6 Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed In Hamilton

Image Credits: Disney+

Hamilton premiered on Disney+ on July 3, 2020, allowing fans across the nation to finally watch the award winning musical portraying Alexander Hamilton’s life. Lin-Manuel Miranda did an excellent job of fitting as many aspects of Hamilton’s life as possible in the nearly three hour musical. Some things are more explicit while others are seen in expressions and costuming. It’s almost impossible to watch Hamilton without missing these “easter eggs”. 

Spoiler alert: details of scenes in the musical are the focus of this article so if you haven’t seen Hamilton, go watch it and come back in three hours to see if you caught these elements.

Hamilton and Laurens’s affair

It’s alleged that Hamilton and Laurens had an affair, and there are several “love letters” that can be read between the two men. The affair is portrayed in how the two men look at each other, Hamilton’s reaction to Laurens death, and the “I think your pants look hot. Laurens I like you a lot” in “My Shot.”

Hamilton’s writing

Throughout the musical, Hamilton is asked why he “writes like he’s running out of time” by Eliza and Burr, his friend turned enemy. He never answers these questions, but we know that writing led Hamilton to his legacy. He wrote 51 of the 85 essays in the Federalist Papers. The founding father even had a writing desk to use on his horse. “The Reynolds Pamphlet”, includes sentences penned by Hamilton in the lyrics, and “One Last Time” includes George Washington’s farewell speech.

Eliza’s burnt letters

Eliza’s “I took myself out of the narrative” line in Burn is not only about her burning Hamilton’s letters to her after his affair, but also about the lack of available information about women in history at that time. The letters are also copies of the letters Hamilton wrote his wife, leaving out none of the small details.

Eliza’s mourning dress

When Philip is rushed to the hospital after his fatal dual, Eliza is already dressed in black even before his death. This is because Eliza’s sister, Peggy, died a few months before her son. Peggy passed away in March and Philip in November 1801.

The bullet

The bullet follows Hamilton around the stage throughout the play. It can be seen behind him in “Stay Alive”, “Ten Duel Commandments”, and when he tells Philip where Eaker (his murderer) is. This isn’t surprising when Hamilton is dying and says “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory” in The World Was Wide Enough.

Eliza’s Gasp 

There are several theories about why Eliza gasps at the end of the play. It’s likely that she looks out into the audience and sees how many people showed up to hear their story, in the background you can hear “Who lives. Who dies. Who tells your story.” Signifying that she is the one who told Hamilton’s story since she outlived him, and the story is still being told on Broadway. She gasps knowing Hamilton’s story is still being told. It could also be a sign of her death and seeing either Hamilton’s face or God’s.