The Woobie: Longren and Assol are bullied and believed crazy by the entire village, and in Assol's case, for absolutely no fault of her own.
The book
Never Live It Down: Assol's dreaminess has earned her a reputation of a lazy passive girl who does nothing but wait for her Prince Charming to fall from the sky. The readers tend to forget that she actively helped her father with the household and the toy business and was only stopped from getting a job because he forbade her to work as a servant.
Assol's reaction to Egl's prophecy. The poor bullied and ostracized girl says she'll love the handsome prince... if only he won't fight with her. Egl has to assure her he won't.
Grey's first reunion with his mother five years after he runs away. He finds her praying: "For those at sea, on journeys, sick, suffering, imprisoned... and for my boy..." He wants to say he is back, but can't get further than "I...", and she can't say anything at first either, so happy is she to see him.
"You Are Not Like Everyone Else", the Villain Love Song of Menners Jr. The tender music of the reprises, which embodies his longing for Assol and for the world of hope, purity and beauty that she represents, is just gorgeous. No wonder it makes fans swoon.
Draco in Leather Pants: A lot of musical fans adore Menners Jr., seeing him as a Dogged Nice Guy and Assol as an idiot who rejects his devotion and love in favor of Loving a Shadow. There is the fact, though, that he blackmails the girl into marriage and, in some productions, openly assaults her.
Fan-Preferred Couple: Most fans of the musical prefer Menners Jr./Assol to the Official Couple. Menners Jr. has known her all his life, and one can observe his feelings' development, and he, like Assol, feels unsatisfied with the village's humdrum life (unlike Assol, he hides it). Moreover, he never expresses interest in any other woman beside Assol. Grey, meanwhile, is Demoted to Extra so much that he barely appears outside the dream sequences, and when he does, it's having fun at the brothel with the local Miss Kitty.
Fridge Brilliance: After Mary dies, the priest is shown praying over her, though she has committed suicide (which usually means one wouldn't get a Christian funeral). However, some Christian denominations allow for Driven to Suicide people who had no other choice and/or were heavily traumatized to be treated as murder victims rather than suicides. At least the priest shares Longren's opinion that Mary might have drowned herself, but it was really Menners Sr. who killed her.
Narm: Assol is absolutely disgusted when Menners Jr. suggests she uses "Grey" as a pet name for him, and in most productions, she runs away after he brings that up. Mind that before that, he presents her with a Scarpia Ultimatum and most of his Villain Love Song, and Assol, while mortified, keeps her cool and often shows some pity for him. The I Take Offense to That Last One moment looks rather ridiculous in what is otherwise a very dramatic and passionate scene.
Strangled by the Red String: Grey's feelings for Assol develop basically as quickly as in the book, but there's a major difference – here, he first sees her while enjoying himself at a brothel. Many fans didn't believe he could jump from a sensual dance with Miss Kitty to one true Love at First Sight for Assol in the fraction of a second.
Tear Jerker: After Mary gets raped, she still sings, in a weak, trembling voice, a lullaby to her baby daughter, promising to protect her. Just try not to cry at that.
The Woobie: Mrs. Menners is a Jerkass Woobie to a tear-jerking level. First, she catches her husband and his guests gang-raping Mary, stops them, and in some productions tries to comfort the woman all she can, but what's happened can't be undone. Then Longren commits his Murder by Inaction of Menners Sr. – as awful as the latter was, without him Mrs. Menners is still left a Struggling Single Mother with a little son. Then Menners Jr. falls in love with Assol, causing a rift between him and his mother. When he (in most productions) finally hugs Mrs. Menners in the last scene, one feels the poor woman really needs it.
", the Villain Love Song of Menners Jr. The tender music of the reprises, which embodies his longing for Assol and for the world of hope, purity and beauty that she represents, is just gorgeous. No wonder it makes fans swoon.