I don't know if this was asked before by someone else. The question is, what do you think would have happened if Eugene had kissed Rapunzel during the lantern scene in the boat. If the stabbingtons weren't there.
How would their convo go after that
See, that's actually two different questions. X3 Because in the cruise musical, they do kiss at the end of I See the Light, but the Stabbingtons are also there, and so the story progresses as it does in the movie.
I think that, if the movie had had them kissing there, it wouldn't have been a rally huge, deep kiss. Something soft and sweet, like their budding relationship. But if there had been no Stabbingtons there to distract them, the question would have to come up, "So, what now?"
Because now, after Gothel manipulated her with the crown, but Eugene ignored it to give her her dream, Rapunzel knows that he does actually like her for her, and any idea she might have previously entertained about returning to the tower is probably way at the bottom of her priorities. Now, Gothel has boldfaced lied, and Rapunzel knows it (or, at least, she was very wrong, and in as cruel a way as possible). Rapunzel doesn't yet realize she's the Lost Princess, but, "You were wrong about the world, and you were wrong about me," are still true. Now, Eugene has proven completely trustworthy, and likes her, and knows how the world works in a way Rapunzel doesn't, and doesn't care about her hair, and wants her around. That's very important.
I do think there's a very real world in which she'd strongly consider just running off with him.
But I also think that Gothel would have come up with another plan to get her back, and that it would have been enacted that night in the kingdom. After all, we have concept art form before the Stabbingtons existed:
art by Paul Felix and Bill Perkins
Now, if I'm reading these scattered pictures that I am putting in the order that I think they go in correctly (😅) Gothel makes a deal with Flynn to get Rapunzel to go to the Shrine of the Lost Princess in exchange for his satchel with the crown. He convinces her to go, gets his payment, Rapunzel shows up, Gothel (disguised) "kidnaps" her (again! XD) and then also "rescues" her.
I can definitely see why they didn't go with this: it would be pretty skeevy of their love interest to make the deal and also go through with it. Not very romantic or trustworthy, and no amount of, "I'm sorries," could really fix the broken trust, even if he also was ultimately the one to rescue her from the tower. Thus, the Stabbingtons. However, if they hadn't brought the burly twins into the story, I could see them still trying to play with this idea to some extent. Even if Eugene didn't make a deal with Gothel and trick Rapunzel, I can see Gothel setting up some kind of trap for her to fall into, so that she could look like her hero and the only person who's actually worthy of her trust.
