#analysisnooneaskedfor

[petalsonfacesnovinesthough]

The joke that works... when you think about it

So, who here knows the joke about "Say My Name" from "Beetlejuice: The Musical! The Musical! The Musical!"? The one where Beej should start a suicide hotline, because he manages to talk Lydia out of throwing herself off the roof? That one. Well, I'm about to possibly ruin/make it better, by explaining it!

Let's start with the context before the song. Lydia Deetz feels like she's invisible to the world. She's been grieving the death of her mother, yet her dad, Charles, has been pushing her to move on in a snap, to the point of not letting Lydia even mention her. Plus, she just found out her dad just proposed to the life coach he hired to help Lydia move on, Delia. Feeling even more powerless than before, she writes up a suicide note and heads up to the roof of her house, preparing to impale herself on the birdbath. Well, she wasn't alone on the roof, because Betelgeuse was up there, feeling invisible too. After he comments on her suicide note, much like with The Maitlands, it turns out Lydia can see him. Thus, he asks that she say his name, transitioning into the song.

At first, he tries to give himself as an alternate solution. Nothing will really change if she dies, so why doesn't she summon him and let him deal with her dad. Lydia declines, stating she doesn't even know Betelgeuse's name, so how could she say it? After a real game of charades, not what happened in the film, we get the second part of the song, where Lydia takes hold of the melody, stating "You could probably help, but I still feel the only way to stop my dad is to die", faking BJ out 3 times until she states that yes, she wants to join Adam, Barbara, and her mom, but she's not crazy enough to free the demon she met on her roof.

Cue the Maitlands, who came up to the roof to make sure Lydia's alright, seeing as they were there when Lydia said she was better off dead. Recognizing the Ghost with The Most, they almost immediately move to get Lydia away from him. Then, he possesses them, which probably works since he's a demon, and the Maitlands used to be alive. After their little "show" BJ fully presents the concept of possession and states how every ghost can do it; no teaching required.

Then, Lydia gives Betelgeuse a hard fall, seeing as he gave a bit too much information. After all, if any ghost can possess people, why bother with him when the Maitlands can do it too. Thus, we lead into the final part of the song. Lydia's plans of suicide have been thrown away, her now fully on track to ruin her dad's dinner party. And, even after this song, she doesn't go back to it. When Maxie ends up investing in the house because it's haunted, Lydia's last-ditch effort isn't to threaten suicide again; it's to summon Betelgeuse to deal with everyone. And she doesn't try killing herself the rest of the show.

I mean, technically, her impromptu trip to The Netherworld might count, but she didn't stay there, so I'm not counting it.

TL;DR, People joke about Betegeuse talking Lydia out of suicide. They're more right than they think.