As much as I love #Hadestown , my favourite take on Orpheus and Eurydice is not as a sad love story, but a story of distrust and refusal of proper agency. Orpheus puts his own imaginal fears and insecurities over Eurydice’s promise to follow him. He doesn’t believe in her enough to let her actually do that. He knows there’ll be deceptions, and he knows he’ll lose her if he checks, but he just can’t let her do what she promised on her own, as someone fully capable of fulfilling their promise. He needs to control. He turns back not because of love. He turns back because of insecurities and his need to control her despite the risk. He deserves to leave without her. She deserves to be freed of him. Even if that means staying in Hades.