOfEmpathy being completely nonchalant at the news]], while others show her as being at least decent enough [[EveryoneHasStandards to feel sympathetic towards Julie's ordeal]], at least until she gets in her way.
*** Was Julie ''actively'' campaigning to win prom queen, or was her run being almost entirely pushed along by other students? If the former, was Julie milking her injury for sympathy points? If the latter, is the campaign being pushed solely by students who pity Julie, perhaps to the point of CondescendingCompassion, just wanting to feel good about themselves for helping the poor one-legged girl? Or was it run by Julie's friends, genuinely wanting to do something nice for her to give her a happy ending to what would've been a traumatic year? The chorus declares the campaign a "pity vote," but it's possible this is just what Sara thinks, either due to being rather cynical to start with, or being unable to comprehend that people might like Julie better than her (since they comment that she is a bitch for [[spoiler:calling the police while Sara was on her murder spree]]).
*** Did Sara's friends leave her because they had NoSympathy for her driving herself crazy trying to win Prom Queen, or did they feel she was going too far by trying to take the spotlight away from Julie, a girl who had already suffered a painful tragedy?
*** Does Sara's insanity make her an UnreliableNarrator, and if so, is she exaggerating in her own mind things like her dad pressuring her to become Prom Queen and her friends declaring her "socially dead"? Maybe one of her friends said something InnocentlyInsensitive and Sara, not being mentally stable, took it ''really'' hard.
*** Sara's father saying "There's just no future for a princess at prom" is popularly interpreted as him saying that he will cut her off financially or disown her if she fails to win prom queen, adding an extra layer to her increasing desperation when it looks like she is losing.
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** And speaking of romantic songs, putting aside the hilariously blatant and frequent swearing, "Make Me Happy" is actually incredibly sweet since it's all about a couple who have just started their relationship and are genuinely in love with each other. In fact, when looking at the lyrics, virtually every other line is talking about how happy they are with one another and how please they are about how their partner is respecting their boundaries in their newfound romance.'
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** And speaking of romantic songs, putting aside the hilariously blatant and frequent swearing, "Make Me Happy" is actually incredibly sweet since it's all about a couple who have just started their relationship and are genuinely in love with each other. In fact, when looking at the lyrics, virtually every other line is talking about how happy they are with one another and how please pleased they are about how their new romantic partner is respecting their boundaries in their newfound romance.'boundaries.
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* CrossesTheLineTwice: "Caralee" is a song that ends with the titular BrattyHalfPint ''being sold to a drug dealer'' [[ComicallySmallBribe for only $50]] just so her babysitter won't have to deal with her anymore. Despite this being a horrific act of child abuse, the event itself [[LyricalDissonance is conveyed in such a cheery tone]] that it's absolutely hysterical to listen to.
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* FriendlyFandoms: "The Ballad of Sara Berry" has attracted fans of ''{{Theatre/Heathers}}'' and ''{{Literature/Carrie}}'', since the title character can easily be seen as a combination of Heather Chandler and Carrie White.
* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Pretty much the entirety of "Make Me Happy", with VulgarHumor not even ''beginning'' to cover how ridiculously profane the song is.
* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Pretty much the entirety of "Make Me Happy", with VulgarHumor not even ''beginning'' to cover how ridiculously profane the song is.
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* FriendlyFandoms: "The Ballad of Sara Berry" has attracted fans of ''{{Theatre/Heathers}}'' and ''{{Literature/Carrie}}'', ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'', since the title character can easily be seen as a twisted combination of Heather Chandler and Carrie White.
*SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
** "Caralee" ends with the eponymous BabysittersNightmare ''being sold to a drug dealer for $50''. Somehow only made funnier by the LyricalDissonance.
** Pretty much the entirety of "Make Me Happy", with VulgarHumor not even ''beginning'' to cover how ridiculously profane the song is.
*
** "Caralee" ends with the eponymous BabysittersNightmare ''being sold to a drug dealer for $50''. Somehow only made funnier by the LyricalDissonance.
** Pretty much the entirety of "Make Me Happy", with VulgarHumor not even ''beginning'' to cover how ridiculously profane the song is.
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*** Sara's father saying "There's just no future for a princess at prom" is popularly interpreted as him saying that he will cut her off financially or disown her if she fails to win prom queen, adding an extra layer to her increasing desperation when it looks like she is losing.
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* EnsembleDarkhorse: The dog from "Leave, Luanne" is frequently given a more prominent role in animatics and is popularly portrayed as a HeroicDog trying to protect her from its master.
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* EnsembleDarkhorse: The dog from "Leave, Luanne" is frequently given a more prominent role in animatics and is popularly portrayed as a HeroicDog trying to protect her from its master. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCnflPbeJlU This one]] ends with [[spoiler:the ghosts of Luanne and the dog watching the house burn from afar, taking her husband with it.]]
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* EnsembleDarkhorse: The dog from "Leave, Luanne" is frequently given a more prominent role in animatics and is popularly portrayed as a HeroicDog trying to protect her from its master.
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*** Some animatics interpret the "grating, growling" line as not referring to Luanne's husband, but instead the dog trying to protect her from him.
