zoe i think you broke him :(

this idea has been sitting in my brain for way too long

oo good question okay this might be sorta long idk yet ig we'll see lol (not ordered):

treebros: I don't really like treebros. I mean it's not necessarily bad, but since it's the biggest ship next to zoe and evan it's feels sorta watered down (if that makes sense). also I feel like connor and evan would only be friends because of their dynamic. but again, it's not a bad ship, so overall a 6.5/10

conguel (which I call hawaiian pizza bagels apparently): definitely my favourite like.. canon ship. higher up the list yk? yeah the two of them had their moments but they were just trying to get through life- they're definitely more fit for each other unlike treebros. 8/10 cause it's a ship that makes sense and is underrated

kleinsen: I mean.. it's kleinsen. I like kleinsen but It could go 50/50 depending how you look at it. I don't know if they would be the best or worst couple ever, it's complicated. I see why people ship it cause I'm a sarcastic lil shit so I see the standpoint here but it's questionable too. 7.2/10 for the effort and also because it's the ship I have the most headcanons for

bandtrees/zoevan: nope. its a no from me. I dont like this one. I mean it makes sense why people ship them but in the context of the show, it's a pretty toxic relationship. I think if evan was dating zoe legitimately unlike the connor stuff in the show, they could totally work out... but here we are. 3/10 because the events from deh not happening gives it redeeming points

galaxygals/zolana: I haven't really dabbled into this one, so can't give you much here, BUT I think there's a high high possibility for them two working out, especially after the events of the connor project. I like the idea and I'm for it. 7/10.

kleinphy: only a no because I feel like they would be at each other's throats or dead if they were dating. BUT I do think they could work better than treebros. their love language is straight up bullying each other. 6/10

idk what else there is so take these last two you didn't mention:

kleinguel: it's an interesting concept for sure. its a maybe, but since they have no dynamic at all, they haven't even met, and we don't know a lot about either character theres not much I can say. But and interesting ship nonetheless.. so I'm split 5/10

(God it’s been forever since I’ve done a Dear Evan Hansen meta, or any meta for that matter)

Act 2 of Dear Evan Hansen starts with To Break In a Glove, with the message about doing the hard thing but right thing. It starts Evan’s downward arc towards telling the truth i.e doing the hard but right thing.

But then what do we have so shortly after? Only Us, where Zoe is all about how she doesn’t care about what came before and only wants Evan for himself. As Evan says, that’s all he could’ve ever wanted from her for the longest time.

In other words, right when the idea of telling the truth is planted in Evan’s head, along comes yet another reason NOT to tell the truth, because if he knows that if he does, he’ll lose the girl of his dreams. On top of that, Zoe was saying how what came before didn’t matter - in other words, what does it matter that he lied about being best friends with her brother who killed himself? They have a good relationship now with only each other, what does it matter how they got there?

Yet conversely, it also fuels his desire to tell the truth - during his act 2 conversation with imaginary Connor, Evan tries to convince himself that Zoe will be fine with it because she says she wants him for him and not whatever relationship or lack thereof he had with Connor.

Of course that’s not true and the entire Murphy family cuts him off the second he tells the truth, just as he and everyone else knew would happen.

But the fact that Evan and Zoe did have a real, genuine connection and a sweet and supportive relationship for a hot minute is what makes the finale so bittersweet. The connection they had was real even if it was borne of lies. Swinging back to Only Us, we get these lines from Zoe:

“I don't need more reminders of all that's been broken

I don't need you to fix what I'd rather forget

Clear the slate and start over

Try to quiet the noises in your head

We can't compete with all that”

She’s speaks about leaving all the bad behind to focus on the good thing they have between them, and for a while, it works.

Sadly for her, and for everyone, sometimes the bad is just TOO bad to erase or forget. The pain that Evan’s lies have caused can’t be ignored or repaired. It’s in the lines: “I wish we could’ve met now, today, for the first time.” “Me too.”

It’s basically the weaker version of Only Us - they both wish they could clear the slate and start over and meet again for the first time … but because of all the awful things Evan has done, they just can’t. What came before DOES count and matter, and they both know it, no matter how much they try to wish it away. They can’t compete with all that.

OLLIE U HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS WAHHHH THE LITTLE KITTY ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵒᵈʸᵖᶦˡˡᵒʷ ᶦᵐ ᶜʳʸᶦⁿᵍᵉ