you can't marry someone ...

I like that you have started a thread on one specific part of the gazebo scene augiesannie. I love the gazebo thread, but it's getting where I can't find anything in there. 

Back to this delicious topic. Is it just me, or do his lips curve up in a hint of a smile just as he says "can you?" She appears to be completely frozen in anticipation here, so I don't think he was reacting to something he saw from her that put him more at ease. Am I seeing things? Why would he smile at this moment when he is so serious just before and just after?

He started this scene trying to recapture the casual friendship banter they’ve had all summer (Hello. I thought I just might find you here.), but she was having no part of that. Then, the rest of the conversation has been super serious. I see his flash of a smile with “can you?” being his way to try to hint at the casual way they used to communicate again. He knows he’s saying something monumental, but wants to let her know it’s the playful man she fell in love with saying it.

Right, indigoblue, and it’s leaving room for both of them to continue sidling toward each other without actually declaring anything. Like, he could just be talking about how he can’t marry Elsa because he’s in love with “someone else” and she’s just agreeing that’s so. He doesn’t actually spit out “I love you” until after the kiss.

Which might seem preposterous - what else COULD he mean - but if you’re Maria and you’ve had a day of emotional turmoil, maybe it feels like anything is possible!!

There's a video somewhere on this board that shows a screen test with alternate dialogue in which Maria answers this question with "And Baroness Schraeder is in love with someone else?"

So, it does seem preposterous from the audience's point of view, but maybe not Maria's. I'm glad they ultimately changed the dialogue, but it is interesting that it was at least considered that she would still be clueless that he loves her at this point. 

Golly - do you know where that is? Presumably it is not Julie who is playing Maria then?

I don't remember seeing it...that response is perfectly reasonable, given how 'stand-offish' Georg has been!

Amazing! How different the feel of the scene is, even with Keith Michel doing it twice.
And Maria is right off balance, asking about Elsa...

Also there is something satisfyingly sharp about the way she says that word “fine.”

YAS! There is.

I love that her little jab doesn't make him react at all. And that he decides to respond with the fraulein-less Maria immediately after this. I wonder if he was secretly grateful that she brought up Elsa because he didn't know how to? And he felt comfortable calling her by her name because he knew he was going to tell her Elsa was out of the picture next? 

Yes, yes, and yes!!

Sorry to keep responding to different things in the same thread because that makes the conversation hard to follow, but yes!

CP is the prefect casting decision for Georg. I like the coiled spring analogy. I think that really shows when he's angry. His eyes flash and you think he might be capable of anything. "Oh yes you are, captain!" and "The contents of telegrams in Austria are private!" come to mind. His finger wiggles when he's agitated or nervous speak to his building internal tension too. There's a lot more going on inside of him than meets the eye. 

Being dangerously handsome never hurts either.

Captain Coiled Spring. haha. 

I think he is easy to find attractive and sympathetic because of his humor too, but also because of his moments of vulnerability. Seeing him hug his children after The Argument just melts me. Seeing the vulnerability in The Apology makes him human and not just a tyrant. I often wonder if The Apology was the first time Maria found him attractive. Yes, clearly she noticed he was attractive when he slammed open the ballroom doors, but his personality was not likeable at all, which negates his handsomeness. Then, seeing his relationship with his children do a 180, and having him humbly ask for forgiveness had to break down those walls of contempt. Then, she is free to admit that this guy is gorgeous in every way. 

I don't like the way the actress from the clip reads the "And Baroness Schraeder is in love with someone else?" at all. There's no emotion to it. There's no hesitation to indicate that she's trying to piece it all together. Maybe she was trying to read it like it was an absurd question. That would make sense. It just could have been more effective with a different cadence. 

"On a couch" kisses can happen in his study after they get too chilly in the gazebo.    Not their first kiss. It doesn't fit with their characters. 

Good point! They are almost dueling on who can look away the most, so as to not have to look the other in the eye through this whole scene. Then after "There isn't going to be any baroness" they start their Laendler-esque journey into the gazebo with him walking to the front and looking back to make sure she is following. No eye contact needed. 

There is really a difference in the Keith Michel version and the CP version in how he says "You are?" Keith Michel says it like he knows she doesn't mean that she's sorry the baroness is gone and is waiting for her to fess up to that. CP says it almost panicked, like - WHAT?! She's sorry Elsa is gone? Did I read her all wrong?? Does she not love me the way I love her?!
Maria's look after this must have reassured him to continue on with "You can't marry someone..."

I don't think the coiled spring pings until she falls into his arms after the forehead kiss. I think even through the kiss he is not 110% sure that she wants to be with him. But their combined exhale (and mine) after she puts her head down on his shoulder is the release he's been waiting for. It's dopamine heaven. 

Yes! Great description! This is exactly why CP was the perfect casting choice. A lot of actors could have played "strong and in control" and a lot of actors could have played "vulnerable", but his mix was flawless. He is always in control when with outsiders (the party, the festival, the abbey, etc.) but lets his guard down with his family. He can be a loving father and not have that take away from his strength and control. The same goes with his humor. He can joke around with Max or smirk to himself while preparing to ask the governess to dance, and this doesn't diminish his strength and control. Then in the gazebo, he is so gentle and vulnerable in both words and actions, yet still is very captain-y, if that makes any sense. 

His character lends itself nicely to romantic fanfiction too. I think people like the idea of a strong man who has the capacity for tenderness and vulnerability. 

Yes. I know what you mean. I'm torn on whether I like this or not. It highlights how important this moment is, but it's a little jarring. Maybe I should look at it as symbolizing the massive weight that just lifted off Maria's shoulders?