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Act 3, Scene 2
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
The fourth-years sit in Hallsworth House, a set of rooms used to house guests of the college. Dean Holinshed and the rest of the faculty have decided to sequester them there while they explain what’s happened to the rest of the students. Oliver and the others have begun to feel anxious, thinking about what can go wrong with their ruse. After a tense conversation, Alexander, Filippa, James, and Meredith start to drink. Everybody splits off into three rooms for bed, and Oliver and James stay in the main room to sleep on couches. As Oliver lies there, he starts to feel guilty for the first time. He begins to fall asleep, but Meredith appears in the doorway and asks him to keep her company in her room. In her bed, she begins to cry, and Oliver wraps an arm around her.
The fourth-years are under an incredible amount of pressure, and it’s no surprise that they’re turning to alcohol to numb their stress—after all, they used to drink while they waited for cast lists to go up. When they pair off for bed, Oliver finds himself caught between James and Meredith, foreshadowing the romantic tension that will continue building between the three of them for the remainder of the story. For now, he ends up choosing Meredith, unable to resist her asking for his help again.
Themes
