Fridge / Miss Saigon

• Fridge Brilliance: John's anger and disgust at Ellen and Chris' decision to leave Tam and Kim in Bangkok with monetary support, which they act as if it's some grand, magnanimous gesture that's best for all involved but in truth is about maintaining their comfortable life isn't just on moral grounds. We know that John has been working with an organization to help "Bui Doi" children and knows how badly these children have it—he explicitly warns Chris about this—and is outraged that Chris is willing to be oblivious to this and leave his son in that situation.
  • In "I Still Believe", we see Ellen sitting up next to the sleeping Chris and her lyrics make it clear that this isn't the first time she's done this—"Last night I watched you sleeping". Which would also indicate that she's resigned herself to spending every night sitting up waiting for him to awaken from another nightmare so that she can be there to comfort him—some actresses will play this out as her continuing to sit up even after she's gotten him back to sleep,(rather than them beginning to make love) suggesting that she anticipates him wakening again. It's a very sad commentary on just how screwed up he is, how screwed up their marriage is, and yet, demonstrates how much she loves him.
• Fridge Horror: Following the Vietnam War, we learn that Chris is a classic example of a Shell-Shocked Veteran—nightmares, troubled marriage, plagued with guilt over inadvertently abandoning Kim etc. What's his life going to be like now that Kim's killed herself, mostly to force him to take their son to America with him, but also because she's despondent at having lost him?
  • Same goes for the boy: how well is he going to grow up with a father who might resent him for the aforementioned reasons, and a stepmother who didn't really want him? Really, one of the biggest tragedies of the story is that Kim's death was utterly unnecessary. With more time to discuss the situation, a better solution could have been found.
  • There's also the fact that Tam is going to grow up in America at a time when there was plently of discrimination against mixed-race people, and the fact that his step-mother and father are both white might not help. He potentially could end up as bitter and disillustioned as the Engineer with all the trauma in Tam's life.