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Act 2, Scene 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in If We Were Villains, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fate vs. Free Will
Identity and Disguise
Love and Sexuality
Theatre and Corruption
Summary
Analysis
Oliver starts to feel more lucid as the play draws to a close, and the class heads to a cast party. Alexander commands Oliver and James to be drunk by midnight. At the party, Oliver talks to Colin, who comments on what a mess the assassination scene was, and Filippa, who has a bad bruise. Oliver finds Meredith talking to a cellist in the garden, and she smiles when she sees him. Wren tells Oliver that she’s worried about Richard, whom she says is usually rude and reckless but not mean or sadistic. Meredith greets them on her way inside, and Wren tells Oliver that Meredith and Richard are on a break.
Again, Filippa’s encounter with Richard mirrors Meredith’s down to the bruise. Richard is slowly marking each of his friends with his violent actions, and every bruise is a reminder of the violence he is capable of. Wren’s evaluation of this behavior as out of character for Richard underlines the idea that Richard has never really had something taken away from him before; the behavior might be new for him, but Richard doesn’t seem to be out of his senses at all.
Themes
After Wren leaves, James finds Oliver in the garden. They look at the stars for a moment—but then they hear a crash and screams from inside the house. They run to the scene. Inside, Richard, Wren, and Meredith are screaming at one another. Filippa tells James and Oliver that Richard punched the cellist. They try to defuse the situation, but Richard lashes out at everyone. When Meredith defends Oliver, Richard accuses her of wanting him to hit her, calling her a “slut” and berating her. Oliver moves to attack him, but Meredith hits him first. Richard grabs at her, but the others manage to separate them, and Meredith runs upstairs.
James and Oliver’s contemplation of the stars mirrors the moment they shared on Halloween and hints that another fateful event is about to happen tonight. Again, Richard’s insults toward Meredith target her insecurities about being seen as only a pretty face, and they’re more explicit than ever before; he’s been implying it, but now he outright calls her a slut. Given that he says it just after Meredith defends Oliver, it seems to be driven largely by jealousy; but much of his behavior toward Meredith suggests that he feels possessive of her. It’s an extension of his entitlement: he seems to feel like he deserves lead roles, respect, and women—and if he doesn’t get all these things, he becomes violent.
Themes
Richard and Oliver look at each other. Oliver feels an urge to hurt Richard in retribution for James and Meredith, but he decides to follow Meredith upstairs instead. He tells her that he wants to help her, and she kisses him. He kisses her back, then they head to Meredith’s room to continue. As they’re undressing, Richard begins to pound on the locked door and scream at them. Oliver and Meredith have sex anyway.
The violence surrounding Oliver has begun to make him consider violent thoughts, too. Between his violent thoughts and his “betrayal” of his old friend Richard in this scene, it looks like he might not be as virtuous as he used to be. Richard’s banging on the door while Meredith and Oliver have sex is yet another assertion of his presence and will, like the bruises and the poster—but for once, Oliver is able to disregard the threat Richard poses.
Themes
