"please?"

i remember the 'please' but not the look. i wonder what she was thinking when she asked him and handed him the guitar... not her explanation for doing it, but really deep down what did she hope would happen, what it would mean. i imagine your story is going to answer this, but... it is almost like she forgets the baroness, or forgets that she needed to mind herself a bit. i mean, it's all innocent. i'm not saying she was stupid or careless. just... she's just such an unusual person. any other woman would have been so much more self conscious with elsa around, especially when interacting with the woman's almost fiance. perhaps that is what mystifies him about her... why he said yes. it was such a bold move and yet done completely unaware.

huh, my brain is back. nice.

that is an interesting point to ponder, about crushing on the unattainable. for maria it may have started out just as, "well, i'm going to be a nun, but if things WERE different, he certainly possesses many of the qualities i would find most desirable in a man." that's a pretty safe way let your mind indulge and admit things to yourself by putting a qualification at the beginning. like, "i would NEVER cheat on my husband, but if i did..." may also explain the way we've been treating poor CP like a piece of meat around here. poor man.

elsa was quite a presence, IMO. i can totally see maria getting that "who am i kidding" sense of doubt. just know that if she were to throw her hat in the ring, so to speak, the competition would tip heavily in elsa's favor (so she thinks). then elsa pulls that couldn't-keep-his-eyes-off-you stunt and whoa... no wonder she ran away.

haha, you've said that. i can't wait to read me.

maybe not at first... but eventually, he might feel a bit used, cheap, and exhausted. just sayin'.

I've lost count. Though, the count of watching the full movie differs considerably from the number of times I've watched the Laendler, gazebo, or Edelweiss scenes.

I watched all of the film which takes place in the house when I was trying to map out the floor plans (the first time for a while), and was really struck by how GOOD it all was; I always believe that something that is poor quality gets worse each time you see it (whether it is a painting, book, piece of music, film etc), whilst something of good quality only gets better, and TSOM is definitely in this category!

One of Maria's charms is that she lacks guile, but it does mean she is direct in her manner (which we see here). I feel, as long as it is done from a kind heart, children respond well to it

Perhaps Georg has been surrounded by people all his life who have had ulterior motives (like getting his house, favour, interest etc), so Maria with her sincerity blows in and captivates him. Kaboom!

Yes, some of both for sure. Plus, it's probably been years since he played ("a very very long time ago") and I bet his feelings are also see sawing between being reluctant and being ready to try.

This makes me think that for Georg there is also a grieving process that must have been hard and painful. That is to say, although now the music is back into the house and he begins to leave behind the impertinent authority, we forget too quickly what George must have suffered with the loss of a beloved wife and the mother of his 7 children. We can't pretend that he picked up the guitar at the first chance. Poor Captain.

Yes, I think Maria is not a threat both because she is a nun, and also because she is so clueless as to the ways of society. You can't really be angry at someone for intruding when they don't know any better, and are just trying to do something nice for the children. This may even make her seem all the less of a threat to Elsa because Maria is so hopelessly unsophisticated. 

But yet there is something about her, something that makes Georg listen to her instead of firmly reminding her of her station before turning his attention back to his guests. This is such an important scene! 

Well, you know me, I always think Georg is in denial until the last possible moment. But yes, I agree that there is a slow progression, from The Apology, to the whole puppet show/Edelweiss evening, when he obviously cares what she thinks and is showing off a bit for her, and probably enjoying her response, to the Laendler, but I think he is probably fighting it or trying to explain it away all along. After all he thinks she’s going back to the Abbey! I can imagine him taking a long walk after the Edelweiss - maybe Maria’s watching him from the window in that deleted scene picture - thinking to himself, “what just happened?!”

Well, it depends on what "fell for her" means exactly. I think they were both thinking that the other is absolutely amazing starting at this point. Maria had him enchanted with the puppet show, but that could easily be explained away in his mind as him enjoying the children enjoying themselves. Edelweiss was a connection just between the two of them (even though everyone else is in the room watching on). He was singing to her, and she was smiling back at him. There is no way to explain this away. I think they are falling for each other, yes, but would deny it if it were suggested to them. They can both easily brush off their daydreams as harmless because the other is not available, while secretly they find each other attractive on many levels. 

The deleted scene would then be Maria gazing out thinking - wow, he is so wonderful (no hint of guilt here, as she is not admitting that she is falling in love with him, just that he is amazing). Where as, he is much more experienced and would be walking by the lake thinking  - omg, what am I doing? Why do I keep finding myself flirting with this person who is so off limits? And why does it feel so right when I'm doing it?

I agree that this is too deep for this point in the movie, and that it was smart to delete it. The Laendler is the "fall in love" moment for me, and it would have been muddled if too much was revealed before that point. 

What do you make of Georg's "Me? I don't understand" response to Maria's "The vote is unanimous"? Did he really not understand that her holding a guitar out to him meant that she wanted him to play? Was he lost in her eyes and answering on autopilot? Was he hoping that playing dumb would make her ask someone else?

Also, when do you think the children started telling Maria stories about their father from before their mother's death? At the mountain picnic, they tell Maria that they don't know any song and don't know how to sing. Then somewhere between the picnic and Edelweiss, she now knows that a long time ago the captain was quite good at guitar. I'm just trying to picture the scenario when the children (probably Liesl) trust Maria enough to start in with the "I didn't used to be like this fraulein. We used to sing all the time with our parents. Father was so good at playing guitar while mother sang" kind of stories.

It's a bit difficult for Georg because he has said 'No music in the house', which presumably both Elsa and Max also know.

So he has to decline Maria's request to be consistent with his own rules. "Me? I don't understand" is a way of saying 'No' to Maria without being too direct, but as usual she doesn't take 'No' for an answer!