The Album
- Despite having a mostly hopeful outlook, the line "I'm sick, but I'm pretty" in Hand in My Pocket is a reference to how Alanis's struggle with eating disorders was ignored, because the industry prioritizes beauty over health.
- Perfect is a song from the perspective of an abusive parent who expects their kid to be all perfect, all the time.
You’ll make up for what I blew / What’s the problem? Why are you crying?
The Musical
Being a jukebox musical of what is considered to be one of the most honest, raw, & vulnerable albums, there are bound to be some tearjerkers.
- MJ's efforts to reach out to Frankie are met with a cold shoulder due to the latter's belief that her mother is only interested in criticizing her and/or molding her into the ideal daughter. MJ, for all her faults, does care about Frankie, but neither of them know how to get closer for most of the play.
- Steve's in a similar position; he's watching his wife grow more and more distant and can't understand why, and he wants to rekindle their relationship, but MJ is reluctant to do so. He thinks it's because she is falling out of love, but in reality, she just doesn't want to acknowledge that she isn't okay.
- Nick's struggle to keep up with his mother's high expectations. Derek Klena's voice cracking towards the end of "Perfect"...
- Jo, under their snarky facade, wants nothing more than for someone to understand them. Their mother is homophobic and disapproves of their gender expression, and the church affirms those beliefs. Despite that, Jo still craves their mother's love.
“I need to know that I would be loved even when I am my true self.”
- And to top it all off, Frankie, who Jo believed was the only person who understood them, ends up cheating.
- Bella. Poor, poor Bella. During a party, she is raped by Andrew while unconscious, and doesn't even accept that it was rape until Frankie and Jo tell her. After the news leaks, she's slut-shamed, disbelieved, and victim blamed by her peers. And as for the cherry on top, she learns that Nick, someone she also trusted, saw her being raped and didn't do anything.
- MJ blaming Bella for what happened at first comes off as cruel and callous, but in "Forgiven" we learn that it stems from her own guilt from being raped in college, which she believes was "God's plan" for her.
