So obviously The Lost Boys is inspired by Peter Pan. And there is so much room to debate which of them is which and so much fodder to play with story elements and metaphors.

The easy casting is David as Peter with the other Lost Boys as duh, the lost boys. And Michael, Star, (and Laddie) can function as the Darling children who ultimately leave Neverland and return home (become human again). And Max would be Captain Hook. Plus in the play and many films, Mr. Darling is double cast as Captain Hook so him being the looming father figure is a fun Easter egg for Max too.

Personally I’ve always cast Max as Peter Pan. And while Max is everything Peter hates, being an adult and all; they’re both charming and, intentional or not, know how to use that to their advantage. Peter Pan is quite the malevolent character and it’s one of the reasons I love the book so much. It’s all very dark and light Fae vibes, especially with the whole stealing away children thing. Peter is ruthless and thoughtless, both intentionally and unintentionally. It’s a huge thing in the book that he forgets things he’s done and even people if they don’t suit what he wants in an adventure. He also replaces the lost boys and forgets about them when they die… Max also decides how people can best serve him and tries to manipulate them into the image he wants. Peter is also very controlling of the lost boys in the book and they follow him without fail, out of fear and out of loyalty.

And Peter wants Wendy to be the lost boys’ mother and he only takes her brothers, John and Michael, because she insists they come along too. The other boys all got themselves lost from their families and Peter finds them and takes them away (or so we’re told). But the Darling children are taken from their home. So Lucy is Wendy and Michael and Sam are akin to John and Michael. Also unrelated to the flow of the story but Nanook is totally Nana.

Personally I find it interesting to mix and match these characterizations because there is so much fodder for it and so much overlap for multiple characterizations. I also read a very sweet and loving fic by @mermeg0913 that casts Michael as Peter Pan. They also pointed out after one of my comments that David can also be seen as Peter’s shadow which is just also excellent!

But earlier today I remembered another thing. This quote from Peter Pan: “Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they unfortunately have room for one feeling only at a time.” It’s often argued that vampires don’t have souls and so the idea of human emotions overwhelming them into feeling only one thing makes so much sense to me. Very primal instincts. The way David and The Lost Boys flip on a dime so quickly is exactly how the fairies are. Tinkerbell is jealous and ruthless but also loving and brave but never at the same time. She is loyal to Peter but a slave to her own emotions for good or for ill because it takes over her whole person. She tries to kill Wendy despite knowing Peter will hate her because her jealousy is too strong. But then she dies for him later when her love overwhelms her and she drinks the poison to save him. They flip from boyish fun to unbridled violence on the hunt. David is all rage at the Emerson house until he flips to asking Michael to join him, putting his anger aside for his want of brotherhood. And then when Michael kills him all we see is heartbreak on David’s face as he’s run through. No anger, just betrayal. It’s not a perfect metaphor but I do think I’m onto something with this. Oh and the lost boys exploding into glitter in the film is very pixie dust.

But also drinking vampire blood is basically pixie dust because it lets you fly though you don’t have to believe or think lovely thoughts to get it to work.

The clock in the crocodile is all very time catches up to us all and even the vampires don’t live forever.

Anyway I adore Peter Pan and The Lost Boys and I just love playing in these sandboxes. I’d love to hear other musings and thoughts too!

String or theories and musings about The Lost Boys discussing abuse and emotion and love.

Look don’t get me wrong, I get that David is a villain but I also don’t think he’s a full on black and white psychopath either. Film David still possesses depth but his switch into monster is much more predictable because of the devil may care attitude all the boys have previously. They’re with you until you’re against them but in both canons David still wants Michael to join him even after he’s fought back and helped kill his other brothers.

The musical is more confusing because we do see what appears to be genuine care and devotion, especially with David. He seems to care deeply for all the Lost Boys, Star, and Michael. And their are countless moments of him showing what appears to be a softer side. The turning ritual, while being very creepy, is also all about family and care and being there for each other when no one else is. So his switch to full predator in act 2 feels a bit out of place.

Then again there is tons of space for interpretation to be made that it’s all been a performance and every sweet thing we see from David and the Lost Boys is a ploy. That the turning speech is also not true. That it’s all just abusive lovebombing.

Most abusive relationships do not start as obviously abusive. Very few would stay if they were hit or screamed at off the bat. That’s why abusers reel them with the quick love buildup, the attention, the sweetness; so that later apologies, promises to never do it again, etc feel genuine and it’s easier to forgive and look past. But at the same time the The Lost Boys do all seem to be deeply connected to one another in the film and the musical and so boiling their relationship down to nothing doesn’t feel fair even though Michael and Star feel trapped and tricked.

Plus there’s the fact that Star isn’t a full vampire. Why don’t they force her or trick her into feeding? Even in the film they don’t. They try to coerce her by turning Laddie but ultimately they don’t make her or the boy drink human blood, they’re both half vampires and they live when Max dies. It’s also unclear in both canons how long they’ve been half vampires. So the potential longevity of their patience adds to the confusion. If it truly was all about control then why let her remain a half vampire? Why wasn’t she killed when she doesn’t submit? Because that’s another thing, David lets Star meddle, he lets her roam, he doesn’t force her to take that final step. This is still not to say he’s not an abuser, he very well could be secure and content in his control over her and knows she won’t get far. But what if he does love her? It’s clear she cares for him in a complicated way, Star genuinely devastated by David’s death which of course does not remove the abuser boyfriend allegations but it does show there was some kind of care there in some way.

Cause again I am not claiming David or the other Lost Boys are good people. David is controlling and manipulative and whether or not he loves them doesn’t excuse that. But again I don’t think he’s entirely devoid of true feeling either. Perhaps I’m being naive but I think he does care for all of them, I think he’s just very good at compartmentalizing his feelings until they’re most useful to him. He loves a performance in both canons and he’s got to be cool and above it all at all times. But the look of utter devastation and betrayal on David’s face in death in both canons is evidence to me of some kind of care. Kiefer’s deeply wounded look of betrayal when Michael kills him has stuck with me for years. And Ali’s look of tremendous loss to both Michael and Star is so stirring.

Ultimately Max is the main, true villain of this story and he’s undeniably a psychopath and I just have to wonder how much control he has been asserting from behind the scenes as the Lost Boys true sire. Because in most vampire lore the one who sires you tends to hold some kind of physical intrinsic power over those they’re turned. But even if he doesn’t, past trauma and feeling that you owe someone your life is deeply powerful too.

And yet even when the Lost Boys are hellbent on revenge, David still wants Michael and Star to join him despite the part they played in Marko’s and then the other Lost Boys demise. And I understand why Michael would be spared regardless, as part of Max’s plot but David still wants Star to join him too and she’s been meddling in his plans this entire time. And David must know the others are dead because Michael feels his connection to vampirism die when David does in canon. So by extension David should have felt the passing of Marko, Paul, and Dwayne too. But again he’s willing to overlook that for Michael and Star anyway.

And so I can’t help but wonder how much of David’s emotions are real? Does he actually love them? Does he just not want to be alone? What is his true motivation? How much was a facade and a device for control? How much of his ‘choose your own family’ speech is true? How much is Max forcing on all of them? Cause it’s clear that Max is an abusive father, so we know David and the Lost Boys must have been subject to some kind of abuse too. And some abuse victims do become abusers themselves whether to regain power or because it’s all they know.

But all of these are just possibilities and theories and that’s why I find this story and this fandom so compelling. The relationships in this film and moreso in the musical are complex, flawed, and deeply deeply human. There is just so much that can be explored about toxic relationships, found family, love, abuse, devotion, control, and the complexity and tragedy of these things coexisting. And I’m so obsessed with it.