Sunday, February 23, 2014

The Final Round

This past weekend, I have been honored to be a part of the first group to perform a play titled The Final Round, which was written by Kara Quillard and directed by Danae Jimenez. The play is about the experiences of college roommates who test each other's trust and friendship, especially between the characters of Harley and Bianca. After a major falling out between the two, the girls reunite for a short time many years later to discuss what had happened between them. Although one wants to reconnect and regain their friendship, the other one is resistant and unforgiving.

The Final Round is a relatable show to most college students and centers around the theme of forgiveness. Had Bianca and Harley forgiven each other for what had happened between them, the story would've taken a much different path and they probably would've ended up friends. Bianca, at the end, did try to make up for not trusting Harley earlier in the show which caused a fight between the two. However, Harley could not forgive Bianca for the way she, her best friend, treated her. For this reason, Bianca has a hard time forgiving herself, just like she did for the past couple years after she found out that she had lost Harley as a friend for something that Harley had never done. This can be interpreted in the very last sentences between the two girls in the show. Bianca asks Harley "Are you happy?" and she responds with "Yes. Are you?". From there, Bianca never responds and the show comes to a close. This could mean that she is not happy with her life, which could have been a result of the guilt that was weighing her down from what she had done to Harley. Bianca has not learned to forgive herself and feels that she needs to be forgiven by Harley to release the guilt she feels. Harley's response could mean that, despite losing her best friend, she has moved on with her life and forgiving Bianca will not change whether she is happy or not. She feels that she doesn't need Bianca as a friend to make her happy anymore.

Forgiveness plays a huge role the development of the characters Harley and Bianca and thus creates a theme of forgiveness. Although there isn't a solid moral to this story, there are multiple lessons that can be learned. The moral of this particular aspect of the story and that surrounds the theme of forgiveness is that forgiving yourself for messing up in life can be just as important, if not more important, than being forgiven for something that you have done to someone else. Sometimes, people will not forgive you for mistakes you have made but you can still move on and be happy if you forgive yourself for making that mistake.